All things Figment - from the pages of The Figment Sporting Journal - Page 30

Jiggs McGee · 12-06-2022, 12:05 PM

DECEMBER 4, 1944

SPECIAL VET COMMITTEE TO SWELL HALL RANKS

Baseball's Hall of Fame, which has not added to it's ranks since January of 1942, is set to induct as many as five new members to the Boone County shrine in the coming weeks. A special "veterans committee" with New York Daily Mirror writer John Brinker at its head has been tasked with deciding what old-timers deserve recognition in the Hall of Fame which presently numbers 22 men, including 20 former player/managers and 2 executives.

From it's inception in 1937 until January of 1942 the Hall, located in Boone County, IL. -birth city of FABL founder William Whitney- annually inducted new members. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor that practice had been stopped as FABL and the nation dealt with far more important events. The 1942 class was only added because it's members had been determined prior to the Japanese attack in Hawaii.

Now, as the war appears to be heading towards the home stretch it has been decided that the sport should once more celebrate some more of the early greats of the game. The Veterans Committee is expected to meet this week and put forward up to five names it deems worthy of enshrinement in the Boone County baseball museum. The only requirement for consideration is that any nominee must have finished his playing career prior to 1925.

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)

PLENTY OF WORTHY CANDIDATES FOR VETERANS TO CONSIDER

The early days of professional baseball are chock full of legendary performers, many of whom are long overdue for the recognition that can only come from induction in to the baseball Hall of Fame. A Veterans Committee has been tasked with the difficult decision of deciding on up to five of the many suitable candidates. In the opinion of this writer here are five that stand out above the rest.

1:JIM GOLDEN - The ace of the Detroit Dynamos 4 World Championship Series winning teams in the teens, Golden had his career come to tragic end at the tender age of 31 but still put up numbers that most pitchers can only dream of. Twenty wins might be the measuring stick nowadays for an outstanding season but Golden won at least 30 three times in his career and 29 on two other occasions. He was so good he won two Whitney Awards -a trophy now given only to hitters and at the time was won by just one other pitcher- and posted a 269-158 career record. It was the World Championship Series where he really excelled, going 8-3 in 11 starts over 5 series with a 1.97 era. His 8 WCS victories remain a postseason record. Sadly, a back injury in 1920 ended his career far too early.

2: BILL TEMPLE - Only two pitchers in all of baseball history have fanned 3,000 hitters as big leaguers. They are Hall of Famer Charlie Sis and Bill Temple. As destructive as Temple was too the confidence of opposing hitters, he was even more destructive to himself. Like Jim Golden, Temple was a Detroit pitching legend and the duo were teammates for a spell in 1909. Each also had an early end to his career but while it was a wonky back that did Golden in it was an elbow that tended to bend far too much -at the tavern- that took away Temple's skills and ended his career at age 34. Whatever inner demons he had - and he battled them with stops in New York with the Stars and then in Boston in addition to his time in Detroit- it was not enough to stop Temple from being one of the best hurlers of all-time.

3: FRED ROBY- Known as The Rhode Island Ripper, Roby was an outstanding defensive shortstop and -if you include his two seasons in the old Players League- one of just 12 men to surpass the 3,000 hit plateau as a big leaguer. Roby, who began his pro caeer in 1888, spent most of his days in Philadelphia but also made brief stops with Boston, the Chicago Chiefs and New York Gothams.

4- JIM JONES - The Big Steam Engine was one of the greatest hitters in the game in the 1880s. This was pre-FABL of course but Jones led his league in batting 6 times in a 7 year span and had some power too, with seasons of 17 and 15 homers in an era when the ball often had the same consistency of a rock. He was the star of the powerful Providence Gems in the old Century League, leading the club to three straight titles in the late 1880s. Jones also spent time with such teams of the past as the Cleveland Cuyahogas and Brooklyn Unions and then later suited up for FABL teams in Detroit, Toronto, St Louis.

5- MORRIS FORD- Old-timers in Cincinnati will still have their eyes light up with the mention of Morris Ford. Perhaps a bit of a homer choice here but Ford was the face of the Cincinnati Monarchs back in the 1880s and 1890s during their run in the old Border Association. Ford, who is the all-time leader in career hits and several other Border Association offensive categories would go from playing for Mike Tice to William Whitney as he joined the Chicago Chiefs after the demise of the Border loop and the formation of FABL. He averaged more than a hit per game during his career and hit a Border Association record 24 homers in 1891.

So that would be my ballot of five names to add to baseball's great hall in Boone County, IL., but given the chance I could easily double that list with worthy names of the past. It make take some time but eventually you have to think there will be room in the Hall for the likes of Ike Bell, Bill Craigen, Charlie Firestone, Morris Harris, Pete Hood, Bob Johnston, Jack Long, George Melvin, Ira Phillips, George Pruitt, Ira Williams, Aaron Wright and likely many more.

EASTERN RACE UNDECIDED ENTERING FINAL WEEKEND

It will take the final Sunday of the American Football Association to determine who will win the Eastern Division and meet the Detroit Maroons in the AFA title contest. The Philadelphia Frigates, a team so short-staffed a year ago due to war losses that they had to partner up with the St Louis Ramblers, are on the verge of their first ever appearance in the championship game. The Frigates, at 7-1-1, following a dominating 48-0 win over a very weak Brooklyn Football Kings squad yesterday, have a simple task. Just win at home over the first year Cincinnati Tigers next weekend and they will have a chance to win their first AFA championship in franchise history. Should Philadelphia stumble against Cincinnati, just as Pittsburgh did two weeks ago to lose the Western Division title, the Stars are waiting in the wings. The Stars have lost just twice this season but both of those defeats came at the hands of the Frigates. A Philadelphia loss next Sunday combined with a New York victory in Boston over an Americans team they had little trouble with at the Bigsby Oval yesterday and the Stars will be the club facing Detroit two weeks from now.

Jerry McElheny ran for three more touchdowns to increase his total to 13 on the season, which is a new AFA record for rushing touchdowns in a year -topping the 11 set by Lloyd Graybeal of Chicago in 1934. McElheny ran for 114 yards in the Stars 28-9 victory over Boston and needs 107 yards on the ground next Sunday to become just the fourth back in modern league history to reach the 1,000 yard mark in a season.

In other action the defending champion Chicago Wildcats managed to salvage a .500 record this season with a 28-3 win over the combined Cleveland/St Louis team. Larry Sauder led the way for the Wildcats with a pair of first quarter touhdown runs. Pittsburgh finished off a strong 7-3 season by blanking the Washington Wasps 21-0 but despite the big improvement from 3 straight losing seasons there was plenty of disappointment on the faces of Paladins players following the win as the loss in Cincinnati a week ago cost them a chance to play in the AFA championship game. The future looks bright in Pittsburgh as long as second year quarterback Billy Bockhorst continues to improve. Bockhorst is likely to finish second in the league in both passing yardage and rushing yardage and seems a lock to make the post-season AFA All-Star Team.

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AMERICAN FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION STANDINGS
EAST DIVISION   W  L  T  PCT
Philadelphia	7  1  1  .875
New York	7  2  0  .778
Boston		4  5  0  .444
Washington	3  6  1  .333
Brooklyn	1  9  0  .100

WEST DIVISION   W  L  T  PCT
Detroit		7  3  0  .700
Pittsburgh	7  3  0  .700
Chicago		5  5  0  .500
Cincinnati	4  5  0  .444
Clev/StLouis	2  8  0  .200

SUNDAY'S RESULT
New York 28 Boston 9
Chicago 28 Clev/StL 3
Philadelphia 48 Brooklyn 0
Pittsburgh 21 Washington 0

UPCOMING GAMES
SUNDAY DECEMBER 10
New York at Boston
Cincinnati at Philadelphia
end of regular season

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AFA LEADERS
SCORING		  PTS
Vaught, Det	   90
McElheny, NY	   78
Bockhorst, Pit     62
Allen, Phi	   58
Littlejohn, Bos    54
LaPage, Phi	   48

PASSING		COMP-ATT  YDS   TD INT
Griggs, Bos	101-187  1227   12  11
Bockhorst, Pit   66-184  1184    8  18
Coleman, Det     72-181   980   10  19
G Brown, Chi     76-168   938    7  19 
D Thomas, Bos    85-147   872    5  10

RUSHING		  YDS  TD
McElheny, NY      893  13
Bockhorst, Pit    845   6
Schepis, ClSL     738   1
Faulkner, Bkn     649   1
Milatz, NY        592   4

RECEIVING	CAT  TD
Vaught, Det      63  11
Douglas, Was     46   5
Martins, Bos     45   4
Littlejohn, Bos  35   5
Radecki, Chi     32   0
M McLean, Cin    31   2
Hooper, Bkn      31   3

INERCEPTIONS	 #
Benjamin, Phi     9
Sutcliffe, ClSL   8
Sullivan, Pit     8
Allen, Phi	  7
Norden, ClSL      6
Renton, Det	  6
LePage, Phi	  6

ROME STATE SINKS NAVIGATORS - COMPLETE PERFECT SEASON

It was their closest score of the season but the Rome State Centurions were still in complete control as they ended a 3-year losing streak against Annapolis Maritime by beating the Navigators 38-16 in a sold-out Banner Stadium in Baltimore. The win enables the Centurions to finish with a perfect 9-0 record and they seem assured of a National Title even if Central Ohio and Iowa A&M both win their New Year's Classic games to also finish with a perfect record.

The Classic matchups are now set and St Blane managed to earn a trip to El Paso with a convincing 34-3 win over Great Lakes Navy. It was the second straight victory for the Saints after they suffered through a 3-game losing streak that knocked them out of the number one spot in the TWIFB football poll.

Speaking of the poll, this will be the final edition of the TWIFB rankings for the season. We will turn it over to the National ranking list which will be completed in voting of writers from across the country following the New Year's contests.

Those New Years Day Classic matchups have all been anounced and are as follows:

EAST-WEST CLASSIC (Santa Ana, CA) Central Ohio (9-0) vs Coastal California (8-1)
SUNSHINE CLASSIC (Miami, FL) Noble Jones College (8-1) vs Easten Oklahoma (7-1)
LONE STAR CLASSIC (Dallas, TX) Payne State (7-1) vs Iowa A&M (8-0)
CAJUN CLASSIC (New Orlenas, LA) Alabama Baptist (8-0-1) vs Frankford State (7-2)
DESERT CLASIC (El Paso, TX) St Blane (6-3) vs Darnell State (7-2)

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TWIFB COLLEGE FOOTBALL TOP TEN RANKINGS
# LW  SCHOOL	          REC	  WEEKEND RESULT
1  1  Rome State         (9-0)    Win 38-16 over Annapolis Maritime
2  3  Central Ohio       (9-0)      idle
3  4  Alabama Baptist    (7-0-1)    idle
4  5  Iowa A&M           (8-0)      idle
5  6  Noble Jones Coll.  (8-1)    Win 30-14 over Coastal State
6  7  Charleston Tech    (8-1)      idle
7  8  Payne State	 (8-1)    Win 34-0 over Miami State
8  2  Annapolis Maritime (7-2)    Loss 38-16 to Rome State
9  9  Coastal California (8-1)      idle
10 10 George Fox Univ.   (7-0-1)    idle

WEEKEND COLLEGE FOOTBALL RESULTS
Rome State 38 Annapolis Maritime 16
Noble Jones College 15 Georgia Baptist 13
St. Blane 34 Great Lakes Navy 3
Bayou State 10 Baton Rouge State 0
Maryland State 14 Alexandria 10
Edgemoor 17 Charleston (IL) 17
Travis College 10 Darnell State 0
Richmond State 37 Petersburg 6
Payne State 34 Miami State 0
Arkansas A&T 27 Arkansas A&T-Monticello 0
Mountainview State 40 Mile High State 26
Oklahoma City State 20 College of Omaha 7
Huntsville State 13 Charleston (IL) 6
Red River State 21 Killeen State 3
Texas Gulf Coast 10 Amarillo Methodist 7
College of Waco 27 South Plains Field 9
North Carolina Tech 20 Eastern State 19

ROME STATE'S DEADLY BALLHAWKING TELLS HEAVILY IN ROUT OF NAVIGATORS

Baltimore, Dec 2- The story of Rome State's 38-16 victory over Annapolis Maritime today is the story of the deadly ballhawking that has been the Centurions forte all season, brilliant performances by a pair of plebes in Gus Thompson an Chet Donelson, and a line that was hardly reckoned in a class with the Navigators great forward wall.

Five times the future generals stepped into stop Annapolis threats with pass interceptions to run their total this season to 35. Two of them lead to Rome State touchdowns and both were made within five yards of the same spot. Thompson had them both and each was in the vicinity of the Centurions 30 yard line with both resulting in 60 odd yard drives for Rome State scores that turned the story of the day.

The two Rome State backfielders were the individual stars of the game, gaining all except two yards of the 75 covered by the Centurions on the games opening drive for a score and Donelson went 50 yards for the final tally with both being instrumental nearly every possession in between.

Annapolis Maritime, despite it's two All-American linemen in Dan Williamson and Jim Troyer, simply had no solution for the Rome State backfield duo. Both Navigators played well and Williamson in particular was a bulwark on the line but he wasn't able alone to stop the Centurions rushes as typlified by Donelson and Thompson's end sweeps. Once it seemed as if Donelson carried the entire right side of the Navigators line on his back as he rammed for a a first down.

The game at Banner Field resulted in the sale of $58,637,000 in war bonds. The 50,000 fans were so informed by a huge banner that was paraded around the field before the game by a group of servicemen. The win completes a perfect season for the Centurions and seems almost assured of delivering to Rome State it's first National Grid Title.

URBAN DANE HEADS NEW U.S. LOOP, EYES PRO GRID WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES

Urban Dane, who hasn't been out of touch with football since his heyday as 3-time All-American back at Lincoln College, has been elected President of the newly organized United States Football Association. Always ambitious, Dane immediately started making plans for the day when champions of the various play-for-pay leagues can get together in postseason games to determine the world champion.

With the final organization of the United State Association -which was first proposed by Pittsburgh businessman Roland Payne a little over a year ago- there are now three circuits located in the Midwest and East: the long established American Football Association, Percy Sutherland's upcoming Continental Football Conference and the loop headed by Dane. The latter two expect to begin operation next year.

Eight cities -including Honolulu- were granted franchises by Dane's loop and four more are expected to be added before the 1945 season. They are: Chicago, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Washington, New York, Akron, Ohio and Boston along with the previously mentioned Hawaiian entry.

"We will hold a meeting in December to work out final details of operation," Dane said. "We want to work out with other leagues a draft system. Honolulu will have to keep it's team in this country for the duration and probably will operate in Milwaukee."

Being the face of an upstart league is nothing new to Dane. He headed the New York Football Gothams and played a key role in the formation of the last pro grid loop to try and challenge the AFA. That was in 1926 when Dane, along with his longtime manager Patrick O'Doul spearheaded the short-lived Football Alliance of America. The FAA had big ambitions and -just like the United State Football Association and Continental Football Conference plan to do- went head to head against the AFA. The result was not pretty as salaries climbed due to a bidding war and the FAA would disappear a year later and take nearly half the AFA's 22 clubs with it as they all succumbed to the financial pressure.

Dane says that won't happen this time around. "It is a different time," he noted, "and there should be a huge demand for professional sports as the war ends. We feel there is certainly room for more than one pro grid league."

LENGTHY GARDEN BASKETBALL SLATE SHIFTS INTO HIGH GEAR

Columbus Day to Decoration Day was New York's basketball season of 25 years ago. But as the indepdent clubs broadened their campaigns to eight months, the colleges decreased their schedules until all but a few games were played in January and February. Then Samuel Bigsby and the Garden entered the college picture. Gradually the hoopla year increased its schedule. The AIAA tournament was added in March, then the preason Bigsby Festival and New York Tournament of Champions arrived followed quickly by more early season intersectional tilts in November and December became the norm.

Charles B. Darrow replaced his uncle running the Bigsby Gardens four years ago and now, starting with the 11th Garden college season, Darrow continnues his twice-weekly twin bills, making for another very large Garden court program this season. It promises to be one of the best as while the bulk of the calendar will be comprised of local outfits, there will be some big teams from across the country brought in this year since travel restrictions have begun to lift and approach a return to the pre-war level normalcy.

How strong is the quality of play at the Bigsby Garden this winter? Take this week's cards for example. Monday will feature St Blane against Grafton while Jersey City Tech plays Coastal State. The Saints are currently ranked #5 in the nation while Coastal State is also a top twenty outfit at this point. Wednesday's lineup will be even more impressive as Darrow -to the dismay of fans in Boston- has secured St Patrick's against Pierpont as his nightcap game following an equally impressive lid-lifter pitting #4 Western Florida up against the Brunswick Knights. All those big games involving ranked teams make it clear that Darrow's plans for the winter cage season at the Bigsby Garden will be among the biggest the venue has witnessed.

ST BLANE, CAROLINA POLY LEAD RECRUIT RACE

With 16 of the top 25 high school seniors in the nation committed to colleges for next season it is looking like the top recruiting classes will belong to the St Blane Fighting Saints and Carolina Poly Cardinals. Each school has received word that three of the top twenty five players will join them next season with the Fighting Saints adding the top player in the nation in Philadelphia forward Cyril Worley while the Cardinals inked guard Major Belk - a Nashville, Tennessee product who is ranked #2 in his recruiting class.

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COLLEGIATE BASKETBALL RANKINGS
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
1. Carolina Poly (72) 5-0 1800 1 South Atlantic Conference
2. Mobile Maritime 3-0 1702 3 South Atlantic Conference
3. St. Patrick's 7-1 1650 2 Indy Northeast
4. Western Florida 3-0 1587 4 Deep South Conference
5. St. Blane 7-1 1418 7 Indy East
6. North Carolina Tech 5-1 1345 8 South Atlantic Conference
7. Piedmont University 7-0 1317 12 Indy South
8. Charleston Tech 6-0 1238 9 South Atlantic Conference
9. Brooklyn Catholic 4-0 1033 19 Liberty Conference
10. Brooklyn State 2-1 956 13 Liberty Conference
11. Bluegrass State 4-0 956 10 Deep South Conference
12. CC Los Angeles 3-1 896 16 West Coast Athletic Association
13. Mississippi A&M 5-1 868 20 Deep South Conference
14. Noble Jones College 3-0 824 17 Deep South Conference
15. Coastal State 5-1 789 6 South Atlantic Conference
16. Annapolis Maritime 4-1 771 5 Indy South
17. Lubbock State 3-0 728 25 Southwestern Alliance
18. Custer College 3-0 556 22 West Coast Athletic Association
19. Alexandria 2-0 523 NR South Atlantic Conference
20. Liberty College 8-1 490 NR Indy East
21. St. Martin's College 8-1 455 NR Indy Northeast
22. Lincoln 2-1 413 NR Great Lakes Alliance
23. Great Plains State 7-2 338 NR Indy Midwest
24. Jersey City Tech 2-1 189 NR Liberty Conference
25. St. Pancras 7-1 146 11 Indy East
Others Receiving Votes:
Rainier College 1-1 140 West Coast Athletic Association
Central Ohio 3-1 114 Great Lakes Alliance
Alabama Baptist 5-1 23 Deep South Conference
Mississippi Tech 7-1 23 Indy South
Central Carolina 3-1 20 South Atlantic Conference
Perry State College 4-1 19 Midwestern Association
Bardney 5-1 18 Indy Northeast
Conwell College 4-1 14 Indy East
Plover College 5-1 12 Indy Midwest
Dickson 3-1 10 Academia Alliance
Tallmadge State 5-1 8 Indy East
Wisconsin State 2-1 5 Great Lakes Alliance

RESULTS INVOLVING RANKED TEAMS
MONDAY NOVEMBER 27
#1 Carolina Poly 68 Grant(IN) 56
#4 Western Florida 47 Cowpens State 45
#6 North Carolina Tech 41 Central Maryland 25
#7 Piedmont University 47 West Corners(NY) 37
#22 Lincoln 58 Northern Minnesota 38
#25 St Pancras 56 Wyoming A&I 51

TUESDAY NOVEMBER 28
#21 St Martin's College 48 #3 St Patrick's 43
#5 St Blane 54 Pittsburgh State 37
#9 Brooklyn Catholic 56 Flint 40
Dickson 38 #16 Annapolis Maritime 37
#24 Jersey City Tech 59 North Central(NE) 41

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 29
#4 Western Florida 52 Commonwealth Catholic 32
#7 Piedmont University 59 #15 Coastal State 57
#17 Lubbock State 50 El Paso Methodist 40
#20 Linerty College 42 Michigan Lutheran 22
#25 St Pancras 53 Brandywine 43

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 30
#3 St Patrick's 59 Narragansett 41
#14 Noble Jones College 37 College of Waco 29
#16 Annapolis Maritime 60 Sunnyvale 37

FRIDAY DECEMBER 1
#8 Charleston Tech 51 Orrville 36
#13 Mississippi A&M 43 Alabama Gulf Coast 35
#15 Coastal State 64 Middlesex 46
#20 Liberty College 38 Erie 34
#23 Great Plains State 50 Miners College 40
#25 St Pancras 55 Ogdensburg 34

SATURDAY DECEMBER 2
#2 Mobile Maritime 44 Opelika State 39
#7 Piedmont University 55 Wisconsin Catholic 51
#19 Alexandria 46 Wyoming A&I 45
#24 Jersey City Tech 44 Queen City 34

SUNDAY DECEMBER 3
#3 St Patrick's 46 #25 St Pancras 35
#8 Charleston Tech 52 Brookland 47
#9 Brooklyn Catholic 46 Three Rivers State 43

BOXING RESULTS

A couple of heavyweight bouts during the week with Derek McCoy taking a decision from John Keith on Friday night in Jersey City and Roger Mitchell beating Michael Wilkins Saturday in California. The Oakland born Mitchell improves to 11-6-2 with his win while McCoy, a 29 year old from Topeka, KS, is 14-18-2 after the win over Keith.

The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 12/03/1944

American B-29 Superfortresses crashed hundreds of tons of bombs on Tokyo and Bangkok, capital of the puppet State of Thailand in the Air Forces' first simultaneous attacks from east and west on the Japanese empire.
Eight more Nazi towns fall as Allied troops push towards Cologne.
FDR announced 'with very deep regret' that he has accepted the resignation of Cordell Hull as Secretary of State, but that the 73 year old Tennessean will remain in Washington as an administration advisor on foreign policy.
Churchill warned against being overly optimistic about the war end date. Speaking to the House of Commons on the day before his 70th birthday, Churchill declared the battle was going forward "with the greatest vigor" and a large-scale breakthrough on the front before Cologne "would have the highest strategic consequences" but cautioned he would now be willing to strike out the word "early" from his recent forecast that the conflict with Germany would be over by early Summer.
Great Britain revealed staggering numbers the great toll of the war on the United Kingdom, reporting that nearly one-third of all homes in Britain have been damaged or destroyed by Nazi bombs and almost 750,000 men, women and childen casualties. The nation also revealed that it produced 102,000 planes, 25,000 tanks and 4.5 million tons of shipping in the first five years of the war.
Parliamentary evidence in Ottawa indicates that Canada may implement an unlimited Overseas draft to conscript as many men as needed to reinforce the Dominion's veteran battle units on European fighting fronts. Prime Minister Mackenize King intends to set no limit on the availability of Canadian manpower for the war effort.

Jiggs McGee · 12-07-2022, 12:18 PM

DECEMBER 11, 1944

ATTITUDE IS 'EACH TO ITS OWN TIME'

In the aftermath of the annual winter FABL meetings, two things stand out for development and clarification. They are the attitude of the big leagues toward professional football, and the reported move toward the unionization of ball players by the C.I.O.

The professional gridiron forces, now represented by the American Football Association, and after the war to be augmented by one or two other circuits, feel that baseball has made a move which could lead to more drastic legislation, and open war. The baseball people insist that in passing their new regulation they did not make any belligerent move against foobtall, but merely had done something to protect their physical equipment for the best interests of well-played ball games.

The new regulation says that no major league club may rent or lease its ball park for any kind of football purpose on any date on which the ball club yet has pennant race commitments in the park, or has the possibility of entry into the World Championship Series. These means that all contracts between professional football teams and landlord ball clubs must be revised to bar the elevens out of many parks until the diamond classic is out of the way. Contracts now must stipulate that if the landlord club should enter the WCS, the football tennant cannot come into the park much before October 15. This, obviously, is restraint and constraint.
*** A Time For Each Sport***

Baseball says, in effect: "There is plenty of room for both baseball and football, each sport in its own time. There has been a tendency in football to keep moving the season forward. In the last three years there has grown up a vast system of exhibition games.

"We are not jealous of the advancement of football. Rather do we enjoy that progress, because the more successful the gridiron pros, the more successful our landlord-and-tennant relationship financially. However last September a game between the Chicago Chiefs and the Pittsburgh Miners nearly had to be postponed because Whitney Field had been so badly torn up from a professional football exhibition the previous evening played in driving rain.

"With our first duty being to baseball, we feel it is imperative that we should safeguard our baseball interests first. Therefore, we have decided not to allow football games -and remember we are barring colleges as well as professionals- in our ballparks while the home club yet has contests remaining to play on the official baseball schedule that could have some bearing on the postseason."

Jack Kristich, President of the AFA, feels his response is straightforward. "There is no sense in fooling ourselves; this is war. The baseball people start too early and finish too late. They should be out of the way, World Championship Series and all, before October 1. But they linger on into our season. The time has come for us to look to building our own parks, and to making a move against an influence whith frankly is antagonisitc."

It is the opinion of this writer that though most of the baseball magnates had no intention of making war on pro football, that is exactly what has been done. Furthermore, the writer believes that the baseball owners have made the proper move for their own welfare.

In the meantime, we may look for more activity in baseball on the subject of football. After the war, the ball clubs may become interested in football ownership -and that has already been hinted at with Daniel Prescott and John Tice's efforts to land a New York entry in the AFA and now their minority involvement in the Cincinnati Tigers, just as Eagles owner William Stockdale has long had a piece of the Washington Wasps grid entry. More involvement in pro football by the ball magnates in inevitable.
***Union Not Likely At This Time***

The matter of unionization of ball players is not mere talk, and this goes well beyond the objections made by a few college and high school players when FABL drastically altered its draft signing bonus policy for the year ahead. Of course, this is a bad time for unionization in baseball.

As things are, there is no demand for player organizations because there are not player demands. The players are receiving payment right up to the expectancy from the abilities they possess. Add in the fact that when the war ends there will be such an influx of players battling it out for the relatively few jobs available and any player looking to unionize would not be on solid footing unless he had the unwavering support of every ball player. If one breaks ranks, hopes for a union would be quickly dashed and you can bet that the magnates will find far more than one top notch minor league player willing to cross the line for a shot at the big leagues.

Whether professional baseball lends itself to unionization any more than medicine, dentistry or other professions is a moot question. The general impression is it would be bad for ball players to become interested in a labor union. However, there is no sense in reaching conclusions at this time. Baseball is not going to antagonize organized labor, and organized labor is not likely to want to intrude where it is not needed. It is something to watch closely going forward. From the writer's investigations it is nothing to be merely laughed off.

FRIGATES WIN EAST - WILL HOST DETROIT IN AFA TITLE GAME

The Philadelphia Frigates beat Cincinnati 27-7 at Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Stadium yesterday to earn their first trip to the American Football Association title game. It will be the first chance at an AFA championship for a city that has fielded an AFA team, with the exception of 1932, every year since the old Philadelphia Hornets joined the league in 1924. The win over Cincinnati, keyed by a pair of touchdowns from Mike Benjamin, completed an 8-1-1 season for the Frigates, good enough to nose out the New York Football Stars by half a game for the Eastern Division crown.

The Frigates built a 13-0 first half lead on touchdown runs by Dave Davis and Benjamin but the first year Tigers pulled close in the third quarter when Cincinnati quarterback Gus Knox found Jack Starnes in the endzone with a 2 yard toss. Cincinnati likely had visions of ruining the Frigates season -just as the Tigers did two weeks ago in knocking Pittsburgh out of the title hunt. It did not happen as the Frigates, thanks to their ballhawking defense, which led the AFA with a whooping 53 interceptions on the year -no other team had more than 28- picked off 6 of them on the day including two that were returned for second half scores to remove any doubt of the outcome on this day. Jay Carey had a 30-yard pick-six late in the third quarter while Benjamin, with his league best 11th pick, rounded out the scoring with a late 11 yard return for a touchdown.

The only other game saw the New York Stars nip Boston 17-10 to try and keep the pressure on the Frigates. New York went 8-2 on the year with both of their losses coming at the hands of Philadelphia. On this day it was once again Jerry McElheny leading the way for the Stars, the back gained 110 yards to push him over the 1,000 mark for the season while scoring two more touchdowns adding to his AFA modern-record 15 scoring runs on the year.

VAUGHT SAYS AFA TITLE GAME WILL BE HIS LAST

Next Sunday will be the end of an era in professional grid play as the greatest receiver in league history will play his final game. Detroit Maroons legendary end Stan Vaught -a man who perhaps more than any other can be credited with the emergence of the forward pass as a primary weapon in the pro game- has announced he will retire after the championship game with the Philadelphia Frigates.

The 32 year old Vaught had humble beginnings, being discovered by Rollie Barrell when the Maroons boss came across him playing at tiny Peabody College. The 6'2, 185 pound end from Trumbull, Kansas was signed in 1935 for an unheard of sum back in those days of $300 per game and long-time Maroons coach Frank Yurik rebuilt his entire offense around Vaught.

Over the next decade Vaught would rewrite the AFA record book. His 472 career receptions, 7,689 receiving yards and 82 touchdown grabs are all numbers completely out of reach of any other AFA player. He not only holds the single season record in each of those categories as well, but he completely dominates the leaderboard.

If there is a black mark on Vaught's career it might well be his showing in championship games. He will have one last opportunity Sunday in Philadelphia but in two previous AFA title contests Vaught has caught just 2 passes - one in each game and has yet to score a touchdown in championship game action. In 1936 the Maroons beat Pittsburgh 24-7 in a game that saw Vaught make just one reception for 8 yards. Detroit's only other appearance in the finals was in 1940 when Brooklyn topped the Maroons 20-7 while limiting Vaught to just one reception for 31 yards. He did kick a convert for his lone playoff point.

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AMERICAN FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION FINAL STANDINGS
EAST DIVISION   W  L  T  PCT
Philadelphia	8  1  1  .889
New York	8  2  0  .800
Boston		4  6  0  .400
Washington	3  6  1  .333
Brooklyn	1  9  0  .100

WEST DIVISION   W  L  T  PCT
Detroit		7  3  0  .700
Pittsburgh	7  3  0  .700
Chicago		5  5  0  .500
Cincinnati	4  6  0  .400
Clev/StLouis	2  8  0  .200

SUNDAY'S RESULT
New York 17 Boston 10
Philadelphia 27 Cincinnati 7
end of regular season

UPCOMING GAMES
SUNDAY DECEMBER 17
AFA CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Detroit at Philadelphia

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AFA LEADERS
SCORING		  PTS
Vaught, Det	   90
McElheny, NY	   90
Bockhorst, Pit     62
Allen, Phi	   61
Littlejohn, Bos    58
Benjamin, Phi	   54

PASSING		COMP-ATT  YDS   TD INT
Griggs, Bos	108-199  1310   12  11
Bockhorst, Pit   66-184  1184    8  18
Coleman, Det     72-181   980   10  19
D Thomas, Bos    94-163   963    5  12
G Brown, Chi     76-168   938    7  19 

RUSHING		  YDS  TD
McElheny, NY     1003  15
Bockhorst, Pit    845   6
Schepis, ClSL     758   1
Milatz, NY        666   4
Faulkner, Bkn     649   1

RECEIVING	CAT  TD
Vaught, Det      63  11
Martins, Bos     48   4
Douglas, Was     46   5
Littlejohn, Bos  37   5
Radecki, Chi     32   0
M McLean, Cin    31   2
Hooper, Bkn      31   3

INERCEPTIONS	 #
Benjamin, Phi    11
Sutcliffe, ClSL   8
Sullivan, Pit     8
Allen, Phi	  8
LaNore, NY	  7
LePage, Phi	  7

NOTABLE 1944 AFA ACCOMPLISHMENTS

Jerry McElheny of the New York Stars set the new AFA record for rushing touchdowns in a season with 15, smashing the old mark of 11 established by Lloyd Graybeal of Chicago a decade ago.
McElheny became just the 5th back to rush for 1,000 yards in a season since individual stats were tallied beginning with the 1932 campaign. His 1,003 yards place him 4th all-time but he is the only one to do it in a reduced 10 game schedule as Jesse Pratt's 1934 total of 1,045 came in a 13 game slate as was Lloyd Graybeal's 1,012 in 1934 while St Louis Ramblers Bob Holt needed 11 games to get 1,037 yards in 1942.
Philadelphia's Mike Bemjamin had 11 interceptions on the season, tying him for 4th most in a campaign. The record is 13 set by Boston's Del Thomas last year.
Stan Vaught's 63 catches for Detroit were the 4th most in a season since 1932. Vaught holds four of the top five single season reception marks led by his record 84 grads two years ago.
Vaught's 922 receiving yards this year are the fourth most ever recorded in a season and his 11 touchdown catchces tie him for fourth in that category. Vaught is the single season leader in both with 1,218 yards and 17 touchdowns in his incredible 1942 season.

RHODES WINS CHRISTIAN TROPHY

Jimmy Rhodes led the Central Ohio Aviators to a perfect 8-0 and a berth in the East-West Classic for the first time since 1921. That effort improved the Aviators from a mediocre 2-6-1 campaign a year ago and earned the graduate student the Christian Trophy as college football's Most Outstanding Player for 1944. The Pride of Parma, Ohio also earned All-Amercan honours, joining two of his teammates in his favourite pass receiving target end Joe Steffen along with guard Henry Woodson on the select team. Rome State, which is also unbeaten at 9-0, placed two players on the team in their backfield sophomore duo of halfback Gus Thompson and fullback Chet Donelson. Thompson was declared the winner of the Bryan Award, presented to the Best All-Around Player. The other individual award -the Ipswich Trophy for Best Lineman- goes to Coastal California tackle George Stuckey.

COLLEGE FOOTBALL SCOREBOARD
Darnell State 30 Miami State 13
Second Air Force 50 Morris Field 0
Randolph Field 27 March Field 0

NEW YEAR'S CLASSIC SCHEDULE
EAST-WEST CLASSIC (Santa Ana, CA) Central Ohio (9-0) vs Coastal California (8-1)
SUNSHINE CLASSIC (Miami, FL) Noble Jones College (8-1) vs Easten Oklahoma (7-1)
LONE STAR CLASSIC (Dallas, TX) Payne State (7-1) vs Iowa A&M (8-0)
CAJUN CLASSIC (New Orlenas, LA) Alabama Baptist (8-0-1) vs Frankford State (7-2)
DESERT CLASIC (El Paso, TX) St Blane (6-3) vs Darnell State (8-2)

AFA TITLE GAME A MATCH OF CONTRASTING STYLES

Next weekends American Football Association championship game will be an interesting contrast. You have the mighty passing attack of the Detroit Maroons -perhaps not as strong as it was before Dewey Burnett left for the Army- but still very effective squaring off against the Philadelphia Frigates ground game. During the regular season Detroit threw the ball more than twice as often as the Frigates attempted to pass, and why wouldn't you with the games greatest end in Stan Vaught on your side. The Frigates preferred to pound the ball on the ground with their quintet of backs sharing the workload. You have the big three of Dave Davis, Ollie Bishop and Greg LePage combining for 1,608 yards and 13 touchdowns and then Mike Benjamin and Richie Dugan to also share the workload.

A key matchup will be how the Detroit defense can contain the Philadelphia rushers. However, the game could very well be decided on the other side of the ball. The two clubs did not face each other during the regular season so there are a number of questions regarding how they will interact but none bigger than what sort of success will the Detroit passing game vs the Philadelphia ballhawking defense.

The key to determining the winner on Sunday will likely be how well Detroit quarterback Rich Coleman can read the Philadelphia defense. The Frigates had a nearly unbelievable 53 interceptions this season - 5.3 per game - with Mike Benjamin notching 11, Bob Allen 8 and Greg LePage 7 to lead the way. Turnovers often seem to decide a football game and in this case it seems very fair to predict the winner will be determined by how well Coleman protects the pigskin with his passing.

*** COLLEGE GRID CROWDS INCREASE MORE THAN 1.5 MILLION OVER '43 ***

Attendance at college football games this season jumped more than 1,500,000 over last year, with Midwestern teams leading the parade according to a survey by the Associated Press. Total attendance at 333 home games played by 67 colleges totaled aproximately 5,555,000 against just over 4 million a year ago. Surprisingly, the resumption of football in a number of major Southern schools this season accounted for just a small part of this increase. Average attendance in the South showed a 2.8 percent decrease while gains up to a fraction under 40 percent were registerd in other sections. Average attendance this year was 16,552, compared with 14,691 last season. The Far West topped the survey with an average increase of 5,064.

GREAT LAKES ALLIANCE CLUBS STRUGGLING

The schools of the Great Lakes Alliance have made it habit of knocking each out of the top twenty-five college rankings every January when section play gets underway. For a change they may not have that luxury this year as presently no one from what has in recent memory been the deepest conference in college basketball is even in the top twenty-five.

it is certainly an unusual year when schools like Mobile Maritime, Piedmont University and Custer College show up in the polls but Detroit City College, St Magnus and Western Iowa are nowhere to be found. Going in to the season most observers felt the GLA would not be as powerful as it usually was, with the loss of talent to war expected to cost a heavy toll but losses to schools like Northern Mississippi (which beat Detroit City College 51-43 and Minnesota Tech 39-25), Eastern Kansas (38-37 over Lincoln), Bliss College (over St Ignatius 40-37) and East Missouri Seminary (over St Magnus 40-37) illustrate just how far the GLA has fallen this season.

Western Iowa is expected to be the class of the loop this time around and perhaps they still will be with impressive road wins over Iowa A&M and Lawrence State recently, but the Canaries had a tough start with games against St Patrick's and Rainier College in the Preseason AIAA showcase both resulting in losses. At 2-2 the Canaries have time to get untracked and an upcoming schedule that should allow them to do so. For others it might a be much tougher task as Detroit City College (4-3), St Magnus (4-2) and Minnesota Tech (2-2) all have some bad losses already but no where is the situation worse than in Lansing where St Ignatius continues it's tumble.

The Lancers have not missed the year end National Tournament two consecutive seasons since 1920 & 1921 but after a mediocre 15-14 campaign last year and a dreadful 1-3 start to this season they are well on the their way to doing just that. The losses have been terrible to say the least. First a 40-37 defeat against Bliss College - the Kalamazoo school that has not won more than 10 games in a season in a decade and had never beaten the Lancers prior to this year. Then came consecutive 2-point losses to Hamman and Columbia Military Academy before St Ignatius finally notched it's first win of the season Friday night by nipping College of Cairo 47-45. Head Coach Razor Heuer was brought in prior to last season after enjoying success at tiny Johnston Tech but at the rate he is going Heuer will be very lucky to get a third season in Lansing.

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COLLEGIATE BASKETBALL RANKINGS
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
1. Carolina Poly (72) 5-0 1800 1 South Atlantic Conference
2. Mobile Maritime 5-0 1702 2 South Atlantic Conference
3. Western Florida 5-0 1650 4 Deep South Conference
4. St. Patrick's 9-1 1597 3 Indy Northeast
5. North Carolina Tech 7-1 1475 6 South Atlantic Conference
6. Piedmont University 9-0 1375 7 Indy South
7. Mississippi A&M 8-1 1297 13 Deep South Conference
8. Annapolis Maritime 6-1 1169 16 Indy South
9. Coastal State 7-1 1090 15 South Atlantic Conference
10. Liberty College 9-1 1058 20 Indy East
11. Noble Jones College 5-0 1031 14 Deep South Conference
12. Bluegrass State 5-0 1006 11 Deep South Conference
13. Brooklyn State 3-1 1000 10 Liberty Conference
14. CC Los Angeles 4-1 962 12 West Coast Athletic Association
15. Great Plains State 10-2 956 23 Indy Midwest
16. Custer College 5-0 836 18 West Coast Athletic Association
17. Rainier College 3-1 608 NR West Coast Athletic Association
18. St. Blane 9-2 574 5 Indy East
19. St. Pancras 8-1 566 25 Indy East
20. Miami State 6-1 308 NR Indy South
21. Charleston Tech 6-1 301 8 South Atlantic Conference
22. Plover College 6-1 204 NR Indy Midwest
23. Alabama Baptist 5-1 160 NR Deep South Conference
24. Ohio Poly 6-2 131 NR Indy Midwest
25. Conwell College 4-1 114 NR Indy East
Others Receiving Votes:
Wisconsin State 3-1 60 Great Lakes Alliance
St. Martin's College 9-2 59 Indy Northeast
Western Iowa 2-2 59 Great Lakes Alliance
Chesapeake State 5-2 58 South Atlantic Conference
Bigsby College 4-1 52 Liberty Conference
Red River State 4-1 39 Southwestern Alliance
Utah A&M 4-1 35 Rocky Mountain Athletic Alliance
Eastern Kansas 4-1 20 Plains Athletic Association
Alexandria 3-1 20 South Atlantic Conference
Darnell State 4-1 17 Southwestern Alliance
Lubbock State 3-1 5 Southwestern Alliance
Garden State 7-2 5 Liberty Conference

RESULTS INVOLVING RANKED TEAMS
MONDAY DECEMBER 4
#6 Piedmont University 55 Central Illinois 37
#7 Mississippi A&M 48 St Matthew's College 36
#9 Coastal State 56 Jersey City Tech 49
#11 Noble Jones College 55 Lexington State 41
#17 Rainier College 47 Flint 44
#18 St Blane 37 Grafton 27

TUESDAY DECEMBER 5
#16 Custer College 55 Commonwealth Catholic 50
#20 Miami State 67 #21 Charleston Tech 61
#24 Ohio Poly 39 Columbia Military Academy 26

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 6
#2 Mobile Maritime 60 Springfield State 51
#3 Western Florida 52 Brunswick 37
#4 St Patrick's 49 Pierpont 42
#6 Piedmont University 63 College of San Diego 46
#15 Great Plains State 51 Kansas Agrircultural 26
#19 St Pancras 62 Cache Valley 42

THURSDAY DECEMBER 7
#5 North Carolina Tech 44 Bliss College 33
#11 Noble Jones College 37 Daniel Boone College 34
#12 Bluegrass State 49 Provo Tech 46
#13 Brooklyn State 61 Potomac College 31
#16 Custer College 59 Wyoming A&I 60
#18 St Blane 58 Central Ohio 40
#20 Miami State 50 Bayou State 44
#22 Plover College 50 Maldin 36
#24 Ohio Poly 50 Iowa A&M 30

FRIDAY DECEMBER 8
#2 Mobile Maritime 46 Eastern Oklahoma 26
#7 Mississippi A&M 51 Mississippi Tech 40
#8 Annapolis Maritime 57 Narragansett 46
#9 Coastal State 44 Georgia Baptist 25
#15 Great Plains State 57 Wichita Baptist 43

SATURDAY DECEMBER 9
#3 Western Florida 61 St Martin's College 52
#5 North Carolina Tech 47 Oklahoma Bible College 32

SUNDAY DECEMBER 10
#4 St Patrick's 62 Ferguson 47
#7 Mississippi A&M 50 Rock Island 35
#8 Annapolis Maritime 41 Ogdensburg 30
#10 Liberty College 57 El Paso Methodist 47
#14 CC Los Angeles 52 College of San Diego 38
#15 Great Plains State 59 Colorado Poly 39
#17 Rainier College 57 Erie 41
Detroit City College 56 #18 St Blane 46

WEEKEND BOUT MAY DETERMINE SAWYER FOE

A fight in Minneapolis this weekend may be showcasing the first opponent for World Heavyweight Champion Hector Sawyer when he makes his return to the professional ring in February. The champ has confirmed his first title defense in over 4 years will take place at Denny Arena in Boston on February 24. The opponent for that bout, widely considered just a tune-up for the champ before a big summer fight at Gothams Stadium in New York that is expected to see top contender Mark Fountain get a shot at Sawyer, will be confirmed in the near future.

To get to the big summer payday Sawyer will first fight a lower quality opponent in New England with sources hinting that opponent could be veteran heavyweight Larry May. The 28 year old Oklahoma native is 22-11-4 in his career and will be headlining a weekend card in Minnesota in which he will face Mike Austin. A convincing May victory -as is widely anticipated- is expected to result in an announcement perhaps as early as next Monday that May will be the opponent for Sawyer.

May is one of several fighters on the 'short-list' compiled by Sawyer's camp to give the champ an opportunity to work out the kinks created by 3 years of military service and get back in to fighting mode without a risk of defeat. Others that were considered are said to have included once promising 35 year old Willie Meyer(32-7-1), who is actually fighting on the same card as May in Minneapolis this weekend or 34 year old Clifford Baker (24-5-2), a Philadelphia-born fighter who battled often with Sawyer in military exhibitions and is the older brother of up and comer Scott "The Chef' Baker (11-0-2).

WEEKEND FIGHT RESULTS

Mike Howarth scored an unanimous decision over Jeff Greene to improve to 8-2 for his career. Howarth is just 20 years old but fought his first pro bout as a 17 year old in his native Philadelphia. Howarth got knocked out in that debut, but a fighter 11 years older than himself, but has looked very good since and might be a name to watch in the middleweight division. On the same card heavyweight Edward Buckley improved to 5-6-1 with a win over Matthew Penn.

The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 12/10/1944

A big task force of B-29s Superfortresses ushered in the third anniversary of Pearl Harbor last week with a raid on Tokyo while also targeting Japanese war factories in southern Manchuria. There were also reports of a violent earthquake, possibly centered on the Japanese home islands, last week.
Below is a look at how the warfronts have changed over the past 3 years compared to today.
Lt General Patton's 3rd Army plunged a mile and a half beyond burning Saarlautern in a bid for a new breakthrough of the Siegfried Line.
Russian armored columns crashed through the German defenses on both sides of Lake Balaton in a mile-an-hour drive on the Austrian frontier today, forcing alarmed Nazi officials to flee Vienna, in the path of the Red army juggernaut.
Prime Minister Churchill served blunt notice that the Allies would throw the full weight of their arms into an attempt to prevent civil war in Greece, where they government tottered and the death toll in Athens rioting mounted to 27.
More workers are needed at once. That is the message from the Army and the Government at the annual meeting of the National Association of Manufacturers as the call came out for up to 300,000 more workers needed with Lt General Brehon B. Somervell saying victory was in the balance.
The need for manpower on the home front results in an increased focus on drafting men aged 26-37 "who are not now doing their part" in the war effort. They are needed overseas to replace trained men released by the armed forces to industrial plants.

Jiggs McGee · 12-08-2022, 09:38 AM

DECEMBER 18, 1944

CANNONS EAGERLY AWAIT DRAFT LOTTERY

The new draft lottery is set to take place in advance of the 1945 FABL draft and it is a cause of excitement for all of FABL. At stake is the chance to pick first overall and 7 of the Continental Association clubs have a shot at that opportunity. The lone expection of course is the Cincinnati Cannons, who as CA champ will be automatically slotted in at the 15th spot in the draft. That is not to say the Cannons will not still be anticipating the draft as they own the Boston Minutemens selection this time around and could pick as high as second. The CA teams will be in a draw for the odd picks from 1-3 while the Federal Association teams have the even slots this year. The Federal Association champion Philadelphia Keystones will draft 16th.
*** Mullins Will Attend Central Ohio ***

Lonnie Mullins, arguably the best high school basketball player ever to come out of Cincinnati, has decided to play his college ball in Columbus with the Central Ohio Aviators. The 6'9" centre from Taft High School, made his decision known recently after spending several weeks debating offers from Great Lakes Alliance rivals Detroit City College as well as Central Ohio. High School cage experts call Mullins the 15th best senior in the nation this season.

Meanwhile Sandusky's Leo Franks -who was once considered a possible first round selection in the 1945 FABL draft before an arm injury ended his baseball career- is going to play college ball at Pittsburgh State. As a 16 year old high school sophomore Franks was projected to be a top of the rotation starter in big league baseball but blew out his arm training for the start of his junior season. Franks will focus instead solely on the hardwood where he is an All-State basketball guard.

Big league owners are 16 frightened people today as the new draft ruling that calls for the mobilization of 26 to 37 year olds goes into effect. The hope is the worst of the damage is over as more than 80 players who appeared in the big leagues last season have recently enlisted or been drafted. However, there remains great fear that more will be taken before spring training gets underway.
Dog and Horse tracks are closed down as part of the War Mobilization Plans, but WMD head James Byrnes says baseball will not be forced to stop. However, he does want to see a large number of the 4-F ballplayers either in the Army for limited service or working in manufacturing.
No big leaguers departed for the war effort the last couple of weeks but the parade of minor leaguers continues. Among the latest include a pair of top 100 prospects in Clyde Fleenor and Gary Burgess. Fleenor is a 20 year old outfielder selected 14th overall by the New York Stars in 1942 who spent last season in Class C. Burgess, 18, was the Pittsburgh Miners fourth round pick last June and split last season between Class B & C. In addition a pair just outside of the top 100 in Detroit's George Bundy, and 18 year old outfielder, and the Chicago Cougars 19 year old outfielder Jimmy Hairston also received the call with all four being drafted by the Army.
The major league schedule is set to get going April 16 this year, with Washington as usual, tilting the lid with a contest at Columbia Stadium. The Eagles are set to host the New York Gothams with everyone else getting into the act a day later if the tentative schedule stays as indicated.

FRIGATES WIN AFA CHAMPIONSHIP

Defense and Running Game Too Much For Detroit

The Philadelphia Frigates did exactly what they had done all season in stopping the Detroit Maroons 30-14 to claim their first American Football Association championship. The Frigates used their powerful running game, keyed by 86 yards from Ollie Bishop, and their ballhawking defense - which intercepted 6 Rich Coleman passes on the day- to claim the grid title and spoil Stan Vaught's final game.

It was a typical Philadelphia game in that the Frigates overwhelmed their opponent with their depth. There was no real standout although back Ollie Bishop was named the game's most valuable player after rushing for 86 yards and a score, while also making 2 catches for 58 yards and recording 8 tackles. Instead it was the usual team effort as 6 different Frigates had interceptions, 11 different players recorded at least 3 tackles and 4 Frigates carried the ball for at least 35 yards on the day.

The cold weather and snowy conditions at Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Stadium certainly helped, favouring Philadelphia's diverse ground game and make things just a little bit tougher on the Maroons more passing focused offense. It played right into the Frigates gameplan as almost immediately the game appeared to be following the script many had predicted. Detroit's first drive came to an end when Rich Coleman had a pass intercepted by Bob Allen setting up a Frigates first down on the Maroons 22 yard line. Philadelphia nearly gave away it's opportunity to strike first when Ollie Bishop fumbled on the Detroit 1 yard line but teammate Andy Barrow alertly fell on the loose ball and a play later Allen tossed a 1 yard touchdown pass to Karl Shoemaker giving Philadelphia a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter.

Detroit would respond quickly as Coleman drove the Maroons to a score of their own with several completions including a pair to Stan Vaught, who had announced before the contest this would be the final game of his illustrious career. In all Vaught would make 9 catches for 93 yards but would fail to get in the endzone and retires having never scored a touchdown in his 3 championship game appearances. The tying score would come on an 11 yard run from Colin Owen to even the game at 7.

Another Colemen interception in the second quarter-this one by Karl Schoemaker- set up a second Philadelphia score. This one on a 44 yard drive that finished with Dave Davis busting through the middle of the Maroons line for a 10 yard touchdown run. Once more Detroit would respond on the next drive and it was Colin Owen again reaching the endzone, this time on a 9 yard scoring throw from Coleman.

Despite a third Coleman interception of the half the Frigates would not score again and the teams entered the break knotted at 14. The Frigates had 53 interceptions during the regular season -no other team had more than 28- and they would add three more in the second half of the title game to put the contest out of reach. The first one came early in the third quarter with Gregg Ward doing the honours. It did not result in a Philadelphia touchdown but did culminate in a 35 yard field goal from Bob Allen to put the Frigates up 17-14 and give them a lead they would never relinquish.

Ollie Bishop would run for a 12 yard touchdown on the final play of the third quarter and just over two minutes later-after a three and out from Detroit- Richie Dugan would gallop 38 yards for another rushing touchdown to complete the scoring on the day. Coleman would be picked off twice more in the fourth quarter, putting an end to any comeback homes the Maroons might have had.

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   AMERICAN FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
 YEAR    SCORE			   VENUE		   MVP
1944  Philadelphia 30 Detroit 14  Sailors Memorial Ollie Bishop, Phi
1943  Chicago 21 Boston 20        Minutemen Park   Freeman Stahlberg, Chi
1942  Boston  24 Chicago 21       Whitney Park     Del Thomas, Bos
1941  Chicago 10 New York 7       Whitney Park     Dutch Hoffman, Chi
1940  Brooklyn 20 Detroit 7       Thompson Field   Don Ludwigs, Bkn
1939  Boston 21 Chicago 14        Whitney Park     Leon Fitzgerald, Bos
1938  Brooklyn 9  Pittsburgh 7    Kings County     Bill Morrisett, Bkn
1937  New York 34 Chicago 0       Bigsby Oval      Tom Jamason, NY
1936  Detroit 24 Pittsburgh 7     Thompson Field   Vernon Flowers, Det
1935  Pittsburgh 7 Cleveland 0    Forester Field   Harvey Bowman, Pit
1934  Pittsburgh 7 Detroit 0      Thompson Field   Hank Greshman, Pit
1933  Rhode Island 21 Chicago 0   North Side Park  Harvey Bowman, RI

1932	Cleveland Finiches (7-3) 
1931    Detroit Maroons and Rhode Island Reds co-champs (12-1-1)
1930    New York Stars (14-2-1)
1929    Detroit Maroons (13-0)
1928    Chicago Wildcats (11-0-2)
1927    Detroit Maroons (10-0)
1926    Chicago Wildcats (13-1-2)
1925    Cleveland Finches (12-1-1)
1924    Toledo Tigers (9-0)
1923    Pittsburgh Pros (12-0)
1922    Evansville Lions (10-1)
1921	Chicago Wildcats (9-1-1)
1920    Youngstown Reapers (7-0)

AFA FACING GREAT 1945 PLAYER PROBLEMS

Next season's player problem for the pro football clubs may be one of the toughest they have been called on to solve, and although it is hoped the war in Europe will be over, the draft will be eased and more discharged veterans will be available to fill rosters, league officials frankly aren't too happy about the outlook.

The war has been a factor for several years and the enhanced push on putting 4-F's to work in limited capacity is a concern, but there are hopes the war may be over before next season rolls around. The great unknown now is just how will the addition of possibly two more leagues next year upset the apple cart. Will the Continental Football Conference and United States League even get off the ground? If they do, will they honour existing player rights or will it be fair game and a bidding war on all the big stars of the AFA? What kind of contract could a Jerry McElheny command from an upstart league should he be willing to abandon the New York Football Stars? What about Billy Bockhorst, the 1942 Christian Trophy winner who had a breakout season with Pittsburgh.

The AFA weathered a storm like the one that is brewing now back in 1926 but the cost was huge. That was when the Football Alliance of America made its one year bid to take over as the premier play-for-pay loop in the nation. Urban Dane was behind that one -just as he is with one of the proposed new loops this time around- but all the FAA accomplished in its one season of existence was to drive up salaries and drive a lot of teams out of business. Dane is back at it again this time around but perhaps the loop that has a better chance of tackling the AFA is the Continetal Conference with Percy Sutherland and Lt Commander Ben Montgomery at the helm.

In the end the 1926 challenge saw a stronger, much more streamlined American Football Association emerge, but AFA boss Jack Kristich knows first-hand the toll a rival league -or leagues- will take. Kristich was the driving force behind a team called the Fort Wayne Titans back then, and his club was one of the many to be run out of business that year. You can bet that Kristich and his AFA magnates are dreading the prospects of having to go through it all again.

EAST-WEST CLASSIC IS ONE DAY SELLOUT

Sale of tickets for the East-West Classic football game between the Central Ohio Aviators and the Coastal California Dolphins on New Years Day began -and ended- Saturday. All 93,000 seats at the Santa Ana, Ca.venue were sold out in a matter of hours.

The Aviators 38-man squad, led by Christian Trophy winning graduate quarterback Jimmy Rhodes, boarded a train, without any fanfare, Saturday night for California. The Aviators have had only light workouts since they finished a perfect regular season with a late December victory over Detroit City College and are expected to be healthy and at full strength for the Classic showdown.

NEW YEAR'S CLASSIC SCHEDULE
EAST-WEST CLASSIC (Santa Ana, CA) Central Ohio (9-0) vs Coastal California (8-1)
SUNSHINE CLASSIC (Miami, FL) Noble Jones College (8-1) vs Easten Oklahoma (7-1)
LONE STAR CLASSIC (Dallas, TX) Payne State (7-1) vs Iowa A&M (8-0)
CAJUN CLASSIC (New Orlenas, LA) Alabama Baptist (8-0-1) vs Frankford State (7-2)
DESERT CLASIC (El Paso, TX) St Blane (6-3) vs Darnell State (8-2)

SAWYER TO FACE WILLIE MEYER FOR HEAVYWEIGHT CROWN

World Heavyweight boxing champ Hector Sawyer's camp has confirmed that their fighter will make his professional return to the ring February 24 in Boston against Willie Meyer. Sawyer (49-3-1) has not defended his title since prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor and has been serving in the army the past three years. The 30 year old will be discharged from Army next week. The fight, which will take place at Denny Arena, home of the NAHC's Boston Bees, will be a prelude to what is expected to be a major bout in June that will see Sawyer likely face top contender Mark Fountain.

Sawyer will have to get by Meyer, who was in action this weekend and it was following that fight that the title shot was announced. The 35 year Meyer is 32-7-1 after having an easy time with Rocky Elibank Saturday evening. The Minneapolis born Meyer knocked out Elibank in the 6th round of their bout. It was no great achievement as Elibank, a Brockton, MA. native, is little more than a professional punching bag with a career record of 4-23-2.

On the same card as the Meyer win was another heavyweight bout. It was a clear upset as Mike Austin, a lower level southpaw out of Cleveland, shocked veteran pugilist Larry May with a 10 round majority decision. The loss drops the 28 year old May's record to 22-12-4 in what was his first professional fight in 3 years after being recently discharged from the Army. There had been talk that May was going to get the February fight with The Cajun Crusher until his surprising loss as apparently Sawyer's manager had a deal in place with both Meyer and May with the understanding that whoever performed better on Saturday would get the title shot. In either case, it is expected the February fight will be nothing more than an easy tune-up for the champ, designed simply to ease him back into the ring.

SHAMROCKS CONTINUE TO IMPRESS

The St Patrick's Shamrocks seem to be adjusting just fine to life as an independent team after the dissolution of the Northeast Conference. The Shamrocks, who have reached the semi-finals of the National Tournament twice in the past decade but failed to earn a tournament berth last season, are off to a 10-1 start that includes wins over Western Iowa, St Pancras, Pierpont and most recently Detroit City College.

The Shamrocks lack a true dominant player but have succeeded by spreading the scoring around with all five starters averaging at least 6 points per game. They are a young group with only one senior among the key players in their rotation and a sophomore forward by the name of Jeremiah Fink is rapidly emerging as the team leader. The New Englander -Fink is from Keene, NH- had the hot hand down the stretch against Detroit City College last Tuesday, hitting of 5-of-7 second half shooting attempts to help the Shamrocks overcome a 4-point deficit at the half and beat the Knights in Detroit by a 48-40 count.

St Patrick's has some tough tests in the second half of the season including matchups with #4 North Carolina Tech and 5th ranked Annapolis Maritime but based on the start the Boston school is looking forward to another long tournament run come March.

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COLLEGIATE BASKETBALL RANKINGS
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
1. Carolina Poly (72) 5-0 1800 1 South Atlantic Conference
2. Mobile Maritime 8-0 1723 2 South Atlantic Conference
3. St. Patrick's 10-1 1647 4 Indy Northeast
4. North Carolina Tech 9-1 1589 5 South Atlantic Conference
5. Annapolis Maritime 9-1 1517 8 Indy South
6. Great Plains State 11-2 1413 15 Indy Midwest
7. CC Los Angeles 5-1 1335 14 West Coast Athletic Association
8. Western Florida 5-1 1292 3 Deep South Conference
9. St. Blane 10-2 1229 18 Indy East
10. Rainier College 4-1 1113 17 West Coast Athletic Association
11. Miami State 9-1 1101 20 Indy South
12. Coastal State 8-2 890 9 South Atlantic Conference
13. Brooklyn State 5-2 869 13 Liberty Conference
14. Mississippi A&M 8-2 791 7 Deep South Conference
15. Bluegrass State 6-1 744 12 Deep South Conference
16. Liberty College 9-2 735 10 Indy East
17. Chesapeake State 6-2 606 NR South Atlantic Conference
18. Garden State 8-2 547 NR Liberty Conference
19. Central Ohio 7-2 481 NR Great Lakes Alliance
20. Western Iowa 3-2 481 NR Great Lakes Alliance
21. Wisconsin State 3-1 412 NR Great Lakes Alliance
22. Bigsby College 4-1 380 NR Liberty Conference
23. Lincoln 4-2 260 NR Great Lakes Alliance
24. St. Pancras 9-2 153 19 Indy East
25. Piedmont University 9-2 100 6 Indy South
Others Receiving Votes:
Chicago Poly 6-2 76 Indy Midwest
St. Gordius 7-2 45 Eastern Six
Plover College 8-2 24 Indy Midwest
Conwell College 6-2 18 Indy East
Rome State 7-2 13 Indy South
St. Magnus 6-2 6 Great Lakes Alliance
Brooklyn Catholic 6-2 5 Liberty Conference
Alabama Baptist 5-2 4 Deep South Conference
Eastern Oklahoma 4-2 1 Midwestern Association

RESULTS INVOLVING RANKED TEAMS
MONDAY DECEMBER 11
#13 Brooklyn State 45 Eastern Virginia 40
Allentown State 37 #25 Piedmont University 36

TUESDAY DECEMBER 12
#2 Mobile Maritime 57 Capital(MS) University 54
#3 St Patrick's 48 Detroit City College 40
#4 North Carolina Tech 54 Ferguson 40
#5 Annapolis Maritime 48 Manhattan Tech 30
#7 CC Los Angeles 40 Quaker College(CA) 31
#11 Miami State 48 Portland Tech 37
#15 Bluegrass State 47 Central Illinois 36

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 13
#9 St Blane 54 Pierpont 44
#12 Coastal State 66 Alabama Gulf Coast 37
Grafton 38 #13 Brooklyn State 24
Glover(GA) 41 #14 Mississippi A&M 40
#19 Central Ohio 54 Topeka State 37

THURSDAY DECEMBER 14
#2 Mobile Maritime 54 Georgia Baptist 48
#4 North Carolina Tech 53 College of Cairo 42
#5 Annapolis Maritime 58 Jersey City Tech 49
#11 Miami State 65 Canton State 53
#23 Lincoln 52 Arkansas A&T 43
Smithfield College 32 #24 St Pancras 31

FRIDAY DECEMBER 15
#10 Rainier College 45 Three Rivers State 32
#13 Brooklyn State 44 Eastern Kansas 43
#19 Central Ohio 44 Frankford State 38
Brandywine 60 #25 Piedmont University 56

SATURDAY DECEMBER 16
#18 Garden State 40 #16 Liberty College 35
#20 Western Iowa 54 Texas Gulf Coast 40
#24 St Pancras 40 Meade 28

SUNDAY DECEMBER 17
#5 Annapolis Maritime 59 Conwell College 50
#6 Great Plains State 45 Oklahoma City State 30
#11 Miami State 47 #12 Coastal State 38
#17 Chesapeake State 49 Frankford State 41
#19 Central Ohio 61 Rose Point(PA) 43

The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 12/17/1944

The heaviest German counteroffensive of the Western campaign, was launched over the weekend. Co-ordinated with a savage V-bomb barrage, Nazi forces rolled through the American 1st army lines to depth of several miles, punching through into Belgium and Luxembourg at three points along a fluid, 70-mile battlefront.
Reports from the Soviet front indicate the remaining Nazi forces in Budapest are evacuating the Hungarian capital under a storm of Russian bombs and shells.
American tanks and infantry rammed ahead more than two miles to the western outskirts of the Roer River bastion of Duren, just 20 miles southwest of Cologne.
Hope for an early compromise settlement of the Greek Civil War faded as bloody street fighting in Athens entered it's second week with some 20,000 well-armed leftist troops still sniping and shelling British and Greek Government positions in the heart of the capital.
American B-29 bombers continued their attack on Tokyo for well over a week straight, prompting mass evacuations of the Japanese capital.
Prime Minister Churchill endorsed the Soviet Union's claim to a postwar "buffer state" carved out of eastern Poland and tactfully invited the United States to make public its stand on the explosive Russo-Polish dispute.
Thousands of men over age 30 prepare for draft notices, as new regulations for Selective Service come into effect.

Jiggs McGee · 12-09-2022, 01:12 PM

DECEMBER 25, 1945

BALL HALL WELCOMES SIX NEW MEMBERS

A very special Christmas for six FABL greats of the past as Santa Claus -played convincingly in this case by Veteran's Committee head John Brinker- delivered the gift of Hall of Fame induction to the following former FABL stars: Bill Craigen, Jim Golden, Jim Jones, Jimmy Massey, Fred Roby and Bill Temple.

The sextet of stars are the first additions to baseball's shrine, located in Boone County, IL., since Thomas Watkins and Jefferson Edgerton were added in January of 1942. The new additions bring the total number of inductees to 26, including 22 as players, 2 primarily as a managers and 2 executives.

BILL CRAIGEN (1899-1917: New York Stars and Philadelphia Keystones)

The Wahoo, Nebraska native would make his big league debut with the New York Stars at the tender age of 19 and led the Continental Association in triples that season with a record (since broken) 42. He would lead his league in three-baggers 7 times and his 381 career triples is third behind only fellow Hall of Famers Joe Ward and John Dibblee. He would also top the CA in homers (3 times), hits (twice) rbi's (5 times) and runs once while winning the 1906 Continental Association batting title. In all 'Wahoo Willie' amassed 2,906 career hits -13th best in FABL history- and helped lead the New York Stars to 3 World Championships and 4 pennants. Craigen's star shone brightest in October and in addition to winning the 1902 WCS MVP award he remains the career leader in WCS total bases and is top ten in a number of categories including batting average (.398), hits (37) and triples, where his 11 WCS triples are 6 more than any other player has ever accumulated.

After 14 seasons with the Stars, Craigen was dealt to the Philadelphia Keystones prior to the 1913 campaign. He would spend 5 seasons with the Keystones and record his 2,500 career hit in a Philadelphia uniform. He was not done in New York, however, as in 1920 Craigen returned to the Stars as their manager and would hold that position for 19 years, winning 4 more World Championship Series titles including guiding the only team ever to win three straight - the 1924-26 Stars. Craigen joins fellow Hall of Famers Edward Wakeham and George Theobald as the only men to manage 4 teams to WCS victory and his 1,512 career regular season wins as a manager is 6th most all-time. Craigen would end his baseball career with two seasons as a coach for the Cleveland Foresters but he will be forever linked to the New York Stars.

JIM GOLDEN (1909-1920: Detroit Dynamos)

It was a long wait for the now 55 year old Golden, who had come close several times in previous Hall of Fame ballots before finally making it this time around -and he did so in fine fashion as the only one of the six new inductees to be an unanimous choice. Golden did not pitch past age 31 because of a career-ending back injury but still managed to win 269 games and a record 8 more in World Championship Series play. His career ended before the Allen Award was created otherwise he would have had a handful of them. As it stands Golden did win 2 Whitney Awards, something only one other pitcher in Rube Smith of the 1924 Sailors ever accomplished. After his playing days, Golden would spend a decade as the Brooklyn Kings assistant Generals Manager. For more on his amazing career he is a reprint of a 1935 TWIFB article on the Golden boys.

THE GOLDEN ARMS OF MANDEVILLE, LOUISIANA

Tiny Mandeville, Louisiana was best known as being a resort hangout for the New Orleans middle class since it's creation in the mid 1800s. While today Mandeville boasts a population of over 12,000 in 1900 there were barely 1,000 residents but two of them would go on to become pretty good FABL pitchers.

Jim (1909-20) and Rip (1913-22) Golden combined for 417 FABL victories, 5 World Championship rings and 2 Whitney Awards of the course of their careers. Each began playing semi-pro ball for local teams in nearby Hammond, Louisiana before being discovered by FABL scouts. The call came for Jim first, despite the fact he was 4 years younger than Rip, as the Detroit Dynamos signed him after witnessing him pitching for Hammond against a New Orleans club in 1908. He would go directly from the semi-pro circuit to the big leagues and did so with a bang. Rip, meanwhile, had been nursing a broken leg suffered that spring while working on the steamships that ferryed back and forth across Lake Pontchartrain between New Orleans and Mandeville, so he did not catch the attention of Detroit scouts. In fact it would not be until 1912 when Rip was finally signed by the Chicago Chiefs as a 26 year old and his big league debut would come the following season. In Rip's final year with the Hammond ballclub he showed some of the skills that would later lead him to becoming a pitching coach as he mentored a then 16 year old Johnny Taylor before Taylor went on to pitch for St Blane University and spend 5 years in the big leagues himself.

By 1913 when Rip was preparing for his big league debut in Chicago, younger brother Jim was already a FABL veteran. Jim took the Federal Association by storm in 1909 when as a mere 20 year old he would win 23 games and then add two more victories in the World Championship Series to lead Detroit past Toronto for it's first of 5 FABL titles for the franchise. Jim was named the Most Valuable Player of the 1909 series and would play a key role for 4 more pennant winning Detroit squads, finishied with an 8-3 career postseason record to go with a 1.97 era and 4 World Championship rings. He would follow up his rookie season with two more twenty-win campaigns including a league best 29-13 in 1911 but he was just getting started. 1913, the year Rip debuted in Chicago, Jim was named the Whitney Award winner as Most Valuable Player of the Federal Association after posting a league best 31 victories. Jim would win a second Whitney Award in 1916, when he went 35-9 and led Detroit to the first of three World Championships in a four year span. Only Mike Marner, with 36 for Baltimore in 1908, won more games in a single season since the turn of the century than Jim Golden's total that year.

Jim Golden remains to this day the all-time leader in career World Championship games won and only Woody Trease has pitched in more than the 100 World Championship Series innings that Golden has tossed. (editor's note-Jim Lonardo has since surpassed Golden's 100 WCS innings worked.)
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 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES WON (updated to end of 1944)
 1 Jim Golden		8   1909-19  Detroit
 2 Rabbit Day		7   1927-44  NYG, CHI, CIN
 2 Jim Lonardo#   	7   1928-44  NYG, CHI, CHC
 2 Woody Trease	        7   1902-11  Boston/Detroit
 2 Charlie Wilson       7   1893-1901 Gothams/Sailors/Cleveland
 6 Morris Harris	6   1893-1902 Gothams/Cougars/Stars
 7 Tom Barrell#         5   1932-44 CHC, BKN, PIT, CIN
 7 Bill Ross	        5   1920-36  Cougars/Keystones
 9 Allan Allen		4  1895-1904 Cougars/Toronto
 9 John Bigness		4  1899-1906 Cougars/Boston
 9 Mike Marner		4   1907-14  Baltimore
 9 Bill McDaniel	4   1902-05  Boston
 9 Joe Myres		4   1919-21  Montreal
 9 Dick Richards        4   1924-35  Stars
 9 Luke Smith	        4   1924-25  Stars
 9 Ed Wood#   	        4   1932-44  Cleveland/Boston
# still active

As mentioned Jim led Detroit to 3 World Championships in a 4 year span starting in 1916. The one season the Dynamos did not win, 1917, the title went to the Chicago Chiefs, who had finished second to Detroit the previous season. Pitching for the Chiefs in that period was, of course, Jim's big brother Rip. In 1917 Rip was the number four starter for the Chiefs but he did win 13 games that year. Rip had an equally impressive debut as his brother - although he was 27 at the time - going 25-15 with a league leading 2.03 era in 1913. It would prove to be the best season of his career as he never again won twenty but did post a 148-158 record over 10 seasons with the Chiefs and Pittsburgh before retiring as a player at the age of 38 after spending a year in the minor leagues.

Jim, on the other hand, was a legend in Detroit, where he won 269 games and spent his entire career, one that had a tragic early end when at the age of 31 in 1920 he suffered a back injury that he would not return from. Both brothers remain active in the game after their playing days. Jim Golden has been the assistant General Manager of the Brooklyn Kings for the past seven years while Rip briefly managed an independent team in the Great West League before joining the St Louis Pioneers organization as a pitching coach for their AAA affiliate in Hartford.

It is believed the pair are the most successful pitching brother act in FABL and perhaps surpassed as a baseball family only by the legendary Barrell's, although Jim has witnessed first hand the rise of another pair of ball playing brothers from a small town in Louisiana as outfielders Doug and Frank Lightbody may one day surpass the Golden's as the premier baseball family of Louisiana.

JIM JONES (1879-1904: Cleveland Cuyahogas, Brooklyn Unions, Providence Gems, Chicago Chiefs, Detroit Dynamos, Toronto Provincials, St Louis Pioneers)

I am not sure if we will ever have a Hall of Famer who played with more big league teams than Jim Jones did over his 21 year career. A big part of that is he spent the majority of his career in the pre-FABL days with the Detroit Dynamos being the FABL team he played for the most. You could say his career came full circle as Jones -a towering first baseman for his day who was known as The Big Steam Engine- was born just 20-odd miles away from the eventual site of the Hall of Fame. He hails from tiny Woodstock, Il., and would go on to win 6 batting titles and 3 Century League championships in the days before FABL existed.

He has to be considered one of the best hitters in the pre-FABL era, rapping out 2,786 career hits just 2,187 games. The early days of the sport saw a much shorter schedule otherwaide Jones would have easily surpassed the 3,000 mark for his career. Jones never played in a World Championship Series but did win three Century League titles with the Providence Gems prior to the formation of FABL. He began his career in 1879 and at the age of 46 made a 1 game appearance for the Detroit Dynamos in 1904, making him one of the few ever to play in 4 different decades.

JIMMY MASSEY ( 1893-1907: Cleveland)

The Brooklyn native joined the Cleveland Foresters in 1893 and would spend his entire 14 year career on the shores of Lake Erie teaming most of that time with fellow Hall of Famer Jack Arabian. The duo made their only WCS appearance as teammates in 1901 but would fall to a Pittsburgh team that was in the Series each of the previous three years.

Massey would lead the Continental Association in hits three times, amassing 2,660 of them in his career, and won a pair of batting titles including his amazing .431 average in 1897, a total only surpassed once in history by Hall of Famer Powell Slocum in 1913. He and Arabian each have had their numbers retired by the Foresters - a tribute reserved for just 4 players with, perhaps surprisingly, Max Morris not being one of them.

FRED ROBY (1888-1910: Philadelphia Keystones, Philadelphia Maroons, Boston, Chicago Chiefs, New York Gothams)

A native of Cranston, "The Rhode Island Ripper" could hit like few others. Counting his days in the short-lived Players League, Roby amassed 3,026 career hits and posted a lifetime .321 batting average. His greated season was 1894 when he won the Federal Association triple crown by hitting .416 with 19 homers and 142 rbi's, preceeding future Keystone greats Rankin Kellogg and Bobby Barrell as triple crown winners.

Roby never played in a World Championship Series and spent most of his career on second-division clubs with his lone championship coming in the initial season of FABL -one year before the first WCS was played. Like current Keystones star Bobby Barrell with Kellogg, Roby had a Hall of Fame mentor and long-time teammate in the legendary Zebulon Banks and he now joins Banks and Kellogg in Boone County with Barrell sure to join the great Keystones trio at some point.

BILL TEMPLE (1899-1911: New York Stars, Detroit, Boston)

Like fellow pitcher Jim Golden, Bill Temple has been on the cusp of induction into the Hall of Fame for several years. Temple was possibly the most talented pitcher ever to play the sport and one is left to wonder just what he could have accomplished if he lasted past the age of 34. Like Golden, Temple had his career cut short although in Temple's case it was entirely his own doing as he battled demons, and alcoholism his entire career. Despite that he still managed to win the pitching triple crown once and led his league in strikeouts each of the first 7 years of his career.

Temple made his debut with the New York Stars in 1899 and won at least 20 games each of his first ten seasons in the league. He would spend four years in New York before moving on to the Detroit Dynamos and then ending his career with a stop in Boston. His lifetime record was 284-230 and he won a pair of World Championship rings, going 2-2 in WCS play. The sad thing is as good as Temple was - and many consider him to be the greatest lefthander of all-time, he could have been so much better. Temple was a raging alcoholic and his frequent drunken antics - some of them on the field during games - kept him in hot water and prompted both the Stars and Dynamos to part ways with him.

Despite all of his troubles, Temple still managed to to lead his association in strikeouts the first 7 seasons of his career and his lifetime total of 3131 k's is surpassed only by Hall of Famer Charlie Sis. Temple also is one of just 3 pitchers to throw multiple no-hitters, joining John Blackburn and Doc Newell.

COUGARS ADD VETERAN MAYHUGH TO PLUG HOLE AT THIRD

In an effort to fill the giant hole left at the hot corner in the infield at Cougars Park following the departure of seven time All-Star third baseman Hank Barnett, the Chicago Cougars have acquired Ken Mayhugh from Pittsburgh. The 33 year old Mayhugh is not expected to make up for Barnett but is a former all-star himself, appearing in the 1937 game. In return, the Miners will receive minor league infielder Johnny Bunce, a 26 year old who split last season between AA and AAA.

The much travelled Mayhugh will be joining his sixth big league team and has played 931 career FABL games, but has not been an everyday player since 1939 when he suited up for the then-Baltimore Cannons. A 1932 second round draft selection of Brooklyn's out of Liberty College in 1932, Mayhugh's best season was as a 24 year old in 1936 when he hit .344 with 11 homeruns for the Boston Minutemen. Last year, his only season in Pittsburgh, Mayhugh hit .250 in 42 games for the Miners. This marks the fourth time he has been traded and was also claimed on waivers twice.

TREASE SUFFERS SETBACK

Bad news for Lyn Trease as the Chicago Cougars rookie hurler has learned he will need well over another year to recover from an elbow injury suffered last August. The 24 year old, who is about as close to baseball royalty as you can get with a Hall of Fame father in Woody and a legendary grandfather in 1880s star catcher Link Trease, has been plagued by injuries throughout his career but looked very impressive in 12 relief appearances for the Cougars last season. He was originally a 4th round pick ou of a San Francisco High School in 1938 by the Brooklyn Kings before joining the Cougars in last year's rule five draft. Doctors say he will not be able to attempt to pitch again until spring training1946.

DIAMOND-GRID SKIRMISH HAS NEW BATTLE FRONT

The growing feud between the baseball magnates and the American Football Association just had some more fire doused on it as Brooklyn Kings owner Daniel Prescott is reportedly refusing to give the gridiron Kings ownership group, which includes Eugene Weston -the man who sold the baseball Kings to Prescott- more than a one year contract to rent Kings County Ballpark.

Some AFA sources are saying it is part of an effort by Prescott to force the struggling grid Kings out of Brooklyn entirely. Truth be told the football squad may not need Prescott's prodding as the club is already said to be in financial difficulty after a dreadful 1-9 season and a 3-17 mark over the past two years. The grid Kings have been in a downward spiral ever since former coach John Brainard left for the Navy shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Recently FABL President Sam Belton, under the direction of the baseball magnates, passed a mandate prohibiting the use of any FABL stadium by a grid team -pro or college- until there were no more games scheduled at that part that could have an impact on a pennant race. The move, which will affect many AFA preseason games and likely some regular season tilts as well, was prompted after a Chicago Wildcats exhibition game played in the rain last September tore up Whitney Field so badly that a Chiefs game against the Pittsburgh Miners the following day nearly had to be postponed.

Prescott has his own feud with the AFA beyond the stadium issue. He was reportedly extremely upset when the grid owners -spurred on by the football Stars and Kings magnates- refused his bid last spring to field a second New York club for the 1944 season. Prescott felt with both Gothams Stadium and Dyckman Stadium available and a rapid fan base in the city the additional New York entry made perfect sense to fill the league's need for a 10th team last season but the AFA President Jack Kristich, under pressure from New York (Football) Stars owner Erasmus Scott, denied the request on the grounds of not favoring club owners with interests in other professional sports. It is rumored this was a straw horse and the reason was simply Scott's refusal to countenance direct competition beyond the already existing Brooklyn (Football) Kings despite the city of New York possessing not just one, but two potential venues for Prescott's prospective entry.

Prescott eventually did became a minority AFA owner, along with Cincinnati Cannons boss John Tice, as the duo was secretly involved in the Cincinnati Tigers expansion entry which was headed by Tice's long-time business partner Edward Chiles but there are some hypothesizing the long-term plan of the group is to see the Tigers franchise eventually land in New York.

Jiggs McGee · 12-12-2022, 01:31 PM

JANUARY 1, 1945

CANNONS, PIONEERS MAKE MAJOR DEAL

The Cincinnati Cannons are clearly 'All-In' with their quest for a third straight World Championship Series title after adding two more veterans from the St Louis Pioneers in a move that saw a pair of first round draft selections in this month's FABL rookie draft head west. The full deal sends talented but injury prone 33 year old centerfielder Gail Gifford and 36 year old righthander Sam Sheppard to the Cannons in exchange for two first round draft picks (Cincinnati's and the one the Cannons previously acquired from Boston) along with AAA pitcher Bobby Horner and minor league outfielder Dutch Peters, who is presently serving in the Army.

The key to the deal for the Cannons is Gifford. The 3-time all-star hit .317 with a Federal Association leading 26 stolen bases last season but has missed substantial time each of the past two seasons with various injuries. Cincinnati will be hoping he can stay healthy and take over the lead-off role in the line-up from Bob Griffith, who was called to military service in November. Sheppard is a former Allen Award winner who had a tough 6-17 season a year ago but won 21 games the previous season and the Cannons are confident he can fill a spot in the bottom half of their rotation. It is clearly another win-now move by a Cincinnati club that has loaded up on veterans the past couple of seasons and had that move pay off with back to back World titles.

The Pioneers are headed for another rebuild with the deal but after a last place finish a year ago this gives them a jump start on young talent with a potential pay off similar to what the Detroit Dynamos accumulated with their 4 first rounders a year ago. The Pioneers have 3 first round selections and Peters gives them a solid corner outfield prospect when the war ends.

Cannons Make CA Title Tougher For the Wolves in 1945

A trade between St. Louis and Cincinnati over the Christmas season has changed the landscape in the CA just as thoughts of Spring Training are beginning to stir in the minds of all baseball fans. The Cannons got a present under their tree from Santa Claus in the form of 3 time All-Star P Sam Sheppard, 36, CF Gail Gifford, 33, also a selection to the mid-summer classic three times. The cost was high as the Pioneers, with a definite look to the future, acquire two late first round picks in the upcoming draft plus OF Dutch Peters who is currently serving, along with P Bobby Horner.

When asked about the trade there were a number of comments from from Toronto management. A front office insider, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, said "This is nothing new for that GM we saw it constantly when he was in Brooklyn. All moves are generally focused on the short term, draft picks and younger players with potential are pieces to moved around the chess board for the FABL team. Our scouting department feels that Peters, 24, will be an above average OF if the time in the Army has not diminished his skills over the last 2 years. Horner, 32, should be able to fulfill a role as an innings eater while the Pioneers wait on development of some younger pitchers. If St. Louis hits the jackpot on either or both draft picks this already formidable team with be a pennant contender every season for the foreseeable future. Cincinnati's acquisition of Sheppard, the first overall selection by Detroit in 1931, should strengthen the Cannons' rotation if he can return to his 1943 form after a disappointing 1944. Gifford a career .300 hitter who will not hurt the team in the OF, but is prone to the strikeout. He will be a short term asset if he can overcome his recent injury history.

When asked if the Wolves were planning a move to counter this trade the same insider said "We are always looking to improve the product in Toronto, we do not make specific moves in response to other teams trades. This season is especially complicated by the uncertainty going on in the war. George Garrison has already returned, the recent reports of the Battle of the Bulge has now probably delayed the return of more players from the European theatre, no one knows how long the fighting will go on in the Pacific. Our plans now are to set up the entire organization with what we know we have then make adjustments if players return from this seemingly unending nightmare. Our philosophy is somewhat different than the Cannons, we rely on our scouting department to provide an unending stream of players trying to challenge for a spot on the big league roster only moving prospects in trades in extreme circumstances. The great unknown of when the war will end forces all FABL teams to have several different plans for 1945, 1946 and beyond; the phones were ringing off the hook before Christmas with teams willing to trade picks in the upcoming draft. Those teams seem to feel players will be returning in the immediate future.

When Manager Bob Call was asked about the trade he said "Playing the Cannons with a possible rotation of Rufus Barrell II, Butch Smith, Sam Sheppard, Jim Crawford and Tom Barrell will be a challenge but I feel the Wolves are up to the task. Do not forget the teams in Chicago, Philadelphia were in the race at some point last season. Montreal, the Stars, Cleveland, Brooklyn all have teams that are formidable, we cannot worry about one team we just play the schedule as it comes hoping to have a pennant when the dust settles in September."

THE FUTURE IS NOW FOR CANNONS

There is no off-season when it comes to the Cincinnati Cannons as the club made another major deal. They are certainly the oldest team in baseball now with the addition of 33 year old outfielder Gail Gifford and 36 year old pitcher Sam Sheppard. Between them the duo own 6 all-star game appearances and an Allen Award. There are questions about both but they certainly apprear -at least at this juncture- to have solved the Cannons needs following the latest scalpel work done by Selective Service to cut appendages off the Cincinnati championship machine.

Gifford will become the third all-star to patrol centerfield at Tice Memorial Stadium in 3 years following Bob Griffith, who took over for Fred Galloway when Galloway left for the Coast Guard. Griffith is in the Army now so the Cannons dipped into their future once more to bring Gifford over from the Pioneers. Gifford, 33, is coming off an all-star season when he hit .317 and looks to be the perfect replacement for Griffith at the top of the Cincinnati batting order. The worry is durability. Gifford has missed substantial time the past few seasons and the Cannons are gambling he can play 120 games in center for them this year.

Sheppard also has a lot of question marks. The 36 year old was one of the best pitchers in the game a decade ago, and won an Allen Award after a 28 win season in 1935. He fell out of favour in St Louis -and his poor work ethic and questionable attitude did not help- but then he had a resurgence in 1943 when he won 21 games and finished third in Allen Award voting. Last year was a down year, but the same can be said about the entire Pioneers club, so Cannons brass is hopeful he can pitch somewhere in between his outstanding 1943 season and subpar 1944 campaign. If he can, Sheppard will be a more than adequate replacement for Chris Clarke, who also departed to join the war effort.
*** Cannons Look to Special Achievement ***

The future might be a big problem but the Cannons brass is clearly 100% focused on doing something that has only been accomplished once before in FABL history - winning three straight World Championship Series. Assistant General Manager Red Franklin summed up the clubs approach very succinctly, "Winning three in a row would be a special achievement. We are going to do our best to accomplish it and we will handle whatever the future deals us when the time comes. Plus," Franklin added with a twinkle in his eye, "who says we are done dealing yet."

1944 IN REVIEW

IT HAD ITS UPS AND DOWNS, BUT '44 WAS A YEAR TO REMEMBER IN SPORTS

Despite it being another year where many of the star athletes from all sports were away from the game and focused on the war effort, 1944 was still a banner year for sports. It was one filled with great performances, incredible suprises and immense disappointments.

The year began with a surprise National Collegiate football champion in Wisconsin Catholic finishing off a perfect season with a New Year's Day win over Northern California in the East-West Classic. That victory capped a completely unexpected run to the AIAA title for the Cavaliers and a performance by a mid-level team that might never again be duplicated.

January also gave us the FABL draft and perhaps the early stages in the building of a dynasty in Detroit after the Dynamos- having traded Red Johnson to the Gothams- were starting over with four of the first nine draft selections and 6 in the top 18. Detroit would also go on to enjoy a surprisingly good season, defying many of the so-called experts with a second place finish in the Federal Association.

As winter turned to spring we received positive news from the play-for-pay grid group as the American Football Association announced it would return to ten teams after dropping to 8 due to war-related roster shortages the previous year. It brought a return of football to the nation's capital after a one-year sabatical for the Wasps and a brand new entry in the Cincinnati Tigers. The news was not all good in Cincinnati during the spring as two-time Allen Award winner Deuce Barrell suffered a season ending elbow injury in March and would miss the entire season. The Barrell injury combined with losing reigning Whitney Award winner Adam Mullins to the war effort seemed to put an end to thoughts of a second straight World Championship Series win for Ad Doria's charges.

April brought us a second straight collegiate cage title for Rainier College thanks to a memorable 27 point effort in the championship game from AIAA Player of the Year Gary Harrison to lead the Majestics past Annapolis Maritime. April also marked the beginning of perhaps the best two months of baseball ever played by a FABL ballclub as the Chicago Cougars raced out to a record setting start to the Continental Association season only to suddenly fall apart, and suffer possibly the greatest collapse in FABL history in the second half. After the All-star game, which was a dandy and won 1-0 by the Fed, the Cincinnati Cannons got hot and -following a colossal deadline deal with the Chicago Chiefs to acquire Rabbit Day and Tom Bird- the Cannons rolled to a second straight pennant.

Meanwhile the Federal Association was a dogfight all season long before the Philadelphia Keystones -led by one of the best offensive seasons ever recorded courtesy of Bobby Barrell- emerged as the winners. Barrell would be an unanimous choice as the Federal Association Whitney winner but he and his mates could not get past a Cannons team - one aided by a comeback season from Bobby's big brother Tom Barrell on the mound- and the Cannons prevailed in a dramatic World Championship Series that went the distance for the third year in a row.

Autumn gave baseball fans plenty of bad news with Rabbit Day's retirement announcement after 18 seasons and 321 career victories, plus the loss of many more star players to the war effort. The tide was turning in the war -which was the greatest news of all this year- and it meant there was at least a slow trickle of athletes returing to the professional sporting scene. And not just in baseball. World Heavyweight Champion Hector Sawyer was discharged from the Army in December and will return to the ring to defend his title in February of 1945. We have had a World Title Fight for the first time in nearly four years as Archie Rees defended his Middleweight crown before 20,000 soldiers in England with a 13th round knockout of former champ Jorge Cuellar. That bout seemed to drive home the fact that there was indeed an end in sight, and the world could hopefully soon return to a sense of normalcy.

Football gave us a mighty Rome State team - perhaps one of the best in collegiate history- led by their backfield All-American duo of sophomores Gus Thompson and Chet Donelson. The pro game gave us the emergence of Billy Bockhorst - the 1942 Christian Trophy winner at Noble Jones College- as a dual threat quarterback in Pittsburgh, the dominance of New York Stars running back Jerrry McElheny and the Philadelphia Frigates defensive backfield. It also gave us the swan song of Stan Vaught - the great Detroit end who almost singlehandedly was responsible for the new reliance on the passing game. Unfortunately for Detroit fans there was no celebration to go along with Vaught's trip off in to the sunset, as the Philadelphia Frigates defense -with 6 interceptions- was just too strong for Vaught's Maroons in the championship game.

1945 promises to be a banner year, with hopes that much of the world -sporting and otherwise- will return to normal. There are many great things expected in the year ahead including two brand new professional football leagues, world championship boxing and perhaps even the return to the game of many of the FABL stars who -like the rest of us- have had our focus in a different direction for so much of this decade.

TALES FROM THE WOLVES DEN

Let's see if we can put together a roster of the greatest players who have donned a Wolves uniform through their 63 year history. It will give you, the reader, something else to debate over the Christmas season rather than the events of WWII which has now dimmed the last six Christmas seasons in Canada. I have searched old copies of the Mail & Empire for stories about the early days. Although they are not numerous they do provide some stories of bygone years and players. To compile this list the writer also talked to old time fans and reporters about the early days in an attempt to gain insight on the 19th and early 20th Century teams. This Mail & Empire article is meant to spark conversation, it is one man's list. Comments will be welcome from the fans, reporters all throughout the FABL.

First of brief franchise history:
1882-91: The team began as the Provincials in the Border Association. After winning the championship the inaugural season the Provincials never again came close to a second championship season.
Overall record (10 seasons) 514-701
Best Finish 1st 1882
Worst Finish 8th 1890, 1891

1892-99: Toronto joins the FABL after the decline of the Border Association that is well chronicled by other reporters.
The team replaces the Provincials nickname becoming known as the Wolves in 1899.
FABL holds its first World Series between the Federal and Continental Association pennant winner in 1893 after the demise of the Border Association.
Toronto recovers after a mid-decade slump to win the first franchise title in 1898.
Overall record (8 seasons) 525-582 (.474)
Best Finish 1st, win World Series 1898
Worst Finish 8th 1893, 1895, 1896

1900-1909: Most successful decade in terms of winning percentage for the team.
NY Stars are the most successful CA team, Boston Minuteman win five pennants consecutively fashion in the Fed.
Start of the big two era for Toronto Allen, Sis then hope to hang on until they can pitch again for the Wolves. Julious begins his four decade career as a manager.
Overall Record 869-669 (.565)
Best Finish 1st, lost World Series in both 1904 and 1909
Worst Finish 7th 1906, 1907

1910-1919: Wolves begin a rapid decline after a title in 1911. One wonders how bad it would have been without Allen and Sis.
CA sees the rise then decline of many teams only the Clippers repeat as pennant winners. FA also has a competitive decade Detroit are the only winners back to back.
Overall Record 645-712 (.457)
Best Finish 1st, win World Series 1911
Worst Finish 7th, 1917

1920-1929: Another decade of misery for Toronto fans, finish no higher than third after Allen and Sis hang up the cleats.
CA sees the Stars win three in a row mid-decade with the Philadelphia Sailors becoming dominate at the end of the Roaring Twenties.
FA has no repeat pennant winners.
Overall Record 657-816 (.446)
Best Finish 3rd, 1926, 1927
Worst Finish 8th, 1921, 1922, 1923

1930-39: Worst decade winning percentage in Toronto. Light appears on the horizon after the acquisition of McCormick, Howerton in 1938. Garrison, Hancock drafted. CA sees many classic battles between Cleveland Foresters, Brooklyn Kings go down to the wire. FA has NY Gothams win four pennants, Philadelphia Keystones win back to back in 1932-33.
Overall Record 657-875 (.430)
Best Finish 2nd 1938
Worst Finish 8th 1932, 1933

1940-44: Toronto led by Fred McCormick wins title in 1940 as draft picks from the lean years populate the lineup. WWII changes the entire landscape. All FABL teams are confronted with manpower changes necessitated by players going off to serve their country.
Overall Record 411-359 (.540)
Best Finish 1st 1940, won World Series
Worst Finish 5th 1941, 1942

ALL-TIME TORONTO WOLVES TEAM

C: Jake Ebner- Catching over the years has never been a strong position for the team. Ebner started 696 games for the Wolves 1909-15, the New Orleans, LA native compiled a career .262/..358/.317 with 235 RBI. Ebner's highlight was leading the league in BB in 87 in 1909. Current catcher Clarence Howerton could be considered for this position but he only came north at age 28 had he spent his entire career with the Wolves he would probably easily replace Ebner once he decides to hang up the cleats.

1B: Bill Harris- A position that was adequately manned over the years but with no one standout. Harris started 1048 games in Toronto 1909-16 this Crosse, WI product put up consistent, but not spectacular, numbers finishing with .292/.350/.426 520 RBI in 1109 games. Harris will be easily replaced on this list if and when Fred McCormick returns from the current conflict with even a modest decline in skills after leaving in 1941. McCormick's issue is the lack of time in a Toronto uniform, he has only spent three full seasons in Toronto, but what seasons they were for the fans. McCormick has a line of .360/.455/.570 in 477 games. At age 35 already can he be considered an all-time team great if he does not put up at least a few more above average seasons? Walter Pack also has shown the potential to be considered for this honour if he can return to his 1943 performance.

2B: John Partain- Partain's was tremendous second baseman robbing countless hits from the opposition. No telling how many games, big innings he literally saved for the Wolves. Spent entire 15 year career in Toronto 1900-15 starter 1902-10, native of Philadelphia, PA was also no slouch at the plated finishing with .287/.333/.380 604 RBI over 6103 times at the plate. Current players Hal Wood, Mike Rollinson look to have more offensive contribution but neither have anywhere close to the fielding prowess of Partain. Either Wood or Rollinson would have both up their game with the bat and improve significantly in the field to even be considered as a replacement for Partain on this list.

3B: Ossie Julious- Brett had difficulty here due to Julious' relatively short career in Canada 1897-1906 after coming from the Gothams in spring training 1897, Oyster Bay, NY started 821 games .327/.450/.408 402 RBI. The decision was to include him because "How do you not include a member of the Hall of Fame?" . A close second was Charlie Nabb who was a starter for entire 17-year career in Toronto, Brett thought a line of .277/.338/.360 over 9276 times in the batter's box deserved at least some consideration for this team. Nabb was also another defensive gem taking away sure hits off the bat into LF. It was as though Ockie Holliday when he was drafted he would challenge for this honour after his retirement, he will have to have a number of high performance seasons, his first 4 years as a starter have been lackluster for the this highly touted 1937 draft pick.

SS: Al Stout-The second half of the middle infield double duo, balls on the ground to the middle of the infield rarely made it on to the OF grass. Friendship, ME native spent 9 years in Toronto starting from 1909-15 in 1072 games .275/.361/..391 377 RBI. Stout and Partain kept the Wolves close in many games with the starting pitcher's best friend, the double play, during the first half of the second decade of the 20th Century. Charlie Artuso may eventually be brought into the conversation in the future. He was the first overall pick in 1934, he has already held down the starting SS job for 7 years at age 29.

LF: Jeff Greene- Greene is oldest player Brett selected his team. LF has not been a position of power over the life of the franchise. Only in Toronto 1891-97 put up .306/.389/.435 with 94 triples 457 RBI for this native of Pittsburgh, PA. At this position there is room for replacement. Can someone like Juan Pomales with his two-way abilities have a career that would vault him to all-time status?

CF: Freddie Malley- If LF has never been a real position of strength CF has not been any better over the years. This Ledyard, CT native was the best of a substandard bunch, steady but not spectacular .270/.324/.392 682 RBI over a 12 year career, all in Toronto. With the players in CF for today's Wolves there is definitely room for one on this team. Will Stickels stay long enough in Toronto to be considered for a Wolves team? Will Tom Frederick continue his promising play when he finally returns from overseas service?

RF: Rich Rowley- While the other two outfield positions has no obvious choice that was not the problem in right. Rowley, a Bedford, TX native spent entire 11 year career in Toronto .328/.402/.450 702 702 RBI. In ten years as a starter he led the league in RBI during 1899 with 116. In the days where field conditions were nowhere today's standards Rowley was an above average fielder at his position. Any of the current players at this position have a long way to go before they are even in the conversation to replace Rowley.

P: Allan Allen- Toronto only has three former players in the Hall so you cannot leave anyone off the team. Allen is a legendary name, the current Pitcher of the Year award is named in after him, he spent 10 season in Toronto leading the league in wins twice 1904, 1906. To mention all the categories he led the league in while in Toronto would take up too much newspaper space. Almost half of his 514 wins, 251, came as a Toronto hurler.

P: Charlie Sis- Another pitcher of legend, spent 13 years in Toronto after coming out of retirement in 1908. For the next decade he dominated CA hitters with seeming ease leading the circuit in wins three years running 1915-17. In 12 of 13 seasons he won more than 20 games for Toronto.

P: Birdie Smith- Smith spent 16 years with the Wolves his 155-192 4.33 career is not going to get into the Hall but he was best pitcher for bad teams logging over 230 innings for 10 straight seasons leading the CA in wins (21) in 1925. Birdie gave everything he had and more to the Wolves organization.

P: Don Cannady- Cannady suffered the same fate as Birdie Smith, a good pitcher eating up innings on a bad Toronto Wolves teams. Even with his lack of support Don managed a 129-130 3.95 record leading the league in wins (25) in 1926. Ten years in Toronto must have seemed like an eternity after he came over from the Gothams in 1922.

Although the present day Wolves seem to have a wealth of strong starters it will be a herculean task to replace either of the top two on any list but Smith and Cannady could be targets for present Wolves hurlers Garrison and Hancock in the future.

Manager- Ossie Julious- Julious will make the all-time team in two locations 3B, Manager. He is in the Hall due to his managerial skills, as skipper in Toronto from 1906-28 led the Wolves through both good times and bad. He led the Toronto squad to a World Series victory in 1911 over the Detroit Dynamos after coming up short in 1908 against the same team. After leaving before the 1929 season Julious went on to manage the Baltimore Cannons for 8 years then moving on to Detroit for his final season in 1937. In 32 seasons as a FABL manager he compiled a record of 2276-2418 (.484), his only championship was the 1911 title with the Wolves.

There are no relievers on this first rendition of an all-time team due to the fact this is a relatively recent addition to the game's strategy.

BANNER YEAR AHEAD EXPECTED IN FIGHT GAME

Like the rest of the sporting scene, the boxing world is anticipating a banner year and a return to normalcy as the year progresses. More and more fighters are returning from long stints in the army and navy and when the war finally ends there will be plenty more pugilisitic talent ready to make it's mark on the sport.

1944 finally saw the first World Title Fight in over 3 years when Archie Rees stopped Jorge Cuellar on a September evening in Liverpool before a screaming crowd of soldiers and sailors. Nothing is finalized at this point but it is expected that Rees will defend his middleweight title again sometime in the year ahead and Heavyweight king Hector Sawyer will also make his first title defense in 4 years. The welterweight division, without a champion since early 1939 when Brit Jimmy 'Kid' Simpson retired at the age of 37 with a 59-2-0 career record, should also have it's new belt holder at sometime this year.

Here are the champions and top contenders in each of the major divisions

Code:


HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION
 RK    NAME		AGE   REC     HOMETOWN
CHAMP  Hector Sawyer     30  49-3-1  New Orleans, LA
 2     Cannon Cooper     23  15-0    Rockford, IL
 3     Mark Fountain     26  18-1-1  New York, NY
 4     Scott Baker       25  11-0-2  Philadelphia, PA
 5     Ken Taylor        24  10-1-3  Sacramento, CA

MIDDLEWEIGHT DIVISION
 RK    NAME		AGE   REC     HOMETOWN
CHAMP Archie Rees        32  34-4-1   Tadcaster, England
 2    Edouard Desmarais  28  34-0     Paris, France
 3    Frank Melanson     27  27-0-1   Pittsburgh, Pa.
 4    Jack Rainey        30  21-2     New York, NY
 5    Jorge Cuellar*     35  42-2-2   Zaragoza, Spain
*is believed to be retired now

WELTERWEIGHT DIVISION (no champion at this point)
 RK    NAME		AGE   REC     HOMETOWN
 1   John Gregory       26   13-1-1   Vista, CA 
 2   Dennis O'Keefe     28   17-1     Jacksonville, FL
 3   George Gibbs       27   13-0     Pueblo, CO
 4   Mark Westlake      33   18-1-1   Biloxi, MS
 5   Mitchell McFadden  30   21-3-1   Detroit, MI

McELHENY NAMED AFA MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYER

New York Football Stars halfback Jerry McElheny was named the American Football Association's Most Valuable Player after a record setting campaign. The second year back burst on to the scene last year when he finished second in the AFA in rushing yardage with 783 while also leading the league with 9 rushing touchdowns. This season he became just the fourth player in modern AFA history to top the 1,000 yard mark while also establishing a record for rushing touchdowns with 15, smashing a mark that was a decade old.

It has been quite a start to McElheny's pro grid career, especially when you consider how close he was to having no career at all. The Atlanta native was a two-sport star at Georgia Baptist -running track in addition to playing football for the Gators- but suffered a devastating knee injury that cost him all of the 1942 season and made him 4-F for the war effort. He was content to begin life in business until a chance meeting with Tom Barrell at a Georgia Baptist alumni event in February of 1943 in which Tom Barrell put him in touch with his brother Dan. Dan, thinking of his own football injury and how he overcame it to have a successful big league baseball career, convinced McElheny to give foobtall one more chance. It has clearly paid off for McElheny, and the New York Stars.

McElheny is also one of just 3 players who made the all-star team for the second year in a row. He is joined by Detroit Maroons veteran end Stan Vaught and Chicago center Bus McLean. Here are the 1944 All-Star Team members.

Code:

      1944 AFA ALL-STAR TEAM
POS	   NAME		     TEAM
QB	Billy Bockhorst	Pittsburgh Paladins
B	Jerry McElheny	New York Stars
B	Ollie Bishop	Philadelphia Frigates
B	Tommy Milatz	New York Stars
E	Stan Vaught	Detroit Maroons
E	Don McIntyre	Philadelphia Frigates
T	Glen Winters	New York Stars
G	Paul Kline	Washington Wasps
C	Bus McLean	Chicago Wildcats
G	John Michaels	New York Stars
T	Justin Thomas	Philadelphia Frigates

AVIATORS NEED BIG WIN IN EAST-WEST CLASSIC

Chances are very remote that anyone will overtake Rome State for the National Championship of collegiate football but a pair of schools will do their best. The Centurions do not accept Classic bids so their season -and a completely dominant one in which they outscored their opponents by a 452-52 margin- is over with a perfect 9-0 record. Central Ohio can do one better and finish 10-0 if the Aviators can prevail over Coastal California in today's East-West Classic while Iowa A&M can run their record to 9-0 with a win at Dallas in the Lone Star Classic against Payne State.

In all there are 5 classic games on the docket for today with the Hawaii Classic once again cancelled as it has been since the attack on Pearl Harbor. Most eyes will be focused squarely on Santa Ana where the Great Lakes Alliance champions from Columbus, Ohio will attempt to prove they are worthy of the number one ranking. It is likely a losing cause -even if the Aviators win- as the chances of swaying support away from a dominant Rome State eleven seems remote at best.

NEW YEAR'S CLASSIC SCHEDULE
EAST-WEST CLASSIC (Santa Ana, CA) Central Ohio (9-0) vs Coastal California (8-1)
SUNSHINE CLASSIC (Miami, FL) Noble Jones College (8-1) vs Easten Oklahoma (7-1)
LONE STAR CLASSIC (Dallas, TX) Payne State (7-1) vs Iowa A&M (8-0)
CAJUN CLASSIC (New Orlenas, LA) Alabama Baptist (8-0-1) vs Frankford State (7-2)
DESERT CLASIC (El Paso, TX) St Blane (6-3) vs Darnell State (8-2)

U.S. LOOP WOULD DRAW GRIDMEN FROM POOL

Representatives of the newly organized United States Football League, which now plans to operate with teams in just six cities next year, discussed an entirely new method of selecting players at a session in Akron, Ohio last week. League President Urban Dane, who won fame as a 3-time All-American back at Lincoln College, said players who would play on league teams would be distributed from a players' pool selected by a league scouting organization.

Members agreed not to deal with any player under contract to an American Football Association team, but said they considered the AFA reserve list "open territory and will sign any player not definitely under contract."

The U.S. loop had originally envisioned 10 to 12 teams for next season but now find themselves with only six planning to compete in 1945, with two others -Washington and New York- eyeing a 1946 kick-off.

SOLDIERS HOLD THEIR OWN CLASSIC GAME

Spaghetti Classic HQ, Somewhere in Italy, Jan 1 --Battle weary soldiers, flaunting the noisy German radio, which insists that their festivities will be interrupted by a Nazi bomb attack, were ready today for their own New Year's Day football game in which teams from the Twelfth Air Force and Fifth Army will battle for the championship of the Italian war theater, before 25,000 servicemen.

There will be a lot of the same participants, but in a different setting from last year's Arab Classic game in north Africa, reflecting the progress of the war. The hope is unanimous that this will be the first and last Spaghetti Classic game, too, but the GIs are out to make it a big occasion just the same. Although this undesignated site is a stadium which holds more than 45,000 and there are enough service men to pack it, there won't be a capacity house- the war is too close for that.

CAROLINA POLY FINALLY LOSES

The Carolina Poly Cardinals have looked unbeatable at times this season but two days before Christmas they finally ended up on the losing end of a score. The Cardinals made a holiday trek into the Lone Star state and were upended in a surprising upset 36-35 by Texas Gulf Coast. The Hurricanes entered the game with a 3-5 record but the hot hand of junior guard John Toombs paved the way for the surprise victory. Toombs scored a game high 14 points but it was a little used senior backup by the name of Ernest Shuman who was the hero. Shuman has never started a game in his 4 years at Texas Gulf Coast and averages just 2.2 points per game this season. His only shot attempt in his 7 minutes against Carolina Poly was the biggest bucket of his career, sinking an 11 foot set shot with just 12 seconds remaining in the game to prove the margin of victory.

The Cardinals had no after effects of the shocking loss, as they completed their western holiday swing with a dominant 50-36 victory in Phoenix over the Valley State Gunslingers and then tacked on two more wins on their home court this week. The result is the Cardinals remain at the top of the collegiate rankings with a 9-1 record and continue to look towards the start of section play, which for the Cardinals begins with a tough one when they travel to Raleigh for a showdown with 5th ranked North Carolina Tech in just over 2 weeks time.

COLLEGE ATHLETES IN 4-F FACE DRAFT BOARD REVIEWS

Military 4-F's currently performing in 1-A fashion for college athletic teams may expect to hear from their local draft boards one of these days. The Office of War Mobilization has stated that Director James F. Byrnes' recent order to review 4-F classifications of professional athletes applies also to college sports figures.

Although the Byrnes directive does not call for any revolutionary change in established Selective Service practice, officials said it might have the effect of speeding review of 'borderline' cases. Selective Service officials pointed out that no athlete, college or professional, is deferrable because he is an athlete.

"A man with a punctured eardrum might be a 4-F and still able to spring 90 yards to a touchdown in the last 30 seconds of play," one official said. However, there frequently are instances in which a registrant has a slight defect which may correct itself subsequently. He would be classified 4-F but six months later might be place in 1-A.

Code:

COLLEGIATE BASKETBALL RANKINGS
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
1. Carolina Poly (71) 9-1 1799 2 South Atlantic Conference
2. Great Plains State (1) 14-2 1715 3 Indy Midwest
3. Mobile Maritime 9-1 1612 1 South Atlantic Conference
4. CC Los Angeles 8-1 1538 4 West Coast Athletic Association
5. North Carolina Tech 11-2 1493 8 South Atlantic Conference
6. St. Patrick's 12-2 1483 5 Indy Northeast
7. Liberty College 13-2 1432 9 Indy East
8. Rainier College 7-1 1281 7 West Coast Athletic Association
9. Annapolis Maritime 11-2 1254 11 Indy South
10. Western Florida 7-2 1126 6 Deep South Conference
11. Chesapeake State 7-2 1099 13 South Atlantic Conference
12. Mississippi A&M 10-3 960 21 Deep South Conference
13. Garden State 9-3 951 25 Liberty Conference
14. Lincoln 7-3 536 24 Great Lakes Alliance
15. Plover College 11-3 534 NR Indy Midwest
16. Western Iowa 5-3 511 14 Great Lakes Alliance
17. St. Blane 11-4 496 16 Indy East
18. Bardney 11-3 493 NR Indy Northeast
19. Piedmont University 13-3 481 15 Indy South
20. Central Ohio 8-3 466 NR Great Lakes Alliance
21. Empire State 7-2 397 NR Liberty Conference
22. Miami State 11-3 384 10 Indy South
23. Middlesex 11-3 360 NR Indy Northeast
24. Travis College 7-3 293 NR Southwestern Alliance
25. St. Pancras 11-3 274 NR Indy East
Others Receiving Votes:
Ohio Poly 11-4 120 Indy Midwest
Conwell College 9-3 102 Indy East
Oklahoma City State 9-3 57 Plains Athletic Association
Elyria 9-3 57 Indy East
St. Martin's College 12-4 52 Indy Northeast
Noble Jones College 8-3 19 Deep South Conference
Coastal California 7-4 7 West Coast Athletic Association
Alabama Baptist 7-3 5 Deep South Conference
Custer College 8-3 5 West Coast Athletic Association
Wisconsin State 6-3 4 Great Lakes Alliance
Redwood 8-3 4 West Coast Athletic Association

RESULTS INVOLVING RANKED TEAMS
MONDAY DECEMBER 25
#7 Liberty College 61 Pierpont 35
#10 Western Florida 50 Coastal State 37
#14 Lincoln 52 Maldin 46
Topeka State 35 #16 Western Iowa 33

TUESDAY DECEMBER 26
#1 Carolina Poly 50 Valley State 35
#5 North Carolina Tech 48 Berwick 45
#9 Annapolis Maritime 37 Lane State 32
#23 Middlesex 60 Bronx Tech 51
#25 St Pancras 40 Manhattan Tech 34

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 27
#2 Great Plains State 54 Daniel Boone College 43
#3 Mobile Maritime 43 Glover(GA) 36
#12 Mississippi A&M 41 Capital(MS) University 18
#15 Plover College 45 Cumberland 37
#17 St Blane 64 Minnesota Tech 35
#18 Bardney 50 George Fox 44
#20 Central Ohio 48 Jersey City Tech 40
#24 Travis College 44 Spokane State 42

THURSDAY DECEMBER 28
#4 CC Los Angeles 48 Topeka State 40
#6 St Patrick's 55 Ellery 45
#7 Liberty College 54 Brunswick 41
Campion 42 #10 Western Florida 39
#16 Western Iowa 54 Poweshiek 34

FRIDAY DECEMBER 29
#1 Carolina Poly 55 St Matthew's College 38
#2 Great Plains State 53 Lubbock State 46
#24 Travis College 51 #3 Mobile Maritime 49
#5 North Carolina Tech 42 Daniel Boone College 19
#9 Annapolis Maritime 55 NW New York State 41
#12 Mississippi A&M 43 #22 Miami State 35
#15 Plover College 43 Wisconsin State 41

SATURDAY DECEMBER 30
#13 Garden State 62 #17 St Blane 61
Cowpens State 38 #19 Piedmont University 36
#21 Empire State 54 Brandywine 51
#23 Middlesex 44 Hampden 29

SUNDAY DECEMBER 31
#1 Carolina Poly 51 El Paso Methodist 43
#15 Plover College 53 Laclede 46
#22 Miami State 48 Northern California 45
#25 St Pancras 62 Bigsby College 59

Code:

     		       AIAA SCORING LEADERS
     # PLAYER                   POS   MIN   PTS  REB  AST  TEAM 
     1 Jimmy Martens             SF  35.4  18.6  4.8  1.3  Tempe College              
     2 Morgan Melcher            SG  33.8  17.4  4.1  1.5  Coastal California         
     3 Max Lucia                 PF  34.8  16.2  6.0  0.8  Chesapeake State           
     4 Darron Gaynor             PG  35.1  15.9  2.8  1.9  Miners College             
     5 Preston Fannin            SF  32.6  15.2  4.7  1.0  Columbia Military Academy  
     6 Trent Lockett             SF  32.1  14.7  3.4  1.7  Brookland                  
     7 William Gulley             C  31.8  14.6  6.8  1.2  Conwell College            
     8 Lesley Fry                PG  34.9  14.3  1.5  2.2  Richmond State             
     9 Buddy Gore                PG  34.6  14.2  2.6  1.4  American Atlantic          
    10 Ned Nolan                 SG  33.3  13.9  5.3  2.3  Liberty College            
    11 Romeo Hales               SF  31.1  13.8  4.1  2.5  Wisconsin Catholic         
    12 Kevin Kennard             SF  31.7  13.8  5.2  1.8  St. Magnus                 
    13 Kenny Irizarry            SF  30.9  13.4  5.3  1.5  Perry State College        
    14 Carl Phipps               SF  29.9  13.3  4.1  1.5  St. Blane                  
    15 Dan Newlin                SF  35.0  13.0  4.5  2.3  Wyoming A&I                
    16 Charles Robb              PF  32.7  12.9  3.7  1.7  Lexington State            
    17 Dean Sollars              PG  31.8  12.8  2.7  1.1  Alexandria                 
    18 Steve Pesce                C  33.1  12.8  4.6  2.5  Charleston Tech            
    19 Ruth Kahler               SG  33.1  12.7  2.9  2.9  St. Pancras                
    20 Sal Gresham               SF  29.2  12.7  4.2  1.8  Coastal State

Code:

				AIAA ASSIST LEADERS
     # PLAYER                   POS   MIN   PTS  REB  AST  TEAM                       
     1 Oswald Sansom             PG  33.3   5.8  1.3  5.9  Charleston Tech            
     2 Jonathan Suazo            PG  34.0   7.5  3.8  5.5  Plover College             
     3 Bernard Tharp             PG  31.6   5.1  2.9  5.4  Lincoln                    
     4 Hunter Enright            PG  35.6   9.7  3.4  5.2  Frankford State            
     5 Stephen Rubalcava         PG  31.2   9.3  1.2  4.9  Detroit City College       
     6 Leland Francisco          PG  33.8   3.9  2.7  4.7  Perry State College        
     7 Wilford Eakins            SG  33.7   6.3  1.9  4.5  Arkansas A&T               
     8 Eusebio Constant          PG  33.0   9.1  3.8  4.5  Coastal State              
     9 Joe *Hampton              PG  31.5   8.0  2.9  4.5  Western Iowa               
    10 Arthur Pugh               PG  30.5   7.0  2.6  4.4  Central Ohio

The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 12/31/1944

An assassantion attempt on Prime Minister Winston Churchill by left-wing ELAS forces was foiled when nearly a ton of dynamite hidden in a sewer just outside British headquarters in Athens only a few hours before Churchill was to open a peace conference in the Greek capital.
The German army drove three fast-rolling Panzar columns into the France-Belgium border area in a new surge of power that ripped away a deep American bulge in it's right flank and linked up the northern and central prongs of the Nazi offensive in a solid 35-mile front. The news turned positive by the end of the week as American reinforcements halted the German push. However, the week ended with a critical battle underway around Bastogne, where German forces have launched a 2-way attack against the US 3rd Army's corridor through the city.
Following the capture of Leyte, which General Douglas MacArthur says cost Japan 113,221 men in their worst military defeat in history, American forces are setting their sights for other Philippine islands.
Tokyo continues to be the target of multiple B-29 bombing runs this week and the latest tally from the Navy states the total number of enemy vessels sunk or seriously damaged in the Pacific now numbers 1,090.

Jiggs McGee · 12-13-2022, 12:10 PM

JANUARY 8, 1945

NEW YORK! NEW YORK!

STARS & GOTHAMS LAND TOP TWO DRAFT SLOTS

The new FABL lottery system is a big hit in the city of New York as the Stars and Gothams landed the top two spots in the draft lottery. The new system, designed to encourage teams to focus on improving, rewards clubs with additional entries in the draft lottery based on how well they fared vs their previous season record. The lottery slots will determine the first two rounds of the draft with the regular season standings providing the order for the remainder of the 25 round draft. As has always been the custom the seleciton order will alternate between the Continental and Federal Association teams with the CA getting the odd picks this time around.

Here is the order of the first two rounds:
1 Stars
2 Gothams
3 Cougars
4 Eagles
5 Kings
6 Dynamos
7 Wolves
8 Miners
9 Foresters
10 Chiefs
11 Saints
12 Pioners (originally Minutemen)
13 Sailors
14 Pioneers
15 Pioneers (originally Cannons)
16 Keystones

CHRISTIAN TROPHY WINNER GOES FIRST

The New York Stars got the draft started with the announcement that Christian Trophy winning outfielder Bob Riggins from the National Collegiate Champion Grange College Mustangs would be their selection as the first overall choice. A two-time All-American selection, the 21 year old Detroit native topped the TWIFB mock draft in August after a .333,10,49 showing in 62 games this past season. Riggins is just the second Christian Trophy winning position player to be selected first overall in the draft, joining Narragansett's Sal Pestilli who was taken by Detroit at the top of the 1936 draft. Three pitchers have won the Christian and gone first overall. They are Tommy Wilcox (1928 Liberty College -Brooklyn), Joe Hancock (1933 Henry Hudson-Toronto) and Bob Arman (1941 Bluegrass State - Boston).
*** STARS SURPRISE WITH DEAL FOR SECOND PICK ***

The second selection still went to New York but it ended up also going to the Stars as the Gothams made a deal with their cross-town rivals. The second overall pick went to the Stars with three prospects heading the other way. The pick was used by the Stars on high school shortstop Ralph 'Woody' Hanson, a 17 year old from Beaver, Pa. with limited experience but loads of potential.

The cost was high as the Stars sent top pitching prospects Wally Hunter and Jerry Decker along with young centerfielder Flipper Robinson. Hunter is the key piece of the deal, a 23 year old who went 2-2 in a brief stint with the Stars in 1943 before joining the Army Air Corps. He may well prove to be a better hitter than he is a pitcher but is currently ranked as the 15th best pitching prospect in the game by OSA. Decker, 22, has been in the Army since December of 1941, but is still considered to be close to a top 100 prospect by the league scouting service, which feels he can become a solid starter. Robinson, also 22, is the highest rated of the Stars deep collection of centerfield prospects but, like the other two, is also away at war -serving in the Navy the past two years. A 1941 second round pick, ht hit .285 at AA in his only full season of minor league ball.

***COUGARS GET CONSOLATION PRIZE ***

The Chicago Cougars are coming off an awful collapse last season but they were thrilled to land the third slot in the draft lottery. It was a good consolation prize for the Windy City Kitties and they also landed their back-up choice in the draft. Cougars brass, like most other teams, had their eyes on Bob Riggins as their top prospect but when Riggins went first to the Stars the Cougars nabbed a nice fallback choice in Liberty College standout centerfielder Johnny Peters. Peters, like Riggins, is a two-time All-American selection and was a finalist in voting for the Christian Trophy this past season. OSA calls him a potential elite centerfielder on a contending team and there is a chance that he, just like Riggins, may be ready to step directly into the big leagues when his AIAA season ends in June.

Code:

             1945 FABL ROOKIE DRAFT ROUND 1
 #  TM   PLAYER	       POS AGE  SCHOOL 		 HOMETOWN
 1 NYS  Bob Riggins     CF  21  Grange College   Detroit, MI
 2 NYS  Ralph Hanson    SS  17  Beaver(PA) HS    Beaver, PA
 3 CHC  Johnny Peters   CF  20  Liberty College  Lawrenceburg, TN
 4 WSH
 5 BKN
 6 DET
 7 TOR
 8 PIT
 9 CLE
10 CHI
11 MON
12 STL
13 PHS
14 STL
15 STL
16 PHK

ROME STATE DECLARED NATIONAL CHAMPION

For the first time in school history the Rome State Centurions have claimed the collegiate football national championship. Led by the sophomore backfield duo of All-Americans Gus Thompson and Chet Donelson, the military academy completely dominated the opposition in posting a perfect 9-0 record while outscoring opponents by a 453-52 margin. It was not a case of the Centurions simply running up the score against inferior competition as they dominated such powerful teams as St Blane (54-7) and Pierpont (47-3) while also ending a 3 year losing streak to rival Ananpolis Maritime with a convincing 38-16 victory over the Navigators early last month.

Fans in the midwest might try to state a case for either Central Ohio (10-0) or Iowa A&M (9-0) after each came up with a New Year's Day victory but it is clear that no other team this season could compare with the Centurions dominating ground game. St Blane might have had visions of doing so, and the Fighting Saints were considered the top team in the nation by some at the midway point of the season but successive losses to Annapolis Maritime, Rome State and St Magnus doomed the Saints. To make matters worse St Blane was beaten for a 4th time when Darnell State upset the Saints 23-21 in the Desert Classic.

Code:

FINAL 1944 COLLEGE FOOTBALL RANKINGS
 #  SCHOOL		 REC
 1 Rome State		 9-0
 2 Central Ohio		10-0
 3 Iowa A&M		 9-0
 4 Alabama Baptist       7-1-1
 5 Noble Jones College  10-1
 6 Charleston Tech	 8-1
 7 Payne State		 8-2
 8 Coastal California	 8-2
 9 Frankford State	 9-2
10 Darnell State	 9-3
11 George Fox		 7-0-1
12 Eastern Oklahoma	 7-2
13 Annapolis Maritime	 7-2
14 Georgia Baptist	 7-3
15 Indiana A&M		 7-3
16 Detroit City College  7-3
17 St. Blane		 7-4
18 Boulder State	 6-1-1
19 Rainier College	 6-2
20 Northern Mississippi  6-2

NEW YEAR'S CLASSIC RESULTS
Central Ohio 24 Coastal California 17 East-West Classic (Pasadena CA)
Frankford State 31 Alabama Baptist 21 Cajun Classic (New Orleans LA)
Noble Jones College 35 Eastern Oklahoma 3 Sunshine Classic (Miami FL)
Darnell State 23 St. Blane 21 Desert Classic (El Paso TX)
Iowa A&M 14 Payne State 10 Lone Star Classic (Austin TX)

CASE CAN BE MADE FOR CENTURIONS AS BEST COLLEGE GRID ELEVEN EVER ASSEMBLED

With world events clamouring for the nations attention and the service academies preoccupied the past three years with far more important things than collegiate football it is easy to see why little time has been spent admiring what Rome State's grid eleven accomplished this past year. A perfect 9-0 season, outscoring opponents -and no cupcakes amongst them- by a whooping 455-52 margin. Simply destroying the likes of St Blane, Pierpont, the Coast Guard, Carolina Poly and having absolutely no trouble at all with their rivals from Annapolis Maritime. No less a source that Pittsburgh State legendary coach Patsy O'Callaghan remarking with awe that Rome State was the best college team he had ever faced after his Finches were pasted 53-0 early in the season.

A team that feature a pair of All-American backs in Gus Thompson and Chet Donelson - who tore through opposing defenses with the ball and crushed opponents dreams time and again with their interceptions while on defense themselves. Sophomores both, arguably the best sophomore duo ever to play the sport and one has to wonder just what they might accomplish on the gridiron the next two years -assuming the army does not fast-track the duo through Rome State and on to the battlefield.

There have been some great college teams of the past. Teams like the great 10-0 St Blane team of 1926 with a backfield deeper and as impressive as the Rome State pair because it had four of them in Ben Montgomery, Frank Oliver, Casper Wilson and Roger Cass or the amazing Georgia Baptist eleven that went a perfect 11-0 and an even more perfectly shutout every opponent it faced that year. One might also make a case for one of those Centerville teams from the very early days of football led by the great John Oxendine. In truth there really is no way to definitivly prove which was the greatest college football outfit ever assembled but you can rest assured that decades from now when the conversation comes up there will be mention of the 1944 Rome State Centurions. That much seems certain.

CAGE COACH FOILS BOOKIES BY REJECTING FREE THROWS

The first known attempt of a basketball coach to foil New York bookmakers was revealed last week after Bronx Tech beat Huntington State, 59 to 53, at the Bigsby Garden. The bookies foe, in this instance, was Christopher Malik, Bronx Tech Flying Dutchmen head coach, who admitted after the January 5th game that he ordered one of his players to waive the free throw and take possession of the ball at midcourt, rather than take a chance of the charity toss being good and giving bookmakers a bonanza.

It was explained that Malik's club was a 6 to 8 point favourite, which meant that a person betting on Bronx Tech gave 8 points, and if he wagered on Huntington State he received six points on an even money basis.

Andy Chester of Bronx Tech was fouled with only 1 second to go and his team leading by 6 points. If Chester had taken the shot and made it, Tech would probably have won by 7 points. Had this been the difference in score, the gamblers would have collected all bats, is in New York basketball wagering, where betting points vary only two points, such as 2-4, 4-6, 6-8, etc. the bookies are the winners if the split is down the middle. As in this case it would have been "seven", the difference before six and eight had Malik not decided to ruin the bookmakers evenings.

CCLA AND RAINER COLLEGE LEADING PACIFIC CHARGE

Don't look now but Rainier College -winners of the last two AIAA basktball championship tournaments and three in the past five years, are quickly on the rise once again. Since dropping their season opener to Golden Gate, the Majestics have been perfect and improved to 10-1 on the year and the number six ranking in the weekly AIAA poll. Rainier is not the only Pacific power on the rise as CC Los Angles (11-1) and Coastal California (9-4) are also starting to make their presence felt.

Things are also looking up in the Middle West as the Great Lakes Alliance - after a very shakey start for the conference as a whole, is on the rise. Western Iowa, Lincoln and Central Ohio have all cracked the top twenty-five rankings.

Code:

COLLEGIATE BASKETBALL RANKINGS
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
1. Carolina Poly (67) 10-1 1795 1 South Atlantic Conference
2. St. Patrick's (3) 15-2 1680 6 Indy Northeast
3. CC Los Angeles 11-1 1653 4 West Coast Athletic Association
4. Liberty College (2) 16-2 1608 7 Indy East
5. Annapolis Maritime 14-2 1530 9 Indy South
6. Rainier College 10-1 1447 8 West Coast Athletic Association
7. Chesapeake State 9-2 1349 11 South Atlantic Conference
8. Great Plains State 15-3 1286 2 Indy Midwest
9. North Carolina Tech 11-3 1243 5 South Atlantic Conference
10. Garden State 11-3 1103 13 Liberty Conference
11. Mississippi A&M 11-3 1080 12 Deep South Conference
12. Mobile Maritime 9-2 949 3 South Atlantic Conference
13. Western Iowa 8-3 930 16 Great Lakes Alliance
14. St. Blane 13-4 882 17 Indy East
15. Empire State 10-2 743 21 Liberty Conference
16. Lincoln 9-3 708 14 Great Lakes Alliance
17. Miami State 12-3 582 22 Indy South
18. Middlesex 13-3 556 23 Indy Northeast
19. Western Florida 9-3 511 10 Deep South Conference
20. Central Ohio 8-3 480 20 Great Lakes Alliance
21. Conwell College 12-3 473 NR Indy East
22. Alabama Baptist 9-3 232 NR Deep South Conference
23. Coastal California 9-4 183 NR West Coast Athletic Association
24. Darnell State 10-3 106 NR Southwestern Alliance
25. Noble Jones College 9-3 94 NR Deep South Conference
Others Receiving Votes:
Redwood 9-3 45 West Coast Athletic Association
Bardney 12-4 42 Indy Northeast
St. Pancras 11-4 31 Indy East
Custer College 9-3 27 West Coast Athletic Association
Ohio Poly 12-5 20 Indy Midwest
Plover College 12-4 11 Indy Midwest
Eastern State 12-4 10 Indy South
Dickson 9-4 6 Academia Alliance
Holland 8-3 2 Central Athletic Alliance
Piedmont University 13-4 2 Indy South
Wichita Baptist 12-4 1 Midwestern Association

RESULTS INVOLVING RANKED TEAMS
MONDAY JANUARY 1
#2 St Patrick's 43 Lambert College 33
#3 CC Los Angeles 39 Kansas Argricultural 38
#4 Liberty College 44 Sadler 32
#5 Annapolis Maritime 41 Smithfield College 24
Eastern Oklahoma 56 #8 Great Plains State 41
Whitney College 42 #9 North Carolina Tech 34
#13 Western Iowa 52 Wyoming A&I 31
#14 St Blane 50 Brunswick 35
#15 Empire State 28 Western Montana 20
#18 Middlesex 45 Brooklyn Catholic 34
#23 Coastal California 57 Mahoning Valley State 45

TUESDAY JANUARY 2
#1 Carolina Poly 51 Eastern Viriginia 42
#6 Rainier College 60 San Francisco Tech 40
#7 Chesapeake State 52 St Pancras 45
Baton Rogue State 54 #12 Mobile Maritime 48
#17 Miami State 57 #19 Western Florida 49
#21 Conwell College 46 Tinker 32
#24 Darnell State 47 College of Cairo 46

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 3
#13 Western Iowa 51 Payne State 42
#16 Lincoln 50 Needham 34
#18 Middlesex 50 Constitution State 38
#25 Noble Jones College 53 El Paso Methodist 40

THURSDAY JANUARY 4
#2 St Patrick's 45 Bay State 40
#3 CC Los Angeles 40 Minnesota Tech 23
#4 Liberty College 41 St Martin's College 37
#5 Annapolis Maritime 50 North Shore 43
#6 Rainier College 51 Valley State 37
#10 Garden State 56 Tinker 38
#11 Mississippi A&M 46 Detroit City College 36
#14 St Blane 54 Sadler 47
#19 Western Florida 34 Alabama Gulf Coast 31
#21 Conwell College 51 Provo Tech 38
#22 Alabama Batist 47 Mississippi Tech 38
#24 Darnell State 44 North Central(NE) 34

FRIDAY JANUARY 5
#15 Empire State 46 Hampden 41

SATURDAY JANUARY 6
#3 CC Los Angeles 47 College of Omaha 37
#4 Liberty College 42 Allentown State 23
#5 Annapolis Maritime 54 Ferguson 30
#7 Chesapeake State 57 Brookland 35
#8 Great Plains State 49 Hamman 28
#13 Western Iowa 43 Rock Island 33
#19 Western Florida 47 Bulein 29
#21 Conwell College 51 Texas Panhandle 44
#22 Alabama Baptist 50 Lexington State 41

SUNDAY JANUARY 7
#2 St Patrick's 66 Eastern Kansas 56
#6 Rainier College 51 Chicago Polu 49
#10 Garden State 41 Troy State(NY) 33
#15 Empire State 54 Bardney 45
#16 Lincoln 41 Iowa A&M 29
#23 Coastal California 50 San Francisco Tech 24
#24 Darnell State 53 Baton Rogue State 50

SCHOOLBOY FIGHTING MITCHELL THIS WEEK SHOWS TREND OF SPORTS

If you've been wondering what the new year will bring in sports, you can start with the fact that a high school boy will fight a main bout in the Bigsby Garden on Friday night. That's not taking anything away from young Dave Neal of New York City, who'll tussle 10 rounds or less with the venerable Ira Mitchell. In fact, some might think it's a greater novelty to find a fighter sufficiently interested in education to stay in high school. Dave has an impressive knockout record as an amateur but stepping up to fight men is a different story entirely for the 17 year old. Then again he might just be as a good a welterweight as there happens to around these days -at least one fighting outside of the military exhibition ring. He may be a great fighter some day, but for now he still is a high school kid fighting in the ring that has been used by many of the greatest boxers of the past 20 years.

WILLIAMS, EASTON BATTLE TO DRAW

Veteran west coast fighter Chris Williams made his return to the ring after a 3 year stint in the Navy but it was not quite the result he hoped for. The 36 year old Sacramento native had to settle for a draw against Phil Easton, a 27 year old Canadian with limited ring experience. Neither fighter was knocked down and the decidedly biased crowd at the Sacramento Auditorium felt the local star had done enough to win but the judges disagreed with one calling the bout a draw and the other two declaring one point victories- with each selecting a different fighter as the winner.

Williams, who now sees his pro record settle in at 38-7-3, had his best chance to end things in the 10th round of the 12-round bout, staggering the Edmonton-born Easton with a powerful combination with less than 30 seconds remaining in the round but somehow the Canadian managed to stay on his feet until the bell bailed him out. Easton is now 12-5-1 as a professional pugilist.

OTHER NOTABLE FIGHT RESULTS THIS WEEK

HW Millard Perry (16-10-4) unanimous decision over Dave Warren (13-12-6)
HW Jeff Thompson (24-9-2) majority decision over Cecil Woods (6-22)
HW Greg Bullock (19-6) unanimous decision over Joe O'Halleran (4-17-1)
HW Damon Christian (24-13-4) unanimous decision over Justin Morris (2-12-0)

The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 1/07/1945

President Roosevelt has urged total mobolization, asking the 79th Congress to enact a national service law and, in a 30-minute address over all major radio networks, promised that American people that their sons and brothers and loved ones on the fighting front will receive "all the support of which this great nation is capable."
Heavy fighting continues in the general area of Bastogne as the American 3rd Army faces heavy artillery fire as it prepares for an expected full-scale offensive against the German bulge.
German forces under siege in Budapest have massed their remaining artillery on the grounds of Budapest University, which has been transformed into a last-ditch citadel of the Hungarian capital's defense with Russian troops surrounding them.
The Pacific war blazed with new fury along an 1,100-mile front southwest of Japan as American forces surged inland from two new beachheads on Mindoro, counted 25 Japanese ships wrecked around Luzon and pressed a carrier-based assault against Formosa and the Ryukyu Islands.
American Superfortresses continue regular bombing runs on Japan with Osaka and Nagoya facing the brunt of this weeks assault. Tokyo was not spared either, with a weekend fire bomb attack aimed at the Japanese capital.
The new Congress convened for the first time this week and was in a somber mood to organize for legislative business prepping for the possibility of two more years of war plus the future problems of peace.

Jiggs McGee · 12-14-2022, 12:48 PM

JANUARY 15, 1945

COLLEGE PLAYERS ENJOY OPENING ROUND RESURGENCE

Pitchers Last Much Longer Than Usual

A year ago only two of the sixteen players selected in the first round came out of the collegiate ranks. It was a different story this year as five of the first seven selections and eight of the 16 taken in the opening round were from the AIAA. The other big change was the run on position players at the top of the draft. The first six selections did not include a single pitcher -something that has not been seen since 1920 when the first pitcher was selected 9th overall.

In this case it was Otis Porter, the scholarly star righthander of the National Champion Grange College Mustangs, that became the first pitcher called when the Toronto Wolves selected him with the seventh pick. Three more pitchers would follow shortly after but it was centerfielders that were the marquee position this year with Bob Riggins of Grange College going first, Liberty's Johnny Peters third, Ralph Johnson of Topeka State fifth and Florida high schooler Barry Lowry rounded out the collection of centerfielders when the St Louis Pioneers tabbed him with the 15th pick.
*** EAGLES HOPE TO FIND SECOND COMING OF GOINS DEEP IN HEART OF TEXAS ***

The Washington Eagles best first round pick ever made was spent on a high school catcher from Texas taken first overall in 1919. That would be Arlington born T.R. Goins, a two-time Whitney Award winner who helped the Eagles to their last World Championship back in 1923 and would win another one with the Cleveland Foresters late in his career. Since trading Goins to the Foresters midway through the 1933 season the Eagles have been looking for their next superstar player. A few, such as Mel Carrol, have come close but no one has stepped to the forefront like Goins did. Perhaps the solution is to go back to Texas for another highly touted catcher and the Eagles did just that with the selection of 18 year old Ike Perry with the fourth overall pick.

Perry, a two-time high school All-American from Navasota High School, grew up in Hearne, Texas, roughly 150 miles south of where Goins was born and has hopes in following in Goins' rather sizeable footprints. Texas has actually given FABL six catchers who have played over 800 career big league games and Perry is hoping to be the next name on that list. In addition to Goins, the Eagles had another Texas born catcher as their starter for several years. That would be Jim Sith, who was their primary catcher from 1913 thru 1918.

Code:

                   TEXAS BORN CATCHERS
		 YRS       TM         G    AVG  HR
TR Goins        1923-38  WSH,CLE    2025  .336 270
Jim Smith       1911-22  WSH,CHI    1091  .275   5
Mickey Dowell   1924-34  BKN,MON    1019  .296  42
George Mitchell 1909-19  PHS,PHK     965  .214  40
John Williams   1916-27  CHI         949  .239  21
Tom Aiello      1929-43  BKN,CHI,PIT 844  .272  23

The ten round human GM portion of the draft continues this week before the AI controlled Scouting Directors take over for rounds 11 thru 25. All selected players must complete their high school/college year before being eligible to report to the big league organizations that drafted them in June.

Code:

             1945 FABL ROOKIE DRAFT ROUND 1
 #  TM   PLAYER	       POS AGE  SCHOOL 		      HOMETOWN
 1 NYS  Bob Riggins     CF  21  Grange College         Detroit, MI
 2 NYS  Ralph Hanson    SS  17  Beaver(PA) HS          Beaver, PA
 3 CHC  Johnny Peters   CF  20  Liberty College        Lawrenceburg, TN
 4 WSH  Ike Perry	C   18  Navasota(TX) HS        Hearne, TX
 5 BKN  Ralph Johnson   CF  20  Topeka State	       Omaha, NE
 6 DET  Del Johnson	2B  21  West Goshen State      Conshohocken, PA
 7 TOR  Otis Porter     P   20  Grange College         Augusta, GA
 8 PIT  Paul Williams   LF  18  Clayton HS, St Louis   St Louis, MO
 9 CLE  Bert Haines     P   17  North Tonawanda(NY)HS  North Tonawanda, NY
10 CHI  Dick Mills	P   17  South Boston(MA) HS    Concord, MA
11 MON  Hank Smith	1B  21  Talmadge State	       Trotwood, OH
12 STL  Artie Smtih     C   20  South Valley State     Waukon, IA
13 PHS  Gordon McDonald P   18  Liberty(SC) HS	       Liberty, SC
14 STL  Barry Lowry     CF  17  Tarpon Springs(FL) HS  Tarpon Springs, FL
15 STL  Dan Finch	3B  17  Bowman(SC) HS	       Darlington, SC
16 PHK  Nate Power      1B  21  Daniel Boone College   Bryant, AR

             1945 FABL ROOKIE DRAFT ROUND 2
 #  TM   PLAYER	       POS AGE  SCHOOL 		            HOMETOWN
17 NYS  Larry McClure   C   18  Bentonville(AR) HS          Bentonville, AR
18 CHC  Carl Clark      CF  17  Springfield(MO) HS          Youngwood, PA
19 CHC  Dutch Yoak      P   17  La Porte(TX) HS	            Houston, TX
20 WSH  George Penza    SS  21  Yellowhammer State          Waco, TX
21 BKN  Harry Trinity   P   18  University HS, Nashville    Lebanon, TN
22 DET  Dick Estes	RF  20  Rutherford College	    Atlanta, GA
23 TOR  Harry Finney    SS  21  Bluegrass State		    Tulsa, OK
24 PIT  Chet Tinsley    C   18  Bellville(TX) HS	    Houston, TX
25 CLE  Bob Miller	3B  21  Queen City University       Lancaster, OH
26 CHI  Jake Pomarico   CF  21  Detroit City College        South Bend, IN
27 MON  Mike Cochran    2B  17  Pelton HS, San Francisco    San Francisco, CA
28 BOS  Tom Cooprider   C   17  Millersburg(PA) HS	    Millersburg, PA
29 PHS  Jerry Keith     2B  18  Forest Park(IL) HS	    Milwaukee, WI
30 STL  Tom Hansen      CF  18  Eutaw (AL) HS		    Eutaw, AL
31 CIN  Al Browner      3B  17  Wharton(TX) HS		    Wharton, TX
32 PHI  Russ McLean     P   17  Shady Side Acad. Pittsburgh Washington, DC

CANNON FIRES KO IN RING RETURN

Cannon Cooper made his triumphant return to the ring with another knockout. The Rockford, Il. heavyweight, recently discharged from the Coast Guard, improved to 16-0 and it seems just a matter of time before he gets a chance at the World Title. His latest victim was Carson Barnes, a veteran New York heavyweight who did well just to survive until the 12th and final round before Cooper made him his 7th knockout victim before a packed house at Chicago's Lake Side Auditorium. Barnes, who made his pro debut a dozen years ago, now sports a record of 18-14-2 after being knocked out in the ring for the first time in his career.

MITCHELL MAKES SHORT NIGHT FOR TEEN OPPONENT

Dave Neal quickly found out there is a big difference stepping into the ring against grown men as compared to facing teenage amateurs. The highly touted New Yorker is just 17 years old and widely considered the best youth amateur boxer in the northeast but he certainly bit off much more than he could chew on the weekend. The youngster, who is still in high school, was a late fill-in on a card at the Bigsby Garden and was matched against 24 year old Ira Mitchell - a rising Chicago born welterweight. Mitchell improved to 10-0 with the shortest night of his boxing career, taking just 2 minutes and change to knock out the youngster Neal with a powerful flurry of blows that culminated in a uppercut that clearly meant the end of the night for the teen.

Neal is young and looked fine after the bout despite holding a big old ice pick over a right eye that has likely never looked more purple, but it was clear his handlers gravely erred in giving the boy a decent payday instead of making a more cautious choice for his pro debut. Mitchell is continuing his impressive rise through the welterweight division with 9 of his 10 victories coming by knockout.

OTHER MAJOR RESULTS THIS WEEK

HW Charlie McDougall (22-10-1) unanimous decision over Jimmy Robertson (7-11-3)
HW Dave Gwynne (15-11-3) split decision over Joe Smith (6-21-2)

GRID OWNERS ADOPT WAIT AND SEES ATTITUDE AT CHICAGO CONFAB

Regaining their composure after the shock of President Roosevelt's message to Congress urging enactment of work or fight legislation, professional sports leaders today adopted a watchful waiting attitude pending action on the Hill. Briefly, the situation is so confused at this stage that no one can say with any degree of certainty what the next step will be. A complete blackout on pro sports for the remainder of the war is possible, but highly improbable. There is better than an even chance that all sports will continue, if on a curtailed basis, once Congress has passed a law clarifying the status of 4-F's.

Coming almost on the eve of the American Football Association's meeting in Chicago this week, the President's message is certain to be the chief topic of conversation, but there won't be much the league can do about putting its house in order until it knows how Congress intends to go about funnelling 4-F's into war plants. At the moment there isn't any visible reason why the league can't function in 1945, although the schedule might have to be drafted to limit travel to one-day hops.

AFA President Jack Kristich, who previously said the league would operate next year if selective service orders did not interfere, had "no comment" on the latest developments. One thing certain, neither Krisitch, acting for the league, nor individual club owners will try to buck the Government. They'll go along quietly on whatever the lawmakers deem best.

The announcement certainly changed the tone of the owners meeting. The agenda had expected to be dominated with talk of finding a way to work with baseball - after the ball magnates closed down access to their parks in September, and on preparing for a battle of sorts with the two proposed new leagues. There also was a lot of in-fighting between the football bosses, but the President's announcement quickly united them once again. The dominant topic now will be trying to figure out what is next? And the answer to that question is left up to Congress.

COLLEGES DEBATE NEW GRID RULES

Possibility that the American Intercollegiate Athletic Association may take the college football rule book out of the refrigerator was seen after the joint convention of the National Coaches Association and the AIAA in Columbus, OH., last week. Top AIAA executives expressed themselves as favourable, to action that would remove the 'freeze' from grid laws which was implemented when the war began. Three of the suggested alterations deal with passes, two with the kickoff and one with the use of the forearm in offensive blocking. Some conferences implemeneted a trio of the changes last fall.

Here are the changes recommended by the coaches:
1) A mandatory in-bounds kickoff. If out-of-bounds, five-yard penalty and kick over.
2) Mandatory use of one-inch artificial tee for kickoffs with ball held.
3) Pass anywhere behind the line of scrimmage.
4) Restrictions on the use of forearms in offensive blocking. hands must be in contact with the body. Infraction regarded as unnecessary roughness.
5) Change of penalty for lateral pass that becomes forward pass to five-yard penalty from the point where the attempted lateral was thrown and loss of down. (Present penalty is return to scrimmage as incompleted pass.)
6) Change of penalty for lateral pass that becomes forward pass on punts and kick-offs to five-yard penalty from the point where attempted lateral was thrown. (Present penalty 15 yards.)

In its closing session, the AIAA recognized the growing epidemic of gambling on intercollegiate contests by adopting a resolution to crush the practice if such be within the co-operative effort and human endurance.

SECTION PLAY GETS UNDERWAY

The tune-up games are over as college basketball enters the heart of it's schedule over the next couple of weeks with each of the sections getting their in-conference schedule underway. A pair of conferences -the Academia Alliance and West Coast Athletic Association- got an early start to the proceedings with some key matchups this past week.

The Academia Alliance has a rich history with 7 National Championships but they all came in the early days of the sport and none since Pierpont won it all in 1918-19. The Dickson Maroons might be the Academia eight's best hope this season as they can count an early season upset of 4th ranked Annapolis Maritime as part of their 10-4 record entering section play. Sadler took the Maroons to overtime in Wednesday's conference opener before Dickson finally pulled out a 59-58 victory. Grafton and Ellery are both 2-0 to lead the way after the opening week.

The West Coast Athletic Association has been one of the dominant sections in all of college hoops with Rainier College winning each of the last two National Tournaments while CCLA and Coastal California are also serious threats each year. All three are ranked in the top 17 of the polls right now and each started WCAA play off with a win. The 3rd ranked Coyotes are 13-1 after beating Portland Tech 46-36 in their conference opener yesterday. Rainier College is also 13-1 and ranked 5th following the Majestics 55-51 win over in state rival Spokane State. Senior forward Tree Turner had a career best 26 points in the win over the Indians. Unlike Rainier College and CCLA, Coastal California has never won a national title despite 13 appearances in the semi-finals and 3 trips to the title game. As a result the Dolphins always seem to be playing catch-up in trying to match their two conference rivals but this year they may well have the best player in the nation in senior forward Morgan Melcher. Melcher averaged 17.8 ppg a year ago and is nearly duplicating that total this season despite being held to 11 in the conference opening 34-33 narrow win over Lane State.

The Great Lakes Alliance section slate gets underway this week with only Western Iowa and Lincoln College among the top 25 teams in the nation. The Canaries are on a roll with six straight victories and have been getting stellar play from junior guard Joe Hampton. The former St Louis Pioneers baseball prospect and son of ex-big leaguer Jim Hampton is among the nation leaders in assists while still averaging close to 8 points a game.

Code:

COLLEGIATE BASKETBALL RANKINGS
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
1. Carolina Poly (72) 13-1 1800 1 South Atlantic Conference
2. St. Patrick's 17-2 1722 2 Indy Northeast
3. CC Los Angeles 13-1 1622 3 West Coast Athletic Association
4. Annapolis Maritime 17-2 1585 5 Indy South
5. Rainier College 13-1 1514 6 West Coast Athletic Association
6. Liberty College 18-3 1472 4 Indy East
7. Chesapeake State 11-2 1372 7 South Atlantic Conference
8. Mobile Maritime 11-2 1199 12 South Atlantic Conference
9. Western Iowa 10-3 1186 13 Great Lakes Alliance
10. North Carolina Tech 12-4 1175 9 South Atlantic Conference
11. St. Blane 15-4 1115 14 Indy East
12. Mississippi A&M 12-3 1006 11 Deep South Conference
13. Garden State 11-3 1000 10 Liberty Conference
14. Lincoln 10-3 807 16 Great Lakes Alliance
15. Great Plains State 16-4 758 8 Indy Midwest
16. Empire State 11-2 742 15 Liberty Conference
17. Coastal California 11-4 649 23 West Coast Athletic Association
18. Miami State 15-4 520 17 Indy South
19. Conwell College 14-4 484 21 Indy East
20. St. Pancras 13-4 366 NR Indy East
21. Ohio Poly 13-5 336 NR Indy Midwest
22. Dickson 11-4 288 NR Academia Alliance
23. Western Florida 10-4 195 19 Deep South Conference
24. Darnell State 10-3 195 24 Southwestern Alliance
25. Middlesex 14-4 147 18 Indy Northeast
Others Receiving Votes:
Central Ohio 9-4 114 Great Lakes Alliance
Noble Jones College 10-4 21 Deep South Conference
Alabama Baptist 9-4 6 Deep South Conference
Wisconsin State 9-4 3 Great Lakes Alliance
Plover College 13-5 1 Indy Midwest

RESULTS INVOLVING RANKED TEAMS
MONDAY JANUARY 8
#3 CC Los Angeles 51 Mahoning Valley State 39
#4 Annapolis Maritime 49 Frankford State 38
#10 North Carolina Tech 58 #6 Liberty College 50
#7 Chesapeake State 35 Bigsby College 27
#9 Western Iowa 60 Lambert College 32
#20 St Pancras 49 Cuyahoga University 39
#22 Dickson 32 Georgia Baptists 31

TUESDAY JANUARY 9
#1 Carolina Poly 53 Chicago Poly 40
#5 Rainier College 49 Poweshiek 38
Minnesota Tech 49 #15 Great Plains State 41
#17 Coastal California 52 Cache Valley 44
#19 Conwell College 37 St Gordius 36
Texas Gulf Coast 66 #23 Western Florida 48
#25 Middlesex 42 Manhattan Tech 37

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 10
#8 Mobile Maritime 50 Centerville 38
#11 St Blane 63 Brooklyn Catholic 55
#16 Empire State 41 Hartford Wesleyan 40
#18 Miami State 48 Alabama Gulf Coast 40
#21 Ohio Poly 47 Central Kentucky 31
#22 Dickson 59 Sadler 58

THURSDAY JANUARY 11
#1 Carolina Poly 62 Piedmont University 41
#2 St Patrick's 51 Noble Jones College 40
#4 Annapolis Maritime 44 Western State 42
#5 Rainier College 61 Central Illinois 48
#6 Liberty College 54 Valley State 44
#15 Great Plains State 44 Topeka State 42
#23 Western Florida 51 Travis College 40

FRIDAY JANUARY 12
#8 Mobile Maritime 54 Alabama Baptist 44
#11 St Blane 54 El Paso Methodist 48
#14 Lincoln 51 Oklahoma Bible College 41
#18 Miami State 39 Boulder State 21
Cowpens State 40 #19 Conwell College 45
#20 St Pancras 49 Harrisburg State 36

SATURDAY JANUARY 13
#1 Carolina Poly 41 Eastern State 39
#2 St Patrick's 44 #10 North Carolina Tech 42
#4 Annapolis Maritime 71 Maryland State 43
#7 Chesapeake State 56 Utah A&M 42
#9 Western Iowa 51 Opelika State 44

SUNDAY JANUARY 14
#3 CC Los Angeles 46 Portland Tech 36
#5 Rainier College 55 Spokane State 51
#6 Liberty College 42 College of Omaha 24
#12 Mississippi A&M 60 Huntington State 53
#17 Coastal California 34 Lane State 33
#19 Conwell College 56 Eastern Virginia 34

The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 1/14/1945

The commander in chief of the Atlantic Fleet, Admiral Jonas Ingram, warns that it is "possible and probable" that New York City or Washington will be hit by buzz bombs within the next 30 to 60 days. He was speaking of bombs similar but probably smaller than the V-1 or V-2s launched against Great Britain. He warned against panic, saying the greatest danger to expect was from fires and that the bombs were not expected to seriously damage any large buildings.
An American invasion army numbering 100,000 strong is driving down the highway toward Manilla after meeting just feeble Japanese resistance which cost virtually no beachhead casualties.
Alarmed Nazi broadcasts said that the Red Army had opened three more major offensives n East Prussia and Czechoslovakia and that a "gigantic struggle of decisive importance in raging" on a 600-mile front between the Baltic and Danube Valley.

Jiggs McGee · 12-15-2022, 11:39 AM

JANUARY 22, 1945

KEEP BASEBALL AS GI TONIC, PAPENFUS URGES

Seattle, Jan 16- Pete 'The Heater' Papenfus, the kid from Willow Springs, Mo., who was the smoke ball king of FABL, was back in the United States today with the conviction that baseball "is one of the American ideals we in the service are fighting for."

Chief Specialist Papenfus made port yesterday after an 18-month tour of duty which took him into both Pacific and Atlantic Oceans so he knows what he is talking about. Baseball gives the men in foxholes and on the ships at sea something "to dream of seeing again at home," said the 1941 Allen Award winner. "I can't for the life of me see how a handful of 4-Fs and overage men playing baseball can make much difference in our war effort."

KEYSTONES ADD VETERAN OUTFIELDER GRIFFITH FOR AFTER WAR

There was not a lot of trade activity during the FABL amateur player draft but one move did see all-star centerfielder Bob Griffith head to the Philadelphia Keystones. The 28 year old Ohio native likely won't be joining the Keystones outfield this season as he joined the Army in November shortly after helping the Cincinnati Cannons defeat the Keystones in last year's World Championship Series.

A two year starter in Cincinnati after being selected by the organization in the third round of the 1934 draft, Griffith hit .291 last season and made the Continental Association all-star team. However, with the Cannons having added Gail Gifford from St Louis to replace Griffith while he is at war, and having a post-war outfield that will also include Fred Galloway, Al Wheeler, Sam Brown and Mike T. Taylor there was limited opportunity for Griffith with the Cannons.

The Keystones sent their third and fourth round picks in the current draft to the Cannons in order to have Griffith hopefully join them next year. The Keystones plan, according to Philadelphia Inquisitor columnist Johnny Bologna is for Griffith to be in center field, flanked by Bobby Barrell and Hank McKay. This would allow current starter Chuck Hood, who saw his average sink to just .256 last season, to take on a reserve role with either young Charlie Enslow or Bobby McHenry. The plan is for Griffith to be a placeholder for a season or two until either Enslow or 20 year old prospect Johnnie Porter is ready for full-time duty in the middle of the Broad Street Park outfield.

CANNONS LOOK FOR HIGH SCHOOL TALENT IN DRAFT

The Cincinnati Cannons had a long wait before they could make their first selection in the 1945 FABL draft but they feel they acquired a pretty solid young third base prospect in Texas high schooler Al Browner. The 17 year old hit .461 with 4 homeruns in 25 games as a junior at Wharton High School last season. Cannons head scout Bill Bordwell feels Browner has the potential to be an above average big league third baseman and should have some pop in his bat. The Cannons entered the draft targeting a third baseman but it was reported to be local college product Bob 'Junior' Miller they coveted.

Miller has plenty of ties, both to the city and the organization, but was selected by Cleveland 6 picks ahead of the Cannons in the second round. In addition to playing his college ball at Queen City University and being from nearby Lancaster, Oh., Miller's father Bob Sr. spent his entire 12 year big league career with the Cannons organization. They were based in Baltimore then but Miller posted a 99-123 career mark after being a first round pick back in 1922.
*** Griffith dispatched to Keystones ****

The Cannons dealt outfielder Bob Griffith, who played so well last season but is now serving in the Army, to the Philadelphia Keystones for a third and a fourth round pick. Griffith likely should have been worth more after his all-star season but the Cannons, with a surplus of big league outfielders once the war ends, received little in the way of interest primarily due to other teams being concerned about roster surpluses of their own.

Griffith should do well with the Keystones and the trade gave Cincinnati back to back picks at the end of both the third and fourth rounds. In round three the club opted for a pair of high school pitchers in Jimmy Block and Alex Drake. Block is 6'5" righthander and a three-sport star at Dundee High School in Michigan wth a 25-7 record over the past three seasons. Bordwell sees him as a future number 4 of 5 starter which is also how he projects Drake. The 18 year old lefthander has pitched just one season for Trenton (NJ) High, but was very impressive with an 8-1 record and a 1.20 era to go with a 13.4 K/9 rate.

In the fourth round the Cannons dipped into the college ranks for catcher Chet Bower. The 20 year old from Macon State had an impressive debut season of AIAA ball, hitting .291 with 8 homers in 52 games. Bower is projected to develop into an above-average catcher according to Boshart. The second pick from the Keystones was used on Max Conrad, a speedy centerfielder out of a California high school. Boshart feels the 18 year old has the talent to flourish as a big league outfielder some day.

Wartime's second dimout in America is due February 1, but more than likely the lights will stay on for athletic events. A War Production Board official disclosed that baseball will not be affected by the new night-lighting restrictions, which has caused other sports to take heart. So basketball, hockey and boxing are looking to business as usual the remainder of the indoor season. Racing -both horse and dog- is going to take a beating as there is no indiciation the an on those sports will be lifted soon, but for baseball it is one big obstacle overcome. Now, just the matter of the 4-F's remains.
The Japanese Baseball Association has officially announced it will not hold a season in 1945. The loop played a very reduced schedule a year ago and has decided to suspend operations indefinitely. The Kobe Bulls won their third straight tile last season in the seven year old loop.

CONTINENTAL FOOTBALL CONFERENCE GRID LOOP OUTLOOK APPEARS BRIGHT

Lt. Commander Ben Montgomery has his post-war job all lined as President of the Continental Football Conference and while officially he isn't supposed to devote any thought to matters outside a tight circle of Navy business, Montgomery did a little unofficial thinking yesterday. Montgomery, who was a key piece of the famous St Blane backfield in the mid-1920s and formerly head football coach at Brooklyn State, opined his circuit would be a full-fledged rival for the long established American Football Association. In fact, he is already thinking of a world championship game between the two league champions -but that's unofficial from the league's as well as the Navy's viewpoint.

The Continental loop plans to be a far-flung organization, stretching from coast to coast, and from the Canadian to the Mexican border. The setup involves not only much travel, but wide variation in climate and we suggest it might pose a problem or two. But the commander brushed the thought aside.

"Our teams will make the long hops by plane and we'll arrange the schedule so that games in northern areas will be played early in the season to take advantage of good weather there, while the late games can be played out in California."

How about players? Won't the new league find it tough to our-bargain the well-established American Association? Wouldn't the AFA be stronger -on paper at least- immediately after the war? Montgomery said no, no and no.

Club owners of the new organization, which will include franchises at Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago and New York, are prepared, spiritually and financially, to take a loss for at least five years. At the end of that time the league president-to-be believes most will be on solid footing or the league will be revamped to meet changing situations.

The Continental Conference will set up a draft system of its own, and Montgomery, with a twinkle in his Irish eye, said he thought any club in his circuit could bid as high for any player as the club who drafted him in the rival loop. As for relative strength of the two wheels, he says they'll start on fairly even footing after the war because a number of AFAers now in service will be too old to be of an real vaule when ustered out.

Finally Montgomery weighed in with his thoughts on the topic of 4-F athletes. He hopes some way will be foun to continue sport in this country because the boys on those arid pin points in the Pacific, in the swamps and jungles of the world down under, eat 'em up. He knows the score in that game because he was out there for 18 months before recently returning home.

ST PATRICK'S TAKES OVER TOP SPOT IN COLLEGE CAGE RANKINGS

The college basketball rankings show a new number one team this week after Central Carolina lost for just the second time this season. The Cardinals fell to their biggest rival in the South Atlantic Conference, dropping a 47-43 decision on the road against North Carolina Tech. That opened the door for both St Patrick's and Annapolis Maritime to sneak ahead of the Cardinals, who had held down the top spot all season.

Being independents and as such having no conference schedule means that both the Shamrocks and Navigators are nearing the end of their games for the season. Each is 20-2 after both had successful results this week. St Patrick's had little trouble in beating Boston State, Smithfield College and Alabame Gulf Coast this week but do have some tough games coming up on the schedule with the biggest being the February 2nd tussle with Annapolis Maritime at the Bigsby Garden in New York. The Navigators beat North Carolina Atlantic 69-53 yesterday to extend their winning streak to 11 games.

Code:

COLLEGIATE BASKETBALL RANKINGS
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
1. St. Patrick's (72) 20-2 1800 2 Indy Northeast
2. Annapolis Maritime 20-2 1688 4 Indy South
3. Carolina Poly 13-2 1641 1 South Atlantic Conference
4. Rainier College 15-1 1616 5 West Coast Athletic Association
5. Liberty College 19-3 1510 6 Indy East
6. Mobile Maritime 13-2 1415 8 South Atlantic Conference
7. CC Los Angeles 14-2 1373 3 West Coast Athletic Association
8. North Carolina Tech 13-4 1311 10 South Atlantic Conference
9. Western Iowa 12-3 1216 9 Great Lakes Alliance
10. Chesapeake State 13-3 1167 7 South Atlantic Conference
11. Garden State 13-3 1069 13 Liberty Conference
12. Lincoln 12-3 944 14 Great Lakes Alliance
13. St. Blane 16-5 942 11 Indy East
14. Great Plains State 18-4 913 15 Indy Midwest
15. Mississippi A&M 12-4 809 12 Deep South Conference
16. Ohio Poly 15-5 620 21 Indy Midwest
17. Miami State 16-4 609 18 Indy South
18. St. Pancras 16-4 604 20 Indy East
19. Coastal California 12-5 593 17 West Coast Athletic Association
20. Noble Jones College 12-4 384 NR Deep South Conference
21. Alabama Baptist 12-4 311 NR Deep South Conference
22. St. Martin's College 15-6 291 NR Indy Northeast
23. Conwell College 15-5 226 19 Indy East
24. Plover College 14-5 86 NR Indy Midwest
25. Western Florida 11-5 67 23 Deep South Conference

Others Receiving Votes:
Middlesex 15-5 43 Indy Northeast
Northern California 10-6 40 West Coast Athletic Association
Wichita Baptist 14-5 34 Midwestern Association
Empire State 11-4 23 Liberty Conference
Darnell State 11-4 20 Southwestern Alliance
California Catholic 13-5 13 California League
Harper College 15-5 12 Indy East
Eastern State 14-6 6 Indy South
Elyria 13-5 4 Indy East

RESULTS INVOLVING RANKED TEAMS
MONDAY JANUARY 15
#1 St Patrick's 54 Boston State 27
#13 St Blane 44 Tempe College 20

TUESDAY JANUARY 16
#2 Annapolis Maritime 49 Harrisburg State 46
#10 Chesapeake State 52 Cumberland 32
#18 St Pancras 56 Sunnyvale 34
#20 Noble Jones College 48 Oklahoma Bible College 45
#21 Alabama Baptist 51 Topeka State 48
#22 St Martin's College 45 Constitution State 35
#24 Plover College 39 Red River State 29
#25 Western Florida 51 Glover(GA) 44

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 17
#1 St Patrick's 46 Smithfield College 31
#14 Great Plains State 47 Springfield State 37
#16 Ohio Poly 50 Lexington State 44

THURSDAY JANUARY 18
#2 Annapolis Maritime 49 University of New Jersey 33
#8 North Carolina Tech 47 #3 Carolina Poly 43
#6 Mobile Maritime 56 Columbia Military Academy 48
#9 Western Iowa 49 Minnesota Tech 28
Central Carolina 56 #10 Chesapeake State 47
#11 Garden State 39 Brooklyn State 31
#12 Lincoln 37 Wisconsin State 26
#18 St Pancras 47 Bethlehem College 35
#20 Noble Jones College 67 Armstrong 32
#21 Alabama Baptist 62 Daniel Boone College 37

FRIDAY JANUARY 19
#1 St Patrick's 48 Alabama Gulf Coast 24
#4 Rainier College 43 Portland Tech 28
#5 Liberty College 58 Topeka State 47
#19 Coastal California 34 #7 CC Los Angeles 26
#17 Miami State 63 Oklahoma Bible College 49

SATURDAY JANUARY 20
#6 Mobile Maritime 50 #15 Mississippi A&M 40
#9 Western Iowa 42 Central Ohio 29
#12 Lincoln 33 Indiana A&M 30
College of Omaha 46 #13 St Blane 43
#14 Great Plains State 58 Capital(MS) University 28
#15 Ohio Poly 36 Michigan Lutheran 22
#21 Alabama Baptist 39 College of Cairo 27
#22 St Martin's College 49 Eastern State 36
Queen City 51 #25 Western Florida 49

SUNDAY JANUARY 21
#2 Annapolis Maritime 69 North Carolina Atlantic 53
#4 Rainier College 47 Lane State 43
#7 CC Los Angeles 39 Idaho A&M 26
#10 Chesapeake State 57 #23 Conwell College 41
#18 St Pancras 50 Bay State 39
Northern California 53 #19 Coastal California 45

HILLARD WINS BY TKO

Gil Hillard -the Phoenix born heavyweight who had a slow start to his career but has been making some noise in the southwest of late, was back in the ring Saturday night and scored another victory. Hillard's overall mark is an unimpressive 11-9-1 but he has strung together some fine outings of late and ran his winning streak to 5 bouts with an 11th round technical knockout of Raleigh Morton in their weekend tilt in San Antonio, Tx.

Among Hillard's recent victims are Daron Ross -who entered their fight a perfect 7-0 and veteran Cowboy Ron Ramsey, who had lost just once in 19 fights before facing Hillard. Morton is not quite up to those standards, now sporting a 10-9-1 record and having lost each of his last five fights but had only been stopped once before in his career.

NOTABLE FIGHT RESULTS FROM PAST WEEK
HW Harris Martin (18-12-5) win by DQ over Coy Parks (12-20-2)
HW Tim Blanton (10-10-2) win by TKO in 11th over Eric Washington (14-17-6)
HM Brian Sinclair (7-27-2) unanimous decision over Richard Snyder (20-14-2)

The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 1/21/1945

President Roosevelt was inaugrated for an unprecendented fourth term, and warned against isolation nothing that we shall have no lasting peace if we approach it's committments with suspicion, mistrust and fear.
A key East Prussia fort falls as the Red Army drive gains 37 miles in a single day. A day later Warsaw falls in the greatest Russian offensive of the war.
Prime Minister Churchill told Commons today that the Allies will fight on until Germany surrenders unconditionally even if such a policy stiffens Nazi resistance and prolongs the war.
US Secretary of War Stimson announced that American ground forces along suffered 332,912 casualties on the western front since D-Day on June 6 to January 1. The total includes 54,562 killed and 45,676 missing.
Under the threat of increasing bombing attacks, Tokyo has announced plans to move it's government offices underground on a "permanent basis."
Under the direction of the War Department, doctors at Army Induction Centers across the country have began the physical re-examination of thousands of 4-F's. The exams are counted on to replace previous decisions in cases of men barred from the army as physically unfit and has targeted men between 18 and 30 who were rejected by army doctors on or before February 1, 1944.

Jiggs McGee · 12-16-2022, 09:19 AM

JANUARY 29, 1945

Baseball owners can now go ahead with their plans for the upcoming season, because they have the President of the United States on their team. Franklin D. Roosevelt, at his Washington Press Conference early this week told reporters that he could see no reason why the game shouldn't continue -providing it didn't interfere with the war effort.

"I'm all for baseball," added the Chief Executive, which should be good enough for everybody.

The magnates have always played ball with Uncle Sam, so that there will be no question of the game's continuance postponing the defeat of Germany and Japan. The remark that Mr. Roosevelt passed that he didn't think that pefectly healthy young me should be playing baseball at this time didn't dim the green light switch on by the President in 1942. All the perfectly healthy are already serving.

"We've never wanted to use men the Government needed, either in the armed forces or war plants," pointed out a prominent New York official who didn't want to be quoted. "It's the principle we've been operating on ever since Pearl Harbor.

"To me, it's very good news," said New York Stars owner Al Mielke. "Mr. Roosevelt says we should carry on without hurting the war effort. That's the way we want it."

The President's okay carries with it further implications that the majority of players in 4-F will not be disturbed unless Congress puts through work-or-fight legislation. Of course, the army and navy could lower their physical standards. Both possibilities seem to remote to consider. Army and navy officals reiterated today that they have no revision of the sort in mind.

Those 4-Fs are needed if the minors are not to be closed down. Farm clubs would have been heavily raided for replacements. Now the game can get by as it has in the past, with 4Fs, the overage and underage. It is the word for which baseball has been listening. It wanted to know it's fate above everything else. It would have padlocked its parks without a whimper if that had been the Government dictum.
*** Some Doubt Stamina ***

Across the league there was a collective sign of relief upon hearing the President's words. All expressed pleasure at the message and some felt it only made sense.

Boston Minutemen manager Bill Boshart didn't think 4-Fs could stand the grind of even war work. "Why, some of 'em couldn't take a doubleheader last year." Boston owner Jesse Barton added that the Minutemen would not ask any favors of any draft board. Daniel Fitzpatrick said it was consistent with what the President said three years ago and wasn't unduly surprised. The Pittsburgh Miners owner said baseball would continue to do what it has been doing - keep on going as long as they can muster nine men to a side.

The GI Joes want baseball, the President wants it, baseball wants to along with what it has left, the fans at home want it for relaxation -the rest of the world doesn't matter its little pessimistic objectors.

WOLVES START LOOKING AT FUTURE: JANUARY 1945 DRAFT

With the calendar turning from 1944 to 1945, war news news not showing any signs of a quick end in either Europe or the Pacific Brett will try to give the Wolves' fans something more to discuss over coffee or during breaks in the war factories. Toronto lost two of their top three picks 1944 picks to the war effort, understandable as there are bigger issues facing young men now than baseball. The Mail & Empire along with all Wolves staff and fans are praying that all players return from the war in one piece to resume their career in baseball.
Now a look at the first five picks Toronto has made in 1945:

1: Otis Porter-21 RHP Grange College: A fireballer, first pitcher drafted, with a 4-pitch mix has played in a tough college league. Scouts rave about his ability to learn, apply new concepts in short order. Probable summer 1945 destination, if signed, Vancouver but could progress quickly to A-ball and beyond.

2: Harry Finney-21 SS Bluegrass State: Another college junior can play all over the infield. He has a quick bat along with being an outstanding defender. Probable summer 1945 destination, if signed, Vancouver where he will play many infield positions. His versatility is major factor for Wolves management. Progression will depend upon how he deals with professional pitchers.

3: Rudy Gerbaugh-17 OF Chicago High School: Some people think that Gerbaugh was a stretch in the third round although Toronto's scouting department sees a future member of the Wolves in this youngster, he hit .477 last summer. Probable summer 1945 destination, if signed, Tuscaloosa where he will be introduced to the rigors of daily baseball along with the required travel. If he progresses during 1945 that would be a bonus.

4: Corky Aban- 17 RHP Ottawa, IL High School: Unlike Porter, Aban relies on his pin-point control to retire hitters. He has struck out over 15 batters per 9 inning pitched in his last two seasons showing that you do not necessarily have to blow the ball by the batter. Probable summer 1945 destination, if signed, Tuscaloosa, he may start in the 'pen until he is grounded, his guile should allow him to be in the rotation before the end of summer.

5: Lynn Horn- 17 RHP San Francisco High School: A third straight high schooler taken by Toronto Horn is a real worm killer pitcher. He keeps the ball on the ground which plays well in the Wolves organization. Probable summer 1945 destination, if signed, Tuscaloosa.

If and when this horrific loss of life ends in either Europe, Asia or both there will be a large number of players returning expecting to resume their baseball activities so these draftees will have hit the ground running at the start of their professional, hopefully long, lives. All FABL teams are going to face with roster restriction as players return, the question will be whether the teams releases youngsters or older, proven, veterans.

Bob Riggins will almost assuredly be in the big leagues at some point in time, perhaps as early as this year. The Christian Trophy winning outfielder from Grange College might even make it sometime this summer as there has never been a first overall draft pick to fail to play at least 1 big league game before his career came to an end. The top three in terms of big league games played as far as first overall picks go are Max Morris, Al Wheeler and Rankin Kellogg. At the other end of the spectrum we have Karl Stevens -Cleveland's 1926 first overall pick- who appeared in just 14 games in his career.
As for pitchers, and there have been 13 of them taken number 1 including Roy Schaub a year ago. The winningest amongst them is Tom Barrell with a 163-106 career mark. Barrell is still active with Cincinnati but may eventually be passed by Toronto's Joe Hancock (139-97) or perhaps even his nephew Deuce Barrell (90-52).
Interesting to note is that nearly half of the 13 first overall pitchers are presently away from game as part of the war effort. They include Hancock, Vic Carroll, Bob Arman, Hiram Steinberg, Bobo White and Curly Jones.
Intersting note part two: 4 of the 13 pitchers selected first overall are presently in the Cincinnati Cannons organization: both Barrells along with Carroll and Arman although only Deuce and Carroll were drafted by the Cannons.
Being taken second overall is no guarantee of big league success. In fact 3 players selected second in a FABL drafted never played a big league game: They are Pete Hunt (1932-Toronto), Jim Harris (1930-Toronto) and Ted Howe (1911-St Louis)
While being drafted in one of the early rounds certainly enhances a ballplayers chances of making the big leagues, there is always hope for those late round picks. Just ask Job Readus. The first basemen played 7 seasons with the New York Stars - hitting .314 in 947 big league games and won 3 World Championship Series rings while batting .317 in 13 WCS contests. Not bad for a player who was drafted in the 28th round. FABL doesn't even have a 28th round any more -it stops at 25- but Readus was selected 447th overall out of Maryland State by Pittsburgh in 1917. The Miners released him 3 years later but he caught on with the Stars and the rest is history.
Surprisingly Readus is not the lowest drafted player ever to appear in a big league game. That honour falls to Jay Combs, who was selected 456th by St Louis in 1923 out of Liberty College - three years after the Pioneers picked him 448th out of Buffalo High School in 1920. Combs likely is also the only player ever drafted 3 times by the same team as he failed to sign with the Pioneers in 1930, again in 1922 when they used a 12th round pick on him before finally signing in 1923. The Pioneers then immediately cut him -perhaps as payback for not signing earlier- and Combs bounced around the minors for 3 seasons before catching on with the Gothams. The outfielder would play 292 games for the Gothams from 1927-29, making him the lowest draft pick ever to play a FABL game.

RAINIER COLLEGE EYES THIRD STRAIGHT CROWN

The Rainier College Majestics started their season off on the wrong foot by falling 49-40 to Golden Gate in the opening game of the Preseason AIAA Chicago Showcase but they have not lost since and are looking like they are well positioned to become just the second team in collegiate basketball history to win three straight National Championships. The Majestics still have a long ways to go before they can duplicate the feat of the 1921-23 North Carolina Tech Techsters, but with two straight titles and a 17-game winning streak on the go this season they are certainly headed in the right direction.

Rainier College Head Coach Red Bennett moved west to Puyallup, Wa. from Ohio Poly 8 years ago and elevated what was always a pretty solid program into the envy of all of college basketball. In his first season Bennett guided the Majestics to the quarter-finals and two years later they won their first National Title. Two more would come over the past two season and Rainer College is now 193-53 with 3 National Titles under the veteran coach's tutelage

Fourth year starter Tree Turner coninutes to be the leader of the Rainier College offense but he gets plenty of help from fellow senior Tony Williams, who also played a big role on last season's title team. Both Turner and Williams are scoring in double figures and they other key addition has been sophomore forward Buford Garrison, who has stepped in nicely to replace the departed Gary Harrison, who became the first Majestic to be named National Player of the Year when he won the award last season. There are some tough conference games remaining on the schedule including a trip to Los Angeles to face Coastal California on Friday, but it is hard not to put the Majestics near the top of the short-list for national title contenders.

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COLLEGIATE BASKETBALL RANKINGS
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
1. St. Patrick's (72) 21-2 1800 1 Indy Northeast
2. Carolina Poly 15-2 1686 3 South Atlantic Conference
3. Rainier College 17-1 1620 4 West Coast Athletic Association
4. Annapolis Maritime 21-2 1618 2 Indy South
5. Liberty College 21-3 1538 5 Indy East
6. North Carolina Tech 14-4 1447 8 South Atlantic Conference
7. Western Iowa 14-3 1376 9 Great Lakes Alliance
8. Mobile Maritime 14-3 1240 6 South Atlantic Conference
9. CC Los Angeles 15-3 1226 7 West Coast Athletic Association
10. St. Blane 16-5 1171 13 Indy East
11. Garden State 14-4 1003 11 Liberty Conference
12. Ohio Poly 17-5 998 16 Indy Midwest
13. Chesapeake State 13-4 989 10 South Atlantic Conference
14. Mississippi A&M 13-5 836 15 Deep South Conference
15. Great Plains State 18-5 827 14 Indy Midwest
16. St. Martin's College 17-6 667 22 Indy Northeast
17. Noble Jones College 14-4 638 20 Deep South Conference
18. Miami State 17-5 480 17 Indy South
19. St. Pancras 17-5 432 18 Indy East
20. Middlesex 18-5 316 NR Indy Northeast
21. Lincoln 12-5 288 12 Great Lakes Alliance
22. Texas Gulf Coast 13-6 283 NR Southwestern Alliance
23. Western Florida 13-5 189 25 Deep South Conference
24. Conwell College 17-6 174 23 Indy East
25. Wichita Baptist 16-5 132 NR Midwestern Association
Others Receiving Votes:
Coastal California 12-7 109 West Coast Athletic Association
Plover College 15-5 80 Indy Midwest
Harper College 17-5 50 Indy East
Empire State 13-4 46 Liberty Conference
California Catholic 15-5 32 California League
Dickson 13-6 26 Academia Alliance
Brooklyn State 11-7 26 Liberty Conference
Alabama Baptist 13-5 24 Deep South Conference
Eastern State 16-7 17 Indy South
Charleston Tech 13-5 15 South Atlantic Conference
Lane State 10-8 1 West Coast Athletic Association

RESULTS INVOLVING RANKED TEAMS
MONDAY JANUARY 22
#17 Noble Jones College 48 Frankford State 46
Central Kentucky 46 #18 Miami State 44
#23 Western Florida 56 Potomac College 44

TUESDAY JANUARY 23
#4 Annapolis Maritime 47 Alabama Gulf Coast 45
#20 Middlesex 51 Boston State 49
#24 Conwell College 48 Northern Minnesota 29

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 24
#1 St Patrick's 55 Bayou State 49
#12 Ohio Poly 46 St Matthew's College 34

THURSDAY JANUARY 25
#2 Carolina Poly 52 Petersburg 44
#5 Liberty College 61 Narragansett 34
#6 North Carolina Tech 39 Alexandria 37
#7 Western Iowa 46 Wisconsin State 39
#8 Mobile Maritime 44 Lexington State 30
Jersey City Tech 63 #11 Garden State 47
#14 Mississippi A&M 61 #15 Great Plains State 56
#16 St Martin's College 64 Boston State 41
#18 Miami State 53 Wisconsin Catholic 47
Central Ohio 45 #21 Lincoln 43
North Carolina Atlantic 61 #24 Conwell College 49
#25 Wichita Baptist 45 Eastern Oklahoma 42

FRIDAY JANUARY 26
#3 Rainier College 53 Northern California 52
#12 Ohio Poly 51 Rock Island 42
#19 St Pancras 57 West Corners(NY) 49
#20 middlesex 55 Central Maryland 45
#22 Texas Gulf Coast 59 Arkansas A&T 38

SATURDAY JANUARY 27
#2 Carolina Poly 51 Bulein 30
#5 Liberty College 44 Ogdensburg 35
#7 Western Iowa 71 St Ignatius 46
Petersburg 60 #8 Mobile Maritime 48
#11 Garden State 69 Manhattan Tech 49
Cowpens State 43 #13 Chesapeake State 41
#17 Noble Jones College 51 #14 Mississippi A&M 41
#16 St Martin's College 45 Pierpont 37
St Magnus 49 #21 Lincoln 42
#22 Texas Gulf Coast 55 Canyon A&M 35
#23 Western Florida 49 Baton Rogue State 39
#25 Wichita Baptist 48 Payne State 39

SUNDAY JANUARY 28
#3 Rainier College 43 Redwood 33
#9 CC Los Angeles 38 Northern California 26
#24 Conwell College 51 #19 St Pancras 45
#20 Middlesex 42 Narragansett 32

DELANEY WINS IN RING RETURN

Long ago Nick Delaney was one of the rising young fighters in the heavyweight division. Back in 1935 he was 19-2 and there was talk the Stamford, CT. slugger might just be developing into one of the best fighters in the country. Then it suddenly turned after he was badly injured in a savage loss to Whipper Walsh in early 1936 that kept him out of the ring for nearly two years. Delaney did come back but was a shadow of his former self, going 3-5-2 before enlisting shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

Delaney saw action in North Africa before being shipped home after being shot in the leg last January. He recovered from the wound and got himself back into shape sparring and participating in some military fundraising bouts over the summer. Discharged in November he decided to resume his pro career at the age of 34 and looked pretty good in that debut, scoring a one-sided unanimous decision over Arthur Spencer (8-17-4) in the nation's capital last Tuesday. Delaney is now 23-7-2 and while he admits he will never be the top fighter that was once predicted of him, he does have plans to stay active in the ring as long as he can.

ANOTHER VICTORY FOR CRAWFORD

Up and comer Roy Crawford improved his record as a heavyweight to 18-2 with a first round knockout of Eugene Morse at Denny Arena Friday night, much to the delight of the more than 10,000 fight fans that packed the venerable old Boston stadium to witness their hometown favourite first hand. Crawford now counts 8 knockouts among his victories and barely had a glove laid on him in this one.

It took just 32 secords for Morse to end up flat on the canvas as Crawford came out swinging and smothered his opponent in a barrage of punches. Morse struggled to his feet but was clearly dazed, prompting Crawford to go in for the kill. A huge hook by the New Englander less than a minute later sent Morse sprawling once more and while he did show moxey in regaining his feet once more it was clear Morse was seeing stars. As soon as Morse had he regained his feet and been given the go-ahead to continue did Crawford charge forward once more, driving home a wicked hook to the midsection followed quickly by a violent shot to the jaw and Morse was down and out with the official time of the stoppage being 2:57 of the first round.

OTHER NOTABLE BOUT RESULTS FROM LAST WEEK
HW Geoff Graham (30-23-3) unanimous decision in 12 round bout over Tyler Ellis (2-12)
HW Dave Daley (20-12-3) unanimous decision in 12 round bout over Jesse Ford (10-12-1)

The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 1/28/1945

Red Army troops continue to push westward over the frozen Polish plains in a lightning sweep that has advanced them as close as 94 miles from Berlin. Hitler has reportedly rushed Gestapo Chief Heinrich Himmler and others of his best commanders to the Eastern Front and given them "complete power" to rally German strength against the Russians in any way they saw fit.
The American 7th Army completely restored their shaky lines in northern Alsace, hurling the Germans back across the Moder River and breaking up their dangerous offensive on a 20 mile front.
A strong Nazi raid on the Serchio River valley in Italy was repulsed by the American 5th and 8th armies.
765 American soldiers are feared lost after a troop ship carrying 2,200 was sunk recently in European waters by enemy action. Secretary of War Stimson confirmed that the North Atlantic is still very much alive with German Submarines.
American troops in the Philippines are within sight of the Clark Field airstrips, only 53 miles north of Manilla.
Unconfirmed reports from China said that 50 American and Japanese ships battled for nine hours in the East China Sea within 300 miles of Shanghai in the biggest naval engagement since October.
A bit of a scandal for the President to deal with. The Senate Military Affairs Committee has decided to investigate "the whole priority practice" -and particularly the 'A' priority that kept Col. Elliott Roosevelt's dog on an army airplane while three service men were bumped.

Jiggs McGee · 12-19-2022, 07:47 AM

FEBRUARY 5, 1945

NEW PRO BALL LOOP SET TO OPEN IN FALL

The rapid post-war expansion of sports has added a new player in baseball with news out of the Cuba that a winter professional league will set up shop on the island nation in the fall. The as of yet unnamed loop is expected to field 8 ballclubs and since it is playing strictly between November and January it will draw many of it's players from the minor leagues including some FABL affiliates. FABL President Sam Belton confirmed the new Cuban league will operate with the blessing and full support of both the Continental and Federal Associations while also clarifying that FABL will not be involved in the ownership of the league or its teams in any way.

The player pool will be combination of free agents, independent league players, Latino players from Caribbean nations and a handful of FABL minor leaguers. Early indications are FABL clubs will each be allowed to send two or three of their top prospects to the league in order to fine-tune their skills in advance of the March FABL training camps. Belton did add that this will be strictly minor league prospects and that no players on actual FABL rosters will be permitted to play in the winter league.

The Cuban League is the latest in a rapidly growing list of professional sports leagues that are eyeing a post-war startup. Football is the most competitive of all with three new loops including the Percy Sutherland led Continental Football Conference, which appears to be the most stable of the three. The CFC, with former St Blane All-American and Navy Lt. Commander Ben Montgomery as President, appears ready to go and is expected to start in the fall. There is also the United States League -a dream of Pittsburgh businessman Roland Payne and said to include a team based in Honolulu- planning a fall start but seems to be making little progress in that direction. Finally there is the fledgling West Coast League that lost two of it's 8 teams during its inaugural season but it appears unlikely to return for a second campaign.
*** Pro Cage Loop Likely ***

There is also a growing campaign to take another stab at a national professional basketball league. The college game is enjoying great success, as are many of the regional semi-pro loops scattered across the country so perhaps this time a big-league play for pay loop would succeed. It was attempted before as Bennie Guilder started the ball rolling as far back as 1920 and in the mid-twenties Jack Kristich, Rollie Barrell and other football magnates orchestrated the short-lived Federal Basketball League but it was a victim of bad timing, falling by the wayside as the Great Depression dawned.

Last summer an informal meeting was held involving owners of many of the key semi-pro basketball clubs and there was great support for a major cage league. Reportedly Chicago, Detroit, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis and Pittsburgh all had owners in place and willing to commit their support to a top flight pro league for cagers that draws former collegiate stars similar to the structure of the American Football Association.
*** Coast Baseball Plan Likely Dead ***

There had also been talk from several on the west coast, including Al Fouts -owner of the Great Western League's Hollywood Heroes- on plans to start a third major baseball association to compete with FABL. The Fouts plan calls for the Great Western clubs to renounce their AAA status and declare themselves a major league with the objective to go head to head with FABL teams for players but so far it has gained little traction and appears likely to wither without amounting to more than just idle chatter.

TALES FROM THE WOLVES DEN

Globe & Empire Select an All-Time Canadian Team

Now that the holiday season has passed with 1945 well underway Brett has decided to bring about more debate in the hot stove league by selecting a team of the best natives of Canada who have played in the FABL. This comes after the much debated All-Time Wolves team brought to the readers just after Christmas. The paper received a great deal of response, both positive and negative, to this team. With the war news getting much better from Bastogne, the Battle of the Bulge beginning to lose steam hopefully this team will bring back memories to the older generation of readers along with sparking debate, research by some, while people wait for the weather to warm bringing with it a new baseball season.

P- Adolph Cash: This Aurora, Ont native had a successful albeit short FABL career spanning 1890-96 with four different FABL teams. He pitched for Cleveland (twice), Montreal in the CA, Chicago, Washington in FA. A four time 20 game winner, when winning 20 was expected not the high standard of today, Cash topped out at 24 with the Foresters in 1891, again after returning to them in '94. Cash logged over 400 innings on the hill twice, during his the 1894 campaign he did not allow a single HR in 424 innings. Adolph compiled a record of 111-103 3.21 ERA in 1847 innings with 149 complete games, as was the rule rather than the exception in those days, he issued more BB (691) than players he sent to the bench with via the strikeout (580). His record could have been much better if it were not for two lost seasons 1893 in which he had only 27 IP with the Chiefs, 1895 only 25 IP in Cleveland. He finished his FABL with style by winning 20 games for the Saints in 1896.

P- Johnson Ley: This native of Saint Charles Borromee, PQ spent his entire 5 year career in Washington. He was a member of 1913 World Champion Eagles. He posted a career record of 90-100, 3.44 over 1602 innings consistently eating up innings for Washington although he led the league in BB 1913 (157), 1914 (176). Ley bounced around the minors after losing his rotation spot in 1917 until 1920 trying regain his form.

P- Charles Atkinson: This Toronto native was a member of the FABL before it was a major league. He joined the Pittsburgh Miners in 1890 then managed to stay in the FABL for 10 seasons with the Miners, St. Louis, Chicago Chiefs, Toronto, Cleveland. His most successful season was with Chicago in 1895 going 32-11, 4.07. Thirty wins are impressive but 30 losses speaks to how the game was managed in the early days, Atkinson was the pitcher of record in 33 losses for the Miners in 1891 along with 30 for the Wolves in 1896. Career record of 133-163, 4.35 over 2555 innings shows Atkinson was valued even if he could not recapture his magic of 1895. Atkinson continued to pitch at the AAA level until 1906.

P- Al Allen: The son of perhaps the greatest pitcher in FABL history was born in Toronto while his famous father was pitching for the Wolves. A journeyman starter, Al Jr. managed to be in the FABL for at least parts of 9 season with Montreal, New York Gothams, finishing up in Detroit. Allen ended up with a winning record in the big leagues 58-56, 4.56 over 1057 innings. Baseball people recognized that Allen could pitch, although he was not stellar in the FABL, he managed to carve out a 17-year professional career that just ended in 1943. Or did it? Could he reappear if manpower shortages become critical in the upcoming season?

C- James Rice: Rice, born in Fredericton, NB had a 15-year FABL run as a mainstay behind the plate for Philadelphia Keystones where he spent all 14 seasons, after a debut in St. Louis in 1902. He started over 1300 games as a pitching staff receiver. He led the FA in plate appearances in 1907 with 609, a remarkable record for catcher given the number of foul tips a catcher is subject to over a season. Rice's motto was "Shake it off, put down the next sign.". Over a total of 1481 games James put together a .291/.335/.349 line which was consistently above league averages for his time. As his playing time decreased Rice spent his time tutoring younger players on the Keystone's bench acting as unnamed assistant to the coaching staff. With the advent of the veteran's committee there should be a movement to see Rice's name on this ballot.

Pete Casstevens may eventually replace Rice as Canada's catcher if he continues along the path he has shown early in the FABL.

1B- Paul Moton: Born in Hamilton, ON before the American Civil War in 1857 Moton is a name from baseball's early days. He witnessed all the -early days of baseball starting as a professional sport, the Century, Border, Peerless, Federal were all finding their way during Moton's playing days. Began his pro days with the Detroit Woodwards in 1879 then moved over to the Brooklyn Kings in 1885 before jumping, as was often the case in the 1880's, for more money to the Border Association's Syracuse Olympics in 1888. Over 11 seasons of loosely termed Major League play Moton's batting line was .270/.306/.371 in 1068 games, knocking in 540 runs while stealing a 178 bases as a first sacker. Paul earned a total of $2354 as a pro, an month's salary for some the 1944 players.

He will almost certainly be replaced if there is a newer edition of this list by Philadelphia Sailors Marion Boismenu when returns to the FABL from the RCAF.

2B- Jim Hoskin: Kelowna, BC native spent 9 years in the FABL, 1912-20, first two in his native county with the Wolves before moving to the Baltimore Cannons for the last seven years of his big league time. Steady, not spectacular, at the plate Jim was always a threat to swipe an extra sack. Hoskin led the league in PA (748) in 1914 posted career numbers of .265/.330/.326 in almost 900 games.

Like Moton, Hoskins will probably be replaced on future lists by John Langille when John decides to hang 'em up.

3B- Tom Acker: This Toronto born player was the best of a very short list of Canadians who have played the hot corner. Like Moton, Acker was at the top level of baseball's pro ranks during the rollicking times of the 1880's. His time in the "bigs" was from 1882 until the formation of what is now the FABL in 1892, he spent one year in the Peerless' short life. His best years were as a member of Cleveland along with stops in Pittsburg, Buffalo. Career line was .248/.309/.331 in 2389 times at the plate. Eagle John Dunn was another consideration but his numbers were less inviting than Acker's.

LF- Jack Eaton: Jack hails from Springfield, MB is another player from the formative years of major league baseball. Jack played for the FABL Gothams, BA St. Louis Brewers, Boston Brahmins in the FABL along with years in the Peerless with Philadelphia Maroons. A member of three championship teams Brewers in 1884, Pioneers 1889, Maroons 1891. May be one of the only players with a FABL, Border Association, Peerless championship. Jack lead his league in hits twice 1887, 1888 along total bases in 1887 putting up an impressive .322/.381/.470 line in 1006 games he averaged 1.25 hits per game he played for his team.

CF- Tom Taylor: Known as the "Canadian Club" Abbottsford's, BC Taylor won back to back,1928-29, Whitney Awards as a member of the Sailors 1928-29. Tom was also a member of five championship teams, with the Sailors in 1928, 1930, Chicago Cougars1931, 1935. New York Gothams in 1938 after being acquired from the Cougars in July. Most of his time was spent in RF but Taylor was also an above average CF so he is selected here on the Canadian team. A power hitter who lead the league thrice in HR 1928, 1929, 1934 he was lifetime .296/.359/.498 hitter, a real thorn in the side of opposing pitchers. Twelve years in the majors. Tom may be the best players from Canada to have worn an FABL uniform up until this time. Who knows who will come out of Canada in the future?

RF- Abel Man: Montreal's Man is the reason Brett took liberties by placing Taylor in CF. Man spent 11 productive years, all with the Baltimore Cannons during their struggles during the 1930s. A productive hitter as .292/.345/.421 attests, in 1082 games Man legged out 57 triples. While feared at the plate his real value to the Cannons was his ability to cover ground in right taking away sure doubles off the bat from hitters. Man realized his skills were deteriorating during the 1937 season rather than hanging around the game in the minors he left game with his head held high.

MGR- Jimmy Hicks: Little is known about his early life other than Hicks was born in 1857 as Jim talks very little about his early life in Canada. After a career with Milwaukee in AAA along with two short stints in Pittsburgh, Hicks began a 23 year managerial tenure in 1895. He won two league championship with New Orleans and Newark before he joined the Baltimore Clippers in 1899 as an assistant in the dugout. Following three years in Baltimore he began a roving existence until 1919 with stops in Nashville, Oakland twice, Milwaukee, Providence, Denver. Always known as a manager who favoured speed both in the field, base paths, Hicks was in the game for over 35 years.

In this week's edition of Caught on the Fly we look at a team-by-team list of players who appeared in at least one FABL game last season but will miss 1945 due to the war:
BOSTON- 5: 14-18 pitching record, 1.5 batter war: C Buster Farrar (.251,3,33), P Dick Higgins (2-1, 10sv), P Paul Richardson (6-9, 4.81), P Butch Campbell (6-8, 4.29), OF Bob Bolton (.167,0,1).

BROOKLYN- 6: 20-23 pitching record, 3.5 batter war: P Jim Kenny (18-14, 2.99), P Curly Jones (1-9, 5sv), P Bob Ginger (1-0, 2sv), SS Tom Landowski (.246,5,48), C Freddie DuBois (.245,2,28), 1B Don Cress (.364,0,1).

CHIEFS- 4: 4-15 pitching record, 2.2 batter war: P Luis Sandoval (4-15, 4.55), C Frankie Kitchen (.234,1,21), OF Wayne Newcomb (.250,2,37), OF Ducky Pugh (.244,0,16).

COUGARS- 3: 0-0 pitching record, 14.2 batter war: OF Leo Mitchell (.357,14,90), 3B Hank Barnett (.295,16,90), 2B Billy Hunter (.298,8,53).

CINCINNATI- 5: 18-13 pitching record, 4.9 batter war: P Chris Clarke (12-10, 2.44), P Vic Carroll (6-3, 3.29), 2B Tony White (.226,3,22), SS Clifton Smith (.227,0,10), OF Bob Griffith (.291,5,63 traded to Philadelphia Keystones)

CLEVELAND- 4: 14-12 pitching record, -0.4 batter war: P Johnny Slaney (14-12, 3.76), C Tex Whitaker (.143,0,2), SS Glenn White (.322,0,15), OF Hal Burres (.250,2,47).

DETROIT- 5: 30-22 pitching record, 5.9 batter war: P Jimmy Mayse (15-6, 3.13), P Pug Bryan (10-9, 3.73), P Willie Montgomery (5-7, 15sv), 2B Gil London (.281,2,42), C Herb Hartman (.250,0,1).

MONTREAL- 5: 15-14 pitching record, 3.0 batter war: P Bill Ross (14-11, 3.85), P Bert Cupid (1-2, 3.25), P Rudy Finch (0-1, 5.40), 2B John Cooper (.167,0,1), 3B Spud Bent (.273,6,63).

NY STARS- 3: 1-0 pitching record, 6.3 batter war: P Red Wiese (1-0, 6.75), C Cliff Ray (.232,4,37), 3B Gary Carmichael (.289,8,68).

NY GOTHAMS- 3: 1-2 pitching record, 0.2 batter war: P Bucky Palmer (0-1, 6.75), P Johnny Massey (1-1, 3.96), 3B Eddie Ziehl (.286,0,5), manager Ed Ziehl.

KEYSTONES- 3: 15-12 pitching record, -0.3 batter war: P Pepper Tuttle (15-12, 2.85), C Charlie Gagnon (.111,0,2), SS Tim Humphrey (.208,4,35).

SAILORS- 3: 6-3 pitching record, 7.5 batter war: P Hannibal Davis (6-3, 17sv), 1B Marion Boismenu (.354,3,71), OF Ernst Glass (.273,4,39).

PITTSBURGH- 5: 6-10 pitching record, 6.8 batter war: P Speed Brown (6-10, 11sv), 2B George Darnell (.296,2,50), SS Rafael Mendoza (.260,1,56), OF Luke Berry (.299,11,78), OF Jasper Wright (.282,3,19).

ST LOUIS- 3: 21-12 pitching record, 0.0 batter war: P Buddy Long (21-12, 2.60), SS Jackie Washington (.250,1,24), OF Pershing Christian (.261,9,50).

TORONTO- 5: 30-27 pitching record, 4.3 batter war: P Bernie Johnson (17-13, 2.66), P Jimmy Gibbs (12-11, 3.16), P Bob McRae (1-3, 10sv), 2B Hal Wood (.300,3,56), OF Reginald Westfall (.238,1,17).

WASHINGTON- 4: 6-3 pitching record, 10.6 batter war: P Les Bradshaw (6-3, 1.86), pitcher Don Orr (0-0, 5sv), 3B Mel Carrol (.347,6,63), OF Jesse Alvardo (.275,15,70).

SAILORS KNOCK OFF ST PATRICK'S IN ROUGH WEEK FOR SHAMROCKS

All eyes in college basketball were focused Baltimore Friday evening for a classic matchup between the two of the top teams in college cage action. It mattered little that St Patrick's -the number one team in the nation had been upset just 3 days earlier by Garden State as there was still plenty of excitement as the Annapolis Maritime Navigators put their 13 game winning streak on the line against the Shamrocks. It was a low scoring affair with the Navigators taking a 15-13 lead at the half enroute to a 40-32 victory. It was not enough for the sailors to overtake the Shamrocks for top spot in the polls but it did vault them past Carolina Poly and Rainier College into second position.

It was a rough week for a number of the top teams. The Shamrocks, as mentioned, lost twice but did rebound Sunday with a 56-35 blowout of Troy State to improve to 22-4 on the season. Carolina Poly won in Boston over Commonwealth Catholic early in the week but ended on a losing note with a 52-44 loss to Lexington State that evened the Cardinals section record at 2-2. Rainier College barely escaped Los Angeles with a win early in the week, holding off Coastal California 48-46 but they also lost on Sunday, falling 54-46 to Idaho A&M for their first lost in West Coast Athletic Association play this season.

GAMBLING SCANDAL AT BIGSBY GARDEN

There are few details at press time but there are reports that multiple players from the Jersey City Tech basketball team have been suspended from the team following allegations of them being involved in a point-shaving scandal at two recent games held at Bigsby Garden. The school has made no comment other than to confirm that four starters have been suspended but would not reveal who the players are or any other details surrounding the decision. It is believed the accusations stem from a mid-January loss when they were favoured to beat Manhattan Tech. Jersey City Tech, a member of the newly formed Liberty Conference, has an 11-9 record this season.

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COLLEGIATE BASKETBALL RANKINGS
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
1. St. Patrick's (72) 22-4 1800 1 Indy Northeast
2. Annapolis Maritime 23-2 1726 4 Indy South
3. Carolina Poly 16-3 1606 2 South Atlantic Conference
4. Rainier College 18-2 1569 3 West Coast Athletic Association
5. Liberty College 23-3 1503 5 Indy East
6. North Carolina Tech 16-4 1497 6 South Atlantic Conference
7. Mobile Maritime 16-3 1347 8 South Atlantic Conference
8. CC Los Angeles 17-3 1304 9 West Coast Athletic Association
9. Western Iowa 16-3 1227 7 Great Lakes Alliance
10. Garden State 16-4 1143 11 Liberty Conference
11. Ohio Poly 19-5 1115 12 Indy Midwest
12. Chesapeake State 14-5 961 13 South Atlantic Conference
13. Noble Jones College 15-4 845 17 Deep South Conference
14. St. Martin's College 19-6 806 16 Indy Northeast
15. St. Blane 16-7 782 10 Indy East
16. Mississippi A&M 14-6 702 14 Deep South Conference
17. Middlesex 20-5 694 20 Indy Northeast
18. St. Pancras 18-5 601 19 Indy East
19. Conwell College 18-6 471 24 Indy East
20. Wichita Baptist 17-5 409 25 Midwestern Association
21. Dickson 15-6 287 NR Academia Alliance
22. Lincoln 13-6 262 21 Great Lakes Alliance
23. Eastern State 17-7 201 NR Indy South
24. Plover College 16-6 120 NR Indy Midwest
25. Coastal California 13-8 72 NR West Coast Athletic Association
Others Receiving Votes:
Charleston Tech 14-5 69 South Atlantic Conference
Miami State 18-7 62 Indy South
Empire State 14-5 57 Liberty Conference
Lane State 12-8 43 West Coast Athletic Association
Western Florida 14-6 42 Deep South Conference
Texas Gulf Coast 13-7 36 Southwestern Alliance
Alabama Baptist 14-6 23 Deep South Conference
Harper College 17-6 15 Indy East
Brooklyn State 12-8 3 Liberty Conference

RESULTS INVOLVING RANKED TEAMS
MONDAY JANUARY 29
#3 Carolina Poly 61 Commonwealth Catholic 54
#11 Ohio Poly 53 Granville 44
North Carolina Atlantic 50 #15 St Blane 37

TUESDAY JANUARY 30
#10 Garden State 55 #1 St Patrick's 42
#2 Annapolis Maritime 58 Potomac College 45
#5 Liberty College 42 Kansas Agricultural 34
Queen City 43 #24 Plover College 42

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 31
St Andrews College 41 #16 Mississippi A&M 48
#17 Middlesex 49 Penobscot State 39
#19 Conwell College 53 Flagstaff State 40
#21 Dickson 48 Henry Hudson 32

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 1
#6 North Carolina Tech 57 Central Carolina 32
#7 Mobile Maritime 48 Coastal State 33
#9 Western Iowa 41 #22 Lincoln 38
Columbia Military Academy 46 #12 Chesapeake State 39
#14 St Martin's College 58 Bay State 36
#20 Wichita Baptist 51 Freemont State 33
#24 Plover College 58 Oklahoma Bible College 45

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 2
#2 Annapolis Maritime 40 #1 St Patrick's 32
#4 Rainier College 48 #25 Coastal California 46
#8 CC Los Angeles 40 Redwood 30
#11 Ohio Poly 60 Elyria 38
#18 St Pancras 47 Talmadge State 38

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 3
Lexington State 52 #3 Carolina Poly 44
#5 Liberty College 52 Penn Catholic 30
#6 North Carolina Tech 52 Bulein 21
#7 Mobile Maritime 63 Cowpens State 35
#9 Western Iowa 54 Whitney College 47
#10 Garden State 46 Empire State 45
#12 Chesapeake State 45 Petersburg 32
#13 Noble Jones College 49 Baton Rogue State 22
#14 St Martin's College 59 Ogdensburg 31
#17 Middlesex 53 West Corners(NY) 51
#22 Lincoln 52 Minnesota Tech 48
#23 Eastern State 51 Narragansett 44

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 4
#1 St Patrick's 56 Troy State(NY) 35
Idaho A&M 54 #4 Rainier College 46
#8 CC Los Angeles 41 Spokane State 16
College of Cairo 52 #15 St Blane 39
#25 Coastal California 55 Redwood 44

JACKSON SCORES BIG VICTORY

Veteran west coast heavyweight Andrew Jackson improved his record to 25-9-2 with a win over Ben Compton in Los Angeles last night. Jackson won with a 6th round knockout improving the 38 year old's record to 25-9-2 and marks his 9th straight decision without a loss. Originally from Montana, he has been fighting up and down the west coast the past couple of years.

There was also a rare professional fight card in England -something we have not seen a lot of in the past few years. This one in London saw Welsh heavyweight Shawn Burnaby (22-10-5) fight Englishman Stuart Maunder (7-8-1) to a 12 round draw. Out of England also come reports that World Middleweight Champion Archie Rees is preparing for a cross-Atlantic trip to New York where he reportedly will defend his title in a late March bout at Bigsby Garden.

The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 2/04/1945

Soviet tanks continued their drive toward Berlin as they reached the Oder River and are now less than 40 miles from the Nazi capital. On the western front, American tanks and troops continue to thrust forward as well with the 3rd Army vanguard setting the pace by mushing through knee-deep snow.
Hitler's 12th anniversary radio address was seen as a warning that Germany will fight on -even after the fall of Berlin- regardless of the consequences for as long as his Nazi regime can control the army and restless hordes of war workers.
"We will enter Manila today" declares General MacArthur after reinforcements landed early in the week and are approaching the Philippine capital. The latest landing occurred without a shot being fired as Philippine troops had cleared the beaches in advance of the Americans arrival.
Speaker Sam Rayburn today urged the House to reject all amendments proposed to the new war work draft bill. Among those was a proposal to keep the manpower program for essential war jobs strictly on a volunteer basis.
A grand jury investigation into a college basketball bribery scandal has been ordered. Jersey City Tech players are accused of receiving money from bookmakers to throw a game at the Bigsby Garden.

Jiggs McGee · 12-19-2022, 11:09 AM

FEBRUARY 12, 1945

WILD SEASON LIES AHEAD FOR FED

Baseball's Federal Association has often given us some memorable season with four or more teams waged in a tight battle for much of the year but 1945 is shaping up to be perhaps the largest pennant chase seen in decades in the loop. At this point as we sit a month away from the start of spring training there is no clear cut favourite for the Fed flag and one could easily make a case for all but perhaps the St Louis Pioneers as the team to beat.

The Philadelphia Keystones are the defending champs after winning by a fairly wide 9 game margin a year ago. They will be without 15 game winner Pepper Tuttle (army) and starting shortstop Tim Humphrey (navy) and both will be missed although vet Jake Creel was acquired over the winter and is probably a little better with the glove at shortstop than Humphrey was. The Keystones offense revolves around Bobby Barrell and while another triple crown season might be too much to ask for, one still has to think The Georiga Jolter will come up big once again. First baseman Harry Shumate has had two strong seasons in Philadelphia but he will turn 35 shortly after opening day so perhaps there are worries about a bit of a slide. The rotation, anchored by ace Red Ross, looks solid at the top but Tuttle will be missed. As is the case with most teams, all of the top pitching prospects are overseas but perhaps 22 year old John Grimes, who had a solid season in AAA a year ago, can step up to replace Tuttle.

Few, if any, expected the Detroit Dynamos to finish second a year ago but they were one of the bigger surprises of 1944. For that reason alone it is hard to count them out but there seem to be a lot of holes in the Detroit roster for 1945 with second sacker Gil London (army), 15 game winner Jimmy Mayse (navy), 10 game winner Pug Bryan (navy) and relief ace Willie Montgomery (army) all lost to the war effort. Add in the fact that third baseman Frank Vance will turn 43 this season and the fact the club is facing a cash crunch that might force them to part with a player like outfielder Henry Jones -another greybeard at age 40- and there is little reason to think the Dynamos will contend, but that was the same tune we were singing a year ago with the prospect of Detroit facing a full season without Red Johnson.

The Pittsburgh Miners have been beat up badly over the years by Selective Service and this year was no different with outfielder Luke Berry (navy) and promising 21 year old infielder George Darnell (army) getting the call along with reliever Speed Brown (navy). There was a little good news on the war manpower from as Tony Puccinello will return after a hernia made him 4-F. Pooch last pitched in 1942 but might be a solid replacement for Brown. The Pittsburgh rotation returns four strong startes in Karl Johnson, George Phillips, Don Miller and Billy Ligons, who had a breakout season a year ago as a 27 year old. There are going to be some holes in the offense to patch but if vets Mahlon Strong and Moxie Pidgeon can stay healthy -a big ask- and productive the Miners might be just fine.

Many anticipated another step forward from the Washington Eagles in 1944 after a stellar '43 season that saw the Stockdales stay in the thick of the pennant race until a late season fade. Instead the club got off to a terrible start to the '44 campaign and was never in contention although some positives can be taken from a 34-18 stretch run. The Eagles pitching staff had a strong season a year ago but must duplicate it for Washington to have any chance. The good news is for the most part the Washington pitchers escaped the military draft and even added to it's ranks with the return of Juan Tostado after missing 3 seasons due to the war. But before you start thinking Washington got off easy there is the little matter of Mel Carrol and Jesse Alvardo -perhaps the two best offensive players on the team that finished last in the Fed in runs scored a year ago- both leaving for the navy. Runs might be very hard to come by for the home side at Columbia Stadium this season as neither will be easy to replace. The prospect of Larry Colaianni and Bob Coon being penciled in as the starting third baseman and left fielder instead of Carrol and Alvardo is likely causing more than a few sleepless nights for Eagles skipper John Lawrence.

Boston won it all '43 but dipped a year ago despite a big season from Walt Wells on the mound and the addition of Billy Dalton. The good news for the Minutemen is Selective Service did not hit them too hard this off-season. Catcher Buster Farrar (army) and pitcher Dick Higgins (navy) have left but many other teams were hit much worse. The big question mark once again surrounds Bill Van Ness and can he finally be the strong starting catcher the Minutemen thought they were getting when they drafted him 6th overall in 1935. Van Ness was awful last season and may even lose his starting job to Jiggs Jackson if he has a repeat of 1944 so catcher remains a big concern in Boston.

The Chicago Chiefs have spent three consecutive seasons in the second division and clearly admitted to their fans they were in rebuild mode with deals last summer to send Tom Bird and Rabbit Day to Cincinnati. The Al Wheeler experiment-who also went to the Cannons in a separate transaction- was a terrible experience for the organization. They also lost starting centerfielder Wayne Newcomb, Bird's replacement at catcher Frankie Kitchen and pitcher Luis Sandavol all to the army. The Chiefs do stil have Ron Rattigan and Bob Martin -two of the few remaining links to their pair of WCS wins last decade- and perhaps if things break right they could surprise after dealing stars like the Dynamos did a year ago.

Selective Service has once again played a role as many teams were affected over the winter by war losses but the one exception might be the New York Gothams, who benefited greatly with the return of pitcher Harry Carter from the navy. The Gothams also did not lose a single key regular to the war effort this winter and their rotation of Ed Bowman, Jim Lonardo and Jim Baggett along with Carter might just be enough to make the Gothams the team to beat in the Fed this season.

The St Louis Pioneers are perhaps the one team you can count out this year. They lost 21 game winner Buddy Long to the army air corps which likely contributed their decision to deal veteran centerfielder Gail Gifford and pitcher Sam Sheppard to Cincinnati for a pair of first round draft picks and highly touted outfield prospect. As if things couldn't get worse in St Louis, the Pioneers also lost 24 year old outfielder Pershing Christian, coming off a very strong rookie season, to the Army. There is a lot of young talent in the organization but so much of it is overseas. However, perhaps if pitchers Lazaro DeLeon and Ben Fiskars and infielder Homer Mills can break out after getting some FABL experience last season and 21 year old outfielder Larry Gregory enjoys a successful rookie season this can still be a productive year for the Pioneers.

Eagles owner William Stockdale is confident that war mobilization director James Byrnes will come to recognize the value of wartime baseball. "I have met with Undersecretary of War Patterson for two and one-half years," he stated. "I know he thinks the expenditures of manpower and transportation for baseball are worth while. I think Mr. Byrnes will come to that same decision. From my experience, I know folks on the hill are friendly to baseball. They realize the contribution the game has given to war relief. Although baseball is listed as nonessential, I don't think any one in his right mind thinks that baseball should stop."
Nothing official but the latest activity in Washington regarding the business of baseball in wartime has all the earmarks of a trial balloon. No authority of the ODT will accept responsibility for the rumour that the big leagues would be asked to realign themselves into East and West groups to reduce travel. This was a rumour that had baseball people scattering to verify all weekend. The idea was first floated a couple of years ago but nothing became of it.
Aboard the Battlewagon Alabama, pride of the Third Fleet, Pete Papenfus ranks next to Admiral Halsey as the most popular man in the Navy but he is running out of catchers when he wants to throw a few. His first catcher was a cook named Haynes, but he had to quit when his thumb was shoved half way to the elbow with one of Peter the Heater's fastballs. He has since gone through 3 more of them, and all went away with hand injuries. Too bad he doesn't have someone like Adam Mullins or Heinie Zimmer on board.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL HEADS MOVE FAST TO COMBAT GAMBLING EVIL

AIAA Chief Suggests Return of Game to Campus Might Aid
College basketball authorities throughout the nation, disturbed by admission of four Jersey City Tech players they had accepted $1,000 to throw a game, pondered anew today methods of combating widespread gambling on games that one source estimated ran as high as $10 million weekly.

Leaders of the indoor sport, such as Charles B. Darrow, promoter of the doubleheaders at Bigsby Garden, assert that the action of the Jersey City Tech players in no way typlified the attitude of the college athlete in general. The AIAA issued a call for the "every day fan, who is in no way to be confused with the professional gamblers, to help us by not betting on college athletics."

Meantime, a grand jury called into a rare night session by Judge Samuel S. Leibowitz, heard testimony from the four players: Al Harbison, Ulysses Bucci, Don Sparkman and Eric Bode as well as Jersey City Tech head coach Duke Van Kirk. Police have disclosed that more than 12 men have been arrested in Bigsby Garden on bookmaking charges since the horse racing ban of January 3. The men, according to police, are accused of "making book" on fights, hockey and basketball after complaints had been received that race-track followers had mushroomed a "new business."

The players are alleged to have conspired with known gamblers to throw a January 20th game against Manhattan Tech, one in which Jersey City Tech would lose 50-47 despite being heavily favoured and are also suspected of shaving points in a 3 point win over Brooklyn Catholic on February 3 in which the Techsters were favoured by 6 points.

AIAA officials are contemplating a return of the game to campus play only, eliminating the high revenue generating events like those that are scheduled weekly in major arenas in big cities like New York, Chicago and Boston.

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COLLEGIATE BASKETBALL RANKINGS
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
1. St. Patrick's (72) 24-4 1800 1 Indy Northeast
2. Annapolis Maritime 24-2 1715 2 Indy South
3. Carolina Poly 18-3 1591 3 South Atlantic Conference
4. North Carolina Tech 18-4 1557 6 South Atlantic Conference
5. Rainier College 20-2 1554 4 West Coast Athletic Association
6. Liberty College 24-3 1496 5 Indy East
7. Western Iowa 18-3 1375 9 Great Lakes Alliance
8. Ohio Poly 21-5 1255 11 Indy Midwest
9. CC Los Angeles 18-4 1248 8 West Coast Athletic Association
10. Garden State 17-5 1127 10 Liberty Conference
11. Mobile Maritime 16-5 1107 7 South Atlantic Conference
12. St. Martin's College 21-6 951 14 Indy Northeast
13. St. Blane 18-7 923 15 Indy East
14. St. Pancras 20-5 841 18 Indy East
15. Chesapeake State 15-6 802 12 South Atlantic Conference
16. Noble Jones College 16-5 695 13 Deep South Conference
17. Mississippi A&M 15-7 628 16 Deep South Conference
18. Middlesex 21-6 523 17 Indy Northeast
19. Texas Gulf Coast 15-7 447 NR Southwestern Alliance
20. Great Plains State 20-9 328 NR Indy Midwest
21. Conwell College 19-7 327 19 Indy East
22. Western Florida 15-6 260 NR Deep South Conference
23. Miami State 19-7 216 NR Indy South
24. Lincoln 14-7 185 22 Great Lakes Alliance
25. Wichita Baptist 18-6 171 20 Midwestern Association
Others Receiving Votes:
Dickson 16-7 110 Academia Alliance
Plover College 17-7 45 Indy Midwest
Eastern State 18-8 39 Indy South
Lane State 13-9 38 West Coast Athletic Association
Empire State 15-6 14 Liberty Conference
Charleston Tech 15-6 12 South Atlantic Conference
Harper College 17-6 10 Indy East
Coastal California 14-9 6 West Coast Athletic Association
Oklahoma City State 15-6 4 Plains Athletic Association

RESULTS INVOLVING RANKED TEAMS
MONDAY FEBRUARY 5
none scheduled

TUESDAY FEBRUARY 6
#13 St Blane 67 Valley State 64
#20 Great Plains State 41 Payne State 38
#23 Miami State 38 Michigan Lutheran 32

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 7
#1 St Patrick's 52 Hartford Wesleyan 41
#8 Ohio Poly 54 Huntington State 36
#12 St Martin's College 53 Narragansett 36
#14 St Pancras 47 Bardney 40
#16 Noble Jones College 49 Cumberland 30
Opelika State 52 #17 Mississippi A&M 37
Troy State(NY) 54 #18 Middlesex 49
Pittsburgh State 49 #21 Conwell College 40
#22 Western Florida 45 St Andrews College 40

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 8
#3 Carolina Poly 54 Columbia Military Academy 46
#4 North Carolina Tech 46 Lexington State 37
#6 Liberty College 49 St Matthew's College 41
#7 Western Iowa 62 Detroit City College 44
Alexandria 47 #11 Mobile Maritime 43
#13 St Blane 47 Kansas Agricultural 27
#15 Chesapeake State 48 Bulein 31
#24 Lincoln 43 St Ignatius 34
Lambert College 56 #25 Wichita Baptist 50

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 9
#1 St Patrick's 36 Strub College 26
#2 Annapolis Maritime 47 Brunswick 40
#5 Rainier College 47 Custer College 42
#14 St Pancras 39 Orrville 35
#19 Texas Gulf Coast 49 Lubbock State 44
Northern California 45 #9 CC Los Angeles 26

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 10
#3 Carolina Poly 57 Maryland State 39
#4 North Carolina Tech 46 #11 Mobile Maritime 44
#7 Western Iowa 49 #24 Lincoln 44
#12 St Martin's College 47 Noth Carolina Atlantic 38
Alexandria 30 #15 Chesapeake State 29
St Andrews College 38 #16 Noble Jones College 32
#17 Mississippi A&M 46 Bluegrass State 44
#18 Middlesex 39 Western Montana 32
#19 Texas Guld Coast 61 Red River State 40
#21 Conwell College 51 Grant(IN) 38
#25 Wichita Baptist 52 Perry State College 22

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 11
#5 Rainier College 48 Lane State 46
#9 CC Los Angeles 36 Redwood 31
#20 Great Plains State 52 East Missouri Seminary 25

SAWYER SAYS HE IS READY FOR TITLE DEFENSE

Heavyweight Champion Hector Sawyer says he is excited to get back into the ring after more than three years in the army. The World Champion, who sports a 49-3-1 record, has spent plenty of time boxing in fundraising matches while in the service including most recently on the undercard of the big Archie Rees middleweight title fight in England last September, but says there is something different about a pro fight.

"The army bouts are great and all," Sawyer explained "but they don't compare to a big time pro fight. It will be something to get back in the ring with the title on the line."

Sawyer's challenger, 35 year old Minnesota native Willie Meyer (32-7-1) is not expected to provide much of a challenge for the champ. This bout is clearly designed to ease Sawyer back into the pro game before he faces a real opponent -likely Mark Fountain- in June or July.

RUTLEDGE MAKES PRO DEBUT

The much anticipated pro debut of Danny Rutledge came last week and the 20 year old welterweight did not disappoint, earning a second round knock in front of a hostile crowd at the Cleveland Arena against hometown boy Will Wright. Rutledge, who hails from Louisville is considered to be one of the best young fighters around in any weight class.

THIS WEEKS FIGHT ROUND-UP

Wayne Dunn continues to impress in the welterweight division as the 29 year old Hartford native improved to 22-6 with an unanimous decision over Henry Nichols (15-10) in Baltimore on Tuesday. Dunn counts 17 knockouts among his 22 victories and is considered to be among the best welterweights in the nation.

There was controvery in Kansas City when Pete Roe was disqualified for multiple infractions in his heavyweight bout with Michael Wilkins. Roe was deducted points and warned repeatedly for low blows and leaning on his opponent's neck before the referee finally had enough and called the fight in the 8th of it's scheduled 10 rounds. That set off a melee in the ring when someone from Roe's corner attacked the referee and soon a half dozen men were going at it in the ring. It took the police to settle things down and result in Roe's trainer spending a night in jail. Wilkins improves to 8-13 with the win while Roe, a 35 year old St Louis native, falls to 21-5-3.

The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 2/11/1945

A Moscow report says Red Army advance forces have broken across the Oder River before Berlin and claim the "complete destruction of Nazi Germany is very near."
Four divisions of the American 3rd Army were reported making "good progress" in a new offensive launched across the German frontier from Luxembourg on a 22-mile front.
American troops have seized control of much of Manila while Tokyo is rocked by both a 'severe' earthquake and one of the largest forces of Superfortresses ever to hit Japan.
Diplomatic quarters believe that one of the momentous decisions to be announced at the end of the Big Three conference may be the formation of a military board by the United States, Britain and Russia to deal the death blow to the German army. Observers believe the Russians are now ready -for the first time- join the Americans and British in a joint military committee that will execute the strategy planned by Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin.
Civil rule in Berlin ceases, with the city in a panic and described by Moscow radio as a "city of death and ruins."
Two oil tankers collided in New York Harbor, setting fire to both, killing at least 12 and disrupting Harbor traffic with blazing oil slicks.

Jiggs McGee · 12-20-2022, 09:16 AM

FEBRUARY 19, 1945

ARE CANNONS HEADED FOR THIRD STRAIGHT CROWN - OR THE RETIREMENT HOME?

The Cincinnati Cannons appear to be the odds-on favourite to win a third straight Continental Association pennant, matching a feat their current General Manager accomplished a little less than a decade ago with the Brooklyn Kings. The biggest challenge the veteran-laded Cannons might have is avoiding the injury bug. Cincinnati is expected to field by far the oldest roster next season and perhaps one of the oldest in FABL history. The Cannons suffered some more losses courtesy of Selective Service but each of the big four teams in the Continental were hit very hard.

Rabbit Day might have retired at the age of 40 but the Cannons continued to add veterans with the recent acquisition of 36 year old pitcher Sam Sheppard and 33 year old centerfielder Gail Gifford. Gifford will step into the hole created when the army came calling for Bob Griffith and Sheppard will help ease the loss of pitchers Chris Clarke and Vic Carroll to the war effort. The pitching staff has suffered so the Cannons success will rest very heavily on the right elbow of Deuce Barrell. The two-time Allen Award winner missed all of last season due to that wonky wing and if he cannot return to something close to his pre-injury form the dream of a third straight WCS title -something only accomplished by the 1924-26 New York Stars- may crumble early. Of course we thought that last year and the Cannons responded with some big trades and an even bigger second half of the season. The team is old but has to be the club everyone will be chasing in the CA this season.

The Toronto Wolves were the first organization to lose a superstar to the war effort when Fred McCormick left very early in the 1941 season. That seems like so long ago and many players have left since with Toronto contributing its share and probably more. This winter it was pitchers Bernie Johnson and Jimmy Gibbs along with second baseman Hal Wood that will be missed the most but just when Toronto was figuring this might be a lost season came word that 27 year old George Garrison - a 22 game winner when he last pitched in 1942- was back. That news boosted the spirits on the shores of Lake Ontario and has the Wolves thinking this might be the year they finally get the best of the Cannons.

So much was written about the Chicago Cougars record setting pace to start the season a year ago, followed by one of the worst collapses in FABL history. The team is different this year but that is not necessarily a good thing. For a change Selective Service left the Cougars pitching staff intact but they hit Chicago hard with the loss of three of the best players in the CA in 7-time all-star Hank Barnett, 5-time all-star Leo Mitchell and the often injured but immensely talented Billy Hunter. That is a lot of offense to give up but perhaps this year the Cougars get some positive karma to make up for the awful stretch they endured a year ago.

The Philadelphia Sailors have been a good, but not quite great team, for well over a decade and certainly have some talent. They tend to get solid, consistent pitching and will need it this year after the Canadian armed forces came calling for their outstanding first baseman Marion Boismenu. There will be a lot of pressure on Ed Reyes to step in and fill the giant hole created by Boismenu's departure.

Unlike the Federal Association race, which seems wide open to six or perhaps seven teams, the Continental has a clear division of talent. Cincinnati, Toronto and Chicago look to be the class of the loop, with Montreal, Brooklyn and Cleveland battling to stay out of the basement. That leaves the Sailors and Stars to fight it out for fourth and fifth although that could change for New York if the Stars sensational young pitcher Eli Panneton can have a big year. The hurler was amazing coming right out of college to the big leagues in July but he clearly tired down the stretch. The Stars biggest challenge will be replacing the bat of Gary Carmichael (navy) at third base.

Brooklyn lost their best pitcher in Jim Kenny and a solid infielder in Tom Landowski along with 3 other players to the war effort. Montreal was also hit hard with veteran pitcher Bill Ross, young hurler Bert Cupid and starting third baseman Spud Bent all leaving for the war. It will likely once more be a tough season for the the Kings and Saints. That leaves Cleveland where fans continue to patiently wait for the Foresters to rebuild following the heavy cost of prospects paid to win their first (and only) World Championship Series in 1934. It is now 5 years and counting of 7th or 8th place finishes from Cleveland and there is little indication 1945 will bring anything different. There is talent in the organization, but aside from shortstop Jim Adams Jr., most of it is fighting the axis powers instead of Continental Association foes with 22 year old infielder Glenn White the latest to depart.

Who started that story that Col. J. Monroe Johnson, head of the Office of Defense Transportation, demanded that the two FABL associations combine and do away with intersectional series? That yarn came out of Washington last week and got the Continental and Federal Associations into an uproar. New York papers led of their Sunday sports sections with that story. Club owners were interviewed, the whole baseball world went into a panic.

A geographical realigment of the 16 FABL clubs was supposed to have been suggested as follows:
EAST- Boston, Brooklyn, Montreal, New York Gothams, New York Stars, Philadelphia Keystones, Phiadelphia Sailors and Washington.
WEST - Chicago Chiefs, Chicago Cougars, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Toronto and St Louis.

Col. Johnson disavowed the yarn and wondered where it had started. He was especially interested in the origin of a paragraph which he had written in a letter to the New York writers, in expressing his regret over inability to attend their February 4 dinner. In this letter, Col. Johnson said he was a fan, and hinted that perhaps the two leagues might clup a few miles off their travel requirements.

"I never heard about a story combining the two associations until I was called up by a sports writer," said Col. Johnson. "I never discussed any such plan with anybody. I cannot make it too emphatic I know nothing about, and do not intend to ask for, any such scheme."

BASEBALL DUE ROUGH TIME, BUT GAME WILL CONTINUE

The main question from the public at large that one receives today amounts to this --"what chance is there for baseball? When will racing come back? Here is the answer from a well-known official who is at least fairly close to the Washington picture:

"I'm afraid baseball still is facing rough seas though no one in authority at Washington is going to order baseball stopped. I know many now regret the bluntness with which they ended horse racing. But I believe you'll find out that if more of the 4-F's will either be returned to service or placed in war industries then baseball will have a hard time making any headway. I believe baseball will go on, but the quality of play will continue to suffer and travel restrictions will be much harder this summer as well. Baseball will survive the storm but that storm will make the going much rougher than perhaps many connected with the game think.

"I believe we will have racing in some modified method this spring or early summer. For example, around New York there probably will be only 100 days of racing at one track in place of more than 180 days in 1944. There may be only four or five racing days a week instead of six. Also, there will be a big change in shipping horses from one track to another. There may be an exception in the case of big stake events, but at best only a limited number of cars will be allowed. There will be very little travelling back and forth from track to track."
*** Civilian Football Facing Trouble ***

Just how civilian college and pro football will come through is another query item. But where baseball faces a training session only a month away, and racing has some two months leeway, football has an open span of six or seven months. This at least gives the grid sport a breathing spell at present.

If the expected manpower act goes through, even with certain modifications, civilian football teams will be hit hard. Pro football might get by with players working in defense plants through the week and playing footabll on Sunday. But under the proposed war and labor drafts such teams as Central Ohio, Noble Jones College, Coastal California and others would have had little chance last fall.

In pro football it now is apparant that a bitter battle will be fought among the American Football Association, the Continential Football Conference and the United States League. There will be the matter of signing up college stars. They will be asking plenty in the scramble for talent.

"We can all see what is coming," said Cincinnati Tigers coach Jack Conn. "For example we had a pretty fair player on our squad last year. And he was only fair. He was not part of any drawing card. In talking over terms for the year ahead, he asked to have his 1944 salary doubled, plus a $2,000 bonus for signing.
*** Pro Gridders Likely to Be in Big Money***

You can see what will happen when college football is resumed at full blast. Outstanding stars will be looking to the highest bidder. And they will be looking pretty high. This means that no league is going to make any money or come close to breaking even until the rival leagues or the proposed rival leagues can get together. And how they even get together? From the new leagues there probably will be one survivor. Under those conditions it would be simple enough to work out the same plan now followed by the two big leagues in baseball. But that day is quite distant. It will be a good break for the college star -for a while at least. But every one will have to take a hard financial beating first.

The leagues will also face a problem of where to play in September if FABL continues to hold to it's stance of no games in a ballpark while a team yet to play there is still in the flag race. There is a lot more up in the air in football than just the war manpower problem.

veteran outfielder Dan Fowler has inked a minor league deal with the Cincinnati Cannons. The 36 year old, who spent some time with both the Cougars and the Chiefs last season, is a veteran of 1,765 FABL games primarily with the Cleveland Foresters. The Cannons had been looking to sign him to a big league deal with the plan for him to replace Bob Griffith -who is in the army now- as the starting centerfielder but when Fowler dragged his feet in talks the Cannons pulled the trigger on a deal to bring Gail Gifford in from St Louis. Fowler will be a non-roster invite to Cannons spring camp but likely will spend the season at AAA Indianapolis.
Boston farmhand Claude Christian is the latest to be called by Selective Service. The 23 year old shortstop spent last season with AA Worcester, hitting .245 over the course of 130 games. Christian was a 17th round pick in the 1943 draft out of Cowpens State.

ANOTHER KNOCK OUT FOR BISHOP

Talented welterweight Ben Bishop -who spent nearly a year in the army before they discovered he was color bling and declared 4-F- improved his record to 20-2-1 with the 12th knockout of his career. The latest victim of the 26 year old Atlanta native was New Yorker Steve Browning, who was thought of as a pretty solid fighter despite his age (36) until he ran into the buzzsaw that is Bishop. Browning didn't survive the first round and lost for just the third time in 19 bouts as Bishop floored him just 2 minutes into the fight with a tremendous hook to the liver that ended up breaking a couple of Browning's ribs.

Bishop is one of a growing list of promising fighters in the welterweight division. The weight class remains without a champion and there has been talk of a 4-fighter playoff of sorts to determine who claims the long-vacant crown but with the number of fighters likely deserving of an opportunity there has been talk of expanding the group to 8 fighters and draw lots to see who meets with the winners advancing. It is likely that nothing will be decided until after the war is settled but among those deserving of consideration are the following:

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  WELTERWEIGHT CONTENDERS
NAME		   AGE   REC     HOMETOWN
Ben Bishop	   26   22-2-1   Atlanta, GA
George Gibbs       27   13-0     Pueblo, CO
John Gregory       26   13-1-1   Vista, CA 
Mitchell McFadden  30   21-3-1   Detroit, MI
Dennis O'Keefe     28   17-1     Jacksonville, FL
Rudy Perry	   34   19-1-1   Philadelphia, PA
Carl Taylor	   28   15-2-2   Baltimore, MD
Mark Westlake      33   18-1-1   Biloxi, MS

SAWYER SET TO DEFEND TITLE

World Heavyweight champion Hector Sawyer will defend his crown Saturday night in Boston against journeyman Willie Meyer. Sawyer, who has spent the last three years in the Army, will fight for the title for the first time since late 1940 and will be looking for his 50th victory as a professional. The 30 year old enters the bout with a 49-3-1 record. Meyer, a 35 year old Minnesota native with a 32-7-1 record, is given little to no chance of winning the bout, which is set up primarily as a tune-up for the champ before he looks to face a serious contender in the summer.

CAROLINA POLY, NORTH CAROLINA TECH AMONG TEAMS STRUGGLING FOR TOP HONORS

The St Patrick's Shamrocks continue to occupy the number one spot in the Nation's college basketball rankings but the Boston school has fallen 3 times in it's last six outings including an upset 38-36 loss to Commonwealth Catholic on Thursday. The Shamrocks are not the only team to drop some key games recently as each of the other schools in title contention - Carolina Poly, Annapolis Maritime, Rainier College and Liberty - have all tasted defeat in recent games.

Carolina Poly, which has won it's last 4 games after a tough conference loss to Lexington State, is back up to second in the polls after Annapolis Maritime had it's 16 game winning streak snapped Thursday night by Chicago Poly. The one school that has avoided defeat of late is North Carolina Tech with the Techsters a perfect 8-0 in South Atlantic Conference play after starting section play with a win over rival Carolina Poly.

JERSEY CITY TECH PLAYERS SUSPENDED FOR REMAINDER OF SEASON

The four Jersey City Tech players accused of accepting $1,000 to throw a game have been suspended by the AIAA for the remainder of the season and face a lifetime ban from college athletics. The four- Al Harbison, Ulysses Bucci, Don Sparkman and Eric Bode- have not made any public statement but have met with AIAA officials and been called before a jury in New York City. The game in question is said to have been a January 20th contest against Manhattan Tech, one in which Jersey City Tech would lose 50-47 despite being heavily favoured.

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COLLEGIATE BASKETBALL RANKINGS
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
1. St. Patrick's (52) 24-5 1775 1 Indy Northeast
2. Carolina Poly (19) 20-3 1730 3 South Atlantic Conference
3. Annapolis Maritime 25-3 1631 2 Indy South
4. North Carolina Tech 20-4 1619 4 South Atlantic Conference
5. Rainier College 21-3 1488 5 West Coast Athletic Association
6. Liberty College 25-4 1426 6 Indy East
7. Western Iowa (1) 20-3 1417 7 Great Lakes Alliance
8. Ohio Poly 23-5 1294 8 Indy Midwest
9. St. Martin's College 24-6 1206 12 Indy Northeast
10. Garden State 18-6 1146 10 Liberty Conference
11. CC Los Angeles 18-6 1085 9 West Coast Athletic Association
12. Texas Gulf Coast 17-7 858 19 Southwestern Alliance
13. Mobile Maritime 16-7 791 11 South Atlantic Conference
14. Conwell College 21-7 762 21 Indy East
15. Chesapeake State 16-7 739 15 South Atlantic Conference
16. Noble Jones College 17-6 683 16 Deep South Conference
17. Wichita Baptist 20-6 570 25 Midwestern Association
18. St. Pancras 21-7 539 14 Indy East
19. St. Blane 18-9 533 13 Indy East
20. Mississippi A&M 16-8 512 17 Deep South Conference
21. Miami State 20-7 430 23 Indy South
22. Western Florida 16-7 286 22 Deep South Conference
23. Plover College 19-7 279 NR Indy Midwest
24. Middlesex 21-7 216 18 Indy Northeast
25. Lane State 15-9 100 NR West Coast Athletic Association
Others Receiving Votes:
Brooklyn State 15-9 81 Liberty Conference
Coastal California 16-9 72 West Coast Athletic Association
Oklahoma City State 17-6 52 Plains Athletic Association
Dickson 17-8 29 Academia Alliance
Great Plains State 20-10 24 Indy Midwest
Eastern State 19-9 21 Indy South
Charleston Tech 16-7 6 South Atlantic Conference

RESULTS INVOLVING RANKED TEAMS
MONDAY FEBRUARY 12
#3 Annapolis Maritime 50 #19 St Blane 38
#6 Liberty College 40 Chicago Poly 37
#8 Ohio Poly 57 Talmadge State 47
#14 Conwell College 51 St Matthew's College 45

TUESDAY FEBRUARY 13
#9 St Martin's College 42 #18 St Pancras 32
#21 Miami State 37 North Carolina Atlantic 35
#23 Plover College 43 Topeka State 42

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 14
#16 Noble Jones College 52 #22 Western Florida 43
#20 Mississippi A&M 46 Alabama Baptist 34

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 15
#2 Carolina Poly 53 Richmond State 29
Chicago Poly 41 #3 Annapolis Maritime 39
#4 North Carolina Tech 51 Columbia Military Academy 43
#7 Western Iowa 55 Whitney College 28
#9 St Martin's College 34 #24 Middlesex 31
#10 Garden State 64 Bigsby College 39
Bulein 47 #13 Mobile Maritime 44
#15 Chesapeake State 46 Coastal State 37
#17 Wichita Baptist 49 Laclede 34
#18 St Pancras 55 Narragansett 54
#23 Plover College 47 Poweshiek 36

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 16
Portland Tech 39 #5 Rainier College 37
Coastal California 54 #11 CC Los Angeles 30
#12 Texas Gulf Coast 55 Travis College 43
#25 Lane State 49 Spokane State 24

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 17
#2 Carolina Poly 57 Charleston Tech 34
Frankford State 64 #6 Liberty College 59
#4 North Carolina Tech 43 Richmond State 39
#7 Western Iowa 45 Central Ohio 40
#8 Ohio Poly 53 Great Plains State 40
#9 St Martin's College 54 Bardney 41
#12 Texas Gulf Coast 38 Darnell State 34
Maryland State 41 #13 Mobile Maritime 39
#14 Conwell College 61 Brookland 52
Lexington State 53 #15 Chesapeake State 43
Bluegrass State 63 #16 Noble Jones College 53
#17 Wichita Baptist 47 Eastern Oklahoma 40
Penobscot State 49 #18 St Pancras 36
Chicago Poly 29 #19 St Blane 25
Northern Mississippi 42 #20 Mississippi A&M 36
#22 Western Florida 48 Central Kentucky 36

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 18
#5 Rainier College 42 Northern California 38
Portland Tech 37 #11 CC Los Angeles 32
#25 Lane State 54 Idaho A&M 28

The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 2/18/1945

The framework was set for a historic conference April 25 as the Roosevelt-Stalin-Churchill conference report got an enthusiastic cheer from Congress on its proposal that the United State, Russia and Great Britain be bound in postwar unity as a 'sacred obligation' to the peoples of the world.
British and Canadian troops beat down strong German counterattacks on a 12-mile front within three miles of the Westwall anchor town of Goch.
Russian forces have captured Budapest and with the aid of 3,650 Allied planes Red troops are driving on Dresden.
Undersecretary of War Robert Patterson says in the opinion of military leaders "the end of the fighting in Europe is not yet in sight," and a great deal of "hard fighting" remains for US forces.
Nichols Field and the US Navy's wrecked anchorage at Cavite are back in American hands as General Douglas MacArthur proclaimed triumphantly that the end of the battle for Manila is in sight.
1,300 plans from a huge naval armada only 300 miles off the Japanese coast smashed at the Tokyo area for nine hours in the heaviest raid ever made on the enemy capital. A day later American troops stormed ashore on Iwo Jima Island, only 750 miles south of Tokyo.

Jiggs McGee · 12-20-2022, 12:16 PM

FEBRUARY 26, 1945

PLAYERS TO WATCH IN 1945

Spring training is just a few weeks away and baseball fever has hit all across the nation. In every FABL city, fans are thinking this might be the year -well, perhaps not in St Louis- that their heroes rise to the top. This Week in Figment Baseball took a look around the league and came up with a list of 10 names you should watch closely. The list is in no particular order nor within any specific theme beyond the fact that these are intriguing players to watch this season. Some are fine young prospects who might make their mark as rookies, others are grizzled veterans taking advantage of war-created jobs for one last moment in the spotlight and a select few are on the hotseat and needed to come up big for their respective teams to have a chance at postseason success.

1- ELI PANNETON: The 23 year old 4th overall pick in last years draft went straight from the campus of Aberdeen College to the bright lights of Dyckman Stadium. He was nothing short of amazing in his first 4 starts, but then was ordinary in August and clearly out of gas in September. Scouts are in agreement he is one of the best pitchers in the game today. Can he show it for a full season and perhaps singlehandedly lift the New York Stars into contention this summer?

2- BOBBY BARRELL: The pressure for an encore performance in follow up to his Whitney Award winning triple crown season is immense. The Keystones came up just 1 game short last season in losing the WCS but another big year from Barrell might just be enough to get them back to playing October baseball again in 1945.

3- DEUCE BARRELL: Like his uncle, Deuce has a lot of pressure on him this season. The Cincinnati Cannons have sold most of their future for a chance to become just the second team in FABL history to win three straight World Championship Series. In order to do so they will need a big season from Deuce, who won back to back Allan Awards in 1942 and 1943 before missing all of last season when he blew out his elbow in spring training.

4- KEN MAYHUGH: Mayhugh is one of several players who will need to come up big if the Chicago Cougars are going to rebound from that awful collapse last season and overcome Cincinnati and Toronto in the Continental Association. The loss of Hank Barnett, Leo Mitchell and Billy Hunter means Chicago is desperate for offense beyond that which will be contributed by Cliff Moss, Skipper Schneider and Harry Mead.

5- GEORGE GARRISON: The Wolves were licking their wounds after Selective Service took Bernie Johnson and Jimmy Gibbs but the return of George Garrison -for hardship reasons after the death of his brother overseas and the passing of his father- has given Wolves fans hopes that they may just have enough to stop Cincinnati and Chicago. In order to do so, Garrison will need to show he has not lost anything from the form that he displayed in his all-star 1942 season.

6- CARL POTTER AND ROY SCHAUB: A two-for-one deal as the Dynamos future hinges on their 4 super prospects from the 1944 draft. The two position players in outfielder Edwin Hackberry and shortstop Stan Kleminski have joined the war effort leaving just the pitching duo of Potter and Schaub. The big leagues is likely not in the card this season although Potter had some nice outings in AA as an 18 year old last season but all of Detroit will be eyeing the minor league boxscores very closely whenever either of these two are on the mound.

7-DICK BLASZAK: Badly injured fighting in the Pacific, Blaszak is back and said to be fully recovered for spring training. The Chicago Chiefs gave up a lot (Rabbit Day and Tom Bird) to bring the former second overall pick over from Cincinnati and the 23 year old has not played since 1942 but odds are we will see him in the Windy City sometime this season.

8- BILL VAN NESS: Boston has a team that could win it's second Federal Association title in three years but to do so they will need a catcher they can count on and with Buster Farrar now in the army that responsibility falls on Van Ness. The 28 year old has to be running out of chances with Boston management, who expected so much more from him when he was selected 6th overall in 1935 so this may be his final opportunity to prove he is a big-time big league catcher.

9- BOB COON: This is a crucial year for the Eagles who, after tantalizing fans with what looked like finally a return to contention in 1943, had an awful start to the 1944 campaign and never recovered. The pitching did a very good job last year and returns intact but the Eagles lost their two best hitters in Mel Carrol and Jesse Alvardo. Coon, who was a 1939 2nd round pick out of St Magnus, has shown some glimpses of his ability but never really got the chance to play everyday in an often crowded Washington outfield. Well, this is his opportuntiy to show the strong showing in short stints is a sign of what he can accomplish. A big year from Coon, and strong pitching once more, might just keep the Eagles in the thick of the Fed flag chase.

10- BUD JAMESON- manager New York Gothams- So our final name is not a player at all but rather a rookie manager thrust into the spotlight with the departure of long-time Gothams bench-boss Ed Ziehl. Ziehl is off doing his part to raise war bond funds while his son Eddie is patrolling the open seas with the navy. For the first time since 1928 the Gothams have a new skipper and there could not be more pressure on Jameson. Like his mentor Ziehl, Bud is a former franchise star so he knows what it is like to be under the microscope in New York but this might just be a little different. With the return of Harry Carter from the navy the Gothams might have the best starting 4 pitchers in baseball. Add in slugger Red Johnson, veteran Leon Drake and a solid supporting cast and expectations could not be higher for the Gothams this season- which means an awful lot of pressure on Saint Bernard, who has zero managing experience entering the start of spring training.

A bonus 11th name on this list could be all of Congress. Debate wages on over a decision on 4-Fs and if the ruling goes the wrong way for baseball it could make things very tough on the sport. President Roosevelt is on record of saying he wants to see baseball continue, but only if it doesn't interfere with the war effort and Manpower head Byrnes seems to think it will. So far, Congress seems unwilling or perhaps unable to reach a decision and the longer that drags out perhaps the better it is for baseball.

EASY NIGHT FOR SAWYER IN DEFENCE OF WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE

World Heavyweight boxing champion Hector Sawyer barely broke a sweat in notching the 50th victory of his professional career. The 30 year old New Orleans native was making his return to the ring -at least on a professional basis- after 3 years in the Army and he had no trouble in his first title defense since 1940, knocking out Willie Meyer in the fifth round of their bout at the Denny Arena in Boston.

Meyer (32-7-1) was handpicked as an easy tune-up opponent for Sawyer before he takes on a true contender, but the Minneapolis native who is 2 weeks shy of his 36 birthday, put up a game effort despite being clearly out of his element and somehow survived until the fifth round.

The champ was all over Meyer right from the opening bell and most in attendance will say the challenger never landed a punch in the opening three minutes. Instead Meyer spent most of his time trying to block punishing body blows frow Sawyer. The biggest blow of the round was a vicious cross that had Meyer collapsing like a house of cards in the closing seconds of the first round but he struggled to his feet as the bell was sounding.

Meyer went down again in the second thanks to The Cajun Crusher's signature strong hook but again the Minnesota native managed to get back to his feet and somehow survive the round. Meyer kept on his feet in the third but suffered a terrible gash just outside his right eyebrow. In the fourth the challenger landed what would be his only big blow -a hard cross that seemed to catch Sawyer off-guard. It actually served to pause Sawyer's attack for much of the round but after a stern lecture from his corner during the break the champ set to finishing off the bout in the fifth.

An early salvo caused a large strem of blood to erupt from Meyer's nose, joining the gash above his eye that continued to flow. Two minutes into the round with Sawyer looking to finish his opponent off he connected with a wild overhand right that landed flush, sending Meyer down to one knee. Meyer again rose but looked badly shaken and as Sawyer reigned blow after blow it was clear Meyer was just looking for a place to fall. Finally a short cross to the temple did the challenger in, sending him to the canvas for a fourth and final time on the evening.

TOURNAMENT FIELD PICTURE COMING INTO FOCUS

With two weeks remaining in the collegiate basketball schedule the 32-team field that will comprise the postseason National Championship is starting to take shape. 15 of the bids automatically go to the conference winners leaving the remaining 17 spots for at large invitations. Here is a conference by conference look at those likely to still be playing as we hit the middle of March.

DEEP SOUTH CONFERNCE: Three schools from the Deep South seem assured of tournament berths. Each have been ranked in the top 25 pretty much the entire season. They are Noble Jones College (19-6), Mississippi A&M (18-8) and Western Florida (18-7). The only hope for a school like Alabama Baptist (17-9) or even St Andrews College (13-12) is a conference title and the Deep South race is far too close to call with six teams within a game and a half of the lead.

GREAT LAKES ALLIANCE: It has been just an awful year for the GLA, which normally sends as many as half a dozen schools to the March event. This year it will likely only be Western Iowa (22-3). With James Brown (11.8 ppg) and Joe Hampton (7.9 ppg, 4.8 apg) leading the way the Canaries are a perfect 10-0 in section play but with 4 games remaining Whitney College (14-11, 9-3) still has a slight chance to take the crown and earn a bid alongside Western Iowa.

LIBERTY CONFERENCE: The newly formed loop with some former members of the Northeastern Conference has seen some schools have a down year with only likely conference champion Garden State (20-6) qualifying for the tournament unless Brooklyn Tech (17-9), which is tied with the Redbirds for the conference lead with 3 games remaining can clinch an automatic berth with the conference title.

SOUTH ATLANTIC CONFERENCE: Carolina Poly (21-4) and North Carolina Tech (22-4) have been top five schools all season and are certain to qualify. There is a chance three other SAC schools could join them including Mobile Maritime (16-9), Charleston Tech (17-8) and Chesapeake State (16-9). In conference play there is a slight chance Central Carolina (13-12) might overtake North Carolina Tech. The Techsters are 10-0 in conference play while the second place Lions are 8-2 with 4 games remaining for each.

WEST COAST ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION: Despite some ups and downs both Rainier College (21-5) and CC Los Angeles (20-6) should have no trouble extending their streak of tournament appearances. The Majestics have made 10 straight appearances and won it all each of the last two years. CCLA has missed the tournament only once since 1915-16. Another streak might come to an end as Coastal California (17-10) appears to have come up short and if so it will be the first time in tournament history that the Dolphins did not quality -that goes back all the way to 1909-10. Lane State (17-9) is on the bubble but appears to be in the field of 32 at the moment and with a 1-game lead on Rainier College atop the loop they may just get an automatic berth as WCC champions.

INDEPENDENTS:The folding of the Northeastern Conference has made a dramatic change in the landscape for independent schools this year with 9 of them likely qualifying for the tournament including 3 former members of the Northeastern section.

In: St Patrick's (24-5), St Martin' College (24-6), Liberty College (25-4), Conwell College (21-8), Ohio Poly (24-5), Plover College (19-8), Annapolis Maritime (25-3), Miami State (21-8), Eastern State (19-9)
Out: Middlesex (21-7), St Pancras (21-7), Great Plains State (20-10), Rome State (18-10), Golden Gate (17-12)

One bid conferences
ACADEMIA ALLIANCE: With two games remaining the Ellery Bruins (14-13) are 10-2 in conference with a 2-game lead over Dickson (18-9 overall, 8-2 conference) but the Academia Alliance is the only conference that has a post-season tournament to determine it's champion.
CALIFORNIA LEAGUE: Still up for grads with California Catholic (18-9, 8-2) holding a 1-game lead on Sunnyvale (9-17, 7-3).
CENTRAL ATHLETIC ALLIANCE: Completely up for grabs with North Shore holding a 1 game lead on Cleveland and Western State but each has 4 conference games remaining and the Blackhawks will play both of the teams pursuing them in the final two weeks.
EASTERN SIX: With teams having 3 or 4 games remaining in a conference slate that sees all 6 separated by just 2 games the race is clearly wide open. Boston State won the E6 last year but right now it is the University of New Jersey and a 9-17 overall Constitution State team that are leading the way.
KEYSTONE ALLIANCE: Armstrong, which has only made the tournament twice in it's history, is currently leading the way but with 4 games remaining for each school the race is still very much wide open.
MIDWESTERN ASSOCIATION: Wichita Baptist (21-7) has already set a school record for wins in a season and will make the tournament for the first time since 1933-34. The Warriors have already clinched the conference title.
PLAINS ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION: A two team race between Oklahoma City State (18-7) and Lawrence State (15-11) will decide who gets the berth. The two square off in Oklahoma City tonight in an obviously key meeting.
ROCKY MOUNTAIN ATHLETIC ALLIANCE: The season finale on March 10th between Colorado Poly (13-12) and Cache Valley (13-12) will likely decide who wins the RMAA.
SOUTHERN BORDER ASSOCIATION: El Paso Methodist (12-13, 7-1) and Tempe College (18-8, 8-2) are fighting it out for the conference title, something they have only combined to win 3 times in the 21 year history of the loop.
SOUTHWESTERN ALLIANCE: Texas Gulf Coast (19-7) has been ranked most of the year and seems assured a berth with a conference best 10-1 record. Amarillo Methodist (16-10, 9-2), is still in the running and has a chance for the automatic berth but they will need a win in Houston on March 2 over the Hurricanes.

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COLLEGIATE BASKETBALL RANKINGS
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
1. St. Patrick's (42) 24-5 1763 1 Indy Northeast
2. North Carolina Tech (21) 22-4 1724 4 South Atlantic Conference
3. Western Iowa (9) 22-3 1605 7 Great Lakes Alliance
4. Carolina Poly 21-4 1584 2 South Atlantic Conference
5. Annapolis Maritime 25-3 1571 3 Indy South
6. Liberty College 25-4 1471 6 Indy East
7. Ohio Poly 24-5 1340 8 Indy Midwest
8. Rainier College 21-5 1325 5 West Coast Athletic Association
9. CC Los Angeles 20-6 1182 11 West Coast Athletic Association
10. Garden State 20-6 1149 10 Liberty Conference
11. St. Martin's College 24-6 1117 9 Indy Northeast
12. Texas Gulf Coast 19-7 956 12 Southwestern Alliance
13. Noble Jones College 19-6 922 16 Deep South Conference
14. Mississippi A&M 18-8 887 20 Deep South Conference
15. Western Florida 18-7 723 22 Deep South Conference
16. St. Pancras 21-7 604 18 Indy East
17. Lane State 17-9 541 25 West Coast Athletic Association
18. Wichita Baptist 21-7 452 17 Midwestern Association
19. Brooklyn State 17-9 445 NR Liberty Conference
20. Miami State 21-8 382 21 Indy South
21. St. Blane 19-9 374 19 Indy East
22. Middlesex 21-7 315 24 Indy Northeast
23. Conwell College 21-8 242 14 Indy East
24. Coastal California 17-10 225 NR West Coast Athletic Association
25. Great Plains State 20-10 214 NR Indy Midwest
Others Receiving Votes:
Plover College 19-8 94 Indy Midwest
Chesapeake State 16-9 60 South Atlantic Conference
Mobile Maritime 16-9 55 South Atlantic Conference
Eastern State 19-9 41 Indy South
Oklahoma City State 18-7 17 Plains Athletic Association
Chicago Poly 17-11 9 Indy Midwest
Dickson 18-9 8 Academia Alliance
Harper College 19-8 2 Indy East
Charleston Tech 17-8 1 South Atlantic Conference

RESULTS INVOLVING RANKED TEAMS
MONDAY FEBRUARY 19
#20 Miami State 37 Central Carolina 35

TUESDAY FEBRUARY 20
none scheduled

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 21
#13 Noble Jones College 43 Northern Mississippi 35
#14 Mississippi A&M 55 Georgia Baptist 33
#15 Western Florida 47 Bayou State 46
#18 Wichita Baptists 43 #20 Miami State 42
#21 St Blane 43 Mahoning Valley State 34

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 22
#2 North Carolina Tech 41 Petersburg 25
#3 Western Iowa 54 Minnesota Tech 35
Alexandria 50 #4 Carolina Poly 36
#10 Garden State 48 Manhattan Tech 38
#19 Brooklyn State 56 Brooklyn Catholic 38

FRIDAY FEBRUARY 23
#24 Coastal California 59 #8 Rainier College 58
#9 CC Los Angeles 43 Idaho A&M 35
#12 Texas Gulf Coast 46 Arkansas A&T 32
#17 Lane State 51 Northern California 27

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 24
#2 North Carolina Tech 48 Coastal State 40
#3 Western Iowa 44 Wisconsin State 40
#4 Carolina Poly 44 Chesapeake State 42
#10 Garden State 66 Jersey City Tech 36
#12 Texas Gulf Coast 66 Canyon A&M 48
#13 Noble Jones College 55 Central Kentucky 23
#14 Mississippi A&M 33 Baton Rogue State 32
#15 Western Florida 49 Georgia Baptist 33
#19 Brooklyn State 55 Bronx Tech 41

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 25
#7 Ohio Poly 62 Needham 30
#9 CC Los Angeles 42 #8 Rainier College 30
#17 Lane State 38 Portland Tech 32
Chicago Poly 43 #18 Wichita Baptist 35
Frankford State 58 #23 Conwell College 53

The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 2/25/1945

Allied troops have opened a big push, launching a grand-scale offense near Cologne, forcing across the Roer River line at six or more points. General Eisenhower says this drive is designed to smash Germany.
American forces strengthened their hold in the Philippines by gaining control of strategic San Bernardino Strait with the seizure of Caul Island, off southeastern Luzon.
On Iwo, weary marines, armed with flamethrowers and bayonets, battled across the central airfield on the island and complete control of the field appears almost within their grasp. By weeks end the Marines had captured half of Iwo Jima.
The Premier of Egypt was assassinated a few minutes after he read to the Chamber of Deputies a royal decree declaring war on Germany and Japan. A single shooter fired 4 bullets at close range as he crossed the lawn to read the same decree to the Senate.
The Turkish National Assembly voted approval of a declaration of war against Germany and Japan.
Amazingly 5 survivors walked away with only minor injuries after an American Airlines plane crashed in Virginia, killing 17.

Jiggs McGee · 12-21-2022, 10:36 AM

MARCH 5, 1945

FORESTERS CAN LOOK SOUTH FOR INSPIRATION

The Cleveland Foresters are going through their worst stretch of baseball since the 1908-14 edition of the club finished either 7th or 8th in the Continental Association six straight seasons. The current version of the Foresters can duplicate that dreadful run with a bottom two finish this season and there is little to indicate that won't happen. Cleveland baseball fans are certainly still paying the price for the pair of pennants and their first and only World Championship Series victory which came in 1934.

All of that success seems so long ago but Foresters faithful can perhaps look south to Cincinnati for inspiration. A half-decade ago the Cannons -while still based in Baltimore at the time- were in an even worse predicament. The club had gone 8 years finishing no higher than 6th and was dead last in the Continental Association for six straight seasons from 1934 thru 1939. That turned around suddenly in 1940 with a few key trades and now -just 5 years later- the Cannons are on a quest for their third straight World Championship Series victory.

A look at the Foresters system seems to indicate a lot of the same pieces that the Cannons possessed in 1939 are already in the fold. The Cannons had a gifted young shortstop in Jimmy Hensley. Cleveland has one of it's own in Jim Adams Jr. The Cannons had loads of young pitching and they moved some of those arms, along with some draft picks, for veteran pieces like Moxie Pidgeon that turned the clubs fortunes around quickly.

Cleveland has those same quality young arms, although the war has certainly thrown a wrench into their development, but that will change perhaps as early as next year. Hiram Steinberg is considered one of the greatest high school pitchers of all-time and, assuming the war is over and all returns to normal next season, he could make his big league debut at age 23. Richie Hughes will also be 23 and OSA actually ranks Hughes higher than Steinberg on it's prospect list. There is more on the mound. Names such as John Jackson, who struggled last season at AA but is just 20 years old. Unfortunately Jackson won't have a chance to improve upon his AA showing as he is now in the Coast Guard. 20 year old Davey Morris and 24 year old Augie Hayes Jr. are both, like the other three, serving their country right now but those 5 have the makings of a pretty solid young rotation. That is not taking into account 24 year old Ducky Davis, who made his Cleveland debut last season and looks like a solid big league pitcher. Add in 1945 first round selection Bert Haines and you have an impressive crop of young arms on the way up.

The Foresters have young talent all over the diamond led by the previously mentioned Jim Adams Jr. The 1943 first overall selection out of St Ignatius has already proven he can hit at the big league level but the 23 year old does need some time to develop his defensive skills at shortstop. Perhaps Adams eventually ends up at second base as the Foresters have a smooth defender in 22 year old Glenn White, who made his big league debut last season but is now in the Navy. Then there is 18 year old Earle Haley, who is now in the Army, but made his pro debut last season after being selected in the second round of the 1944 draft and might be the best defender of the three.

The Foresters have a power hitting first base prospect in local product Lorenzo Samuels. The 22 year old Cleveland native has spent the last two years in the Navy but impressed in class C as a 19 year old. Talented young outfielders Benny Everidge, Paul Porter and Pete Sigmund also give Clevelanders plenty of hope for the future but those three -like nearly all the top Cleveland youngsters- are fighting overseas. They recently drafted Bob Miller, another Ohio native, in the second round and he may be their long-term answer at third base. That leaves catcher as perhaps the one area of concern for the Foresters brass. They did draft Joe Robinson second overall in 1944 but many scouts felt that selection was quite a reach.

There clearly are a lot of pieces in place. The task ahead for the Foresters -although likely not until after the war is over- is the tough job of indentifying which players they will build around and who could be moved for veteran leadership or to fill holes in other areas. That was the model the Cannons used and it paid off well. Stay patient Cleveland ball fans. Your opportunity may be coming.

LOVELLE WON A WHITNEY AND LED A GENERATION

The Cannons franchise has seen just 4 players win a Whitney Award over the 34 years it has been presented. Of course there is Adam Mullins who claimed the hardware two seasons ago after the catcher helped the Cannons win their first World Championship Series since 1914. 1914, by the way, was one of the years the only multi-season Cannon award winner collected the Whitney. That would be The Ragland Ripper, Powell Slocum. Pehaps better known to Cincinnatians as the long-time manager of the Brooklyn Kings but for two decades Slocum was the face of the Baltimore franchise. It was known as the Clippers for much of his tenure when he won 4 Whtiney Awards including 3 straight from 1912-14. It is interesting to note that the only other player to win 3 straight Continental Association Whitneys is none other than current Cannon Al Wheeler, who turned the trick under Slocum's guidance with the 1935-37 Brooklyn Kings. The third Cannons player to win a Whitney Award was slugger Lou Kelly, who earned the honour in 1932 after hitting 40 homers and leading the CA in round-trippers three straight seasons.

So you have Mullins, Kelly and Slocum but who is the fourth Cannon Whitney winner? As a hint he is actually still a part of the team right now. Many will be surprised to realize it is Cannons first base coach Sandy Lovelle who holds the distinction of being the first Continental Associaiton Whitney winner of the modern era. That was 1926 -when the human GMs took over and the Allen Award made it's debut to separate the top pitcher and top hitter honours for the first time.

You can be forgiven if you did not think of Sandy Lovelle as a Whitney Award winner. Most do not, including it turns out, Lovelle himself. "I won the batting title that year and led the league in triples," Lovelle recalls, "but that was the only season I was anywhere near close to top spot. We were a bad team that season...which happened a lot during my time in Baltimore...and to be honest I was shocked I won. I was convinced it would go to Mickey Dowell, who had a big year in Brooklyn and they nearly knocked off the Stars."

Lovelle would win the award and it would be the only individual honor of his career. There was no All-Star game back then and even if there was Lovelle would be hard pressed to make another team beyond the 1926 squad. The '26 season was one of only two in his career that he started as many as a 122 ballgames in the Cannons outfield. He had some injuries and as it turned out would be out of the game-at least as a player- by 1930 at the relatively young age of 32. He would get into coaching a couple of years later and has been with the Cannons ever since their move from Baltimore to Cincinnati in 1940.
*** STARTED THE CUBAN WAVE OF OUTFIELDERS ***

Lovelle was the first player born in Cuba to play regularly in FABL. The pioneer was actually a player by the name of Elias Marquez who played 2 games in 1902 followed by Tony Lopez, who made his big league debut in 1919 with Washington and would play 132 games over parts of 4 seasons but it was Lovelle who would pave the way for later Cuban star outfielders like Pablo Reyes, Carlos Montes and Juan Pomales. It is no coincidence that those that followed Lovelle from Cuba to the big leagues were predominately outfielders as each cited Sandy and to a lesser extent Carlos Cano as their inspiration.

Lovelle went from Havana to the bitter cold of Milwaukee and a collegiate career at Wisconsin State. He was a star for the Brewers and helped them to the AIAA playoffs twice in a 3 year span, even hitting .401 in his draft year. There were no All-American teams back then but he might well have earned that honour before the Cannons selected him 8th overall in the 1919 FABL draft. He peaked at #30 on the OSA prospect rankings and made his big league debut two years later. In his second season, 1922, Lovelle batted .303 and hit the same average the following season. Batting averages were higher back then, and the ball was dead unless you were named Max Morris, but Lovelle hit over .300 each of his first six seasons culminating in that Whitney Award winning 1926 campaign.

It would prove to be his last year as a everyday player as he struggled in 1927 and would lose his starting job to Lou Kelly -the other Cannons Whitney Award winner. Lovelle did hit .308 playing somewhat regularly in 1929 but after a slow start the Cannons cut him in 1932 and he chose to retire rather than play in the minors or try to catch on with another organization. Lovelle would spend a couple of years coaching in his native Havana including working in the off-season with Reyes -who was in college at the time and would later surpass Lovelle as the highest drafted Cuban born player and the one with the most career hits- before moving back to the United States and beginning his managerial career at Peoria. A new start that would eventually bring Sandy Lovelle full circle back to the big leagues with the Cannons organization.

A little less confusion for fans in La Crosse - The Cougars Class C affiliate. They had two players by the name of Bill Martin on their roster last season but catcher Bill "Mr Semi-Automatic" Martin and son of veteran Chiefs infielder Bob Martin is now in the Army, leaving 1B Bill Martin (no relation) to carry on the name with the Lions. Bob's son was a 7th round pick of the Cougars in 1944 and the 19 year old hit .257 in his first taste of pro ball last summer.

COACHES, DARROW SHORING UP CRUMBLING WALLS OF CAGE GAME

With the college basketball world still trembling under the shock of perhaps the great sports scandal the amateur ranks have ever seen, New York area college coaches and athletic directors met last week with Charles Darrow, president of Bigsby Garden, in a hurried attempt to shore up the weakening walls of bigtime basketball promotions.

With the National Tournament final two rounds once again slated for the New York venue and less than a month away, several steps were taken to help overcome the damage caused by the bribe-taking of four members of the Jersey City Tech quintet. Foremost is to have teeth placed in the penal law to punish bribe giving and taking in amateur sports. At present, the law provides only punishment for bribery in professional sports, leaving a loophole for the guilty in the Jersey City Tech case.

Although the reaction of school heads, coaches and those supposedly "in the know" differed radically, there is no doubt that the fear of 'fixed' games was uppermost in the minds of several coaches when a 'secret' meeting was held some time ago and preventive measures were discussed. Jersey City Tech coach Duke Van Kirk was one of the coaches who told his players temptation might come their way, and he felt that if lightning did strike, it would be far removed from his Wizards ballclub.
*** Pay The Players ****

Brooklyn State coach Charlie Bryant was another in that 'secret' meeting and he came away with a novel, but unconventional idea "I say, put the players on a regular salary basis. Pay them for playing, just like the pros. After all, when you get down to it, there's no difference between college and pro ball today."

With the college game's biggest event just over a week away one can expect extraordinary measures will be taken to prevent anything underhanded from occuring again. It is much easier said than done, as the bookmakers seem to have their hands in every pie, especially in the bright lights of the Bigsby Garden. It is too late for this season, but there is growing talk among AIAA executives to move the national showcase away from New York.

WESTERN IOWA TAKES OVER TOP SPOT IN POLLS

On the strength of a perfect 14-0 record in Great Lakes Alliance play, the Western Iowa Canaries have moved into the top spot in the weekly collegiate basketball poll. The Canaries have been steadily climbing the rankings and soared to number one thanks to a winning streak that has stretched to 20 games. The GLA is not as strong this year as it normally is but if they can win their final two games -at Indiana A&M and Detroit City College- the Canaries can become the first team in it's 31 year history to go through a Great Lakes Alliance conference schedule without a loss.

The Canaries won a tight game over St Ignatius 48-46 on Saturday but it cost them the services of center J.C. Senn, who broke a bone in his foot and is likely done for the season. Fortunately, Senn was probably the starter they could most afford to be without as the team leaders remain junior guard and All-American candidate Joe Hampton (7.6ppg,4.7 apg) along with senior forward James Brown (11.5 ppg).

Code:

COLLEGIATE BASKETBALL RANKINGS
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
1. Western Iowa (46) 24-3 1754 3 Great Lakes Alliance
2. St. Patrick's (14) 24-5 1713 1 Indy Northeast
3. Annapolis Maritime (3) 26-3 1649 5 Indy South
4. Carolina Poly (9) 23-4 1630 4 South Atlantic Conference
5. Liberty College 25-4 1517 6 Indy East
6. North Carolina Tech 22-6 1454 2 South Atlantic Conference
7. Rainier College 23-5 1364 8 West Coast Athletic Association
8. Ohio Poly 24-5 1296 7 Indy Midwest
9. Garden State 21-6 1228 10 Liberty Conference
10. St. Martin's College 24-6 1139 11 Indy Northeast
11. Noble Jones College 21-6 1066 13 Deep South Conference
12. Texas Gulf Coast 20-7 1002 12 Southwestern Alliance
13. CC Los Angeles 20-8 905 9 West Coast Athletic Association
14. Chesapeake State 18-9 812 NR South Atlantic Conference
15. St. Pancras 22-7 767 16 Indy East
16. Mississippi A&M 19-9 691 14 Deep South Conference
17. Western Florida 19-8 581 15 Deep South Conference
18. St. Blane 20-9 547 21 Indy East
19. Middlesex 22-7 501 22 Indy Northeast
20. Plover College 21-8 369 NR Indy Midwest
21. Miami State 21-8 319 20 Indy South
22. Conwell College 21-8 310 23 Indy East
23. Lane State 18-10 260 17 West Coast Athletic Association
24. Oklahoma City State 20-7 149 NR Plains Athletic Association
25. Great Plains State 20-10 127 25 Indy Midwest
Others Receiving Votes:
Dickson 20-9 76 Academia Alliance
Wichita Baptist 21-8 58 Midwestern Association
Brooklyn State 17-10 45 Liberty Conference
Coastal California 19-10 36 West Coast Athletic Association
Charleston Tech 18-9 19 South Atlantic Conference
Mobile Maritime 17-10 9 South Atlantic Conference
Alabama Baptist 19-9 4 Deep South Conference
Eastern State 19-10 3 Indy South

RESULTS INVOLVING RANKED TEAMS
MONDAY FEBRUARY 26
#19 Middlesex 58 Hartford Wesleyan 47
#24 Oklahoma City State 56 Lawrence State 45

TUESDAY FEBRUARY 27
#18 St Blane 43 Sunnyvale 26
#20 Plover College 41 College of Cairo 32

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 28
#11 Noble Jones College 63 Opelika State 53
#16 Mississippi A&M 40 Central Kentucky 39
Alabama Baptist 63 #17 Western Florida 55

THURSDAY MARCH 1
#1 Western Iowa 33 St Magnus 30
#3 Annapolis Maritime 46 Eastern State 36
#4 Carolina Poly 63 Coastal State 52
Charleston Tech 60 #6 North Carolina Tech 51
#14 Chesapeake State 42 Maryland State 30

FRIDAY MARCH 2
#7 Rainier College 35 Redwood 26
#12 Texas Gulf Coast 53 Amarillo Methodist 33
#23 Lane State 39 #13 CC Los Angeles 24
#15 St Pancras 53 Johnston Tech 35
#20 Plover College 50 Chicago Poly 33

SATURDAY MARCH 3
#1 Western Iowa 48 St Ignatius 46
#14 Chesapeake State 39 #6 North Carolina Tech 30
#9 Garden State 47 Empire State 39
#11 Noble Jones College 40 Bayou State 34
Cumberland 50 #16 Mississippi A&M 49
#17 Western Florida 53 Northern Mississippi 34
#24 Oklahoma City State 49 Iowa A&M 44

SUNDAY MARCH 4
#7 Rainier College 53 Northern California 51
Redwood 52 #23 Lane State 45

REES SET TO DEFEND MIDDLEWEIGHT TITLE IN NEW YORK

World Middleweight Champion Archie Rees arrived in New York City this week in preparation for a defense of his title against veteran American fighter Tommy Erwin. The bout will take place at the Bigsby Gardens on March 22 and will be Rees first fight since he defeated Jorge Cuellar in the big September tussle before the troops in Liverpool, England. The 32 year old Rees, known as The Tadcaster Thunderbolt , will be back on American soil to fight for the first time since 1941 when he knocked out Nathan Sears in the second round to claim the middleweight title. He has a lifetime record as a professional of 34-4-1 including 25 wins by knockout. Erwin, a 33 year old Bronx born fighter, is 27-6 but has not fought in just over a year.

The card will also feature a key heavyweight match as Mark Fountain is set to face Englishman Leo Carmichael in what is expected to be a tune-up for the New York native in advance of a potential summer meeting with World Champion Hector Sawyer. Fountain is 18-2-1 as a professional and will turn 27 years of age a week after the bout. Not a lot is known about Carmichael as he 36 year old had been in the British army the past 5 years and has had just one professional fight since 1939. He is listed as having a record of 29-4-1 but is said to have fought more than 200 military exhibition bouts over the past half decade, rumoured to be without suffering a single defeat.

WESTLAKE WINS BY TKO

Veteran welterweight Mark Westlake moved closer to earning a spot in the proposed 'playoff' to fill the vacant World Welterweight Title with a 9th round technical knockout of Carter Moore on Wednesday in New York. The 27 year old Biloxi, MS. native improves to 19-1-1 with the win and is now considered by the American Boxing Federation to be the best fighter in his division. Moore falls to 15-8.

The welterweight crown has been vacant since early 1939 when Brit Jimmy 'Kid' Simpson retired at the age of 37 with a 59-2-0 career record. There were plans to stage a playoff of sorts among the top contenders but it never occured due to the war. Many of the top fighters in the division remain involved in the war but there is growing support to stage a title fight, perhaps as early as the summer.

The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 3/04/1945

President Roosevelt told Congress that the United States must retain a key world role and take responsibility for political conditions in Europe or face the alternative of another war.
American tanks and shock troops battled yard by yard through the last German defenses before Cologne and are withing six miles of the Rhineland fortress. Reports indicate that the Germans are preparing to retreat behind the Rhine.
The Red Army has resumed its attack along the Oder River front some 30 miles east of bomb-battered Berlin after a long lull.
Fierce hand-to-hand combat continues on Iwo as Marines break through the enemy's main defense belt and have forced the Japanese to with half a mile of the islands north shore.
200 men are lost after the Japanese sank an ammunition-laden naval cargo ship in the South Pacific.
Lt. Gen. Millard Harmon, air force commander of the Pacific Ocean areas, and nine other officers are missing in the Pacific after their plane was reported overdue from a routine flight.
Finland has joined the allies, declaring war on Germany.

Jiggs McGee · 12-22-2022, 08:50 AM

MARCH 12, 1945

GOTHAMS MAY BE TEAM TO BEAT IN FED

No team in all of baseball has had more ups and downs than the New York Gothams. Say what you will about the Gothams but they do not do anything halfway. The Gothams are often the best team in the Federal Association with 5 pennants in the past 15 years but they are also often the worst team in the loop as displayed by the club finishing at least 30 games out of first place six times during that same span. New York has finished 1st, 6th, 7th or 8th in each of the past 15 seasons with only one year -1933 when they came in third- to break that trend. Like we said the Gothams are either very good or very bad. No in between at all.

So after following up a 1942 World Championship Series win with a last place finish in 1943 the Gothams were 7th place last year. Is this the beginning of another long stretch of futility like they endured from 1936-41 when only once did they finish within less than 32 games of top spot? Early indications were that might be the case but those thoughts changed suddenly with the winter news that Harry Carter was back.

Carter was discharged from the Navy due to chronic migranes suffered while serving aboard the USS Wolverine and that might prove to be a major headache to the rest of the Federal Association. With Carter joining Ed Bowman, Jim Lonardo and last season's surprise breakout star in the then-32 year old Jim Baggett, New York suddenly has the best rotation in the Fed. Add in the bat of Red Johnson and perhaps big seasons from Leon Drake and Pete Casstevens and the Gothams might just make another of the their famous worst-to-first turnarounds.

There is one big question mark though and that is in the New York dugout. Ed Ziehl, who has managed them club for the past 17 years is gone -choosing to sell war bonds while his son Eddie serves in the Navy- and that leaves Bud Jameson, with no previous managerial experience, in charge. There will be a lot of pressure on the 40 year old, who was a teammate of many of these Gothams less than two years ago, as he becomes the one to call the shots. The Federal Association has a lot of teams that could make some noise this season and the New York Gothams are certainly one of them.

TALES FROM THE WOLVES DEN

Wolves Update as Spring Training Approaches - Toronto brass are now huddled discussing the how to man the organization. Currently there are only 21 players on the Major Roster which means there will be competition for at least one OF position and two backup spots on the infield. On the mound, the bullpen is almost wide open along with one spot in the rotation. Deciding on the number of invitees to spring camp is the first topic of business and after that decisions will need to be made on how many players will be in the system. Currently there are only 131 players under contract to the Wolves, not including 92 in the service.

Early indications are that the Wolves will run the minors on short rosters with the GM's directive being "Push everyone up to highest level we think they can handle, and if they can't handle it then we will find a replacement. With war news getting better in Europe we may be awash in players under contract before the season begins in April. Even if there are setbacks overseas we have players coming in June from the amateur draft. This gives us 3 to 4 months to separate the wheat from the chaff. The minor league managers will be instructed to make it plain to their players that many of them are playing for baseball careers. Time to perform is now."

DEUCE SAYS HE IS READY

We caught up with Deuce Barrell this week when he was in town getting a full medical once over from team doctors and the news is nothing but positive. Cannons trainer George Gorham says recovery is right on schedule and Deuce should be able participate in some game action at the tail end of spring camp and is expected to be fully ready for April 19 when the Cannons open their season at home against Toronto. It has been 11 months since Barrell's elbow fell apart and a tough time for the 27 year old who admits that while he enjoyed cheering his teammates on to their second straight World Championship Series title, "it really hurt not being out there to help." Barrell is also looking forward to having his uncle Tom Barrell as teammate this season.

Despite a 6 cent hike that makes the average ducat at Tice Memorial worth $1.24, the Cincinnati Cannons are reporting brisk sales of season tickets and are projecting an increase of more than 15% over least years sales. Good thing for the Tice family as fielding a championship team is not cheap. The veteran laden Cannons are projected to have the highest payroll in the league, and at over $620,000 it will top last year's costs by more than 120k. The addition of Sam Sheppard and Gail Giffored over the winter added $78,000 to the ledger.
*** OHIO POLY TO CARRY TORCH IN CAGE CHAMPIONSHIP ***

The Ohio Poly Cardinals are the only area team going to the year end collegiate basketball tournament. No Central Ohio, as it was a down year for the Columbus school and really the enitre Great Lakes Alliance. Local outfit Queen City had a solid 17-12 season but the Monarchs missing the tournament is no surprise as the last time the Cincinnati school qualified was 20 years ago. Central Kentucky was there a couple of years ago but hasn't won a tournament game since 1928 while neither Bluegrass State and Grange College have qualified in over a decade.

So that leaves the Toledo based Cardinals to carry the banner for the region. Under the leadership of coach Hawk Pizzo, Ohio Poly put together a very impressive 24-7 season but they will face a tough task in the Oklahoma City State Wranglers in their Midwest Region opener on Sunday. There is a big matchup issue in trying to defend Joe Schlegel, a powerful 6'8" center who has started all 4 years with the Wranglers and averaged nearly 12 points and 6 rebounds a game this season. Ohio Poly's top player is Jack Simons, a senior forward who scored at a 10.4 ppg clip this season and has plenty of secondary help in guards Dan Austin and Harold Mata. Ohio Poly's best tournament run came back in 1937 when the school made the title game only to fall short against Brooklyn State.
*** RISING WELTERWEIGHT TO FIGHT HERE ***

One of the many up and comers in the welterweight division will be in town to display his skills at the Cincinnati Auditorium. Ira Mitchell, a 25 year old Chicago-born fighter, is 10-0 and recently made his ring return after more than three years in the Army. He will take on veteran local fighter Steve Landry (30-12-2) on March 24 in a 12 round tussle.

32 TEAM FIELD SET FOR AIAA CAGE TOURNAMENT

Despite finishing second to North Carolina Tech in the South Atlantic Conference standings, the Carolina Poly Cardinals used the strength of a 6-game winning streak to take over top spot in the final college basketball poll of the season. The Cardinals will also claim the top seed in the South Region of the AIAA year end tournament. Carolina Poly (25-4) was rewarded with the number one ranking in the poll despite Western Iowa completing the first perfect season in Great Lakes Alliance play ever recorded. The Canaries won all 16 section matchups and 22 in a row to finish with a 26-3 record on the year.

Western Iowa will be the top seed in the Midwest Region with North Carolina Tech (west) and Annapolis Maritime (east) claiming the other two top seeds for the 32 team tournament which will get underway this weekend. The championship game will be held at Bigsby Garden in New York on April 2. Rainier College, the two-time defending champion, is back and will be the second seed in the west after winning their second straight West Coast Athletic Association conference crown. The Majestics will face the California Catholic Crusaders -winners of the California League with a 19-10 overall record- in the opening round.

BRUNSWICK WINS ACADEMIA ALLIANCE POST-SEASON TOURNEY

Brunswick earned the right to represent the Academia Alliance in the AIAA tournament despite the fact the Knights finished with a 16-16 record on the season and were only third in the conference regular season standings. In a tradition that goes back to the first season of organized college basketball in 1909-10, the Academia Alliance is the only conference to use a single-elimination tournament instead of regular season order of finish to decide who will garner the automatic berth to represent the loop in the AIAA national championships.

The Knights ride to the conference title nearly was derailed in their opening game as they needed Jess Gallardo to sink two free throws with just 3 seconds left on the clock to lift Brunswick to a 46-45 win over George Fox University. Gallardo, a senior guard, had 14 points in that game and 12 more the next day as the Knights upended second seed Dickson 59-56 to reach the title game. Gallardo again led the way in the finals with 18 points as Brunswick beat Sadler 59-52 to win its first conference tournament in 4 years. For their efforts the Knights will be rewarded with a matchup against top seeded Carolina Poly in the opening round of the AIAA championships.
OPENING ROUND
(1) Ellery 40 (8) Henry Hudson 33
(2) Dickson 54 (7) Pierpont 32
(3) Brunswick 46 (6) George Fox 45
(4) Sadler 42 (5) Grafton 34

SEMI-FINALS
Sadler 56 Ellery 46
Brunswick 59 Dickson 56

FINAL
Brunswick 59 Sadler 52

Code:

COLLEGIATE BASKETBALL RANKINGS
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
1. Carolina Poly (53) 25-4 1772 4 South Atlantic Conference
2. Western Iowa (10) 26-3 1701 1 Great Lakes Alliance
3. St. Patrick's (7) 24-5 1645 2 Indy Northeast
4. Annapolis Maritime (2) 26-3 1626 3 Indy South
5. North Carolina Tech 24-6 1494 6 South Atlantic Conference
6. Liberty College 25-4 1479 5 Indy East
7. Rainier College 24-5 1364 7 West Coast Athletic Association
8. Ohio Poly 24-5 1303 8 Indy Midwest
9. Garden State 22-7 1182 9 Liberty Conference
10. St. Martin's College 24-6 1142 10 Indy Northeast
11. Texas Gulf Coast 22-7 1121 12 Southwestern Alliance
12. Noble Jones College 22-7 1003 11 Deep South Conference
13. Mississippi A&M 20-9 882 16 Deep South Conference
14. St. Pancras 22-7 796 15 Indy East
15. CC Los Angeles 20-9 690 13 West Coast Athletic Association
16. Chesapeake State 19-10 639 14 South Atlantic Conference
17. Oklahoma City State 22-7 530 24 Plains Athletic Association
18. St. Blane 20-9 510 18 Indy East
19. Middlesex 22-7 502 19 Indy Northeast
20. Western Florida 20-9 426 17 Deep South Conference
21. Miami State 21-8 322 21 Indy South
22. Plover College 21-8 302 20 Indy Midwest
23. Coastal California 20-10 279 NR West Coast Athletic Association
24. Brooklyn State 19-10 211 NR Liberty Conference
25. Conwell College 21-8 198 22 Indy East
Others Receiving Votes:
Wichita Baptist 22-8 163 Midwestern Association
Great Plains State 20-10 78 Indy Midwest
Dickson 21-10 19 Academia Alliance
Lane State 18-11 17 West Coast Athletic Association
Eastern State 19-10 3 Indy South
Alabama Baptist 20-10 1 Deep South Conference

RESULTS INVOLVING RANKED TEAMS
MONDAY MARCH 5
#17 Oklahoma City State 49 College of Omaha 42

TUESDAY MARCH 6
none of top 25 scheduled

WEDNESDAY MARCH 7
#12 Noble Jones College 40 Georgia Baptist 39
#13 Mississippi A&M 63 #20 Western Florida 53

THURSDAY MARCH 8
#1 Carolina Poly 61 Cowpens State 40
#2 Western Iowa 35 Indiana A&M 29
#5 North Carolina Tech 45 Maryland State 33
Bronx Tech 46 #9 Garden State 37
#16 Chesapeake State 48 Mobile Maritime 42
#24 Brooklyn State 54 Manhattan Tech 33

FRIDAY MARCH 9
#7 Rainier College 50 Idaho A&M 34
#11 Texas Gulf Coast 60 Lubbock State 26
Spokane State 36 #15 CC Los Angeles 32
#23 Coastal California 32 Redwood 30

SATURDAY MARCH 10
#1 Carolina Poly 60 Central Carolina 40
#2 Western Iowa 47 Detroit City College 40
#5 North Carolina Tech 60 Cowpens State 46
#9 Garden State 68 Brooklyn Catholic 62
#11 Texas Gulf Coast 44 Red River State 28
Alabama Baptist 43 #12 Noble Jones College 40
#17 Oklahoma City State 49 College of Omaha 37
#20 Western Florida 51 Opelika State 34
#24 Brooklyn State 43 Jersey City Tech 36

SUNDAY MARCH 11
no games scheduled: End of Season

MELCHER OF COASTAL CALIFORNIA TOPS BASKETERS AGAIN

Morgan Melcher of Coastal California went on a late season scoring spree with 63 points in his final three games of the season to help him finish in first place in the national collegiate individual high scoring basketball race. It marks the second year in a row the senior guard led the nation in scoring. His 527 points on the year, good for an average of 17.6 per game, easily allowed him to outdistance Jimmy Martens of Tempe College, who ended up second with 444 points.

If the Dolphins can advance a few rounds in the National Championship Tournament Melcher may have a shot at breaking his own record for points in a season (including tournament play) of 586, which he established last season. Coastal California will open the tournament on Sunday against Mississippi A&M.

GLA BARS PROS, PUTS LIMIT OF FOUR SEASONS ON OTHERS

The Great lakes Alliance today clamped down on it's wide-open football eligibility rules in effect since shortly after Pearl Harbor, banning civilians from more than four years' competition and ostracizing professional athletes. The conference Faculty Committee, which had waived most of its eligibility sanctions to capitalize on all available manpower during the war, declared there was need to return "as rapidly as possible towards normal rules and regulations."

Obviously striking at age and experience disparity among conference athletes resulting from unrestricted play by 4-F's, the committee limited play by civilians, as such, to four seasons. It also specified that athletes from the Rome State Military and Annapolis Maritime Naval Academies would be considered as civilians. No civilian student who is a professional in any sport will be eligible for conference varsity competition in that sport under the revised rules.

DRAKE WINS BY DQ

Michael Drake escaped with a victory in his heavyweight tussle with Doug Franklin despite being badly outpointed on the night. Franklin couldn't keep his punches up and it cost the 28 year old a decision as he was disqualified in the 10th round of their bout, scheduled for 12, due to being warned for repeated low blows. It snapped a 6-fight winning streak for the Jersey City native, who's camp was incensed with referee's ruling after the bout. Drake looked out of sorts all night in making his return to the ring after a more than 3 year absence during which time he was in the Navy. The native of Lowell, MA. improved his record to 25-10-3 while the loss drops Franklin to 24-5 for his career.

The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 3/11/1945

Two key rivers have been crossed as Allied troops continue to take German territory. Elements of the American 1st and 3rd Armies crossed the Rhine less than 10 miles apart between Colbenz and Bonn. Meanwhile, to the east the Red Army broke across the Oder River south of Kuestrin and are within 27 miles of Berlin.
With all of the positive news coming out of Europe, many are speculating Germany is close to surrendering but army officials caution there is still plenty of hard fighting ahead.
Tokyo is reporting that a 77-ship American invasion armada was maneuvering for landing on the southwest tip of Mindanao, the second largest of the Philippine Islands.
15 square miles of war factories, business houses and other buildings in the heart of Tokyo lay in flaming ruins following the heaviest Superfortress raid ever made on Japan.
Industry and C.I.O. members of the War Labor Board are at odds over the basic question of whether wage increases now would be good or bad for postwar American. The CIO is calling for increases now to "prevent the triumph of deflationary forces" but industry members assert that "some deflation is inevitable...real wages, not dollars, are the important thing."

Jiggs McGee · 12-23-2022, 01:47 AM

MARCH 19, 1945

JIGGS RELEASES HIS ANNUAL PREDICTIONS

It is the eve of spring training games and that means it is time for Jiggs McGee to unveil his annual predicted order of finish for the upcoming season. A year ago Jiggs correctly called the Philadelphia Keystones as the Federal Association champions but he missed the boat in the Continental loop, calling for the Chicago Cougars to win it all and actual champion Cincinnati to finish in third place. Jiggs has gazed into his crystal ball once again and this is what he sees for the 1945 campaign.

There might be some minor changes following any spring transactions or injuries such as last year when he lowered Cincinnati from second to third between the Chicago Cougars and Toronto following the Deuce Barrell season-ending injury but otherwise this will be TWIFB's call on the 1945 season.

FEDERAL ASSOCIATION

This might just be the most wide-open the Fed race has been in years and that is really saying something as there are almost always at least four teams that would be considered in the running. This year I could see, given the right breaks, any of 7 different teams winning the flag and it will likely come down to an untimely injury or a key mid-season trade pick-up that determines the winner. Here are the things to like about each of the 7 teams -I am excluding St Louis- that could finish on top this summer.

The New York Gothams have the best quartet of starting pitchers in the loop and a tremendous offensive talent in Red Johnson. The question is how will Bud Jameson fare as a rookie manager stepping in to replace Ed Ziehl? Philadelphia has Bobby Barrell and Red Ross and if the two perform like they did last season that might just be enough. I do have concerns about pitching depth now that Pepper Tuttle is in the army. Boston lost very little from it's team of last season and the Minutemen have experienced pressure games -winning a WCS just two years ago. Pittsburgh is a solid veteran team and if Billy Ligons can repeat what he did on the mound last season their four-man rotation -although a little thin- is very strong. A healthy Mahlon Strong and another solid season out of Moxie Pidgeon would help cover the loss of Luke Berry to the war efffort. The Chicago Chiefs seem to have a lot of holes but there are plenty of veterans to lead the way and maybe they all catch fire with one last big season despite the fact that it really feels like a rebuild in the Windy City. Washington's pitching fared very well last season despite a terrible start for the team. I am expecting Bob Coon to have a strong season but even so there will be a real offensive shortage with Mel Carrol and Jesse Alvardo gone to the war. Everything seemed to fall into place for the Detroit Dynamos last season and, while the future looks bright, I am expecting a slide to the second division this time around. St Louis will be hard pressed to escape the basement after the loss of Buddy Long to the war and the decision to trade vets Gail Gifford and Sam Sheppard. There is a nice collection of talent for the future but the future is not now for St Louis.

PREDTICTED ORDER OF FINISH
1- New York Gothams
2- Philadelphia Keystones
3- Boston Minutemen
4- Pittsburgh Miners
5- Chicago Chiefs
6- Washington Eagles
7- Detroit Dynamos
8- St Louis Pioneers

CONTINENTAL ASSOCIAITON

Every team in FABL has holes to plug again this season because of losses to the war effort. The Cincinnati Cannons lost three big pieces in centerfielder Bob Griffith along with pitchers Chris Clarke and Vic Carrol. However, the Cannons filled those holes nicely with the addition of Gail Gifford and Sam Sheppard in a trade with St Louis and the expected return of 2-time Allen Award winner Deuce Barrell after missing all of last season with elbow troubles. If Deuce can return anywhere close to his form and the Cannons have enough tape to keep their veteran-laden roster on the ballfield you can expect Cincinnati to celebrate a third straight Continental Association crown.

Toronto did get pitcher George Garrison back from the war but the Wolves lost Bernie Johnson, Jimmy Gibbs and infield Hal Wood. Chicago also suffered big war losses in the form of Hank Barnett, Leo Mitchell and Billy Hunter. Put all those players back on Toronto and the Cougars and the outcome might be different but unless Cincinnati has a rash of injuries the best these two can hope for is to duel it out for second place.

There will also be a tight battle waged for the final spot in the first division between the Philadelphia Sailors and New York Stars. Let's give the Stars the edge as big things are expected from Eli Panneton on the New York mound this season and the loss of Marion Boismenu to the Canadian armed forces will hurt the Sailors.

That leaves Montreal, Brooklyn and Cleveland to fight it out for the bottom three spots. There are some things to like about each of the three, but unfortunately until all of their top prospects return from the war, the gap between the three of them and the top half of the Continental Association is just too large to overcome.

PREDTICTED ORDER OF FINISH
1- Cincinnati Cannons
2- Toronto Wolves
3- Chicago Cougars
4- New York Stars
5- Philadelphia Sailors
6- Montreal Saints
7- Brooklyn Kings
8- Cleveland Foresters

CLASS C LOOPS MAY BE SHUTTERED

The growing manpower shortage has triggered rumours that FABL may request that two minor leagues suspend operations for the season. At last count there are now in excess of 1,520 professional ballplayers away from the game and serving in various branches of the military, both for the United States and Canada. That has created a drastic player shortage and one possible solution being examined is the option to suspend play in the two Class C loops: The Gulf States League and Upper Mississippi Valley Association.

It would be a temporary measure and perhaps not involve the full season as there is a possibility those leagues could get underway in late June after the players selected in the FABL amateur draft complete their college and high school obligations.

FABL President Sam Belton did not respond to request for comment but at least two FABL club magnates have expressed concern that they will not have enough players, particularly pitchers, in order to field a team at all five minor league levels this season.

TALES FROM THE WOLVES DEN

Wolves Spring Training Preview - As players begin to congregate for spring workouts it is time to look at your Wolves for 1945. This offseason was again the story of FABL players leaving to join the war effort either by choice or by summons from the government via a draft notice. Toronto was again hit hard losing five players from manager Bob Call's available list to pencil onto the lineup card for 1944. Starting 2B Hal Wood .300/.375/.396 while starting 137 games will be a big hole to fill as he toils for democracy in US Army, OF Reginald Westfall .238/.361/.338 Air Force duty may not have as big an impact, as 1944was a down year, but will be felt as Westfall can be a doubles hitting machine when his bat gets hot. For the third off season in succession the pitch staff took a major hit to help the armed forces. Wolves lost staff leader Bob Johnson 17-13, 2.66, who joined Wood in the Army, promising youngster Jimmy Gibbs, Army, 12-11, 3.16 who found his form in the season's second half along with with bullpen shutdown man Bob McRae 10 saved games to the RCAF. During this seemingly unending turmoil of global war the Wolves has lost enough pitchers to easily fill a FABL top notch pitching staff. The good news, although received because of terrible circumstances, was the return of George Garrison after a 2 year hitch in the US Navy. The biggest question while the team prepares for 1945 is can Garrison return to his 1942 ability, 22-10, 2.52 in over 289 innings second in Allen Award voting on the hill? If so Call's decision is easy every fourth or fifth day, hand George the ball, take a seat in the dugout watch him work.

Again, as in past articles, Brett will deal with the what ares, players who are available presently, not what ifs, players who are in the service. Although the war news in Europe is better as the Allied forces continue to close in on Berlin we have all seen sudden, dramatic reversals in fighting since the D-Day landings last June. Here is a short speculative summary of how the Wolves are shaping up for the upcoming season.

Pitching
Manager Call's manipulation of the starters innings assisted by Pitching Coach Art Nichols will probably continue although the starters did not perform up to standard down the stretch last season allowing the Cannons to claim their second straight CA title. Brett sees a starting rotation of:
1: George Garrison- can he return to his 1942 form?
2: Chick Wirtz- can he, at 36, recapture his 1944 second half?
3: Bob Walls- steady reliable led Toronto with 18 wins in '44.
4: Jim Laurita- effective, will off season work with Nichols lead to better control, less BB?
5: Tommy Anderson- a late season addition who shows promise.
There is always Juan Pomales as an option but his value is higher in OF. The bullpen, especially if Call wants to call on them often in April, May as the SP build endurance, is an area of opportunity for minor league pitchers. Expect the 'pen to feature Phil English, at 41 how much can he contribute, Roscoe Zeller in addition to his role as third C, Bill Crosby who will be expected to step up to fill McRae's stabilizing role. Bill Collins will also get a look along with Bill Ferrell after good seasons in Buffalo. Brett also expects to see Ray Bell, Bill Baumgart, John Calderon in camp. Will one or more of the Nickels find a home on Call's staff?

Infield
The only two sure bets are Walter Pack at 1B, Charlie Artuso at SS. Joe Bell seems to be logical replacement for Wood at second given his performance as a utility infielder in '44. The question with Bell is whether or not his glove will be up Call's high standards for defense at 2B. At third it will be Ockie Holliday's job to lose. Can Holliday's bat ever achieve the expectations as a first round choice in 1937. Fans have talked about moving Pack back to the hot corner, allowing ageless veteran Al jensen to play the majority of the time at first. Frank Huddleston is the favourite to retain the jack-of-all trades utility role given his proven ability to play at least three positions on the inner diamond. Expect Bud House, Wally Starr, Monk Johnson to get at least a look-see in camp to determine whether or not they fit into any future plans with the Wolves.

Behind the plate Clarence Howerton will again get the majority of work, spelled by Walter Loera as the expected double headers begin to pile up in May.

Outfield
The triumvirate of Juan Pomales, Chink Stickels, Gus Hull are again expected to be seen patrolling the green expanses of Dominion Field on most days. With the retirement of Larry Vestal the loss of Westfall leaves only Ed Marshall on the roster as an outfielder. Marshall will be challenged by Joe Bradbury, Red Barrett for the the fourth OF role.
All of these speculations are based on Brett's reading of the Wolves current roster. Many factors can change this:

Will injuries take down one or more players? Wolves were remarkably injury free during '44.
Will one or more of the invitees to spring camp prove themselves more than worthy a big league roster spot?
The biggest factor, will the fighting overseas cease in time to affect this season? A cessation of fighting would throw every team's FABL roster, both at the Major League level and 40-man protected roster, into a state of chaos. The number of moves to be made across the league is almost impossible to calculate, it would be a task for all front offices' but a great day for all FABL fans!

In the next article Brett will sit down with Wolves manager Bob Call for a interview at the beginning of Spring Training.

Backlash continues from the Jersey City Tech college basketball point shaving scandal. New York City Mayor La Guardia has proposed that police in big league baseball cities exchange information in an effort to curb gambling on the sport. In a radio interview the Mayor declared that "we are going to keep baseball clean. I want to try and arrange for exchange of identification and information with other cities where FABL plays so that Philadelphia will know the New York thugs and thieves and we will know the Philadelphia thugs and thieves and likewise all of the cities on the circuit."
While officials in the States remain deadlocked, Canadian government spokesmen have given a positive green light to sports for the coming season, on the ground their continuation means a more relaxed army of Candians doing better work at their essential war services positions. Canadian Selective Services Director Arthur McNamara says Canadian fans could look forward to a comparatively full schedule of events this season and baseball players eligible to play with the Toronto or Montreal Continental Association teams or Canadians who are under contract to teams in the United State have little to fear from Canadian Selective Service officials.

TWO MAJOR UPSETS IN AIAA TOURNAMENT OPENERS

The collegiate basketball world was shocked by the news that 8th seeded University of New Jersey had upended the top seed in the East Region Annapolis Maritime 54-45 during Saturday's opening round games but the news became twice as surprising a day later when Western Iowa -a team that was a perfect 16-0 in Great Lakes Alliance play and riding a 22-game winning streak- fell to Cache Valley 49-46 on Sunday. So one weekend into the annual AIAA Basketball Championships and two of the four top-seeds are already out.

Cache Valley simply outworked the heavily favoured Western Iowa team - one that many felt was the school to beat in the tournament. Junior guard Joe Hampton had a big day for the Canaries, scoring 12 points and adding 9 assists, but the rest of the Western Iowa team struggled and Cache Valley, led by a career best 15 points from Gabriel Saldivar, pulled away in a second half during which the Cowboys, who had never played a tournament game before Saturday, led by as many as 10 points. Western Iowa mounted a late charge but fell just short.

It was a similar story for Annapolis Maritime as the Navigators went long stretches when they could not buy a basket and as a result UNJ, spurred on by 13 points from center Rollie Bechtel and 12 from forward John Aitken, won a tournament game for just the second time in school history and the first since 1927.

The other two number one seeds had little trouble as South favourite Carolina Poly dumped Academia Alliance champion Brunswick 60-44 behind 18 points from Drew Morris while in the West Region North Carolina Tech held off Tempe College 41-36.

BASKETBALL PROBE REVEALS BODE AS FAKE STUDENT

Eric Bode, one of the four basketball players involved in the Jersey City Tech gambling case in January, never was registered student at the school, it was disclosed last week. That disclosure was made by Edgar Bromberger, comissioner of investigation after a probe was ordered following the gambling scandal.

"Bode at no time every registered or matriculated as a student, day or night session, at Jersey City Tech," Bromberger said in his report. "He stated that he bought some books, whose titles he does not recall, and carried them to and from home and around the campus, as well as when he appeared for basketball practice, to create the impression that he was attending the college as a student.

"No one at the college -not even any of his teammates- knew or suspected that he was not regularly registered. Even his own parents were under the impression that he was a student until advised of the crontrary after the transaction with the gamblers had been disclosed."

Bromberger concluded by saying that "Jersey City Tech must insist immediately upon a reversal of the result of basketball games it won while Bode was a member of the squad." Jersey City Tech's President asserted that the "difficulty arose in the administration of our present policies rather than in their character," and that Bode "deliberately misled college officers, including his coach, by false stories about difficulties he was experiencing in his academic studies and by securing his coach's signature to routine documents which he never filed."

PRO BASKET CROWN MEET TO BE OPENED TODAY

First round play in the seventh annual semi-pro championship basketball tournament will get underway at Chicago's Lake Side Stadium today with the host entry from the Windy City facing a team from Hartford, CT. In all, 14 teams from across the east and middle-west will compete to be crowned the national champion. It is also expected informal talks will continue among some of the entrants towards to goal of creating a national professional league similar to FABL, the North American Hockey Confederation or the American Football Association.

REES SET TO DEFEND TITLE WEDNESDAY

World Middleweight Champion Archie Rees says he is in peak form and couldn't be more ready for his Wednesday night title defense against Tommy Erwin. The Tadcaster Thunderbolt is feeling no worse for wear after his cross-Atlantic trip from England last month and is looking forward to his first title defense since beating Jorge Cuellar in that big GI bout in Liverpool last September. Rees, 35-4-1, is a heavy favourite against the 34 year old Erwin (27-6) despite the fact that the Bronx, NY native will likely have the full support of the hometown crowd at the Bigsby Garden.

The same card will also feature another New Yorker in heavyweight Mark Fountain. The 26 year old is 18-2-1 and a victory over Englishman Leo Carmichael will likely assure him a title shot against Hector Sawyer in the summer.

FORMER FRENCH MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMP ALIVE AND FIGHTING NAZIS

Edouard Desmarais, former French boxer who was a perfect 34-0 and seemed to be on track to becoming one of the best fighters of his era before the war interceded, has been found alive. It turns out to be a very small world as the man who recognized the 28 year old fighter was a former ring opponent of his. Desmarais, 28, had long been rumoured to be a part of the French Resistance movement in Paris during the Nazi occupation but nothing had been heard from him in over two years. He was spotted by a British soldier by the name of Peter Ross somewhere in France in early January but word of the story just got out last week when Ross was shipped back to England to recover from a war wound. Ross, who had a bout with Desmarais back in 1937, confirmed Desmarais told him he had been working against the occupiers during the war and shared several harrowing experiences including how he was forced into hiding as German troops were retreating through the French countryside last fall.

After fighting in the 1936 Summer Olympics, Desmarais turned pro and quickly became the top French middleweight. He would also take on many of the top British boxers of the era and ran his record to 34-0 with 28 wins coming by knockout. He was in line for a title shot when the war quiickly changed his palns. Desmarais was said to be defending his homeland in Paris in June, 1940 when the city fell to the Nazis and was rumoured to be part of a resistance movement as well as aiding several downed Allied pilots navigate a safe a return across the English channel. However, all contact with him was lost and he was feared dead until Ross, who suffered a 4th round knockout at the hands of Desmarais in Scotland in 1939, spotted his old foe. Ross adds that Desmarais was offered passage to England by British army officials but elected to remain in France and continue to play whatever role he might in the effort to eliminate the Nazis. According to Ross, the former French champion expressed a desire to return to the ring once the war is over.

JENNINGS WINS WELTERWEIGHT TUSSLE

Mike Jennings ran his record as a welterweight to 23-6 with a unanimous decision over Chris Anderson in a Friday night fight in Washington DC. The 27 year old Flint, Michigan native was in complete control most of the night and easily outpointed the 28 year old Anderson, who sees his record as a professional fall to 13-9. The same card saw the pro debut of Harvey Winter, a big powerful 18 year old heavyweight out of Trenton, NJ. The teen took just over 2 minutes of the opening round to knock out local fighter Aaron Saunders in the opening round.

The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 3/18/1945

Prime Minister Churchill says that victory in Europe may come before the end of summer "or even sooner."
A Stockholm report says that Adolf Hitler made a peace offer to America and Britain early this month and it was rejected.
American tanks and infantrymen struck eastward from their Rhine bridgehead within a half mile of the Rhine-Ruhr-Berlin superhighway in a powerful bid for a breakthrough into the exposed southern flank of the Ruhr basin.
Admiral Nimitz is worried about a shortage of spare parts and states it has immobilized a lot of war equipment in the Pacific battle area.
A building believed to have been the Osaka arsenal, one of Japan's biggest war plants, blew up during a raid and resulted in an explosion so violent it nearly wrecked two Superfortresses a mile and a half overhead.
FDR vigorously defended the administration's policy of having America help to feed other less fortunate nations, telling a news conference he was aware of some opposition to reducing American consumption of certain items so that people in other nations do not starve.

Jiggs McGee · 12-26-2022, 11:52 AM

MARCH 19, 1945 : SPECIAL SPRING TRAINING ISSUE

With so many good young players off to support the war, all FABL teams are relying on major league talent -- any major league talent -- to stick around. The Keystones were no slackers; they came within three runs of winning the whole shooting match. The Series ended with the tying run at the plate, Harry Shumate on deck, and Bobby Barrell in the hole, but Chuck Hood grounded into a fielders choice to officially coronate the Cincinnati Cannons as champions.

In the aftermath of the World's Championship Series, John Heydon, the 66-year-old manager who had just completed a solid first season at the helm of the Keystones, retired suddenly after his son died in battle in France. It was verified later that John Heydon, Jr., was a member of the U.S. Third Army and perished in the Battle of Metz. The Keystones leaped headlong into an all-out search over three weeks and they did well to find their next manager. Otto Schmidt became the 22nd manager in franchise history on November 7th. Schmidt won the 1939 WCS in his rookie year as an FABL manager with the New York Stars and Philadelphia is hopeful he can repeat that feat on Broad Street.

The Keystones were able to make a couple of player moves during the offseason, both addressing a player plucked to serve and acquiring a player already serving to show they are thinking about 1945 and beyond. Tim Humphrey was the de facto starter at shortstop in 1944 and Philadelphia dealt righthander Roy Montgomery for Detroit's Jake Creel to assume a similar role, expected to gain the bulk of playing time with Johnnie Wolsey a 1-B option. Though a pitcher went the other, Creel's $22,000 salary was the main driver for Detroit to part with the middle infielder. During the draft, the Keystones sent the champion Cannons a 3rd- and 4th-round draft pick for Bob Griffith, a 28-year-old centerfielder who is in the fight. But, when the war is over, Griffith will be a welcome addition to a team that will be trying to sort out the four outfielders who will likely pick up most of the team's available outfield at-bats.

The biggest loss in the offseason was Pepper Tuttle, who won 15 games and pitched to a 2.85 ERA. There is no replacement ready for him this year and that is the biggest hole in this team. The replacement will be at the level of the tail end of the rotation instead of a #2 or #3 dependable arm. The best bets to get the last starting slot are fast-riser John "Smiley" Grimes and lefty Pat Williams, who had a few starts last season on Broad Street. Grimes pitched in single-A Allentown in 1943 and jumped up a couple of levels to AAA Louisville last year and he improved by over a half an earned run. One would think Williams would have the inside track to due to his nine starts with the big club last season, but he has averaged more than five walks per nine innings over the last two seasons. If he can keep the walks down, he might get the job.

There are other camp battles, with the most interesting pushes for playing time coming in center field with young prospect Charlie Enslow duking it out with the incumbent, Chuck Hood, and at the backup first baseman role behind Harry Shumate, which is between 35-year-old Glenn Thompson and Leo Costello. Costello served well in a backup 1B/LF role, but Thompson deserves a chance after hitting .344 with 77 RBI in Louisville last season.

OFFSEASON RECAP

WAR gained: +7.0 (1st/16), -4.0 lost to WWII
Additions: CF Bob Griffith (.291/.357/.396, 5 HR, 63 RBI, 4.9 WAR with CIN - missing '45 due to WWII), SS Jake Creel (.280/.354/.372, 0 HR, 27 RBI, 2.0 WAR with DET)
Subtractions: RHP Roy Montgomery (trade w/DET, 0.0 WAR)
Lost to war effort: RHP Pepper Tuttle (4.2 WAR), SS Tim Humphrey (-0.1 WAR), C Charlie Gagnon (-0.1 WAR)

CAMP BATTLES:[*]SP5: RHP John Grimes (14-11, 3.74 ERA, 1.44 WHIP, 69 K in 168.2 IP) vs LHP Pat Williams (PHI: 2-4, 3.74 ERA, 1.46 WHIP, 27 K in 65 IP; AAA: 12-6, 3.78 ERA, 1.53 WHIP, 65 K in 133.1 IP) vs Gene White (PHI: 6-3, 12 SV, 2.38 ERA, 1.62 WHIP, 44 K in 72 IP, 49 G (0 GS))[*]Starting C: Chet McCormick (PHI: .230/.293/.307, 3 HR, 22 RBI in 261 AB) vs Walt Potter (PHI: .266/.307/.357, 1 HR, 41 RBI in 308 AB)[*]Starting SS: Jake Creel (DET: .280/.354/.372, 0 HR, 27 RBI in 218 AB) vs Johnnie Wolsey (PHI: .234/.304/.273, 0 HR, 21 RBI in 337 AB)[*]Starting CF: Charlie Enslow (PHI: .211/.276/.293, 0 HR, 7 RBI in 123 AB; AAA: .312/.393/.420, 2 HR, 26 RBI in 352 AB) vs Chuck Hood (PHI: .253/.330/.299, 1 HR, 45 RBI in 569 AB)[*]Backup 1B: Leo Costello (PHI: .269/.336/.419, 2 HR, 20 RBI in 93 AB) vs Glenn Thompson (AAA: .344/.406/.440, 5 HR, 77 RBI in 468 AB)[*]Backup 3B: Ron Hansen (PHI: .224/.256/.288, 2 HR, 21 RBI in 170 AB) vs Joe Parker (PHI: 1-for-17; AAA: .300/.352/.400, 2 RBI in 50 AB) vs John Rutter (PHI: .148/.258/.235, 1 HR, 8 RBI in 81 AB; AAA: .295/.387/.349, 1 HR, 15 RBI in 146 AB)[*]Backup OF: Rusty Matthews (PHI: 1-for-2, RBI; AAA: .285/.324/.379, 0 HR, 56 RBI in 438 AB) vs Mickey Cox (PHI: .235/.309/.332, 4 HR, 26 RBI in 196 AB)[/list]

“There’s a good chance we will be worse than last year,” St. Louis GM Herb DeSpain stated in an interview during the offseason. “Losing Buddy was not in the plans; he was supposed to help the young guys learn how to pitch in the FABL!”

Buddy Long was one of the best pitchers in the majors in 1944. The Pioneers won just 67 games with Long winning 21 on his own. The next most wins on the team belonged to Danny Hern who now will become the ace of the staff for the 1945 season. Hern will also be responsible for mentoring a group of youngsters that saw their first bit of major league action at the end of the 1944 season. 22 year old Lazardo DeLeon(2-3, 5.14 ERA, 28 IP), 23 year old Ben Fiskars(2-2, 3.50, 36 IP) and 27 year old Herb Armstrong(2-2, 2.32, 31 IP) will form the back end of the rotation with veteran Jasper Moore sliding into the number two slot. DeLeon and Fiskars are highly ranked prospects while Armstrong is not thought of as a sure thing, but DeSpain says “he just pitches well wherever we put him.”

Veteran Joe Shaffner is also still on the team although that is a bit of a surprise after DeSpain shipped long time Pioneers Gail Gifford and Sam Sheppard out of town this offseason for picks and a prospect. “We couldn’t afford to pay them, and they deserve to go somewhere that they can help a team win.”

The bullpen is solid with stopper Russ Peeples(69 IP, 3.13 ERA, 9 saves), Harry Sharp(30.2, 1.76), Preacher Pietsch(42.2, 3.59), and Dixie Dennis(58.1, 4.17) returning. Looking to break in to the majors are Van Martinez(3.17 ERA in AAA) and Johnny Kretzschmar(3.46 ERA, 453 AAA IP). “We will have to rely on the pen a little more than we are used to with Buddy being gone.” Despain added.

According to the Pioneers’ GM, the lineup for 1945 is “cloudier than the rotation. It’s Al Tucker and the rest is yet to be determined!” Tucker, the 1943 FED batting champ, is the staple of the lineup that has struggled to score runs for a few seasons now. Tommy Wilson can be penciled in to play a slick hot corner, but his bat is always a mystery. Will we see the guy that hit .290 in ’41 or the guy that hit .246 last year? DeSpain would be happy with something in between. “Those are the only two guys that you can say right now, before spring training, that have a job locked up,” DeSpain explained.

“Larry Gregory will get a long look in the outfield along with Archie Sharp, Cal Page, and Hack Mills.” Gregory came over in an offseason trade and is expected to bat fourth in the lineup behind Tucker. The former first round pick was used as a two-way player last year by the Stars but St. Louis plans to use him exclusively as an outfielder. That leaves one spot for the three other guys. Page has the upper hand as he not only fields his position well but he makes easier on the corner guys by getting to a lot of balls.

Joining Wilson on the infield could be SS Homer Mills and 2B Jim Koch both from the 1943 draft. Neither hit well in their limited time in St Louis last season but the options are slim at those two positions. While Koch played a decent second base, Mills struggled to field at all no matter where he played. He will have do well at either hitting or fielding to find a place on the big league roster. Veteran Hal Sharp(.322) can hit but his glove is made of stone. “I always thought anyone could play first base,” DeSpain said with a smile. “that is until I saw Hal play it!” Other guys getting a look on the infield this spring include Dick Sanders, Jack Helmig, Bill Becker, and Bob Wheeler.

Clyde Farr and Ed Tracy were both rookie catchers for the Pioneers last season. Both are very good with the glove but have a lot of room for improvement with the bat. Together they hit .248 with a sub .300 on base percentage. Some teams can afford to get nothing on offense from the catching position but this team is not one of them. With their top three catchers at war it has been a few years of just piecing together some guys that won’t embarrass themselves. Back from the war is John Kennedy who hit just .211 in three seasons as a backup but hasn’t played baseball in three years. He may be worse than Tracy and Farr at the plate but he will get a chance to prove himself in spring games.

I’m a realist. I do not see this team doing any better than they did last year and we have every reason(especially the loss of Long) to believe they will be much worse. The only way things get better is if the young starting pitchers play above expectations for the entire season. If that doesn’t happen then the fans in St. Louis will have to endure another long baseball season in 1945.

A Short Chat With The New Manager -I had a chance to speak with new Gothams manager Bud Jameson about the team, his first shot as manager and their prospects for the new season.

RED: Bud, first of all, let me congratulate you on behalf of all Gothams fans on being named the clubs new manager. I'm sure it came as a bit of a surprise.
BUD: Thank you. And sure it was a bit of a shock. We all expected Ed to be the skipper here for a long time. I was ready to come down help the boys get ready as a coach. Then, bam, it's my job. And so much more to do.

RED: Now here we are. Clear skies, warm days, balls smacking mitts and a whole squad of players looking to you for direction. How does it feel?
BUD: I'd be lying if I didn't say it's a lot. A whole lot. But I think I'm ready. I've been in big league camps a good 20 years myself.

RED: And yesterday's early predictions are touting your squad to top the Fed! A lot of pressure?
BUD: No, not from what's in the papers. You folks need to sell your stories. That's ok. At least it means someone else things we have a shot. We sure believe we do.

RED: And to start off you get Harry Carter back.
BUD: Now that sure was a nice welcoming gift. I played with Carter on a championship team, so I know what he can do. I felt better about my rotation as soon as I get the news.

RED: Any changes to the way you'll do things?
BUD: Not much that will be readily obvious. I played for Manager Ziehl for a long time. I learned most of what I know from him, so I'm not going to go flipping everything over.

RED: Nothing you can give us?
BUD: OK, I'll give you one thing, Pete Casstevens. The kid's been here five seasons already. I plan to turn the staff over to him and let him run with the regular catching job. No platoon, or anything like that. Sure he'll get his days off, all catchers need them. I talked to him just before camp. I told him, Pete, don't worry about the bat. You're in there every day. You just take care of my pitchers and everything else will take care of itself. He's a really fine defensive catcher and I think he can hit a bit as he started to show last year. But he puts pressure on himself when hes not hitting and I need him to be 100% on the staff. If they pitch how they can, we'll win a lot of games.

RED: Thanks Bud for some insight on your thought process? Anything else you want to share?
BUD: Ha, Mr. Ziehl warned me about giving you guys too much. I need to keep some secrets. But there will be some good competition for roster spots around the field. Except for first base of course.

RED: Afraid the other Red will break you team records?
BUD: If Johnson passed me by on those lists I'm going to be a very successful manager.

RED: Thanks for you time Bud. Can we catch up from time to time?
BUD: Sure thing.

FEW OPENINGS AS VETERAN CANNONS ARRIVE AT CAMP

For the third year in a row the Cincinnati Cannons are gathering at the Georgia Baptist ballpark in Athens, Ga. to prepare for the upcoming Continental Association season. Despite the fact that 5 key pieces from last season's championship squad are no longer with the team, there are very few jobs that are up for grabs. Instead of the usual battles for roster spots that dominate talk at most spring locations, the 1945 version of the Cannons camp is solely focused on making sure everyone is healthy and ready to go for the lid-lifter against Toronto on April 17 at Tice Memorial Stadium.

Headlining those that have departed are three pitchers who played a key role last season. Future Hall of Famer Rabbit Day decided to retire at age 40 after 321 career big league victories while both Chris Clarke (12-10, 2.44) and Vic Carroll (6-3, 3.29) have joined the war effort. Carroll missed much of last season with an injury and Day did not arrive until the end of July so it really is just 2 rotation spots that need filled and the Cannons are extremely comfortable with the two replacements. One will be Deuce Barrell, as the two-time Allen Award winner says he is back to full strength and ready to go after missing all of last season with an elbow injury. Then there is 37 year old Sam Sheppard, an off-season pickup from St Louis who won 21 games two years ago but struggled last season. The expectation is Deuce will replace Clarke as the number 1 and 1A starter along with Butch Smith -who succeeded Deuce as the Allen Award winner last season.
*** Sheppard Fine Addition to Capable Slab Staff ***

Sheppard and Tom Barrell -Deuce's uncle- will be the 3 and 4 starts giving the Cannons 4 former Allen Award winners in their rotation. There is also plenty of depth with veteran lefthanders Jim Crawford and Jake Smith along with righthanders George DeForest and Dan Adams. Add in 36 year old relief specialist Larry Brown and the Cannons 9-man pitching staff is all set with no room left for promising 23 year old Stan Kenny.

Big things are hoped for from Sheppard, as the 37 year old prepares for his first season in the Continental Association after 13 years with the St Louis Pioneers. He has a lifetime record of 179-147, made three all-star teams and won the Allen Award in 1935 when he went 28-7 and led the Fed with a 3.13 era. There were some rough seasons for the moody righthander but he turned things around two years ago when he returned to the Pioneers rotation after two and a half seasons when he was relegated to the pen. Last year had some ups and downs but the Cannons are confident that Sheppard's tendency to induce a lot of ground balls will pair perfectly with a strong Cincinnati infield led by Jim Hensley behind him.
*** Infield Remains Crowded Despite War ***

The Cannons seem to hemorrhage second baseman and centerfielders during the past few years. We will touch on the latter in a moment but Tony White is the latest second sacker to get the call from Selective Service, following Charley McCullough and Charlie Willis in the previous two years. Fortunately there is still plenty of depth and 37 year old Jack Cleaves is expected to be the everyday starter this season after platooning with White a year ago. If Cleaves needs a breather there is also the very capable Charlie Ross waiting in the wings.

The rest of the infield is the same as last year with 27 year old Chuck Adams -who led the CA in homers and rbi's a year ago- at first base, 28 year old glove wizard Jim Hensley at shortstop and 29 year old Denny Andrews back at third base. Andrews missed half of last season with an injury so veteran Nick Wallace will be around to fill in if needed. If there is an open spot on the roster anywhere it will be for the back-up shortstop position with incumbent Billy Winfrey holding the inside track but he may be pressured by 22 year old Cincinnati native Ted Stacy, who had a strong season defensively at AAA Indianapolis but could be overmatched at the plate.
*** Gifford Fills Hole In Centerfield ***

The Cannons suffered a big loss with the departure of Bob Griffith to the army. Griffith had an all-star season as a fill-in at centerfield for Fred Galloway -another all-star who left for the Coast Guard in 1943. Griffith's departure came as a shock and prompted the Cannons to pull the trigger on a deal to bring Sam Sheppard and Gail Gifford from St Louis. That move made Griffith expendable and he was peddled to the Philadelphia Keystones as the club will be awash in outfielders when the war is over.

As for this season Gifford is still just 33 years old and a solid lead-off hitter who led the Federal Association in stolen bases last season but he has missed substantial time with injuries each of the past couple of seasons. The Cannons were willing to gamble on his health as they had a glaring hole in centerfield. If the gamble pays off it is hard to see an outfield in either association that might be better than the trio of Gifford between Sam Brown and Al Wheeler. The 34 year old Brown was a very good player in his days in Washington and has been even better since joining the Cannons at the trade deadline prior to their first World Championship win in 1943. Wheeler is 37 and a 5-time Whitney Award winner who has had some rough times of late in both Brooklyn and with the Chicago Chiefs but he was very good down the stretch for the Cannons last season and clearly a 'steal' when you consider Cincinnati paid just the price of a 7th round draft pick to bring Wheeler to the Queen City. However, there is certainly an element of concern among Cannons brass regarding just which version of Al Wheeler will show up this season.

Age and injury is a concern but the Cannons feel that Rufus Daniels, Don Horner and possibly Johnny Potter will give them enough depth. The club also has veteran Dan Fowler, who signed a minor league contract, waiting in the wings at Indianapolis and will experiement with Chuck Adams in left field if needed.

That leaves catcher where Tom Bird is back and will handle most of the duties but the Cannons will begin experimenting with 36 year old 9-time all-star at first base since that is where he will end up once Adam Mullins returns from the war. There is a battle for a roster spot as the back-up catcher with both Ed Sala and Tommy Morris out of options and there is a possibility the Cannons will keep both and go with three catchers which means sixth outfielder Johnny Potter likely heads to Indianapolis.
*** Focus is On Keeping Everyone Healthy ***

With a veteran lineup, one that seems well positioned to make a run at a third straight World Championship, the key is to keep everyone healthy during the spring. Injuries appear to be the only thing that can slow this team down and the club feels prepared for that as well, with depth at most positions and a willingness to move next year's draft picks and perhaps one or two of their young pitchers that are at war right now when the trade deadline arrives. The Cannons have made it no secret that they want nothing short of a WCS win again this season. A chance to tie the 1924-26 New York Stars as the only FABL clubs ever to win three straight WCS titles is too alluring not to go all-in for.

The New York Stars are looking ahead to a better year in '45 following a mediocre '44 campaign. That is the word from second year Manager Ken Tannen, who says he is "optimistic for this season" after stepping into the managerial position last year following 5 seasons as the club's bench coach. "Last year was a fairly easy transition," explained the 46 year old Texan, "and we did well with what we had and through some questionable calls from the front office."

For a chance New York can talk about a war addition, rather than just subtractions. Returning from war, and looking to be a key rotation piece is Dixie Lee. The Stars traded for him at the start of the decade and he only managed a middling season before hot footing it off to war. Lee has a solid set of skills, but never seemed to put it all together for NY. Its been a long 4 seasons since he last pitched, hopefully he's still got it.

The rest of the rotation is looking pretty good. Eli Panneton will pitch in the #1 spot and possibly come out of the pen when needed. Lee in #2. Another former STL boy, Ed Cornett in at #3. Solid #4 with Hank Mittan. And 41 year old Eddie Hite will fill in the extreme back end at #5. In the Bullpen will be Cook, Boyer, Fisher, Bloom and Watkins.

With the Loss of Carmichael and Ray in the infield, a few changes needed to be made. Cochran will move back to 3B. Honeywood will be full time at 1B. Hancock Jr. returns to 2B. MacKnight will split time at catcher with Green. Summers and Graham will battle it out in spring for the starting SS job. The outfield is looking familiar with Smith in left, Bourdeau in center and Hall in right.

All these fine men, both young and old, will have to give the performance of a lifetime to hold on to their jobs. The war in Europe has changed in tide and it only seems a matter of time till the boys start coming home and the vets reclaim their roster spots.

TALES FROM THE WOLVES DEN

An Interview with Wolves Manager Bob Call -As spring training is about begin Brett Bing has secured time to chat with Bob Call before he heads into his second season as bench boss for the Wolves. The conversation was long one but has been edited here to fit into the available newspaper space.

Mail & Empire: Thank you for agreeing to this interview Bob, fans in Toronto are ready to see the 1945 edition of the Wolves. Let's start with your feelings on the 1944 season your first at the helm.
Call: Last season was one of learning the subtleties it takes to manage at the top level of baseball. There are small differences between managing at AAA compared to the CA, first and most importantly is that very seldom do you get away with a mistake whether you're a pitcher, hitter, coach or manager. The level of play is at such a high level that any mistake, however minor, will probably be capitalized on immediately by the opposition. My decisions on the bench had to be thought all the way through in every situation. With the assistance of Dick Dennis and Art Nichols, I felt we progressed greatly as the season went on. I rely on Dick, Art to provide input constantly during the game. They were a great with their experience after Charlie Reed left the job open after the 1943 season.

While finishing second is nothing to dismiss lightly in the CA anything short of the pennant cannot be considered a successful season. The team was close to a pennant until the last two weeks of the campaign before falling short by 4 games to Cincinnati. The Cannons as a team took off starting in late June, they were not be denied of their second straight title. In many ways the Wolves beat themselves at the tail end of the season. Although much was made of my pitching staff management to save arms in the early stages of the season I think the pitching held up down the stretch....untimely errors in the field together with a lack of the timely base hits were the reason the Cannons went to the World Series. I don't know if the hitting, fielding failures were due to mental fatigue, physical fatigue or both, it does not matter now we finished second.

Mail & Empire: That is a clear description of last season, the Toronto fans were very impressed with the team along with disappointed with the fade in September. Now for a quick insight to 1945.
Call: Although the war effort came calling again, losing Hal Wood, Reg Westfall, Jimmy Gibbs, Bernie Johnson is going to hurt we cannot dwell on that, every team in the FABL faced the same situation, some to a lesser degree, some to a greater degree. The good news was that George Garrison will be part of the staff in 1945. George returned under trying circumstances, the death of his brother in the Pacific, hopefully he can put that along with other war memories behind him as he returns to being one the most feared pitchers in the CA. The Wolves tried something different this off-season, after all the discussion on saving pitchers early last season team trainer came to me with a idea to improve all players flexibility, arm strength, overall conditioning this off-season. Trainer Dick Turcotte put together a set of exercises tailored to each individual player to improve in the three areas I mentioned flexibility, arm strength, conditioning. The players were given these before leaving Toronto, it is hoped all of them followed their programs while away from the team. It will be abundantly evident who did along with who did not during the first days of spring training. This will save time getting players back in shape then allow for more time to work on different aspects of the game so it becomes ingrained to the players.

The majority of the behind the plate duties will be handled by Clarence Howerton backed up by Walter Loera. A quick glance at the schedule shows that almost every Sunday will be a double header beginning the second week of May. Hopefully Howerton can catch at least four games per week. Walter Pack will be at first, spelled by Al Jensen. Second base, with Wood departing, will be up for grabs with Joe Bell being given a shot at the everyday role. Frank Huddleston, along with a number of guys from Buffalo, will also get time before we head north to start the season. Charlie Artuso's steady glove, bat will return to short stop. Ockie Holiday should man the hot corner, hopefully this will be the season that his bat will move from potential to actual numbers over the summer, Jim Sigworth will spend hour upon hour with Holiday in the spring.

in the outfield expect to Pomales, Stickels, Hull the majority of the time left to right. With the retirement of Larry Vestal, Westfall's call to service leaves only Ed Marshall from last year's team. Ed can cover all three positions adequately but Red Barret and Joe Bradbury will given an opportunity to showcase their talents during the spring. I would like to see more stolen bases this season or at least less runners caught stealing bases. I have always been a proponent of aggression on the base paths. Putting pressure on the defense can lead to extra runs, although only if you have the proper mix of players. This one of the things we will work on sooner if players come into camp in better shape after following their off-season regime.

I expect pitching to lead the team to the CA title. Replacing 30 victories chalked up by Johnson, Gibbs will not be an easy task but I believe Art can bring out undiscovered talents in all of our pitchers. I see a 5-man rotation with Garrison being the anchor, tentatively followed by Chick Wirtz, Bob Walls, Jim Laurita, with Tommy Anderson acting as a swingman. McRae's loss will force a shifting of roles in the bullpen which again will most likely see a lot of work until the starters buildup their stamina. Phil English, Billy Crosby, Roscoe Zeiller give us reliable arms. Ray Bell and Cookie Meyers will also see action in spring training. Due to war travel restrictions there will only be 30 players in camp so everyone will see lots of game action before the team heads north.

Mail & Empire: Would you care to predict the outcome of CA?
Call: Preseason predictions are for you newspaper types. I do not predict order of finish with the exception of the Wolves claiming the pennant then moving on face the FA champion. I will give you my quick thoughts on each of the other teams in the CA.
Cannons- Will be around the top all season. Can Ad Doria lead, coax the best out of this group of aging veterans? They seem to always find a way.
Cougars- Although they lost significant players to the service they are still an excellent team. They showed their real team the first half of last season. The second half collapse was unexplainable, Cougars have something to prove in '45.
Sailors- A team that is beginning to find its way.
Stars- A team that will surprise many this season.
Kings- Too much tradition to ever overlook.
Saints- A young team on the rise. Will some or all of the youngsters take a big forward this season?
Foresters- A team trying to recapture their past glory by rebuilding, not a team to be overlooked on any given day.

COUGARS RETURN MURPHY TO DETROIT

What a difference a year makes. Last winter, much of the talk regarding who would be the team to beat in the Continental Association stemmed around the Chicago Cougars acquisition of veteran lefthander Mike Murphy from the Detroit Dynamos. The line of thinking was Murphy, who went 6-7 for Detroit the previous season, would be a nice back of the rotation addition to help give Chicago the pitching depth they needed to win the pennant. For a while it looked like that was exactly what would happen as Murphy won 5 of his first 7 decisions and played a role in the Cougars having one of the best starts in Continental Association history.

It did not last as Murphy, like his club, struggled in July but still finished the year with a 9-6 record. Now, after the Cougars saw much of their offense in Hank Barnett, Leo Mitchell and Billy Hunter head off to war, the club decided it had no need for Murphy this season so the 37 year old was returned to Detroit in exchange for a 10th round draft pick. Murphy will almost certainly claim a spot in the war-depleted Dynamos rotation.
*** COUGARS SEND PAIR TO PITTSBURGH ***

The Chicago pitching purge continued as the Cougars, faced with a number of pitchers who cannot be returned to the minors and perhaps also looking ahead in anticipation of all the military returnees once the war ends, moved a pair of veteran arms to the Pittsburgh Miners.

Chicago will part with 36 year old righthander Bill Anderson and 31 year old southpaw Cal Knight in a deal that nets them a 9th round draft selection but more importantly, as Chicago Daily News columnist Archie Irwin confirms, helps make the Cougars pitching staff "easier to manage, both this year and next.". Anderson spent most of last season in AAA and was out of options so he likely would have been cut loose by the Cougars while Knight was in much the same boat, with no options left after pitching 42 innings out of the pen for the Cougars last season. Knight could well have stuck with the big club again this season but would clearly be on the way out as soon as the war ends and players are allowed to return. The duo are inexpensive additions for a Pittsburgh club that might be short on pitching depth until the war ends.

Jiggs McGee · 12-27-2022, 01:06 PM

MARCH 26, 1945

BASEBALL IS BACK! SPRING ACTION SWINGS INTO FULL GEAR

Baseball has survived another tumultuous off-season which, as in previous years, saw plenty of big name players leave for the war effort and had more than it's share of challenges just to ensure the game would survive. Teams are still not in their normal pre-war training destinations in Florida, but once again scattered around the southeast in an effort to comply with war travel concerns and once more many familiar names are gone, replaced by has-beens and never-were's who are suddenly getting their chance to shine in a sport that is facing an ever-increasing war-induced talent shortage. None of that seemed to matter as fans scattered from Boston to St Louis, Montreal to Cincinnati, and every major league city in between are awash with the excitement of reading big league boxscores once again. Thanks to the recent Manpower Board announcement fans are also secure in the knowledge that less than a month from now their favoutire big league park would once again be awash with the sounds of big league baseball.

The fact that St Louis -the one team this publication gave next to no chance to win the Federal Association pennant this season is 6-1 and sitting atop the FABL spring table while the defending Fed flag winners are tied for last is either meaningless -because these are early spring games played for the most part by athletes even more obscure than some of those likely to head north- or indicative of what might just be the most unpredictable season yet. It also will hopefully be the last of the 'war years' as victory in Europe seems just months, or dare we hope only weeks away, and hopefully mopping up things in the Pacific won't be far behind. For a brief moment each day, as the boxscores and game recaps are read, none of that matters. Baseball is back.

SPRING NOTES FROM AROUND THE LEAGUE

BOSTON- Alf Pestilli has always been overshadowed by his famous younger brother but truth be told Alf had a couple of pretty solid seasons of his own in the late 1930's including a career best 27 homers in 1939 when he was shipped at mid-season from Brooklyn to Detroit where he briefly teamed up with his Whitney Award winning brother Sal. Sal has been in the air corps for the past two seasons and Alf has been doing more than his share of traveling too, with stops in Chicago with the Chiefs and Cincinnati before joining Boston last July. Pestilli has hit just .243 in 62 games with the Minutemen but does have 7 homeruns during that span. He hit 2 more in spring action last week as he is trying to earn a reserve spot in a crowded Boston outfield that also includes three veteran all-stars in Pete Day, Chick Donnelly and Joe Watson.

BROOKLYN- It was a long route to the major leagues for Bud Hastings but the 31 year old became one of the rare rule five picks that contributes to his new club when the righthander went 11-12 with a 4.12 era in 31 starts for Brooklyn. Originally drafted way back in 1931 in the 6th round by the Cleveland Foresters, the Kings gave Hastings his first big league opportunity and he did a solid job. With Jim Kenny gone to the army, the Kings will need even more out of Hastings this season and if his opening spring start is any indication it appears he will deliver. Hastings pitched 5 scoreless innings in a 5-1 win over Cleveland last week.

CHIEFS- Highly touted outfield prospect Dick Blaszak, who was the key piece in the deal that sent Tom Bird and Rabbit Day to Cincinnati last July, made his spring debut with the Chiefs. He went just 1-for-5 with his first hit being a big one -at least as big as any in the spring can be. It was a pinch-hit rbi single in the 11th inning to lift the Chiefs to a 6-5 win over Boston. Just the fact that Blaszak is playing at all is cause for celebration in the Windy City. Less than six months ago he was nearly killed fighting in the Pacific and endured a long winter of rehabing a bullet wound to the shoulder.

COUGARS- The Cougars are reported to be pretty happy with young pitchers Ken Matson and Angel Lopez following their spring debuts. Each allowed just a single run in 4 innings of work. The big three of the rotation will be Harry Parker, Billy Riley and Art White. Riley had an impressive debut with 4 scoreless innings against Brooklyn. Parker had one very good outing - 4 shutout innings vs Toronto- but struggled in his debut last Monday while White allowed 2 earned runs in 4 innings of wrok against the Cannons on Wednesday.

CINCINNATI- The Cannons are thrilled to see Deuce Barrell pitch 4 scoreless innings against Brooklyn in his return to the mound 352 days after blowing out his elbow in camp last season. Injuries are the big worry for the veteran Cincinnati roster and Jack Cleaves was the first victim. The 37 year old second sacker suffered an elbow contusion yesterday and will likely get the next week off to ensure a full recovery. Cleaves was off to a great start in camp, hitting .636 (7-for-11) after struggling through a career worst .252 season a year ago.

CLEVELAND- Its far too early to worry but 1943 first overall pick Jim Adams Jr. had a tough week in his return to action after missing the final two months of last season with a shoulder injury. The 23 year old went just 1-for-14 at the plate last week. Someone who was very impressive at the dish was Bill Parker. The 31 year old catcher hit .538 on the week. Nearly all of the Foresters top prospects are aiding in the war effort but Davey Chamberlain is around and did get some spring action last week. The 23 year old righthander had a rough debut against Cincinnati but settled down somewhat with decent outings against Toronto and Montreal. A 4th round pick out of Warrensburg State in 1943, Chamberlain spent most of last season in Class A and will likely debut at AA this season.

DETROIT- George Bond is doing his best to get noticed in Detroit. The 37 year old outfielder, who appeared in 36 games for the Dynamos a year ago -after playing just 1 big league game in the previous 8 years- hit .733 last week. That is not a typo. Bong went 11 for 17 including a homerun and a triple while appearing in all 7 Dynamos games. He isn't the only Dynamo off to a quick start at the plate as catcher Bob Montgomery (8-15, .538), second baseman Cecil Gust (6-12, .500) and outfielder Bert Wilson (5-10, .500) all enjoyed strong starts.

MONTREAL- The Saints have 38 players including 17 pitchers in camp. They are counting on big things from 24 year olds Jackie James and Pat Weakley after the duo combined to win 19 games for the club last season. James was a midseason callup and looked very sharp in his spring debut: a 1-0 loss to the Stars on Saturday in which he threw 5 shutout innings. Weakley pitched Friday against Cleveland and allowed just 1 run on 4 hits over 4 innings. The 1938 8th overall pick will be entering his third full big league season.

NY STARS- Much of the focus all season, not just the spring, will be on Eli Panneton. He had a huge start when he joined the Stars fresh out of Aberdeen College last July but faded down the stretch. Most tie the Stars fortunes this season to how Panneton holds up over the grind of a long season so Stars brass was likely breathing a sigh of relief when the 23 year old Canadian hurled 4 shutout innings in a 1-0 win over Montreal on Saturday. It made for a much better second spring outing after Panneton allowed 8 hits and 3 runs in his spring debut last Monday against the Chicago Cougars. Another Stars pitcher, 31 year old Dixie Lee, is back from the war and made his first appearance on the mound -outside of military games- since 1940. Lee looked very impressive in his debut - 5 scoreless and hitless innings against the defending World Champions from Cincinnati on Tuesday before allowing just 1 run on 4 hits in 4 innings against Cleveland yesterday.

NY GOTHAMS- Gothams manager Bud Jameson could not be much happier with the spring debut of his big four on the mound. Jim Lonardo, Ed Bowman, Jim Baggett and the recently discharged Harry Carter combined to surrender just 1 earned run in 26 innings of work. After not getting much of an opportunity with the Cougars, who selected him in the 4th round of the 1939 draft out of Chesapeake State, Bunny Hufford finally got a chance to play regularly when he joined the Gothams prior to last season as part of the deal that returned Lonardo to the Big Apple. Hufford hit a respectable .256 and provided solid defense in the middle of the Gothams outfield last year. He had a nice opening week of spring with a 6-for-13 (.462) week and will be counted on heavily, along with Nat Drake, to be the table-setters at the top of the order for the big bats of Red Johnson and Leon Drake.

KEYSTONES- Bobby Barrell is showing no signs of rust from a winter without baseball. The 34 year old had one of the greatest seasons ever seen with a triple-crown campaign last year and he picked up right where he left off with a solid .625 batting average to begin his spring. Barrell went 2-for-2 in the opener and 5-for-8 for the week. Pitching rotation depth will be the defending champs main worry with the loss of Pepper Tuttle to the army. The opening week for George M Brooks did nothing to alleviate that concern as the 32 year old righthander, who went 11-14 last season, was beaten up pretty badly in his first two spring appearances, taking the loss both times while posting a 13.50 era.

SAILORS- All eyes will be on Ed Reyes as the 32 year old is looked on to be the replacement for two-time all-star and reigning Whitney Award winner Marion Boismenu at first base. Reyes hit a very impressive .387 in limited action last season for the Sailors but will likely be the everyday first baseman now that Boismenu has joined the Canadian war effort. Reyes hit .286 in the opening week of camp.

PITTSBURGH- Perhaps it was a bit of a surprise that injury prone 35 year old Mahlon Strong appeared in each of the Miners first 7 games but he led Pittsburgh in spring plate appearances the opening week with 16 of them, one more than Willie Vega and Whit Williams. 33 year old pitcher George Phillips was also busy on the opening week of camp, topping all players with 15 innings of work.

ST LOUIS- Tabbed to finish at or near the bottom of the Federal Association this season seems to be bulletin board material for the St Louis Pioneers as they are the surprise team of the opening week of spring play with a FABL best 6-1 start. The lone blemish on their record was a 5-1 loss to the Chicago Chiefs on Thursday. Pitching was a big reason for the strong start as Pioneers relievers allowed 11 ER/34.2 IP(2.86 ERA) while the starters were even more impressive with 6 ER/29.1 IP(1.84 ERA). Not all is good news from St Louis as third baseman Tommy Wilson started 0-for-13 and the entire offense was batting just .226.

TORONTO- Toronto is happy with their first week of ST. A 4-3 record with only 4 fielding miscues during the games, George Garrison was impressive on his return to FABL action after a much publicized two-year stint in the US Navy, 6 innings with only 3 baserunners on 2 hits 1 walk. Wayne Henderson is making a strong case to grab the starters role at 2B after a .500/.500/.700 week, Walt Pack, Ockie Holiday also has a good weeks at the plate. There is some concern about the ability of pitchers to find the plate, 24 free passes in 7 games is far too many as the Wolves really are not debuting rookie hurlers.

WASHINGTON- TWIFB expected the Eagles might have a chance to contend this season if their pitching did the job and after one week of spring training indications are good as Lou Ellertson, Del Burns and Dan Everett combined to not allow a single earned run in 4 starts last week. The worry is on the offense, and now the management side of things as the Eagles brass has not taken steps to fill the holes created with the departure of Mel Carrol and Jesse Alvardo to the navy. Eagles manager John Lawrence is still counting them among his spring training roster so unless that changes and the skipper identifies capable replacements it might be another very long season in the nations capital.

Spring Training Special -Let’s take a look at your New York Gothams as they prepare for the 1945 season. Some are predicting great things for the '45 edition of the ball club, but an unbiased eye sees quite a few question marks.

Pitching - No doubt an area of strength. Adding Harry Carter back to a rotation that already contains Ed Bowman, Jim Lonardo, and Jim Baggett has to put this rotation at the top of the league. Even 18 game loser Cy Sullivan pitched in 198 innings. These men will give you quality and quantity. The only cause for concern is that all except Bowman are in their 30s, with Lonardo now turned 40. Still this promises to be a formidable group.

Relievers - Reliable, if not spectacular vets Sam Hodge, Tom Phelps, and Les Harris are returning to provide relief if a starter falters.

Catcher - As reported here in my chat with manager Bud Jameson, Pete Casstevens is going to be given a long leash. Already a respected receiver, Casstevens manager feels he now has the maturity to manage the staff and also put up respectable offensive numbers. Rookies Cliff Lieby and Josh Porter will battle it out for the backup spot.

Infield - There’s one spot locked up and that’s 1B, where Red Johnson will look to follow up his return to form with another strong season. The remainder of the infield competition is wide open although some may be seen as placeholders for current military men Roosevelt Brewer and Mule Monier. Eddie Curtis and Bill Freeman should handle the 2B duties with Cy Howard looking to push one of them out of the way. 3B seems to belong to Don Hallam, although Fred Pecora will get his share of appearances. At shortstop the early talk is newly acquired Jim Dickinson has the glove to hold down the job. A strong defensive middle infield is seen as a key to maximizing the potential of the pitching staff.

Outfield - Leon Drake’s name is written in at RF and the leftfield spot is certainly a placeholder until Walt Messer’s return. CF is seen as an open competition between Bunny Hufford and Johnny Guthrie. Nat Drake, Del West and Dan Rogers will get their turns in left.

First year Manager Bud Jameson is hoping to see improved defense and enough offense to support a strong rotation. With games beginning today we’ll see if the pieces are in place to provide a competitive ball club.

Big league baseball clubs were busy fixing up all the spare rooms they could last week to accommodate all of the players expected to leave their essential off-season jobs and report to spring training. The good news for ballclubs came last Monday when the War Manpower Commission in Washington rules that baseball players could leave their war jobs and return to their teams without the formality of obtaining a statement of availability. The decision, coupled with still no final call on the status of 4-F's gives cause for great optimism towards the upcoming season as it appears clubs will not lose any more players this season to the war effort.
The Keystones signed long-time Scouting Director Harry Dunn to a two year extension. The 61 year old has held that capacity with Philadelphia since 1932. Prior to becoming a bird-dog, the Philadelphia-born Dunn spent 15 seasons as a big league outfielder -primarily with the Gothams but also a brief stint with Detroit.
A few more veterans have inked minor league deals for the upcoming season as organizations struggle to fill holes in the farm system created by Selective Service over the winter. 37 year old Rabbit Forrest, who spent the past two seasons with AAA St Paul, has signed with the Philadelphia Sailors. Forrest appeared in 37 games for Detroit in 1942 after playing 989 games for the Keystones throughout the 1930s. Cincinnati signed shortstop Harry Woodruff after the 34 year old was cut loose by the Gothams over the winter and the Cannons also inked ex-Chicago Cougars farmhand Johnnie Williamson to a minor league deal.

REES IN A BREEZE AT GARDEN

In what he called the shortest fight of his career, Archie Rees successfully defended his World Middleweight Title with a first round knockout of challenger Tommy Erwin. It was hard to call it a fight for the champ, who staggered the challenger early with quick combination less than 20 seconds into the bout and finished him off with a sizzling cross flush to the chin that dropped Erwin to his hands and knees, never to recover. The final time of the bout was just 55 seconds and was greeted with plenty of jeers from the disappointed near capacity ground at the Bigsby Garden.

With the victory, Rees improves to 35-4-1 for his career while the Bronx native Erwin falls to 27-6. The English champion did confirm after the bout that he would remain in the United States and make at least one more title defense before returning home later in the summer.

It was a perfect 2-0 for the Brits on this night as veteran Englishman Leo Carmichael claimed an 11th round knockout of New Yorker Mark Fountain in an entertaining undercard bout. The loss, just the second of his career for Fountain, was a costly one as it put an end to any talk that the soon to be 27 year old would get a title shot against heavyweight champion Hector Sawyer in June.

The bout more than made up for the main event as the crowded was delighted with the two heavyweights, who went back and forth trading big blows all evening. Neither hit the canvas until Fountain made a mistake midway through the 11th while looking for a finishing blow of his own. His wild swing failed to connect and left the door wide open for a beautiful uppercut from Carmichael that Fountain is quite possibly still recovering from. Two of the judges had the fight dead even at its stoppage with the third showing Fountain ahead by a single point.

IRA MITCHELL SUFFERS FIRST LOSS
Chicago welterweight Ira Mitchell bit off a little too much in tangling with veteran Steve Landry in Cincinnati on Saturday. Mitchell, who entered the fight with a perfect 10-0 record made a good go of it against the veteran but ended up dropping an unanimous decision for his first loss as a pro. The 36 year old Landry (31-13-2) has been around the fight game since 1936 and simply proved to be too technically sound for the talented but inexperienced 25 year old Mitchell. It was just the second fight for Mitchell since he joined the army in 1941.

OTHER BOXING NEWS THIS WEEK
Veteran Boston heavyweight Cliff Baker, older brother of rising contender Scott Baker, ran his record to 26-6-2 when the 34 year old scored a unanimous decision in his 12 rounder with Keith Wilson (12-15-2). Baker gained prominence the past few years as a frequent opponent of Hector Sawyer in military exhibition bouts.

Cannon Cooper, the 23 year old Illinois heavyweight with a perfect 16-0 record is back in the ring this week just two months after knocking out Carson Barnes. Cooper will face his toughest challenge yet as a professional when he meets Birmingham Bobby Nelson in Brooklyn on Friday evening. The 36 year old Nelson will be making his second fight in less than a month since being discharged by the Marines. Nelson had an easy time in his return with a first round knock out of Lou Webb in Jersey City on March 3. Knockouts are rare for the cagey heavyweight as the Webb win was just the fourth of his career. Nelson is 20-8-4 and has looked very impressive in numerous military contests over the past couple of years.

Last night in Miami Tommy Campbell won his first fight since leaving the Army. The 26 year old former Sergeant is now 9-0 with 8 wins coming by knockout. The middleweight had a short night, closing out Jacob Ward in the first round of their fight.

AIAA TOURNAMENT CUTS DOWN TO FOUR TEAMS

The National Collegiate Basketball Championship Tournament is down to four teams after the regional finals were contested over the weekend. The last four standing include a pair of number one seeds in South Atlantic Conference rivals Carolina Poly and North Carolina Tech, who will meet in one of the semi-finals Saturday in New York at the Bigsby Garden. The second semi-final pits the champions of the new Liberty Conference in the Garden State Redbirds against independent Ohio Poly. The winners will meet in the championship game a week from tonight.

Carolina Poly, which finished the regular season as the top ranked team, had a fairly easy time in their first two games in the South Region. The Cardinals beat Academia Alliance champ Brunswick 60-44 in the opener before downing CC Los Angeles 42-33 in Thursday's second round meeting. They did get a scare Saturday against Liberty College and trailed with just over a minute remaining before eventually pulling out a 50-47 victory over the Bells.

The Cardinals will face North Carolina Tech for the second time this season as the Techsters took a 47-43 decision in January to help them finish a game up on Carolina Poly atop the South Atlantic Conference standings. North Carolina Tech also had an easy time in it's 3 games in the West Region. The Techsters dropped Tempe College 41-36 in the opener but the game was no where near as close as the score might indicate. They followed that up with a 53-33 win over Miami State before knocking off two-time defending National Champion Rainier College 49-38 in Sunday's regional final.

The Garden State Redbirds were the third seed in the East Region, but that section was thrown wide open after University of New Jersey knocked off top seeded Annapolis Maritime in the opening rounds. The Redbirds began with a 48-40 win over Mobile Maritime led by 15 points from junior forward David Bobo. Bobo was also the hero last Thursday when he poured in 25 points as Garden State nipped St Patrick's 59-58 and he continued to have the hot hand Sunday with 22 points in a 62-43 win over Chesapeake State.

The top seed in the Midwest Region, Western Iowa, also fell in the opening round and number two seeded Ohio Poly reached the National Semi-finals for the third time in school history with a 58-45 win over Charleston Tech in the region final on Saturday. Ohio Poly had previously beaten Oklahoma City State 47-28 in the opening round before getting a last second basket from Daniel Austin to top Coastal California 42-41 on Thursday.

QUESTIONS ABOUND AS AFA POW WOW DRAWS NEAR

The annual April league meeting of American Football Association magnates has had to hurdle plenty of challenges in the past, but this year there seem to be threats coming from every direction and the number of entrants expected for next season is even more uncertain than ever before. The past three seasons brought plenty of stife thanks to manpower and travel issues caused by the war, but that was no different than the challenges faced by baseball. Last week's manpower ruling eased those concerns somewhat for all sports, pro and college, but the AFA owners have much more to worry about that just the War Manpower and Transportation heads these days.

First there is the growing threat of competition with at least one and quite possibly two new leagues taking the national stage in an effort to suplant, or at least join the AFA at the top of the play for pay grid heap. The Continental Football Conference appears to be certain to commence by 1946, if not this fall and will end a two-decade monopoly of Jack Kristich's loop as the only pro league option.

Then there is the ongoing battle with baseball over stadium usuage. The ball magnates are up in arms after a couple of AFA preseason games tore up the ballfields when they were contested in foul September weather, which nearly forces the cancellation of a ballgame or two in the midst of a flag race. As a result, baseball passed a resolution barring the use of any FABL parks for football - of the pro or college variety- while there were still games on the slate involving a team that remains in the pennant race. That, of course, creates a major problem for AFA clubs, most of whom rent a FABL stadium for their games. The solution will likely send the AFA scurrying to college fields similar to what the Detroit Maroons were forced to do last season in contesting several September games at the Detroit City College campus due to conflicts with the Dynamos home slate.

The baseball problem goes far beyond stadium use as it appears to have become quite personal for Brooklyn Kings owner Daniel Prescott. The bottle king had a tiff last season with the New York Football Stars after he, in partnership with Cincinnati Cannons owner John Tice, had designs on solving football's team shortage for 1944 by placing a club in New York City - one that could have played out of either Gothams Stadium or Dyckman Park. The Prescott plan was shot down under the guise that football did not want their club owners to own teams in another sport but the real reason was the New York Grid Stars refused to allow another team in encroach on their territory. The AFA eventually went to Cincinnati -where Prescott and Tice are actually minority investors- instead but now Prescott has refused to allow the Brooklyn Grid Kings to play out of his Kings County Stadium next fall. The Stars don't want them in New York -which appears to rule Gothams or Dyckman Stadiums out- so it is looking more and more like the Football Kings will be forced to move outside of the New York area or perhaps fold altogether.

So the Kings might be gone, and who knows whether Tice and Prescott might just influence Cannons majority owner Edward Chiles -who just happens to be a partner with the Cannons boss in the nation's biggest soap supplier- to perhaps plot to jump ship to one of the new football loops. That seems like a longshot but these are very troubling times for the AFA.

The short-term problem is trying to determine just how many teams will actually be fielding teams next season and an odd number is far from ideal. They had 10 last season after the addition of the Cincinnati Tigers. This time around the Kings are the big question mark but one also has to wonder if the vagabound St Louis Ramblers franchise is ready to stand on it's own two-feet again after spending 1943 partnered with the Philadelphia Frigates and last season teaming up with the Cleveland Finches. Some AFA owners have even optimisticaly talked about expansion as part of the fall plans but that seems unlikely unless a completely new club takes over for the Kings. Regardless, there will be plenty on the agenda when the AFA owners gather in New York a little over a week from now.

The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 3/25/1945

Allied forces have launched a major drive as Field Marshall Sir Bernard Montgomery sent four Allied armies across the Rhine on a broad front that he has labelled "the final assault on Germany"
At the same time the Soviets have launched a push for Berlin, with 90,000 Red Army troops storming German defenses 30 miles east of Berlin. The Russians are also pushing further in to Hungary and towards Vienna.
An amazingly frank broadcast report out of Japan said that "whole districts" Tokyo were destroyed by American B-29s in a raid earlier this month. The March 10th attack was by more than 300 Superfortresses.
American and British bombers also continue nightly attacks on Berlin and other key German targets.
The New York City gambling probe from the fallout of Jersey City Tech players throwing basketball games continues as Charles B. Darrow, head of Bigsby Garden is called to testify.

Jiggs McGee · 12-28-2022, 11:45 AM

APRIL 2, 1945

IS POTTER READY FOR BIG LEAGUES AT 19?

Since 1928 only two pitchers have won a big league game as a teenager but perhaps Detroit Dynamos 18 year old lefthander Carl Potter is ready to make that group a trio. Potter, taken 9th overall by the Dynamos as part of a bumper crop of 4 first round selections the Dynamos had in the 1944 draft, made his spring debut a little over a week ago in fine fashion -tossing 3 innings of shutout ball while allowing just 1 hit and walking no one. His second spring appearance was just as strong as Potter tossed 4 scoreless innings while surrendering 2 hits in a 1-0 win over the Pittsburgh Miners on Wednesday. All in all, not a bad showing for someone who was preparing to pitch high school ball in Bettsville, Ohio at this time last year. After going 11-1 with a 0.96 era for his high school club, Potter split the second half of last season between Class A and AA, posting a decent 6-6 mark in his introduction to pro ball. While first overall selection Roy Schaub stayed in the minor league camp this spring, the Dynamos trusted Potter to pitch with the big leaguers and his early showing indicates he might just be ready to do it full time this season.

Only Milt Fritz, who went 18-8 as a 19 year old for the Chicago Chiefs in 1929, and Dick Long, who was 3-2 for the 1942 St Louis Pioneers, have won big league games while still a teenager since 1928. In fact the only other teen to pitch in FABL over that time is Wally Doyle -who made his debut with the Montreal Saints in 1938 as a 19 year old but The Waco Kid went 0-3 that season. What about Al Miller, you might ask? Miller made his big league debut with the Chiefs in 1935 but that came 10 days after his 20th birthday. Same for Pete Papenfus, Deuce Barrell and George Garrison. All were 20 before throwing their first FABL pitch. Even New York Gothams second baseman Roosevelt Brewer pitched an inning as a 20-year old but since 1928 only Fritz, Long and Doyle have pitched in the big leagues while still 19 years of age.

The Dynamos, understandedly, might be hessitant to throw Potter in to the fire before his 19th birthday, which comes 10 days after they open the season April 17 against the Chicago Chiefs, but in truth this might be the perfect year to give the youngster his shot. Detroit's pitching staff is reeling from war losses, and the quality of the entire league is at the lowest point it likely ever will drop to because of all the regulars serving their country. So one could argue that Potter will be facing quality more on par with AAA talent in 1945 and the experience gained this season might accelerate his development. OSA says he will be a top of the rotation pitcher, and with great command already - he issued just 29 free passes in 113 innings of pro ball last year- and a tendency to induce a lot of groundballs he might just be one of Detroit's top arms this season.

TALES FROM THE WOLVES DEN

The Toronto Wolves second week of spring games was much like the first, satisfactory, although some areas of concern are starting to rise to the surface. The long ball is virtually non-existent in the lineup, Wolves have only managed to clear the fences twice in 476 plate appearances even in cozy confines of spring training fields. Although Toronto is built around run prevention with solid pitching, hopefully sound defense they still need the quick runs produced with the HR.

Pitching coach Art Nichols has expressed a slight concern that his staff's BB(42) outnumber K(37), he is saying that it is "Still early, everyone struggles with control early on." Garrison's second start, although not a spectacular as the first, was solid alleviating most concerns about the two lost seasons. Jim Laurita, in 3 starts, has put together a fine numbers but less than 1 in 4 balls put into play have been hit on the ground. As the weather warms during the summer these warning track balls have a tendency to find their way into the seats. Anderson, Walls, Wirtz are rounding into shape. Juan Pomales has provided two decent starts, he will not be on the mound again during ST so he can focus on his OF duties.

The bullpen is taking shape for a probable early season heavy workload, expect some paring of arms next week. Initial thoughts are Ray Bell will be sent back to the Nickels even though his work in relief has been good, Cookie Meyers will most likely stay in Toronto as he is out of minor league options. Wolves do not want to take the chance of exposing him to waivers while manpower is in short supply.

The bats are taking their time warming up, Jim Sigworth has been working with many players both pre and post game in the batting cage. On the injury front, which the Wolves managed to avoid in 1944, Charlie Artuso will miss 3 or 4 days next week due a severe case of stomach flu, he has dropped almost 10 lbs since contracting the illness.

FORREST FORCED TO RETIRE

A week after signing a minor league deal with the Philadelphia Sailors, veteran infielder Rabbit Forrest has been forced to retire. The 37 year old veteran of 1,026 big league games was injured in a minor league contest last August. He has suffered from headaches ever since and upon advice from his doctors has decided to retire.

Originally a 7th round pick of the Chicago Cougars in 1925- the very first human GM draft - Forrest would be traded to the Philadelphia Keystones in 1929 and made his big league debut the following season at the age of 22. He hit .342 in 147 games as a rookie and enjoy the best season of his career. Forrest spent a decade with the Keystones, helping them to two pennants and a win in the 1933 World Championship Series -one in which he started all 7 games and hit .258. The Keystones released him at the conclusion of spring training in 1940 and he signed a minor league deal with the Detroit Dynamos. He would make it back to the big leagues with Detroit in 1942, appearing in 46 games but hitting just .185.

How about those St Louis Pioneers! Off to a 10-3 start, the best spring record in either league. Pitching continues to lead the Pioneers with Danny Hern looking very strong and youngsters Lazaro DeLeon, Ben Fiskers and Van Martinez enjoying a solid spring. Some of the bats are struggling but not the one belonging to Dan Powell. The 24 year old centerfielder -a 1939 18th round draft pick- is hitting .533 in the spring. That is a nice follow-up to his 4-for-7 performance as a September call-up by the Pioneers last fall.
The New York Gothams have no worries about their big four on the mound in Bowman, Baggett, Carter and Lonardo but finding a 5th starter has proven to be a chore. Tack Robinson and Cy Sullivan have been auditioning for the role in spring games but each has looked awful.
The Cincinnati Cannons cut their camp down to 31 players with the reassignment of 8, including veteran outfielder Dan Fowler to AAA Indianapolis. A couple of pitchers are making things tough on manager Ad Doria as 26 year old Bob Eldridge and 29 year old Jesse Woods have not allowed an earned run in 15 combined innings but the veteran pitching staff has no room available for the two of them unless a move is made with Jim Crawford, Jake Smith or Fernando Pedroza -each of whom have struggled this spring.
The Montreal Saints are thrilled to see 22 year old SS Gordie Perkins hitting .538 in spring play. The 1941 3rd overall draft pick might have made his big league debut last September had he not suffered a broken kneecap in August while playing in AAA. If Perkins can handle big league hitting it will greatly enhance the Saints infield as Jake Hughes could shift to third base, where he should be much more comfortable than he has been as one of the poorer defensive shortstops in the league.

ITS A CARDINAL WIN: FINALS SET FOR AIAA CAGE CROWN

The polls had Carolina Poly ranked as the number one team in college basketball most of the season and, as it would turn out, that was for good reason as the Cardinals have advanced to the National Tournament Championship game for the fifth time in school history. There opponent is also known as the Cardinals, a midwestern variant of the avian species known as the Ohio Poly Cardinals. It will be the second trip to Bigsby Garden for the championship game for the Toledo school, which came up short against Brooklyn State in 1937. Carolina Poly has won two national titles in it's four trips to the big game, winning it all in 1920 and 1929 but coming up short in 1930 and 1933.

Double Overtime Needed to Decide Battle of Carolina

Carolina Poly and their South Atlantic Conference rivals from North Carolina Tech have had many big battles over the years but few could compare to the display the pair put on Saturday evening in the opening semi-final in New York. The game would need double-overtime to determine a winner before the Cardinals could claim a 59-52 victory. There were some huge performances in the game with the Cardinals senior forward Terry Flowers leading the way with 18 points while teammate Morris Crocker hauled in 18 rebounds.

The Techsters started strong and seemed poised to beat Poly for the second time this season after they opened a 22-15 lead at the break. The Cardinals had a strong second half and took the lead 36-34 with 2 minutes remaining in regulation. A pair of Gerald Matlock free throws with 1:12 remaining allowed North Carolina Tech to tie the game back up and both teams had chances at the winning basket in the final minute but each came up short.

Neither team gained more than a 2-point advantage in the opening 5 minute overtime but it required a last second basket from Clarence Barton, who hauled down an offensive rebound and put it in for a score, to tie the game at 44. In the second overtime it suddenly appeared that the Techsters had run out of gas and everything Carolina Poly threw up found netting. The Cardinals exploded for 15 points, including 6 from Flowers, and breezed to a 59-52 win and their first trip to the championship game in over a decade.

The key for Ohio Poly in the second game was simple: control David Bobo. The Garden State junior guard has been a three year starter and averages nearly 13 points a game for his collegiate career. In the 3 tournament games leading up to Saturday's semi-final Bobo had scored 62 points and almost singlehandedly beat St Patrick's with a 25 point outing against the Shamrocks last week.

Ohio Poly proved up to the task as while Bobo did reach double-figures for the fourth time in the tournament, the Cardinals did hold him to 12 points and spurred on by 16 points from their own top scorer in forward Jack Simons, Ohio Poly claimed a 48-40 victory.

Carolina Poly has to be considered the favourite for tonight's championship game, which they enter with a 29-4 record but one must not discount Ohio Poly (28-5) although this will be by a wide margin the toughest test the Toledo school has faced all season.

CANNON COOPER SETTLES FOR DRAW

23 year old heavyweight Cannon Cooper's toughest test to date did not go quite how the slugger envisioned things turning out but he did remain undefeated after the Rockford, IL. born fighter battled Birmingham Bobby Nelson to a majority draw in a 12 round tilt in Brooklyn Friday night. Cooper, who was a perfect 16-0 entering the bout, did claim a narrow 1 point win on one of the judges cards but the other two each scored the bout even as he veteran Nelson used his exprience to not get into trouble like so many of Cooper's previous opponents had.

It marked just the second time in his 17 pro bouts that Cooper -who has 8 wins by knockout- did not send his opponent to the canvas at least once. The 36 year old Nelson, who has well over 100 fights under his belt if you count exhibitions while in the Marines, had just too much experience for Cooper to overcome with his brute strength. Nelson officially has a professional record of 26-8-4.

In other action last week Clif Baker scored a unanimous decision over Keith Wilson to improve his record as a heavyweight to 25-6-2 while out west Phoenix-born Gil Hilliard improved to 12-9-1 with a unanimous decision over Jim Lewis. From all accounts the 26 year old Hilliard is a much better fighter than his record indicates. One of the few fighters who's career was not interrupted by military service he has fought regularly through the war years but came out on the short-end of some questionable results in 1940 and 1941 -questionable enough that at one time ring officials were looking into the possibility of shady activity surrounding a couple of the losses. No evidence of wrong doing was ever uncovered and Hilliard has won his last 6 fights and may yet become a major contender in the heavyweight division.

MARTIN WILL FIGHT HECTOR FOR RED CROSS, DECLARES WEISS

"President Roosevelt says the Red Cross needs money," the rotund little man clipped off, "and we want to help get it."

It was Albert Weiss talking and he was speaking for his current meal ticket, Harris Martin, the veteran Florida fighter who is attempting to regain the heights reached in the late 1930s when he was considered one of the best in the heavyweight division. He was 32-5-2 in 1938 before being badly injured in a bout with Oat Wilson that sent him into a two-year spiral. Martin eventually recovered and had won 6 straight before enlisting in the army immediately after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Now out of the service and back to fighting professionally with a 43-12-5 record following his ring return in January, and in the words of his manager "Harris is ready to claim the title."

"We're touring the South and Southwest mainly to keep Martin in condition," Weiss said, "but we're aiming for the current crop of big time heavyweights now operating - Cannon Cooper, Pete Sanderson and the rest.
*** DECLARES HARRIS IMPROVED ***

"Harris is better now than...." The stubby veteran fight manager shifted his weight on a table and it collapsed, but he picked up at the next syllable. "...when he fought Oat Wilson. He's quit trying to imiate a crab and's developed a terrific punch. Now Harris is ready to fight Sawyer for the Red Cross for expense money only."

Miller looks even older than his 34 years and he doesn't go in for the Apache dance he used against opponents in the early days and according to Weiss he's a better man than any of the heavies operating in the United States."

"Hector Sawyer?" asked Weiss. "I happen to know he refused to meet Harris when he was stationed in the United States. Martin likes those guys that stand up there....He can work on the body then. That's what he's got now. A terrific body attack."

As part of his tour of the southwest he stopped off in Houston last month long enough to toy with Mike Bullard for 10 rounds before winning an easy decision. Weiss is taking him to Memphis, Tenn. next week for a bout with David Daly and then heads to New Orleans.

While neither of those opponents are much of anything in the boxing world, Weiss continues to talk a big game noting "Chicago wants him for a bigtime fight and we're eyeing New York." Then as he began to walk away, Weiss -always the salesman- shouted from a distance: "President Roosevelt says that the Red Cross needs money..."

UPDATED RING RANKINGS

There will be a lot of fluidity in the boxing rankings due to so many fighters having missed substantial time due to the war and many of the pre-war contenders now retired. As a result TWIFB will attempt to update the ring rankings in each of the three weight divisions on a quarterly basis.

HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION
Hector Sawyer (50-3-1) Age: 30 Hometown: New Orleans, LA. Last Fight: Feb 24, 1945 5th round KO of Willie Meyer
Sawyer is expected to make a title defense in June against an undetermined opponent.

Code:

           TOP 10 HEAVYWEIGHT CONTENDERS
#  NAME		      REC   AGE    HOMETOWN          LAST FIGHT
1  Cannon Cooper    16-0-1   23  Rockford, Il.  Mar 30, 1945 - draw with Birmingham Bobby Nelson
2  Scott Baker      11-0-2   25  Philadelphia    Sept, 1941 - unanimous decision over Johnny Miller
3  Pete Sanderson   28-6-2   35  Scranton, Pa.  Mar 5, 1945- unanimous decision over Lynn Bell
4  Leo Carmichael   29-4-1   36  London, Eng    Mar 21, 1945 - 11th rd KO of Mark Fountain
5  Chris Gilbert   23-10-3   31  Joplin. Mo.    Mar 15,1945 - unanimous decision over Doug Martin  
6  Mark Fountain    18-2-1   27  New York City  Mar 21, 1945- lost by 11th rd KO to Leo Carmichael
7  Chris Sullivan   14-2-3   32  Chicago, Il.     July 1941 - majority decision over Jeff Love
8 Charlie McDougall 23-10-1  27  Victoria, BC   Jan 14, 1945- unanimous decision over Jimmy Robertson
9  Matt Price	    26-4-3   27  Tampa, Fl.     Mar 21, 1945 -unanimous decision over Jeff Cooper 
10 Harris Martin    43-12-5  34  Jacksonville   Mar 6, 1945-  unanimous decision over Mike Bullard

MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPION
Archie Rees 35-4-1 Age: 32 Hometown: Tadcaster, England Last Fight: Mar 21, 1945 1st Rd KO of Tommy Erwin
Rees just defended his title in New York two weeks ago and plans to make another title defense in the United States sometime this summer. An announcement is expected soon.

Code:

           TOP 10 HEAVYWEIGHT CONTENDERS
#  NAME		      REC   AGE    HOMETOWN          LAST FIGHT
1  Frank Melanson    28-0-1  28   Pittsburgh, Pa.   Feb 17, 1945 -4th rd KO of Andrew Hammon
2  Edourd Desmarais  34-0    28   Paris, France      Nov 1940 - 4th rd KO of Apolo Cichewski
3  John Edmonds      17-1    26   Muncie, In.        Mar 1944 - 6th rd KO of Dave Jones
4  Todd Gill         19-1-4  34   Hartford, CT.     Feb 11, 1945- unanimous decision over Clinton Fletcher
5  Nathan Sears      17-2    30   Gary, In.           1941- lost title fight to Archie Rees by 2nd rd KO
6  Jack Rainey       21-3    31   New York, NY	    Feb 15, 1945 - lost UD to Joe Moore   
7  Tommy Erwin       27-6    33   Bronx, NY         Mar 21, 1945- lost title fight to Archie Rees by 1st rd KO
8  Jorge Cuellar     42-2-2  36   San Sebastia, Spain  Sept 1944- lost title fight to Archie Rees by 13th rd KO
9  Brooks O'Connor   17-3-2  27   Detroit, Mi.      Mar 29, 1945- unanimous decision over Rodney McCain
10 Joe Moore         10-1    26   Spokane, Wa.      Feb 15, 1945 - unanimous decision over Jack Rainey

WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPION
Vacant. The welterweight division has been without a champion since the early days of World War II. It is expected a 4-8 fighter single elimination tournament structure will be employed in order to fill the vacant crown as, while there are many rising stars in the group, there is no clear veteran fighter or two that warrant pairing for a single fight to determine the new champion and many of the top contenders are still involved in the war effort. It is unlikely any such tournament will be contemplated until at least war in the European theater has ended, if not the Pacific as well.

Code:

           TOP 10 HEAVYWEIGHT CONTENDERS
#  NAME		      REC   AGE    HOMETOWN          LAST FIGHT
1  Mark Westlake     19-1-1  27  Biloxi, Ms.	Feb 27, 1945- 9th rd TKO of Carter Moore
2  Rudy Perry	     19-1-1  28  Philadelphia     1940 - unanimous decision over Artie Neal
3  John Gregory      13-1-1  26  Vista, Ca.       1941 - unanimous decision over Pete Andrews
4  Dennis O'Keefe    17-1    28  Jacksonville     1941 - unanimous decision over Brad Stephens
5  Wayne Dunn        22-6    29  Hartford, Ct.  Feb 5, 1945- unanimous decision over Henry Nichols  
6  George Gibbs      13-0    27  Pueblo, Co.	  1941 - 9th rd KO of Denny Hanna
7  Harold Stephens   14-3-2  26  Providence, RI   1941 - 8th rd KO of Emmett Sparks
8  Robert Schultz    14-3    31  Pittsburgh, Pa   1944 - 4th rd TKO of Bryce May
9  John Jackson	     11-2-1  25  South Bend, In   1941 - 3rd rd KO of Donovan Wills
10 Steve Landry      31-13-2 36  Dayton, Oh	Mar 23, 1945- unanimous decision over Ira Mitchell

The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 4/01/1945

The week begins with Armored columns of the American 1st and 3rd Armies rolled within 200 miles of Berlin, advancing on the Hessian capital of Kassel at a mile-an-hour clip.
Red Army troops have swept into Austria and are 40-odd miles southeast of Vienna.
A British report indicates Hitler will make an important speech within the next few days. A reporter, who quoted Argentine diplomatic quarters as his source, said the speech will be "unusual" and added that the Germans had been hoping up to now that Japan would sue for peace first, thus placing the Wehrmacht in a position to say they didn't lose the war but were let down by their allies.
American jet planes continued raids on the Japanese homeland all week while the Allied fleet, consisting of at least 18 battleships, is reported 25 miles off the coast of Japan.
Despite great advancement by Allied forces in recent months, many experts feel the German resistance is still strong enough to prolong the war for many more weeks.
Late in the week, as American troops push to within 175 miles of Berlin, there are reports that the Nazi High Command has called on Hitler to quit the war.

Jiggs McGee · 12-29-2022, 12:59 PM

APRIL 9, 1945

Sports leaders looked ahead with great optimism today despite "no comment" on the general situation by Fred M. Vinson as he prepared to replace James F. Byrnes as war mobilization director. The change at the top combined with the recent defeat of the manpower bill in the Senate apparently removed the last lingering threat to baseball's position, although the War Manpower Commission reminded players that it's recent decision to permit them to leave war plants to return to the diamond was not necessarily binding on local draft boards.

There is more positive news on the manpower front for not just baseball, but all sports, as the Navy has announced it will cut it's draft call for May in half and may ask for still fewer men in June. This will reduce the over-all selective service calls 12 per cent or more from the current rate of about 132,000 mn a month. They had been set to continue at that pace through June.

Each of those pieces of news sent a collective sign of relief through ball diamonds this week as there had still be a worry the Manpower Bill -if approved- would have forced baseball's 4-Fs into war production jobs. Football magnates are also rejoicing and even the horse racing crowd is starting to prepare as if the tracks will be reopened in the near future.

The news is not all good as there is word that it will be many months after victory is achieved in Europe before most American soldiers get home. A few will come to stay, but most will come only for visits. The visits will not be long- likely less than a month. Then it will be on to Tokyo with some soldiers being shipped directly from France to the Philippines. They will not get to home at all until Japan is beaten. These are the facts that come straight out of high command plans for winding up the whole war, and are likely very sobering to FABL as many clubs were anticipating reinforcements from the war perhaps as early as the next month or two, should Germany be defeated that quickly.

Will youth be served this spring in the Dynamos rotation? That is the question going around their camp in Greensboro, NC and other spring locales in the FABL. Rookie SP’s Pete “Sweat Pea” Brown (drafted last season 4th round) and Carl Potter (drafted last season in the 1st round #9 overall) are certainly making the case.

The older Brown (age 22 from Eaton College) likely doesn’t have the upside of his younger teammate, but coming from college he might have the pedigree to make the rotation now. After being drafted, Brown was shot up the ranks to start his pro career at AA Akron last July where he went 5-0 with a scintillating 1.89 ERA in 7 starts. He was then promoted to AAA Akron where he did find the sledding a bit rougher going 4-4 with a 6.55 ERA but improving down the September stretch. So far this spring, Brown looks ready. While not considered someone who would be a top end (#1 or #2 SP) in the FABL, he is considered to be a quality bottom of the rotation guy. In 4 spring starts he has gone 1-1 with a 2.81 ERA, but if you take out his first spring outing, that ERA shrinks to 1.38 (2 ER in 13 IP).

For the youngster Potter who is the #11 prospect overall currently in the FABL, and the top prospect currently not serving in any of the military branches at this point, the issue is age and experience. Potter (18) has looked rock solid in his 4 spring starts going 2-0 with a 2.40 ERA. He started his pro career out of high school and had 2 starts at class A Terre Haute (1-0 4.30) before being promoted (some say “rushed”) to class AA where he was 5-6 with a 4.83 ERA. Those numbers last year don’t necessarily scream “I’m ready”, but the confident young pitcher feels he is ready to start the year in Detroit. That is echoed across the FABL by several prominent scribes and talent evaluators. Most notably Dan Barrell the head of the OSA. When asked about Potter, Barrell stated “There is no reason not to do it, he’s ready!”. Pretty strong words coming from a very respected talent evaluator.

We have asked some of the fans here in Greensboro who watched the last several outings by these youngsters and the opinion is almost unanimous. “Bring the kids to Detroit, what do we have to lose?” was the theme.

We asked manager Dick York his thoughts and he curtly stated that “we are evaluating all the pitchers in camp and we will bring the best 8-9 arms we have. Whether those two young pups are in that group, remains to be seen.”

Bench Coach Dud Joerger chirped “Both are very young and that is always a concern. If you asked me, Brown is the more ready of the two but that doesn’t mean that I don’t have great respect for the talent and ability of Carl Potter. But at 18, he is very young and could perhaps do with more seasoning”.

Finally we asked GM DD Martin, who is feeling a bit of pressure despite last season's surprise 2nd place finish, what his thoughts were. Martin was his usual non-committal self proclaiming that both pitchers had another start in spring games this week to wrap up spring training. He then said that he and his manager and coaching staff will evaluate who the best pitchers are and what is best for the long term success of the Detroit Dynamos.

Those that know Martin well feel that he is more inclined to have the youngsters start at AAA this season, but who would the Dynamos have on staff in place of those 2 kids? I can’t imagine that despite a solid spring the brain trust feels that P Hooks Camp is a better option, nor for that matter are Roy Montgomery or George Pulliam. But the words I keep hearing in my head are laced with caution with these youngsters. I sense the Dynamos might not “rush” them up, but we will only know the answer to that question, after next week’s spring games and on roster cut down day.

If I was a betting man, and I am. I’d say Brown sticks but Potter, the one considered with more “upside” begins the year in the minors.

TALES FROM THE WOLVES DEN

Toronto finished its week of tune up games for the 1945 season by winning 4 games for the third consecutive week. This leaves the Wolves tied with NY Stars for the most CA wins in preseason with a dozen. There does not seem to be much separation amongst the CA squads but is this the way the season will play out or is it more of teams trying out players at new positions, experimenting with lineups, players slowly working themselves into playing shape?

After Sunday's win over the Sailors the team optioned Tom Peel, Monk Johnson, Wally Starr, Joe Bradbury along with P Ray Bell to the Buffalo Nickels. This leaves the roster set for Opening Day against Cincinnati barring injuries during the last week of spring games. The biggest surprise was Bell who put up good numbers over 16 appearances in relief. Bob Call was quoted "Ray had a good spring, we feel he will be of more value in a starters role in Buffalo, in addition he had options left for the team."

Call also announced that George Garrison will be the Opening Day starter which appears to be lining up as a marquis matchup against Rufus Barrell II. A year ago Garrison was in the service, Barrell II just starting the recovery process after a major arm injury. With the Allied forces closing in on Berlin will FABL fans being seeing more stars returning to the circuit this summer?

A pitching rotation of Garrison, Wirtz, Wall, Laurita and Anderson should keep the Wolves in all games. Call has also hinted that Anderson may start the season with the relief corps in the bullpen. With all the off days in April, early May a quartet of SP should fill the needs on the hill. Not that the bullpen will be a purgatory if Call utilizes the RP in a similar manner to the start of the 1944 season.
The only surprise in the position players is that it appears that Wayne Henderson's solid spring, .333/.355/.433, has earned the 31 year old the starting role at 2B over Joe Bell. Pack, Artuso, who recovered from illness, and Holiday will round out the infield along with Howerton behind the plate. As expected Pomales, Stickels, Hull will patrol the outfield.

Call has told reporters that he decided to go to his regulars earlier that normal due to the fact that spring training roster was smaller due to travel logistics. Call thought that all the battles for roster spots had been determined so it was better to have players destined for the minors to begin their relocation now rather than hanging around for another week. Call's message to Wolves fans is "What you see is what you get."

ONE LAST SEASON IN SUN FOR MANY CANNONS VETS

The Cincinnati Cannons hope to make history this season before many on the roster are history. The making history part is well documented as the Cannons are in a position to join the 1924-26 New York Stars as the only teams in FABL history to win three straight World Championship Series. And you have to like their chances. Certainly better than they appeared a year ago when the entire city was in shock with the news that Deuce Barrell and his two-time Allan Award winning left arm would miss the entire season. As it turned out the Cannons went out and added reinforcements and were aided by a colossal collapse from the Windy City Kitties which allowed the Cannons to win their second straight flag.

This season Deuce has looked very good in spring action and says he is 100% back to his pre-injury form. Butch Smith, who succeeded Deuce as the Continental Allan Award winner, has also looked sharp and the Cannons have been equally impressed with the work of veterans Tom Barrell and Sam Sheppard on the slab. The bats have also heated up despite the relatively cool Georgia weather as old-timers Tom Bird, Gail Gifford, Sam Brown, Jack Cleaves and Al Wheeler are all hitting the ball. There is the usual concern about Jimmy Hensley's bat at shortstop but his work with the glove more than makes up for any worries at the dish.

Management has also made it no secret they are willing to pull the trigger on a big deal come July, should a need arise and a solution be available somewhere in the league. The goal is to make history.

As for the being history part one can't help but wonder, regardless of the outcome of this season, just how many of these veteran players will be gone next year -assuming the players off at the war return. When Chris Clarke, Vic Carroll, Bill Sohl and hotshot prospect Bob Arman return to the fold is there much chance there will be room for Tom Barrell, Sheppard or capable veteran depth arms like Jim Crawford, Jake Smith and Larry Brown? Infielder Jack Cleaves will be 38 and clearly will need to go with the return of the three Charlies in McCullough, Rivera and Wills. And what about Al Wheeler? Is this the last chance for the 37 year old to play everyday as he chases his 3,000th career hit and 500th career homerun? Gifford and Brown should be back and starting in the outfield next season but they will have to contend with Fred Galloway and Mike T. Taylor when they return. It will certainly spell the end of Rufus Daniels and Mel Alvarez in Cincinnati.

Yes, this season is a big one for the Cannons - with the goal of making it historic. It also might mark the end of the line for some very good baseball players so here is to hoping those veterans make the most of what might be their final season in the sun.
*** Ohio Poly Deserves Credit ***

They may have come up just short against mighty Carolina Poly in the title game but you have to give plenty of credit to Coach Hawk Pizzo and his Ohio Poly Cardinals cage quintet on a terrific season. Hard to believe the tiny Toledo independent has been to more National Title games than the big-time Central Ohio Aviators. In fact the Cardinals with appearances in 1938 and last week have played in the title game as often as the entire Great Lakes Alliance has since '38.

It was a down year for the GLA and judging by where the top recruits are going we might have a few more of them but it is shocking that a school from what was for much of the past two decades the most powerful section in collegiate basketball has not won an AIAA tournament championship since Whitney College turned the trick in the spring of 1926.

PACIFIC LOOP PREPARES FOR ANOTHER SEASON UNDER FABL RULE

A year ago there was plenty of noise being made on the coast about the need for a big league representation in the west. The owner of one of the five non-FABL affiliated teams in eight club circuit - Hollywood Heroes magnate Al Fouts- was the man behind most of the talk. Fouts is no longer spouting publicly to anyone who will listen but it is clear he has not changed his tune regarding the need for big league baseball on the coast.

"The new grid loop will show the way," explained Fouts while talking about the Continental Football Conference's plans to field clubs in both Los Angeles and San Francisco when it takes flight either this fall or 1946. "That should prove once and for all to those eastern baseball people that we are big league."

Fouts has a point as Los Angeles was surpassed in population by only New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and Detroit in the 1940 census and latest indications are that it will surpass Detroit in the next survey. Add in San Francisco, which is far bigger than Pittsburgh or Cincinnati -to name just two FABL locales- and that is before you factor in all those people sitting across the bay in Oakland which only makes it clearer that California is ready for pro sports.

"There is talk of 3 big-time football leagues," continued Fouts. "The Great-West loop could easily partner with the Continental and Fed to make it 3 in baseball as well.

"The Pioneers nearly moved here in '41," added Fouts, "and air travel is so much easier now. But never mind just one or even two teams. We have the fan support here to support an entire league. San Francisco outdrew half of FABL a year ago."

Another valid point from Fouts as the San Francisco Hawks played before 656,692 fans last season, which is more than 9 of the 16 FABL clubs drew. Los Angeles drew nearly as many as Detroit and more than Cleveland, Washington, Brooklyn, Montreal and the Philadelphia Sailors. And one must remember the two California cities did that despite playing 7 less home dates than each of the FABL teams.

If there ever was a time to add another 4 to 8 teams to FABL and make it a true 'national' league with west coast representation it would seem now would be it. The fan support is there, and in places like Seattle and Portland as well as Los Angeles and San Francisco, plus when the war ends there will be more than 1,500 former professional baseball players looking for employment.

There is a growing movement around the league calling on the Detroit Dynamos to give 18 year old Carl Potter a chance with the big club to start the season. Records are spotty from the early days but if Potter pitches before his April 27 birthdate, he might well be the first 18 year old ever to pitch a FABL game. Potter made two more spring starts last week and while not quite as sharp as he was in his first two, he still boasts a 2.40 spring era and has walked just 1 batter in 15 innings of work. The last 18 year old to play in a FABL game was Bill Barrett with the New York Stars in 1938 and he might well have been the first in the modern era.
The Dynamos also drafted pitcher Pete Brown last year but unlike the high schooler Potter, Brown is 22 years old and was selected in the 4th round out of Eaton College. Like Potter, Brown has looked pretty solid in his four spring starts and is also deserving of a trip north with the big club next week.
With the best spring mark in baseball everything is going right for the St Louis Pioneers - a team this publication pegged to finish last in the Fed this year. The pitching is certainly looking good but there are some worries about the bats and there was a major injury last week as 24 year old outfielder Archie Sharp tore up his knee and is expected to miss the season. Sharp was a rule 5 pickup from the Keystones last season and hit .265 in 92 games as a backup in the Pioneers outfield.

CAROLINA POLY WINS NATIONAL CAGE CROWN

Senior guard Drew Morris made his final game as a member of the Carolina Poly Cardinals the best one of his career. The 22 year old North Carolina native scored a career best 24 points in the biggest game of his life to lift Carolina Poly to a 55-50 victory over Ohio Poly in the National Collegiate Basketball Championship game. The victory, number 30 on the season for Carolina Poly, earns the school its first National cage crown since 1933-34 and the third overall. Only arch rival North Carolina Tech -which was elminated by the Cardinals in Saturday's semi-final- has won more basketball titles in AIAA history.

No one else on either side scored in double-figures as Morris was clearly at the top of his game and made 10 of his 14 field goal attempts. His .476 percentage was impressive enough, and among the best in the nation this season, but what he did in the title game was nearly unbelievable. Carolina Poly led by 8 at the break with Morris scoring on all 7 of his attempts from the field. His hot hand cooled off somewhat in the second half but reserve Ty Frierson helped pick up the slack with all 8 of his points coming after the break as Carolina Poly led by 9 points with as little as 4 minutes remaining. Ohio Poly, making it's second ever appearance in the championship game, closed the gap somewhat in the closing minutes but still came up short, just as they did in the 1937-38 title game when they lost by 8 points to Brooklyn State.

CONTINENTAL PRO GRID LEAGUE FAR BEYOND BLUEPRINT STAGE

The American Football Association may suspect that the various and sundry proposed rival circuits are talking through their hats when they flourish postwar plans, but at least one propounds the theory that actions speaker louder than words.

That's the Continental Football Conference, which will meet in Chicago April 20-21, hard on the heels of the American loop's current session in New York. The CFC directors are assembling to adopt a constitution and by-laws, but the circuit is far beyond the blueprint stage. It has granted seven franchises, rounded up five coaches and grabbed priority on a flock of former college stars.

A showdown with the American Football Association probably won't come up 1946 when the new loop's earmarked performers switch back into civvies, although Continental officials probably will study the possibility of getting underway this fall, should the war end suddenly.

The directors also will consider franchise applications and decide whether the league will start with eight or 10 entries. Already tied into the coast-to-coast wheel are New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco as well as three other cities -including one in the south- that have not yet been officially announced.

EASY WIN FOR CARL TAYLOR

Baltimore welterweight Carl Taylor improved his record to 16-2-2 with a 2nd round knockout of Mark MacHutcheon in their bout in Hartford last Tuesday evening. The 28 year old Taylor has been a busy man of late, with wins on New Years Eve and February 24th also on his recent resume and he plans to fight again at the end of the month in Philadelphia. The 2-6 MacHutcheon is not exactly a high quality opponent but Taylor has been starting to gain some attention in the welterweight division.

In other fight action this week Bill Boggs, the former New York City amateur champion, made his pro debut with a 5th round knockout of Ron Collins. Boggs, a 19 year old middleweight from Brooklyn, looks to have a fairly promising future.

Elsewhere, Scott Sorensen scored an unanimous decision over Bubba Powell on Saturday to run his record as a welterweight to 15-5-2.

Carter Moore improved to 15-8 with the 8th knockout of his career. This one came in the 7th round of his bout with Mike Clay (1-4-1) that was scheduled for 10. Moore is a 29 year old welterweight from Lancaster, Pa.

In Houston on Wednesday, Texas heavyweight Marvin Thompson claimed an 11th round TKO win over Marvin Schmidt. It was the return to the ring for the 28 year old Thompson after the Beaumont, Tx. native was discharged from the marines after being seriously wounded nearly a year ago. It was his 16th career victory in his first fight since 1941 and improved his mark as a professional to 16-7-2.

25 year old Kentuckian Lewis Jones improved to 3-0 as a professional with a split decision victory over Harley Gehrig in a weekend heavyweight bout in New Orleans.

The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 4/08/1945

An uncredited report out of Stockholm says that Marshal Karl von Rundstedt was executed by firing squad after he was exposed in what the Gestapo is calling plans for a new anti-Hitler coup in Germany.
In his first public utterance since the Allied breakthrough in the west, Hitler is appealing to German soldiers to hold until a new Nazi offensive is launched soon. This after General Patton's hard-smashing 3rd army and Red Army forces have closed the gap between the two to only 165 miles
Soviet Russia denounced its neutrality pact with Japan, accusing Tokyo of helping Germany to war against Russia. There had been much speculation whether Russia would denounce the pact signed in 1941 before the opening of the World Security Conference in San Francisco April 25th.
The Japanese government of Gen. Kuniaki Koiso fell today and Emperor Hirohito called on Admiral Baron Kantaro Suzuki, 77 year old president of the Pricy Council, to form a new government. A moderate, the naming of Suzuki is seen as a possible Japanese move for peace.
American carrier planes wiped out approx. one-quarter of Japan's remaining naval strength during a failed Japanese attempt to interfere with the American invasion of Okinawa, which put American ground troops within less than 400 miles of the Japanese homeland.
Although victory in Europe is appearing closer every day it will likely be many months after V-E day before most American soldiers get home, and even then most will only have a short -two to three week- visit before being shifted to Pacific.

12-06-2022, 12:05 PM	#581
Jiggs McGee All Star Reserve Join Date: Dec 2019 Posts: 677	December 4, 1944 DECEMBER 4, 1944 SPECIAL VET COMMITTEE TO SWELL HALL RANKS Baseball's Hall of Fame, which has not added to it's ranks since January of 1942, is set to induct as many as five new members to the Boone County shrine in the coming weeks. A special "veterans committee" with New York Daily Mirror writer John Brinker at its head has been tasked with deciding what old-timers deserve recognition in the Hall of Fame which presently numbers 22 men, including 20 former player/managers and 2 executives. From it's inception in 1937 until January of 1942 the Hall, located in Boone County, IL. -birth city of FABL founder William Whitney- annually inducted new members. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor that practice had been stopped as FABL and the nation dealt with far more important events. The 1942 class was only added because it's members had been determined prior to the Japanese attack in Hawaii. Now, as the war appears to be heading towards the home stretch it has been decided that the sport should once more celebrate some more of the early greats of the game. The Veterans Committee is expected to meet this week and put forward up to five names it deems worthy of enshrinement in the Boone County baseball museum. The only requirement for consideration is that any nominee must have finished his playing career prior to 1925. 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) PLENTY OF WORTHY CANDIDATES FOR VETERANS TO CONSIDER The early days of professional baseball are chock full of legendary performers, many of whom are long overdue for the recognition that can only come from induction in to the baseball Hall of Fame. A Veterans Committee has been tasked with the difficult decision of deciding on up to five of the many suitable candidates. In the opinion of this writer here are five that stand out above the rest. 1:JIM GOLDEN - The ace of the Detroit Dynamos 4 World Championship Series winning teams in the teens, Golden had his career come to tragic end at the tender age of 31 but still put up numbers that most pitchers can only dream of. Twenty wins might be the measuring stick nowadays for an outstanding season but Golden won at least 30 three times in his career and 29 on two other occasions. He was so good he won two Whitney Awards -a trophy now given only to hitters and at the time was won by just one other pitcher- and posted a 269-158 career record. It was the World Championship Series where he really excelled, going 8-3 in 11 starts over 5 series with a 1.97 era. His 8 WCS victories remain a postseason record. Sadly, a back injury in 1920 ended his career far too early. 2: BILL TEMPLE - Only two pitchers in all of baseball history have fanned 3,000 hitters as big leaguers. They are Hall of Famer Charlie Sis and Bill Temple. As destructive as Temple was too the confidence of opposing hitters, he was even more destructive to himself. Like Jim Golden, Temple was a Detroit pitching legend and the duo were teammates for a spell in 1909. Each also had an early end to his career but while it was a wonky back that did Golden in it was an elbow that tended to bend far too much -at the tavern- that took away Temple's skills and ended his career at age 34. Whatever inner demons he had - and he battled them with stops in New York with the Stars and then in Boston in addition to his time in Detroit- it was not enough to stop Temple from being one of the best hurlers of all-time. 3: FRED ROBY- Known as The Rhode Island Ripper, Roby was an outstanding defensive shortstop and -if you include his two seasons in the old Players League- one of just 12 men to surpass the 3,000 hit plateau as a big leaguer. Roby, who began his pro caeer in 1888, spent most of his days in Philadelphia but also made brief stops with Boston, the Chicago Chiefs and New York Gothams. 4- JIM JONES - The Big Steam Engine was one of the greatest hitters in the game in the 1880s. This was pre-FABL of course but Jones led his league in batting 6 times in a 7 year span and had some power too, with seasons of 17 and 15 homers in an era when the ball often had the same consistency of a rock. He was the star of the powerful Providence Gems in the old Century League, leading the club to three straight titles in the late 1880s. Jones also spent time with such teams of the past as the Cleveland Cuyahogas and Brooklyn Unions and then later suited up for FABL teams in Detroit, Toronto, St Louis. 5- MORRIS FORD- Old-timers in Cincinnati will still have their eyes light up with the mention of Morris Ford. Perhaps a bit of a homer choice here but Ford was the face of the Cincinnati Monarchs back in the 1880s and 1890s during their run in the old Border Association. Ford, who is the all-time leader in career hits and several other Border Association offensive categories would go from playing for Mike Tice to William Whitney as he joined the Chicago Chiefs after the demise of the Border loop and the formation of FABL. He averaged more than a hit per game during his career and hit a Border Association record 24 homers in 1891. So that would be my ballot of five names to add to baseball's great hall in Boone County, IL., but given the chance I could easily double that list with worthy names of the past. It make take some time but eventually you have to think there will be room in the Hall for the likes of Ike Bell, Bill Craigen, Charlie Firestone, Morris Harris, Pete Hood, Bob Johnston, Jack Long, George Melvin, Ira Phillips, George Pruitt, Ira Williams, Aaron Wright and likely many more. EASTERN RACE UNDECIDED ENTERING FINAL WEEKEND It will take the final Sunday of the American Football Association to determine who will win the Eastern Division and meet the Detroit Maroons in the AFA title contest. The Philadelphia Frigates, a team so short-staffed a year ago due to war losses that they had to partner up with the St Louis Ramblers, are on the verge of their first ever appearance in the championship game. The Frigates, at 7-1-1, following a dominating 48-0 win over a very weak Brooklyn Football Kings squad yesterday, have a simple task. Just win at home over the first year Cincinnati Tigers next weekend and they will have a chance to win their first AFA championship in franchise history. Should Philadelphia stumble against Cincinnati, just as Pittsburgh did two weeks ago to lose the Western Division title, the Stars are waiting in the wings. The Stars have lost just twice this season but both of those defeats came at the hands of the Frigates. A Philadelphia loss next Sunday combined with a New York victory in Boston over an Americans team they had little trouble with at the Bigsby Oval yesterday and the Stars will be the club facing Detroit two weeks from now. Jerry McElheny ran for three more touchdowns to increase his total to 13 on the season, which is a new AFA record for rushing touchdowns in a year -topping the 11 set by Lloyd Graybeal of Chicago in 1934. McElheny ran for 114 yards in the Stars 28-9 victory over Boston and needs 107 yards on the ground next Sunday to become just the fourth back in modern league history to reach the 1,000 yard mark in a season. In other action the defending champion Chicago Wildcats managed to salvage a .500 record this season with a 28-3 win over the combined Cleveland/St Louis team. Larry Sauder led the way for the Wildcats with a pair of first quarter touhdown runs. Pittsburgh finished off a strong 7-3 season by blanking the Washington Wasps 21-0 but despite the big improvement from 3 straight losing seasons there was plenty of disappointment on the faces of Paladins players following the win as the loss in Cincinnati a week ago cost them a chance to play in the AFA championship game. The future looks bright in Pittsburgh as long as second year quarterback Billy Bockhorst continues to improve. Bockhorst is likely to finish second in the league in both passing yardage and rushing yardage and seems a lock to make the post-season AFA All-Star Team. Code: AMERICAN FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION STANDINGS EAST DIVISION W L T PCT Philadelphia 7 1 1 .875 New York 7 2 0 .778 Boston 4 5 0 .444 Washington 3 6 1 .333 Brooklyn 1 9 0 .100 WEST DIVISION W L T PCT Detroit 7 3 0 .700 Pittsburgh 7 3 0 .700 Chicago 5 5 0 .500 Cincinnati 4 5 0 .444 Clev/StLouis 2 8 0 .200 SUNDAY'S RESULT New York 28 Boston 9 Chicago 28 Clev/StL 3 Philadelphia 48 Brooklyn 0 Pittsburgh 21 Washington 0 UPCOMING GAMES SUNDAY DECEMBER 10 New York at Boston Cincinnati at Philadelphia end of regular season Code: AFA LEADERS SCORING PTS Vaught, Det 90 McElheny, NY 78 Bockhorst, Pit 62 Allen, Phi 58 Littlejohn, Bos 54 LaPage, Phi 48 PASSING COMP-ATT YDS TD INT Griggs, Bos 101-187 1227 12 11 Bockhorst, Pit 66-184 1184 8 18 Coleman, Det 72-181 980 10 19 G Brown, Chi 76-168 938 7 19 D Thomas, Bos 85-147 872 5 10 RUSHING YDS TD McElheny, NY 893 13 Bockhorst, Pit 845 6 Schepis, ClSL 738 1 Faulkner, Bkn 649 1 Milatz, NY 592 4 RECEIVING CAT TD Vaught, Det 63 11 Douglas, Was 46 5 Martins, Bos 45 4 Littlejohn, Bos 35 5 Radecki, Chi 32 0 M McLean, Cin 31 2 Hooper, Bkn 31 3 INERCEPTIONS # Benjamin, Phi 9 Sutcliffe, ClSL 8 Sullivan, Pit 8 Allen, Phi 7 Norden, ClSL 6 Renton, Det 6 LePage, Phi 6 ROME STATE SINKS NAVIGATORS - COMPLETE PERFECT SEASON It was their closest score of the season but the Rome State Centurions were still in complete control as they ended a 3-year losing streak against Annapolis Maritime by beating the Navigators 38-16 in a sold-out Banner Stadium in Baltimore. The win enables the Centurions to finish with a perfect 9-0 record and they seem assured of a National Title even if Central Ohio and Iowa A&M both win their New Year's Classic games to also finish with a perfect record. The Classic matchups are now set and St Blane managed to earn a trip to El Paso with a convincing 34-3 win over Great Lakes Navy. It was the second straight victory for the Saints after they suffered through a 3-game losing streak that knocked them out of the number one spot in the TWIFB football poll. Speaking of the poll, this will be the final edition of the TWIFB rankings for the season. We will turn it over to the National ranking list which will be completed in voting of writers from across the country following the New Year's contests. Those New Years Day Classic matchups have all been anounced and are as follows: EAST-WEST CLASSIC (Santa Ana, CA) Central Ohio (9-0) vs Coastal California (8-1) SUNSHINE CLASSIC (Miami, FL) Noble Jones College (8-1) vs Easten Oklahoma (7-1) LONE STAR CLASSIC (Dallas, TX) Payne State (7-1) vs Iowa A&M (8-0) CAJUN CLASSIC (New Orlenas, LA) Alabama Baptist (8-0-1) vs Frankford State (7-2) DESERT CLASIC (El Paso, TX) St Blane (6-3) vs Darnell State (7-2) Code: TWIFB COLLEGE FOOTBALL TOP TEN RANKINGS # LW SCHOOL REC WEEKEND RESULT 1 1 Rome State (9-0) Win 38-16 over Annapolis Maritime 2 3 Central Ohio (9-0) idle 3 4 Alabama Baptist (7-0-1) idle 4 5 Iowa A&M (8-0) idle 5 6 Noble Jones Coll. (8-1) Win 30-14 over Coastal State 6 7 Charleston Tech (8-1) idle 7 8 Payne State (8-1) Win 34-0 over Miami State 8 2 Annapolis Maritime (7-2) Loss 38-16 to Rome State 9 9 Coastal California (8-1) idle 10 10 George Fox Univ. (7-0-1) idle WEEKEND COLLEGE FOOTBALL RESULTS Rome State 38 Annapolis Maritime 16 Noble Jones College 15 Georgia Baptist 13 St. Blane 34 Great Lakes Navy 3 Bayou State 10 Baton Rouge State 0 Maryland State 14 Alexandria 10 Edgemoor 17 Charleston (IL) 17 Travis College 10 Darnell State 0 Richmond State 37 Petersburg 6 Payne State 34 Miami State 0 Arkansas A&T 27 Arkansas A&T-Monticello 0 Mountainview State 40 Mile High State 26 Oklahoma City State 20 College of Omaha 7 Huntsville State 13 Charleston (IL) 6 Red River State 21 Killeen State 3 Texas Gulf Coast 10 Amarillo Methodist 7 College of Waco 27 South Plains Field 9 North Carolina Tech 20 Eastern State 19 ROME STATE'S DEADLY BALLHAWKING TELLS HEAVILY IN ROUT OF NAVIGATORS Baltimore, Dec 2- The story of Rome State's 38-16 victory over Annapolis Maritime today is the story of the deadly ballhawking that has been the Centurions forte all season, brilliant performances by a pair of plebes in Gus Thompson an Chet Donelson, and a line that was hardly reckoned in a class with the Navigators great forward wall. Five times the future generals stepped into stop Annapolis threats with pass interceptions to run their total this season to 35. Two of them lead to Rome State touchdowns and both were made within five yards of the same spot. Thompson had them both and each was in the vicinity of the Centurions 30 yard line with both resulting in 60 odd yard drives for Rome State scores that turned the story of the day. The two Rome State backfielders were the individual stars of the game, gaining all except two yards of the 75 covered by the Centurions on the games opening drive for a score and Donelson went 50 yards for the final tally with both being instrumental nearly every possession in between. Annapolis Maritime, despite it's two All-American linemen in Dan Williamson and Jim Troyer, simply had no solution for the Rome State backfield duo. Both Navigators played well and Williamson in particular was a bulwark on the line but he wasn't able alone to stop the Centurions rushes as typlified by Donelson and Thompson's end sweeps. Once it seemed as if Donelson carried the entire right side of the Navigators line on his back as he rammed for a a first down. The game at Banner Field resulted in the sale of $58,637,000 in war bonds. The 50,000 fans were so informed by a huge banner that was paraded around the field before the game by a group of servicemen. The win completes a perfect season for the Centurions and seems almost assured of delivering to Rome State it's first National Grid Title. URBAN DANE HEADS NEW U.S. LOOP, EYES PRO GRID WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES Urban Dane, who hasn't been out of touch with football since his heyday as 3-time All-American back at Lincoln College, has been elected President of the newly organized United States Football Association. Always ambitious, Dane immediately started making plans for the day when champions of the various play-for-pay leagues can get together in postseason games to determine the world champion. With the final organization of the United State Association -which was first proposed by Pittsburgh businessman Roland Payne a little over a year ago- there are now three circuits located in the Midwest and East: the long established American Football Association, Percy Sutherland's upcoming Continental Football Conference and the loop headed by Dane. The latter two expect to begin operation next year. Eight cities -including Honolulu- were granted franchises by Dane's loop and four more are expected to be added before the 1945 season. They are: Chicago, Baltimore, Philadelphia, Washington, New York, Akron, Ohio and Boston along with the previously mentioned Hawaiian entry. "We will hold a meeting in December to work out final details of operation," Dane said. "We want to work out with other leagues a draft system. Honolulu will have to keep it's team in this country for the duration and probably will operate in Milwaukee." Being the face of an upstart league is nothing new to Dane. He headed the New York Football Gothams and played a key role in the formation of the last pro grid loop to try and challenge the AFA. That was in 1926 when Dane, along with his longtime manager Patrick O'Doul spearheaded the short-lived Football Alliance of America. The FAA had big ambitions and -just like the United State Football Association and Continental Football Conference plan to do- went head to head against the AFA. The result was not pretty as salaries climbed due to a bidding war and the FAA would disappear a year later and take nearly half the AFA's 22 clubs with it as they all succumbed to the financial pressure. Dane says that won't happen this time around. "It is a different time," he noted, "and there should be a huge demand for professional sports as the war ends. We feel there is certainly room for more than one pro grid league." LENGTHY GARDEN BASKETBALL SLATE SHIFTS INTO HIGH GEAR Columbus Day to Decoration Day was New York's basketball season of 25 years ago. But as the indepdent clubs broadened their campaigns to eight months, the colleges decreased their schedules until all but a few games were played in January and February. Then Samuel Bigsby and the Garden entered the college picture. Gradually the hoopla year increased its schedule. The AIAA tournament was added in March, then the preason Bigsby Festival and New York Tournament of Champions arrived followed quickly by more early season intersectional tilts in November and December became the norm. Charles B. Darrow replaced his uncle running the Bigsby Gardens four years ago and now, starting with the 11th Garden college season, Darrow continnues his twice-weekly twin bills, making for another very large Garden court program this season. It promises to be one of the best as while the bulk of the calendar will be comprised of local outfits, there will be some big teams from across the country brought in this year since travel restrictions have begun to lift and approach a return to the pre-war level normalcy. How strong is the quality of play at the Bigsby Garden this winter? Take this week's cards for example. Monday will feature St Blane against Grafton while Jersey City Tech plays Coastal State. The Saints are currently ranked #5 in the nation while Coastal State is also a top twenty outfit at this point. Wednesday's lineup will be even more impressive as Darrow -to the dismay of fans in Boston- has secured St Patrick's against Pierpont as his nightcap game following an equally impressive lid-lifter pitting #4 Western Florida up against the Brunswick Knights. All those big games involving ranked teams make it clear that Darrow's plans for the winter cage season at the Bigsby Garden will be among the biggest the venue has witnessed. ST BLANE, CAROLINA POLY LEAD RECRUIT RACE With 16 of the top 25 high school seniors in the nation committed to colleges for next season it is looking like the top recruiting classes will belong to the St Blane Fighting Saints and Carolina Poly Cardinals. Each school has received word that three of the top twenty five players will join them next season with the Fighting Saints adding the top player in the nation in Philadelphia forward Cyril Worley while the Cardinals inked guard Major Belk - a Nashville, Tennessee product who is ranked #2 in his recruiting class. Code: COLLEGIATE BASKETBALL RANKINGS # Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference 1. Carolina Poly (72) 5-0 1800 1 South Atlantic Conference 2. Mobile Maritime 3-0 1702 3 South Atlantic Conference 3. St. Patrick's 7-1 1650 2 Indy Northeast 4. Western Florida 3-0 1587 4 Deep South Conference 5. St. Blane 7-1 1418 7 Indy East 6. North Carolina Tech 5-1 1345 8 South Atlantic Conference 7. Piedmont University 7-0 1317 12 Indy South 8. Charleston Tech 6-0 1238 9 South Atlantic Conference 9. Brooklyn Catholic 4-0 1033 19 Liberty Conference 10. Brooklyn State 2-1 956 13 Liberty Conference 11. Bluegrass State 4-0 956 10 Deep South Conference 12. CC Los Angeles 3-1 896 16 West Coast Athletic Association 13. Mississippi A&M 5-1 868 20 Deep South Conference 14. Noble Jones College 3-0 824 17 Deep South Conference 15. Coastal State 5-1 789 6 South Atlantic Conference 16. Annapolis Maritime 4-1 771 5 Indy South 17. Lubbock State 3-0 728 25 Southwestern Alliance 18. Custer College 3-0 556 22 West Coast Athletic Association 19. Alexandria 2-0 523 NR South Atlantic Conference 20. Liberty College 8-1 490 NR Indy East 21. St. Martin's College 8-1 455 NR Indy Northeast 22. Lincoln 2-1 413 NR Great Lakes Alliance 23. Great Plains State 7-2 338 NR Indy Midwest 24. Jersey City Tech 2-1 189 NR Liberty Conference 25. St. Pancras 7-1 146 11 Indy East Others Receiving Votes: Rainier College 1-1 140 West Coast Athletic Association Central Ohio 3-1 114 Great Lakes Alliance Alabama Baptist 5-1 23 Deep South Conference Mississippi Tech 7-1 23 Indy South Central Carolina 3-1 20 South Atlantic Conference Perry State College 4-1 19 Midwestern Association Bardney 5-1 18 Indy Northeast Conwell College 4-1 14 Indy East Plover College 5-1 12 Indy Midwest Dickson 3-1 10 Academia Alliance Tallmadge State 5-1 8 Indy East Wisconsin State 2-1 5 Great Lakes Alliance RESULTS INVOLVING RANKED TEAMS MONDAY NOVEMBER 27 #1 Carolina Poly 68 Grant(IN) 56 #4 Western Florida 47 Cowpens State 45 #6 North Carolina Tech 41 Central Maryland 25 #7 Piedmont University 47 West Corners(NY) 37 #22 Lincoln 58 Northern Minnesota 38 #25 St Pancras 56 Wyoming A&I 51 TUESDAY NOVEMBER 28 #21 St Martin's College 48 #3 St Patrick's 43 #5 St Blane 54 Pittsburgh State 37 #9 Brooklyn Catholic 56 Flint 40 Dickson 38 #16 Annapolis Maritime 37 #24 Jersey City Tech 59 North Central(NE) 41 WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 29 #4 Western Florida 52 Commonwealth Catholic 32 #7 Piedmont University 59 #15 Coastal State 57 #17 Lubbock State 50 El Paso Methodist 40 #20 Linerty College 42 Michigan Lutheran 22 #25 St Pancras 53 Brandywine 43 THURSDAY NOVEMBER 30 #3 St Patrick's 59 Narragansett 41 #14 Noble Jones College 37 College of Waco 29 #16 Annapolis Maritime 60 Sunnyvale 37 FRIDAY DECEMBER 1 #8 Charleston Tech 51 Orrville 36 #13 Mississippi A&M 43 Alabama Gulf Coast 35 #15 Coastal State 64 Middlesex 46 #20 Liberty College 38 Erie 34 #23 Great Plains State 50 Miners College 40 #25 St Pancras 55 Ogdensburg 34 SATURDAY DECEMBER 2 #2 Mobile Maritime 44 Opelika State 39 #7 Piedmont University 55 Wisconsin Catholic 51 #19 Alexandria 46 Wyoming A&I 45 #24 Jersey City Tech 44 Queen City 34 SUNDAY DECEMBER 3 #3 St Patrick's 46 #25 St Pancras 35 #8 Charleston Tech 52 Brookland 47 #9 Brooklyn Catholic 46 Three Rivers State 43 BOXING RESULTS A couple of heavyweight bouts during the week with Derek McCoy taking a decision from John Keith on Friday night in Jersey City and Roger Mitchell beating Michael Wilkins Saturday in California. The Oakland born Mitchell improves to 11-6-2 with his win while McCoy, a 29 year old from Topeka, KS, is 14-18-2 after the win over Keith. The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 12/03/1944 American B-29 Superfortresses crashed hundreds of tons of bombs on Tokyo and Bangkok, capital of the puppet State of Thailand in the Air Forces' first simultaneous attacks from east and west on the Japanese empire. Eight more Nazi towns fall as Allied troops push towards Cologne. FDR announced 'with very deep regret' that he has accepted the resignation of Cordell Hull as Secretary of State, but that the 73 year old Tennessean will remain in Washington as an administration advisor on foreign policy. Churchill warned against being overly optimistic about the war end date. Speaking to the House of Commons on the day before his 70th birthday, Churchill declared the battle was going forward "with the greatest vigor" and a large-scale breakthrough on the front before Cologne "would have the highest strategic consequences" but cautioned he would now be willing to strike out the word "early" from his recent forecast that the conflict with Germany would be over by early Summer. Great Britain revealed staggering numbers the great toll of the war on the United Kingdom, reporting that nearly one-third of all homes in Britain have been damaged or destroyed by Nazi bombs and almost 750,000 men, women and childen casualties. The nation also revealed that it produced 102,000 planes, 25,000 tanks and 4.5 million tons of shipping in the first five years of the war. Parliamentary evidence in Ottawa indicates that Canada may implement an unlimited Overseas draft to conscript as many men as needed to reinforce the Dominion's veteran battle units on European fighting fronts. Prime Minister Mackenize King intends to set no limit on the availability of Canadian manpower for the war effort. __________________ Lead Columnist of The Figment Sporting Journal The Scripture of Sports

12-07-2022, 12:18 PM	#582
Jiggs McGee All Star Reserve Join Date: Dec 2019 Posts: 677	December 11, 1944 DECEMBER 11, 1944 ATTITUDE IS 'EACH TO ITS OWN TIME' In the aftermath of the annual winter FABL meetings, two things stand out for development and clarification. They are the attitude of the big leagues toward professional football, and the reported move toward the unionization of ball players by the C.I.O. The professional gridiron forces, now represented by the American Football Association, and after the war to be augmented by one or two other circuits, feel that baseball has made a move which could lead to more drastic legislation, and open war. The baseball people insist that in passing their new regulation they did not make any belligerent move against foobtall, but merely had done something to protect their physical equipment for the best interests of well-played ball games. The new regulation says that no major league club may rent or lease its ball park for any kind of football purpose on any date on which the ball club yet has pennant race commitments in the park, or has the possibility of entry into the World Championship Series. These means that all contracts between professional football teams and landlord ball clubs must be revised to bar the elevens out of many parks until the diamond classic is out of the way. Contracts now must stipulate that if the landlord club should enter the WCS, the football tennant cannot come into the park much before October 15. This, obviously, is restraint and constraint. * A Time For Each Sport* Baseball says, in effect: "There is plenty of room for both baseball and football, each sport in its own time. There has been a tendency in football to keep moving the season forward. In the last three years there has grown up a vast system of exhibition games. "We are not jealous of the advancement of football. Rather do we enjoy that progress, because the more successful the gridiron pros, the more successful our landlord-and-tennant relationship financially. However last September a game between the Chicago Chiefs and the Pittsburgh Miners nearly had to be postponed because Whitney Field had been so badly torn up from a professional football exhibition the previous evening played in driving rain. "With our first duty being to baseball, we feel it is imperative that we should safeguard our baseball interests first. Therefore, we have decided not to allow football games -and remember we are barring colleges as well as professionals- in our ballparks while the home club yet has contests remaining to play on the official baseball schedule that could have some bearing on the postseason." Jack Kristich, President of the AFA, feels his response is straightforward. "There is no sense in fooling ourselves; this is war. The baseball people start too early and finish too late. They should be out of the way, World Championship Series and all, before October 1. But they linger on into our season. The time has come for us to look to building our own parks, and to making a move against an influence whith frankly is antagonisitc." It is the opinion of this writer that though most of the baseball magnates had no intention of making war on pro football, that is exactly what has been done. Furthermore, the writer believes that the baseball owners have made the proper move for their own welfare. In the meantime, we may look for more activity in baseball on the subject of football. After the war, the ball clubs may become interested in football ownership -and that has already been hinted at with Daniel Prescott and John Tice's efforts to land a New York entry in the AFA and now their minority involvement in the Cincinnati Tigers, just as Eagles owner William Stockdale has long had a piece of the Washington Wasps grid entry. More involvement in pro football by the ball magnates in inevitable. *Union Not Likely At This Time* The matter of unionization of ball players is not mere talk, and this goes well beyond the objections made by a few college and high school players when FABL drastically altered its draft signing bonus policy for the year ahead. Of course, this is a bad time for unionization in baseball. As things are, there is no demand for player organizations because there are not player demands. The players are receiving payment right up to the expectancy from the abilities they possess. Add in the fact that when the war ends there will be such an influx of players battling it out for the relatively few jobs available and any player looking to unionize would not be on solid footing unless he had the unwavering support of every ball player. If one breaks ranks, hopes for a union would be quickly dashed and you can bet that the magnates will find far more than one top notch minor league player willing to cross the line for a shot at the big leagues. Whether professional baseball lends itself to unionization any more than medicine, dentistry or other professions is a moot question. The general impression is it would be bad for ball players to become interested in a labor union. However, there is no sense in reaching conclusions at this time. Baseball is not going to antagonize organized labor, and organized labor is not likely to want to intrude where it is not needed. It is something to watch closely going forward. From the writer's investigations it is nothing to be merely laughed off. FRIGATES WIN EAST - WILL HOST DETROIT IN AFA TITLE GAME The Philadelphia Frigates beat Cincinnati 27-7 at Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Stadium yesterday to earn their first trip to the American Football Association title game. It will be the first chance at an AFA championship for a city that has fielded an AFA team, with the exception of 1932, every year since the old Philadelphia Hornets joined the league in 1924. The win over Cincinnati, keyed by a pair of touchdowns from Mike Benjamin, completed an 8-1-1 season for the Frigates, good enough to nose out the New York Football Stars by half a game for the Eastern Division crown. The Frigates built a 13-0 first half lead on touchdown runs by Dave Davis and Benjamin but the first year Tigers pulled close in the third quarter when Cincinnati quarterback Gus Knox found Jack Starnes in the endzone with a 2 yard toss. Cincinnati likely had visions of ruining the Frigates season -just as the Tigers did two weeks ago in knocking Pittsburgh out of the title hunt. It did not happen as the Frigates, thanks to their ballhawking defense, which led the AFA with a whooping 53 interceptions on the year -no other team had more than 28- picked off 6 of them on the day including two that were returned for second half scores to remove any doubt of the outcome on this day. Jay Carey had a 30-yard pick-six late in the third quarter while Benjamin, with his league best 11th pick, rounded out the scoring with a late 11 yard return for a touchdown. The only other game saw the New York Stars nip Boston 17-10 to try and keep the pressure on the Frigates. New York went 8-2 on the year with both of their losses coming at the hands of Philadelphia. On this day it was once again Jerry McElheny leading the way for the Stars, the back gained 110 yards to push him over the 1,000 mark for the season while scoring two more touchdowns adding to his AFA modern-record 15 scoring runs on the year. VAUGHT SAYS AFA TITLE GAME WILL BE HIS LAST Next Sunday will be the end of an era in professional grid play as the greatest receiver in league history will play his final game. Detroit Maroons legendary end Stan Vaught -a man who perhaps more than any other can be credited with the emergence of the forward pass as a primary weapon in the pro game- has announced he will retire after the championship game with the Philadelphia Frigates. The 32 year old Vaught had humble beginnings, being discovered by Rollie Barrell when the Maroons boss came across him playing at tiny Peabody College. The 6'2, 185 pound end from Trumbull, Kansas was signed in 1935 for an unheard of sum back in those days of $300 per game and long-time Maroons coach Frank Yurik rebuilt his entire offense around Vaught. Over the next decade Vaught would rewrite the AFA record book. His 472 career receptions, 7,689 receiving yards and 82 touchdown grabs are all numbers completely out of reach of any other AFA player. He not only holds the single season record in each of those categories as well, but he completely dominates the leaderboard. If there is a black mark on Vaught's career it might well be his showing in championship games. He will have one last opportunity Sunday in Philadelphia but in two previous AFA title contests Vaught has caught just 2 passes - one in each game and has yet to score a touchdown in championship game action. In 1936 the Maroons beat Pittsburgh 24-7 in a game that saw Vaught make just one reception for 8 yards. Detroit's only other appearance in the finals was in 1940 when Brooklyn topped the Maroons 20-7 while limiting Vaught to just one reception for 31 yards. He did kick a convert for his lone playoff point. Code: AMERICAN FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION FINAL STANDINGS EAST DIVISION W L T PCT Philadelphia 8 1 1 .889 New York 8 2 0 .800 Boston 4 6 0 .400 Washington 3 6 1 .333 Brooklyn 1 9 0 .100 WEST DIVISION W L T PCT Detroit 7 3 0 .700 Pittsburgh 7 3 0 .700 Chicago 5 5 0 .500 Cincinnati 4 6 0 .400 Clev/StLouis 2 8 0 .200 SUNDAY'S RESULT New York 17 Boston 10 Philadelphia 27 Cincinnati 7 end of regular season UPCOMING GAMES SUNDAY DECEMBER 17 AFA CHAMPIONSHIP GAME Detroit at Philadelphia Code: AFA LEADERS SCORING PTS Vaught, Det 90 McElheny, NY 90 Bockhorst, Pit 62 Allen, Phi 61 Littlejohn, Bos 58 Benjamin, Phi 54 PASSING COMP-ATT YDS TD INT Griggs, Bos 108-199 1310 12 11 Bockhorst, Pit 66-184 1184 8 18 Coleman, Det 72-181 980 10 19 D Thomas, Bos 94-163 963 5 12 G Brown, Chi 76-168 938 7 19 RUSHING YDS TD McElheny, NY 1003 15 Bockhorst, Pit 845 6 Schepis, ClSL 758 1 Milatz, NY 666 4 Faulkner, Bkn 649 1 RECEIVING CAT TD Vaught, Det 63 11 Martins, Bos 48 4 Douglas, Was 46 5 Littlejohn, Bos 37 5 Radecki, Chi 32 0 M McLean, Cin 31 2 Hooper, Bkn 31 3 INERCEPTIONS # Benjamin, Phi 11 Sutcliffe, ClSL 8 Sullivan, Pit 8 Allen, Phi 8 LaNore, NY 7 LePage, Phi 7 NOTABLE 1944 AFA ACCOMPLISHMENTS Jerry McElheny of the New York Stars set the new AFA record for rushing touchdowns in a season with 15, smashing the old mark of 11 established by Lloyd Graybeal of Chicago a decade ago. McElheny became just the 5th back to rush for 1,000 yards in a season since individual stats were tallied beginning with the 1932 campaign. His 1,003 yards place him 4th all-time but he is the only one to do it in a reduced 10 game schedule as Jesse Pratt's 1934 total of 1,045 came in a 13 game slate as was Lloyd Graybeal's 1,012 in 1934 while St Louis Ramblers Bob Holt needed 11 games to get 1,037 yards in 1942. Philadelphia's Mike Bemjamin had 11 interceptions on the season, tying him for 4th most in a campaign. The record is 13 set by Boston's Del Thomas last year. Stan Vaught's 63 catches for Detroit were the 4th most in a season since 1932. Vaught holds four of the top five single season reception marks led by his record 84 grads two years ago. Vaught's 922 receiving yards this year are the fourth most ever recorded in a season and his 11 touchdown catchces tie him for fourth in that category. Vaught is the single season leader in both with 1,218 yards and 17 touchdowns in his incredible 1942 season. RHODES WINS CHRISTIAN TROPHY Jimmy Rhodes led the Central Ohio Aviators to a perfect 8-0 and a berth in the East-West Classic for the first time since 1921. That effort improved the Aviators from a mediocre 2-6-1 campaign a year ago and earned the graduate student the Christian Trophy as college football's Most Outstanding Player for 1944. The Pride of Parma, Ohio also earned All-Amercan honours, joining two of his teammates in his favourite pass receiving target end Joe Steffen along with guard Henry Woodson on the select team. Rome State, which is also unbeaten at 9-0, placed two players on the team in their backfield sophomore duo of halfback Gus Thompson and fullback Chet Donelson. Thompson was declared the winner of the Bryan Award, presented to the Best All-Around Player. The other individual award -the Ipswich Trophy for Best Lineman- goes to Coastal California tackle George Stuckey. COLLEGE FOOTBALL SCOREBOARD Darnell State 30 Miami State 13 Second Air Force 50 Morris Field 0 Randolph Field 27 March Field 0 NEW YEAR'S CLASSIC SCHEDULE EAST-WEST CLASSIC (Santa Ana, CA) Central Ohio (9-0) vs Coastal California (8-1) SUNSHINE CLASSIC (Miami, FL) Noble Jones College (8-1) vs Easten Oklahoma (7-1) LONE STAR CLASSIC (Dallas, TX) Payne State (7-1) vs Iowa A&M (8-0) CAJUN CLASSIC (New Orlenas, LA) Alabama Baptist (8-0-1) vs Frankford State (7-2) DESERT CLASIC (El Paso, TX) St Blane (6-3) vs Darnell State (8-2) AFA TITLE GAME A MATCH OF CONTRASTING STYLES Next weekends American Football Association championship game will be an interesting contrast. You have the mighty passing attack of the Detroit Maroons -perhaps not as strong as it was before Dewey Burnett left for the Army- but still very effective squaring off against the Philadelphia Frigates ground game. During the regular season Detroit threw the ball more than twice as often as the Frigates attempted to pass, and why wouldn't you with the games greatest end in Stan Vaught on your side. The Frigates preferred to pound the ball on the ground with their quintet of backs sharing the workload. You have the big three of Dave Davis, Ollie Bishop and Greg LePage combining for 1,608 yards and 13 touchdowns and then Mike Benjamin and Richie Dugan to also share the workload. A key matchup will be how the Detroit defense can contain the Philadelphia rushers. However, the game could very well be decided on the other side of the ball. The two clubs did not face each other during the regular season so there are a number of questions regarding how they will interact but none bigger than what sort of success will the Detroit passing game vs the Philadelphia ballhawking defense. The key to determining the winner on Sunday will likely be how well Detroit quarterback Rich Coleman can read the Philadelphia defense. The Frigates had a nearly unbelievable 53 interceptions this season - 5.3 per game - with Mike Benjamin notching 11, Bob Allen 8 and Greg LePage 7 to lead the way. Turnovers often seem to decide a football game and in this case it seems very fair to predict the winner will be determined by how well Coleman protects the pigskin with his passing. * COLLEGE GRID CROWDS INCREASE MORE THAN 1.5 MILLION OVER '43 * Attendance at college football games this season jumped more than 1,500,000 over last year, with Midwestern teams leading the parade according to a survey by the Associated Press. Total attendance at 333 home games played by 67 colleges totaled aproximately 5,555,000 against just over 4 million a year ago. Surprisingly, the resumption of football in a number of major Southern schools this season accounted for just a small part of this increase. Average attendance in the South showed a 2.8 percent decrease while gains up to a fraction under 40 percent were registerd in other sections. Average attendance this year was 16,552, compared with 14,691 last season. The Far West topped the survey with an average increase of 5,064. GREAT LAKES ALLIANCE CLUBS STRUGGLING The schools of the Great Lakes Alliance have made it habit of knocking each out of the top twenty-five college rankings every January when section play gets underway. For a change they may not have that luxury this year as presently no one from what has in recent memory been the deepest conference in college basketball is even in the top twenty-five. it is certainly an unusual year when schools like Mobile Maritime, Piedmont University and Custer College show up in the polls but Detroit City College, St Magnus and Western Iowa are nowhere to be found. Going in to the season most observers felt the GLA would not be as powerful as it usually was, with the loss of talent to war expected to cost a heavy toll but losses to schools like Northern Mississippi (which beat Detroit City College 51-43 and Minnesota Tech 39-25), Eastern Kansas (38-37 over Lincoln), Bliss College (over St Ignatius 40-37) and East Missouri Seminary (over St Magnus 40-37) illustrate just how far the GLA has fallen this season. Western Iowa is expected to be the class of the loop this time around and perhaps they still will be with impressive road wins over Iowa A&M and Lawrence State recently, but the Canaries had a tough start with games against St Patrick's and Rainier College in the Preseason AIAA showcase both resulting in losses. At 2-2 the Canaries have time to get untracked and an upcoming schedule that should allow them to do so. For others it might a be much tougher task as Detroit City College (4-3), St Magnus (4-2) and Minnesota Tech (2-2) all have some bad losses already but no where is the situation worse than in Lansing where St Ignatius continues it's tumble. The Lancers have not missed the year end National Tournament two consecutive seasons since 1920 & 1921 but after a mediocre 15-14 campaign last year and a dreadful 1-3 start to this season they are well on the their way to doing just that. The losses have been terrible to say the least. First a 40-37 defeat against Bliss College - the Kalamazoo school that has not won more than 10 games in a season in a decade and had never beaten the Lancers prior to this year. Then came consecutive 2-point losses to Hamman and Columbia Military Academy before St Ignatius finally notched it's first win of the season Friday night by nipping College of Cairo 47-45. Head Coach Razor Heuer was brought in prior to last season after enjoying success at tiny Johnston Tech but at the rate he is going Heuer will be very lucky to get a third season in Lansing. Code: COLLEGIATE BASKETBALL RANKINGS # Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference 1. Carolina Poly (72) 5-0 1800 1 South Atlantic Conference 2. Mobile Maritime 5-0 1702 2 South Atlantic Conference 3. Western Florida 5-0 1650 4 Deep South Conference 4. St. Patrick's 9-1 1597 3 Indy Northeast 5. North Carolina Tech 7-1 1475 6 South Atlantic Conference 6. Piedmont University 9-0 1375 7 Indy South 7. Mississippi A&M 8-1 1297 13 Deep South Conference 8. Annapolis Maritime 6-1 1169 16 Indy South 9. Coastal State 7-1 1090 15 South Atlantic Conference 10. Liberty College 9-1 1058 20 Indy East 11. Noble Jones College 5-0 1031 14 Deep South Conference 12. Bluegrass State 5-0 1006 11 Deep South Conference 13. Brooklyn State 3-1 1000 10 Liberty Conference 14. CC Los Angeles 4-1 962 12 West Coast Athletic Association 15. Great Plains State 10-2 956 23 Indy Midwest 16. Custer College 5-0 836 18 West Coast Athletic Association 17. Rainier College 3-1 608 NR West Coast Athletic Association 18. St. Blane 9-2 574 5 Indy East 19. St. Pancras 8-1 566 25 Indy East 20. Miami State 6-1 308 NR Indy South 21. Charleston Tech 6-1 301 8 South Atlantic Conference 22. Plover College 6-1 204 NR Indy Midwest 23. Alabama Baptist 5-1 160 NR Deep South Conference 24. Ohio Poly 6-2 131 NR Indy Midwest 25. Conwell College 4-1 114 NR Indy East Others Receiving Votes: Wisconsin State 3-1 60 Great Lakes Alliance St. Martin's College 9-2 59 Indy Northeast Western Iowa 2-2 59 Great Lakes Alliance Chesapeake State 5-2 58 South Atlantic Conference Bigsby College 4-1 52 Liberty Conference Red River State 4-1 39 Southwestern Alliance Utah A&M 4-1 35 Rocky Mountain Athletic Alliance Eastern Kansas 4-1 20 Plains Athletic Association Alexandria 3-1 20 South Atlantic Conference Darnell State 4-1 17 Southwestern Alliance Lubbock State 3-1 5 Southwestern Alliance Garden State 7-2 5 Liberty Conference RESULTS INVOLVING RANKED TEAMS MONDAY DECEMBER 4 #6 Piedmont University 55 Central Illinois 37 #7 Mississippi A&M 48 St Matthew's College 36 #9 Coastal State 56 Jersey City Tech 49 #11 Noble Jones College 55 Lexington State 41 #17 Rainier College 47 Flint 44 #18 St Blane 37 Grafton 27 TUESDAY DECEMBER 5 #16 Custer College 55 Commonwealth Catholic 50 #20 Miami State 67 #21 Charleston Tech 61 #24 Ohio Poly 39 Columbia Military Academy 26 WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 6 #2 Mobile Maritime 60 Springfield State 51 #3 Western Florida 52 Brunswick 37 #4 St Patrick's 49 Pierpont 42 #6 Piedmont University 63 College of San Diego 46 #15 Great Plains State 51 Kansas Agrircultural 26 #19 St Pancras 62 Cache Valley 42 THURSDAY DECEMBER 7 #5 North Carolina Tech 44 Bliss College 33 #11 Noble Jones College 37 Daniel Boone College 34 #12 Bluegrass State 49 Provo Tech 46 #13 Brooklyn State 61 Potomac College 31 #16 Custer College 59 Wyoming A&I 60 #18 St Blane 58 Central Ohio 40 #20 Miami State 50 Bayou State 44 #22 Plover College 50 Maldin 36 #24 Ohio Poly 50 Iowa A&M 30 FRIDAY DECEMBER 8 #2 Mobile Maritime 46 Eastern Oklahoma 26 #7 Mississippi A&M 51 Mississippi Tech 40 #8 Annapolis Maritime 57 Narragansett 46 #9 Coastal State 44 Georgia Baptist 25 #15 Great Plains State 57 Wichita Baptist 43 SATURDAY DECEMBER 9 #3 Western Florida 61 St Martin's College 52 #5 North Carolina Tech 47 Oklahoma Bible College 32 SUNDAY DECEMBER 10 #4 St Patrick's 62 Ferguson 47 #7 Mississippi A&M 50 Rock Island 35 #8 Annapolis Maritime 41 Ogdensburg 30 #10 Liberty College 57 El Paso Methodist 47 #14 CC Los Angeles 52 College of San Diego 38 #15 Great Plains State 59 Colorado Poly 39 #17 Rainier College 57 Erie 41 Detroit City College 56 #18 St Blane 46 WEEKEND BOUT MAY DETERMINE SAWYER FOE A fight in Minneapolis this weekend may be showcasing the first opponent for World Heavyweight Champion Hector Sawyer when he makes his return to the professional ring in February. The champ has confirmed his first title defense in over 4 years will take place at Denny Arena in Boston on February 24. The opponent for that bout, widely considered just a tune-up for the champ before a big summer fight at Gothams Stadium in New York that is expected to see top contender Mark Fountain get a shot at Sawyer, will be confirmed in the near future. To get to the big summer payday Sawyer will first fight a lower quality opponent in New England with sources hinting that opponent could be veteran heavyweight Larry May. The 28 year old Oklahoma native is 22-11-4 in his career and will be headlining a weekend card in Minnesota in which he will face Mike Austin. A convincing May victory -as is widely anticipated- is expected to result in an announcement perhaps as early as next Monday that May will be the opponent for Sawyer. May is one of several fighters on the 'short-list' compiled by Sawyer's camp to give the champ an opportunity to work out the kinks created by 3 years of military service and get back in to fighting mode without a risk of defeat. Others that were considered are said to have included once promising 35 year old Willie Meyer(32-7-1), who is actually fighting on the same card as May in Minneapolis this weekend or 34 year old Clifford Baker (24-5-2), a Philadelphia-born fighter who battled often with Sawyer in military exhibitions and is the older brother of up and comer Scott "The Chef' Baker (11-0-2). WEEKEND FIGHT RESULTS Mike Howarth scored an unanimous decision over Jeff Greene to improve to 8-2 for his career. Howarth is just 20 years old but fought his first pro bout as a 17 year old in his native Philadelphia. Howarth got knocked out in that debut, but a fighter 11 years older than himself, but has looked very good since and might be a name to watch in the middleweight division. On the same card heavyweight Edward Buckley improved to 5-6-1 with a win over Matthew Penn. The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 12/10/1944 A big task force of B-29s Superfortresses ushered in the third anniversary of Pearl Harbor last week with a raid on Tokyo while also targeting Japanese war factories in southern Manchuria. There were also reports of a violent earthquake, possibly centered on the Japanese home islands, last week. Below is a look at how the warfronts have changed over the past 3 years compared to today. Lt General Patton's 3rd Army plunged a mile and a half beyond burning Saarlautern in a bid for a new breakthrough of the Siegfried Line. Russian armored columns crashed through the German defenses on both sides of Lake Balaton in a mile-an-hour drive on the Austrian frontier today, forcing alarmed Nazi officials to flee Vienna, in the path of the Red army juggernaut. Prime Minister Churchill served blunt notice that the Allies would throw the full weight of their arms into an attempt to prevent civil war in Greece, where they government tottered and the death toll in Athens rioting mounted to 27. More workers are needed at once. That is the message from the Army and the Government at the annual meeting of the National Association of Manufacturers as the call came out for up to 300,000 more workers needed with Lt General Brehon B. Somervell saying victory was in the balance. The need for manpower on the home front results in an increased focus on drafting men aged 26-37 "who are not now doing their part" in the war effort. They are needed overseas to replace trained men released by the armed forces to industrial plants. __________________ Lead Columnist of The Figment Sporting Journal The Scripture of Sports Last edited by Jiggs McGee; 12-07-2022 at 02:13 PM.

12-08-2022, 09:38 AM	#583
Jiggs McGee All Star Reserve Join Date: Dec 2019 Posts: 677	December 18, 1944 AFA Title Game DECEMBER 18, 1944 CANNONS EAGERLY AWAIT DRAFT LOTTERY The new draft lottery is set to take place in advance of the 1945 FABL draft and it is a cause of excitement for all of FABL. At stake is the chance to pick first overall and 7 of the Continental Association clubs have a shot at that opportunity. The lone expection of course is the Cincinnati Cannons, who as CA champ will be automatically slotted in at the 15th spot in the draft. That is not to say the Cannons will not still be anticipating the draft as they own the Boston Minutemens selection this time around and could pick as high as second. The CA teams will be in a draw for the odd picks from 1-3 while the Federal Association teams have the even slots this year. The Federal Association champion Philadelphia Keystones will draft 16th. * Mullins Will Attend Central Ohio * Lonnie Mullins, arguably the best high school basketball player ever to come out of Cincinnati, has decided to play his college ball in Columbus with the Central Ohio Aviators. The 6'9" centre from Taft High School, made his decision known recently after spending several weeks debating offers from Great Lakes Alliance rivals Detroit City College as well as Central Ohio. High School cage experts call Mullins the 15th best senior in the nation this season. Meanwhile Sandusky's Leo Franks -who was once considered a possible first round selection in the 1945 FABL draft before an arm injury ended his baseball career- is going to play college ball at Pittsburgh State. As a 16 year old high school sophomore Franks was projected to be a top of the rotation starter in big league baseball but blew out his arm training for the start of his junior season. Franks will focus instead solely on the hardwood where he is an All-State basketball guard. Big league owners are 16 frightened people today as the new draft ruling that calls for the mobilization of 26 to 37 year olds goes into effect. The hope is the worst of the damage is over as more than 80 players who appeared in the big leagues last season have recently enlisted or been drafted. However, there remains great fear that more will be taken before spring training gets underway. Dog and Horse tracks are closed down as part of the War Mobilization Plans, but WMD head James Byrnes says baseball will not be forced to stop. However, he does want to see a large number of the 4-F ballplayers either in the Army for limited service or working in manufacturing. No big leaguers departed for the war effort the last couple of weeks but the parade of minor leaguers continues. Among the latest include a pair of top 100 prospects in Clyde Fleenor and Gary Burgess. Fleenor is a 20 year old outfielder selected 14th overall by the New York Stars in 1942 who spent last season in Class C. Burgess, 18, was the Pittsburgh Miners fourth round pick last June and split last season between Class B & C. In addition a pair just outside of the top 100 in Detroit's George Bundy, and 18 year old outfielder, and the Chicago Cougars 19 year old outfielder Jimmy Hairston also received the call with all four being drafted by the Army. The major league schedule is set to get going April 16 this year, with Washington as usual, tilting the lid with a contest at Columbia Stadium. The Eagles are set to host the New York Gothams with everyone else getting into the act a day later if the tentative schedule stays as indicated. FRIGATES WIN AFA CHAMPIONSHIP Defense and Running Game Too Much For Detroit The Philadelphia Frigates did exactly what they had done all season in stopping the Detroit Maroons 30-14 to claim their first American Football Association championship. The Frigates used their powerful running game, keyed by 86 yards from Ollie Bishop, and their ballhawking defense - which intercepted 6 Rich Coleman passes on the day- to claim the grid title and spoil Stan Vaught's final game. It was a typical Philadelphia game in that the Frigates overwhelmed their opponent with their depth. There was no real standout although back Ollie Bishop was named the game's most valuable player after rushing for 86 yards and a score, while also making 2 catches for 58 yards and recording 8 tackles. Instead it was the usual team effort as 6 different Frigates had interceptions, 11 different players recorded at least 3 tackles and 4 Frigates carried the ball for at least 35 yards on the day. The cold weather and snowy conditions at Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Stadium certainly helped, favouring Philadelphia's diverse ground game and make things just a little bit tougher on the Maroons more passing focused offense. It played right into the Frigates gameplan as almost immediately the game appeared to be following the script many had predicted. Detroit's first drive came to an end when Rich Coleman had a pass intercepted by Bob Allen setting up a Frigates first down on the Maroons 22 yard line. Philadelphia nearly gave away it's opportunity to strike first when Ollie Bishop fumbled on the Detroit 1 yard line but teammate Andy Barrow alertly fell on the loose ball and a play later Allen tossed a 1 yard touchdown pass to Karl Shoemaker giving Philadelphia a 7-0 lead midway through the first quarter. Detroit would respond quickly as Coleman drove the Maroons to a score of their own with several completions including a pair to Stan Vaught, who had announced before the contest this would be the final game of his illustrious career. In all Vaught would make 9 catches for 93 yards but would fail to get in the endzone and retires having never scored a touchdown in his 3 championship game appearances. The tying score would come on an 11 yard run from Colin Owen to even the game at 7. Another Colemen interception in the second quarter-this one by Karl Schoemaker- set up a second Philadelphia score. This one on a 44 yard drive that finished with Dave Davis busting through the middle of the Maroons line for a 10 yard touchdown run. Once more Detroit would respond on the next drive and it was Colin Owen again reaching the endzone, this time on a 9 yard scoring throw from Coleman. Despite a third Coleman interception of the half the Frigates would not score again and the teams entered the break knotted at 14. The Frigates had 53 interceptions during the regular season -no other team had more than 28- and they would add three more in the second half of the title game to put the contest out of reach. The first one came early in the third quarter with Gregg Ward doing the honours. It did not result in a Philadelphia touchdown but did culminate in a 35 yard field goal from Bob Allen to put the Frigates up 17-14 and give them a lead they would never relinquish. Ollie Bishop would run for a 12 yard touchdown on the final play of the third quarter and just over two minutes later-after a three and out from Detroit- Richie Dugan would gallop 38 yards for another rushing touchdown to complete the scoring on the day. Coleman would be picked off twice more in the fourth quarter, putting an end to any comeback homes the Maroons might have had. Code: AMERICAN FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY YEAR SCORE VENUE MVP 1944 Philadelphia 30 Detroit 14 Sailors Memorial Ollie Bishop, Phi 1943 Chicago 21 Boston 20 Minutemen Park Freeman Stahlberg, Chi 1942 Boston 24 Chicago 21 Whitney Park Del Thomas, Bos 1941 Chicago 10 New York 7 Whitney Park Dutch Hoffman, Chi 1940 Brooklyn 20 Detroit 7 Thompson Field Don Ludwigs, Bkn 1939 Boston 21 Chicago 14 Whitney Park Leon Fitzgerald, Bos 1938 Brooklyn 9 Pittsburgh 7 Kings County Bill Morrisett, Bkn 1937 New York 34 Chicago 0 Bigsby Oval Tom Jamason, NY 1936 Detroit 24 Pittsburgh 7 Thompson Field Vernon Flowers, Det 1935 Pittsburgh 7 Cleveland 0 Forester Field Harvey Bowman, Pit 1934 Pittsburgh 7 Detroit 0 Thompson Field Hank Greshman, Pit 1933 Rhode Island 21 Chicago 0 North Side Park Harvey Bowman, RI 1932 Cleveland Finiches (7-3) 1931 Detroit Maroons and Rhode Island Reds co-champs (12-1-1) 1930 New York Stars (14-2-1) 1929 Detroit Maroons (13-0) 1928 Chicago Wildcats (11-0-2) 1927 Detroit Maroons (10-0) 1926 Chicago Wildcats (13-1-2) 1925 Cleveland Finches (12-1-1) 1924 Toledo Tigers (9-0) 1923 Pittsburgh Pros (12-0) 1922 Evansville Lions (10-1) 1921 Chicago Wildcats (9-1-1) 1920 Youngstown Reapers (7-0) AFA FACING GREAT 1945 PLAYER PROBLEMS Next season's player problem for the pro football clubs may be one of the toughest they have been called on to solve, and although it is hoped the war in Europe will be over, the draft will be eased and more discharged veterans will be available to fill rosters, league officials frankly aren't too happy about the outlook. The war has been a factor for several years and the enhanced push on putting 4-F's to work in limited capacity is a concern, but there are hopes the war may be over before next season rolls around. The great unknown now is just how will the addition of possibly two more leagues next year upset the apple cart. Will the Continental Football Conference and United States League even get off the ground? If they do, will they honour existing player rights or will it be fair game and a bidding war on all the big stars of the AFA? What kind of contract could a Jerry McElheny command from an upstart league should he be willing to abandon the New York Football Stars? What about Billy Bockhorst, the 1942 Christian Trophy winner who had a breakout season with Pittsburgh. The AFA weathered a storm like the one that is brewing now back in 1926 but the cost was huge. That was when the Football Alliance of America made its one year bid to take over as the premier play-for-pay loop in the nation. Urban Dane was behind that one -just as he is with one of the proposed new loops this time around- but all the FAA accomplished in its one season of existence was to drive up salaries and drive a lot of teams out of business. Dane is back at it again this time around but perhaps the loop that has a better chance of tackling the AFA is the Continetal Conference with Percy Sutherland and Lt Commander Ben Montgomery at the helm. In the end the 1926 challenge saw a stronger, much more streamlined American Football Association emerge, but AFA boss Jack Kristich knows first-hand the toll a rival league -or leagues- will take. Kristich was the driving force behind a team called the Fort Wayne Titans back then, and his club was one of the many to be run out of business that year. You can bet that Kristich and his AFA magnates are dreading the prospects of having to go through it all again. EAST-WEST CLASSIC IS ONE DAY SELLOUT Sale of tickets for the East-West Classic football game between the Central Ohio Aviators and the Coastal California Dolphins on New Years Day began -and ended- Saturday. All 93,000 seats at the Santa Ana, Ca.venue were sold out in a matter of hours. The Aviators 38-man squad, led by Christian Trophy winning graduate quarterback Jimmy Rhodes, boarded a train, without any fanfare, Saturday night for California. The Aviators have had only light workouts since they finished a perfect regular season with a late December victory over Detroit City College and are expected to be healthy and at full strength for the Classic showdown. NEW YEAR'S CLASSIC SCHEDULE EAST-WEST CLASSIC (Santa Ana, CA) Central Ohio (9-0) vs Coastal California (8-1) SUNSHINE CLASSIC (Miami, FL) Noble Jones College (8-1) vs Easten Oklahoma (7-1) LONE STAR CLASSIC (Dallas, TX) Payne State (7-1) vs Iowa A&M (8-0) CAJUN CLASSIC (New Orlenas, LA) Alabama Baptist (8-0-1) vs Frankford State (7-2) DESERT CLASIC (El Paso, TX) St Blane (6-3) vs Darnell State (8-2) SAWYER TO FACE WILLIE MEYER FOR HEAVYWEIGHT CROWN World Heavyweight boxing champ Hector Sawyer's camp has confirmed that their fighter will make his professional return to the ring February 24 in Boston against Willie Meyer. Sawyer (49-3-1) has not defended his title since prior to the attack on Pearl Harbor and has been serving in the army the past three years. The 30 year old will be discharged from Army next week. The fight, which will take place at Denny Arena, home of the NAHC's Boston Bees, will be a prelude to what is expected to be a major bout in June that will see Sawyer likely face top contender Mark Fountain. Sawyer will have to get by Meyer, who was in action this weekend and it was following that fight that the title shot was announced. The 35 year Meyer is 32-7-1 after having an easy time with Rocky Elibank Saturday evening. The Minneapolis born Meyer knocked out Elibank in the 6th round of their bout. It was no great achievement as Elibank, a Brockton, MA. native, is little more than a professional punching bag with a career record of 4-23-2. On the same card as the Meyer win was another heavyweight bout. It was a clear upset as Mike Austin, a lower level southpaw out of Cleveland, shocked veteran pugilist Larry May with a 10 round majority decision. The loss drops the 28 year old May's record to 22-12-4 in what was his first professional fight in 3 years after being recently discharged from the Army. There had been talk that May was going to get the February fight with The Cajun Crusher until his surprising loss as apparently Sawyer's manager had a deal in place with both Meyer and May with the understanding that whoever performed better on Saturday would get the title shot. In either case, it is expected the February fight will be nothing more than an easy tune-up for the champ, designed simply to ease him back into the ring. SHAMROCKS CONTINUE TO IMPRESS The St Patrick's Shamrocks seem to be adjusting just fine to life as an independent team after the dissolution of the Northeast Conference. The Shamrocks, who have reached the semi-finals of the National Tournament twice in the past decade but failed to earn a tournament berth last season, are off to a 10-1 start that includes wins over Western Iowa, St Pancras, Pierpont and most recently Detroit City College. The Shamrocks lack a true dominant player but have succeeded by spreading the scoring around with all five starters averaging at least 6 points per game. They are a young group with only one senior among the key players in their rotation and a sophomore forward by the name of Jeremiah Fink is rapidly emerging as the team leader. The New Englander -Fink is from Keene, NH- had the hot hand down the stretch against Detroit City College last Tuesday, hitting of 5-of-7 second half shooting attempts to help the Shamrocks overcome a 4-point deficit at the half and beat the Knights in Detroit by a 48-40 count. St Patrick's has some tough tests in the second half of the season including matchups with #4 North Carolina Tech and 5th ranked Annapolis Maritime but based on the start the Boston school is looking forward to another long tournament run come March. Code: COLLEGIATE BASKETBALL RANKINGS # Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference 1. Carolina Poly (72) 5-0 1800 1 South Atlantic Conference 2. Mobile Maritime 8-0 1723 2 South Atlantic Conference 3. St. Patrick's 10-1 1647 4 Indy Northeast 4. North Carolina Tech 9-1 1589 5 South Atlantic Conference 5. Annapolis Maritime 9-1 1517 8 Indy South 6. Great Plains State 11-2 1413 15 Indy Midwest 7. CC Los Angeles 5-1 1335 14 West Coast Athletic Association 8. Western Florida 5-1 1292 3 Deep South Conference 9. St. Blane 10-2 1229 18 Indy East 10. Rainier College 4-1 1113 17 West Coast Athletic Association 11. Miami State 9-1 1101 20 Indy South 12. Coastal State 8-2 890 9 South Atlantic Conference 13. Brooklyn State 5-2 869 13 Liberty Conference 14. Mississippi A&M 8-2 791 7 Deep South Conference 15. Bluegrass State 6-1 744 12 Deep South Conference 16. Liberty College 9-2 735 10 Indy East 17. Chesapeake State 6-2 606 NR South Atlantic Conference 18. Garden State 8-2 547 NR Liberty Conference 19. Central Ohio 7-2 481 NR Great Lakes Alliance 20. Western Iowa 3-2 481 NR Great Lakes Alliance 21. Wisconsin State 3-1 412 NR Great Lakes Alliance 22. Bigsby College 4-1 380 NR Liberty Conference 23. Lincoln 4-2 260 NR Great Lakes Alliance 24. St. Pancras 9-2 153 19 Indy East 25. Piedmont University 9-2 100 6 Indy South Others Receiving Votes: Chicago Poly 6-2 76 Indy Midwest St. Gordius 7-2 45 Eastern Six Plover College 8-2 24 Indy Midwest Conwell College 6-2 18 Indy East Rome State 7-2 13 Indy South St. Magnus 6-2 6 Great Lakes Alliance Brooklyn Catholic 6-2 5 Liberty Conference Alabama Baptist 5-2 4 Deep South Conference Eastern Oklahoma 4-2 1 Midwestern Association RESULTS INVOLVING RANKED TEAMS MONDAY DECEMBER 11 #13 Brooklyn State 45 Eastern Virginia 40 Allentown State 37 #25 Piedmont University 36 TUESDAY DECEMBER 12 #2 Mobile Maritime 57 Capital(MS) University 54 #3 St Patrick's 48 Detroit City College 40 #4 North Carolina Tech 54 Ferguson 40 #5 Annapolis Maritime 48 Manhattan Tech 30 #7 CC Los Angeles 40 Quaker College(CA) 31 #11 Miami State 48 Portland Tech 37 #15 Bluegrass State 47 Central Illinois 36 WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 13 #9 St Blane 54 Pierpont 44 #12 Coastal State 66 Alabama Gulf Coast 37 Grafton 38 #13 Brooklyn State 24 Glover(GA) 41 #14 Mississippi A&M 40 #19 Central Ohio 54 Topeka State 37 THURSDAY DECEMBER 14 #2 Mobile Maritime 54 Georgia Baptist 48 #4 North Carolina Tech 53 College of Cairo 42 #5 Annapolis Maritime 58 Jersey City Tech 49 #11 Miami State 65 Canton State 53 #23 Lincoln 52 Arkansas A&T 43 Smithfield College 32 #24 St Pancras 31 FRIDAY DECEMBER 15 #10 Rainier College 45 Three Rivers State 32 #13 Brooklyn State 44 Eastern Kansas 43 #19 Central Ohio 44 Frankford State 38 Brandywine 60 #25 Piedmont University 56 SATURDAY DECEMBER 16 #18 Garden State 40 #16 Liberty College 35 #20 Western Iowa 54 Texas Gulf Coast 40 #24 St Pancras 40 Meade 28 SUNDAY DECEMBER 17 #5 Annapolis Maritime 59 Conwell College 50 #6 Great Plains State 45 Oklahoma City State 30 #11 Miami State 47 #12 Coastal State 38 #17 Chesapeake State 49 Frankford State 41 #19 Central Ohio 61 Rose Point(PA) 43 The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 12/17/1944 The heaviest German counteroffensive of the Western campaign, was launched over the weekend. Co-ordinated with a savage V-bomb barrage, Nazi forces rolled through the American 1st army lines to depth of several miles, punching through into Belgium and Luxembourg at three points along a fluid, 70-mile battlefront. Reports from the Soviet front indicate the remaining Nazi forces in Budapest are evacuating the Hungarian capital under a storm of Russian bombs and shells. American tanks and infantry rammed ahead more than two miles to the western outskirts of the Roer River bastion of Duren, just 20 miles southwest of Cologne. Hope for an early compromise settlement of the Greek Civil War faded as bloody street fighting in Athens entered it's second week with some 20,000 well-armed leftist troops still sniping and shelling British and Greek Government positions in the heart of the capital. American B-29 bombers continued their attack on Tokyo for well over a week straight, prompting mass evacuations of the Japanese capital. Prime Minister Churchill endorsed the Soviet Union's claim to a postwar "buffer state" carved out of eastern Poland and tactfully invited the United States to make public its stand on the explosive Russo-Polish dispute. Thousands of men over age 30 prepare for draft notices, as new regulations for Selective Service come into effect. __________________ Lead Columnist of The Figment Sporting Journal The Scripture of Sports

12-09-2022, 01:12 PM	#584
Jiggs McGee All Star Reserve Join Date: Dec 2019 Posts: 677	December 25, 1944: Special Christmas Day Hall of Fame Edition DECEMBER 25, 1945 BALL HALL WELCOMES SIX NEW MEMBERS A very special Christmas for six FABL greats of the past as Santa Claus -played convincingly in this case by Veteran's Committee head John Brinker- delivered the gift of Hall of Fame induction to the following former FABL stars: Bill Craigen, Jim Golden, Jim Jones, Jimmy Massey, Fred Roby and Bill Temple. The sextet of stars are the first additions to baseball's shrine, located in Boone County, IL., since Thomas Watkins and Jefferson Edgerton were added in January of 1942. The new additions bring the total number of inductees to 26, including 22 as players, 2 primarily as a managers and 2 executives. BILL CRAIGEN (1899-1917: New York Stars and Philadelphia Keystones) The Wahoo, Nebraska native would make his big league debut with the New York Stars at the tender age of 19 and led the Continental Association in triples that season with a record (since broken) 42. He would lead his league in three-baggers 7 times and his 381 career triples is third behind only fellow Hall of Famers Joe Ward and John Dibblee. He would also top the CA in homers (3 times), hits (twice) rbi's (5 times) and runs once while winning the 1906 Continental Association batting title. In all 'Wahoo Willie' amassed 2,906 career hits -13th best in FABL history- and helped lead the New York Stars to 3 World Championships and 4 pennants. Craigen's star shone brightest in October and in addition to winning the 1902 WCS MVP award he remains the career leader in WCS total bases and is top ten in a number of categories including batting average (.398), hits (37) and triples, where his 11 WCS triples are 6 more than any other player has ever accumulated. After 14 seasons with the Stars, Craigen was dealt to the Philadelphia Keystones prior to the 1913 campaign. He would spend 5 seasons with the Keystones and record his 2,500 career hit in a Philadelphia uniform. He was not done in New York, however, as in 1920 Craigen returned to the Stars as their manager and would hold that position for 19 years, winning 4 more World Championship Series titles including guiding the only team ever to win three straight - the 1924-26 Stars. Craigen joins fellow Hall of Famers Edward Wakeham and George Theobald as the only men to manage 4 teams to WCS victory and his 1,512 career regular season wins as a manager is 6th most all-time. Craigen would end his baseball career with two seasons as a coach for the Cleveland Foresters but he will be forever linked to the New York Stars. JIM GOLDEN (1909-1920: Detroit Dynamos) It was a long wait for the now 55 year old Golden, who had come close several times in previous Hall of Fame ballots before finally making it this time around -and he did so in fine fashion as the only one of the six new inductees to be an unanimous choice. Golden did not pitch past age 31 because of a career-ending back injury but still managed to win 269 games and a record 8 more in World Championship Series play. His career ended before the Allen Award was created otherwise he would have had a handful of them. As it stands Golden did win 2 Whitney Awards, something only one other pitcher in Rube Smith of the 1924 Sailors ever accomplished. After his playing days, Golden would spend a decade as the Brooklyn Kings assistant Generals Manager. For more on his amazing career he is a reprint of a 1935 TWIFB article on the Golden boys. THE GOLDEN ARMS OF MANDEVILLE, LOUISIANA Tiny Mandeville, Louisiana was best known as being a resort hangout for the New Orleans middle class since it's creation in the mid 1800s. While today Mandeville boasts a population of over 12,000 in 1900 there were barely 1,000 residents but two of them would go on to become pretty good FABL pitchers. Jim (1909-20) and Rip (1913-22) Golden combined for 417 FABL victories, 5 World Championship rings and 2 Whitney Awards of the course of their careers. Each began playing semi-pro ball for local teams in nearby Hammond, Louisiana before being discovered by FABL scouts. The call came for Jim first, despite the fact he was 4 years younger than Rip, as the Detroit Dynamos signed him after witnessing him pitching for Hammond against a New Orleans club in 1908. He would go directly from the semi-pro circuit to the big leagues and did so with a bang. Rip, meanwhile, had been nursing a broken leg suffered that spring while working on the steamships that ferryed back and forth across Lake Pontchartrain between New Orleans and Mandeville, so he did not catch the attention of Detroit scouts. In fact it would not be until 1912 when Rip was finally signed by the Chicago Chiefs as a 26 year old and his big league debut would come the following season. In Rip's final year with the Hammond ballclub he showed some of the skills that would later lead him to becoming a pitching coach as he mentored a then 16 year old Johnny Taylor before Taylor went on to pitch for St Blane University and spend 5 years in the big leagues himself. By 1913 when Rip was preparing for his big league debut in Chicago, younger brother Jim was already a FABL veteran. Jim took the Federal Association by storm in 1909 when as a mere 20 year old he would win 23 games and then add two more victories in the World Championship Series to lead Detroit past Toronto for it's first of 5 FABL titles for the franchise. Jim was named the Most Valuable Player of the 1909 series and would play a key role for 4 more pennant winning Detroit squads, finishied with an 8-3 career postseason record to go with a 1.97 era and 4 World Championship rings. He would follow up his rookie season with two more twenty-win campaigns including a league best 29-13 in 1911 but he was just getting started. 1913, the year Rip debuted in Chicago, Jim was named the Whitney Award winner as Most Valuable Player of the Federal Association after posting a league best 31 victories. Jim would win a second Whitney Award in 1916, when he went 35-9 and led Detroit to the first of three World Championships in a four year span. Only Mike Marner, with 36 for Baltimore in 1908, won more games in a single season since the turn of the century than Jim Golden's total that year. Jim Golden remains to this day the all-time leader in career World Championship games won and only Woody Trease has pitched in more than the 100 World Championship Series innings that Golden has tossed. (editor's note-Jim Lonardo has since surpassed Golden's 100 WCS innings worked.) Code: Code: WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP GAMES WON (updated to end of 1944) 1 Jim Golden 8 1909-19 Detroit 2 Rabbit Day 7 1927-44 NYG, CHI, CIN 2 Jim Lonardo# 7 1928-44 NYG, CHI, CHC 2 Woody Trease 7 1902-11 Boston/Detroit 2 Charlie Wilson 7 1893-1901 Gothams/Sailors/Cleveland 6 Morris Harris 6 1893-1902 Gothams/Cougars/Stars 7 Tom Barrell# 5 1932-44 CHC, BKN, PIT, CIN 7 Bill Ross 5 1920-36 Cougars/Keystones 9 Allan Allen 4 1895-1904 Cougars/Toronto 9 John Bigness 4 1899-1906 Cougars/Boston 9 Mike Marner 4 1907-14 Baltimore 9 Bill McDaniel 4 1902-05 Boston 9 Joe Myres 4 1919-21 Montreal 9 Dick Richards 4 1924-35 Stars 9 Luke Smith 4 1924-25 Stars 9 Ed Wood# 4 1932-44 Cleveland/Boston # still active As mentioned Jim led Detroit to 3 World Championships in a 4 year span starting in 1916. The one season the Dynamos did not win, 1917, the title went to the Chicago Chiefs, who had finished second to Detroit the previous season. Pitching for the Chiefs in that period was, of course, Jim's big brother Rip. In 1917 Rip was the number four starter for the Chiefs but he did win 13 games that year. Rip had an equally impressive debut as his brother - although he was 27 at the time - going 25-15 with a league leading 2.03 era in 1913. It would prove to be the best season of his career as he never again won twenty but did post a 148-158 record over 10 seasons with the Chiefs and Pittsburgh before retiring as a player at the age of 38 after spending a year in the minor leagues. Jim, on the other hand, was a legend in Detroit, where he won 269 games and spent his entire career, one that had a tragic early end when at the age of 31 in 1920 he suffered a back injury that he would not return from. Both brothers remain active in the game after their playing days. Jim Golden has been the assistant General Manager of the Brooklyn Kings for the past seven years while Rip briefly managed an independent team in the Great West League before joining the St Louis Pioneers organization as a pitching coach for their AAA affiliate in Hartford. It is believed the pair are the most successful pitching brother act in FABL and perhaps surpassed as a baseball family only by the legendary Barrell's, although Jim has witnessed first hand the rise of another pair of ball playing brothers from a small town in Louisiana as outfielders Doug and Frank Lightbody may one day surpass the Golden's as the premier baseball family of Louisiana. JIM JONES (1879-1904: Cleveland Cuyahogas, Brooklyn Unions, Providence Gems, Chicago Chiefs, Detroit Dynamos, Toronto Provincials, St Louis Pioneers) I am not sure if we will ever have a Hall of Famer who played with more big league teams than Jim Jones did over his 21 year career. A big part of that is he spent the majority of his career in the pre-FABL days with the Detroit Dynamos being the FABL team he played for the most. You could say his career came full circle as Jones -a towering first baseman for his day who was known as The Big Steam Engine- was born just 20-odd miles away from the eventual site of the Hall of Fame. He hails from tiny Woodstock, Il., and would go on to win 6 batting titles and 3 Century League championships in the days before FABL existed. He has to be considered one of the best hitters in the pre-FABL era, rapping out 2,786 career hits just 2,187 games. The early days of the sport saw a much shorter schedule otherwaide Jones would have easily surpassed the 3,000 mark for his career. Jones never played in a World Championship Series but did win three Century League titles with the Providence Gems prior to the formation of FABL. He began his career in 1879 and at the age of 46 made a 1 game appearance for the Detroit Dynamos in 1904, making him one of the few ever to play in 4 different decades. JIMMY MASSEY ( 1893-1907: Cleveland) The Brooklyn native joined the Cleveland Foresters in 1893 and would spend his entire 14 year career on the shores of Lake Erie teaming most of that time with fellow Hall of Famer Jack Arabian. The duo made their only WCS appearance as teammates in 1901 but would fall to a Pittsburgh team that was in the Series each of the previous three years. Massey would lead the Continental Association in hits three times, amassing 2,660 of them in his career, and won a pair of batting titles including his amazing .431 average in 1897, a total only surpassed once in history by Hall of Famer Powell Slocum in 1913. He and Arabian each have had their numbers retired by the Foresters - a tribute reserved for just 4 players with, perhaps surprisingly, Max Morris not being one of them. FRED ROBY (1888-1910: Philadelphia Keystones, Philadelphia Maroons, Boston, Chicago Chiefs, New York Gothams) A native of Cranston, "The Rhode Island Ripper" could hit like few others. Counting his days in the short-lived Players League, Roby amassed 3,026 career hits and posted a lifetime .321 batting average. His greated season was 1894 when he won the Federal Association triple crown by hitting .416 with 19 homers and 142 rbi's, preceeding future Keystone greats Rankin Kellogg and Bobby Barrell as triple crown winners. Roby never played in a World Championship Series and spent most of his career on second-division clubs with his lone championship coming in the initial season of FABL -one year before the first WCS was played. Like current Keystones star Bobby Barrell with Kellogg, Roby had a Hall of Fame mentor and long-time teammate in the legendary Zebulon Banks and he now joins Banks and Kellogg in Boone County with Barrell sure to join the great Keystones trio at some point. BILL TEMPLE (1899-1911: New York Stars, Detroit, Boston) Like fellow pitcher Jim Golden, Bill Temple has been on the cusp of induction into the Hall of Fame for several years. Temple was possibly the most talented pitcher ever to play the sport and one is left to wonder just what he could have accomplished if he lasted past the age of 34. Like Golden, Temple had his career cut short although in Temple's case it was entirely his own doing as he battled demons, and alcoholism his entire career. Despite that he still managed to win the pitching triple crown once and led his league in strikeouts each of the first 7 years of his career. Temple made his debut with the New York Stars in 1899 and won at least 20 games each of his first ten seasons in the league. He would spend four years in New York before moving on to the Detroit Dynamos and then ending his career with a stop in Boston. His lifetime record was 284-230 and he won a pair of World Championship rings, going 2-2 in WCS play. The sad thing is as good as Temple was - and many consider him to be the greatest lefthander of all-time, he could have been so much better. Temple was a raging alcoholic and his frequent drunken antics - some of them on the field during games - kept him in hot water and prompted both the Stars and Dynamos to part ways with him. Despite all of his troubles, Temple still managed to to lead his association in strikeouts the first 7 seasons of his career and his lifetime total of 3131 k's is surpassed only by Hall of Famer Charlie Sis. Temple also is one of just 3 pitchers to throw multiple no-hitters, joining John Blackburn and Doc Newell. COUGARS ADD VETERAN MAYHUGH TO PLUG HOLE AT THIRD In an effort to fill the giant hole left at the hot corner in the infield at Cougars Park following the departure of seven time All-Star third baseman Hank Barnett, the Chicago Cougars have acquired Ken Mayhugh from Pittsburgh. The 33 year old Mayhugh is not expected to make up for Barnett but is a former all-star himself, appearing in the 1937 game. In return, the Miners will receive minor league infielder Johnny Bunce, a 26 year old who split last season between AA and AAA. The much travelled Mayhugh will be joining his sixth big league team and has played 931 career FABL games, but has not been an everyday player since 1939 when he suited up for the then-Baltimore Cannons. A 1932 second round draft selection of Brooklyn's out of Liberty College in 1932, Mayhugh's best season was as a 24 year old in 1936 when he hit .344 with 11 homeruns for the Boston Minutemen. Last year, his only season in Pittsburgh, Mayhugh hit .250 in 42 games for the Miners. This marks the fourth time he has been traded and was also claimed on waivers twice. TREASE SUFFERS SETBACK Bad news for Lyn Trease as the Chicago Cougars rookie hurler has learned he will need well over another year to recover from an elbow injury suffered last August. The 24 year old, who is about as close to baseball royalty as you can get with a Hall of Fame father in Woody and a legendary grandfather in 1880s star catcher Link Trease, has been plagued by injuries throughout his career but looked very impressive in 12 relief appearances for the Cougars last season. He was originally a 4th round pick ou of a San Francisco High School in 1938 by the Brooklyn Kings before joining the Cougars in last year's rule five draft. Doctors say he will not be able to attempt to pitch again until spring training1946. DIAMOND-GRID SKIRMISH HAS NEW BATTLE FRONT The growing feud between the baseball magnates and the American Football Association just had some more fire doused on it as Brooklyn Kings owner Daniel Prescott is reportedly refusing to give the gridiron Kings ownership group, which includes Eugene Weston -the man who sold the baseball Kings to Prescott- more than a one year contract to rent Kings County Ballpark. Some AFA sources are saying it is part of an effort by Prescott to force the struggling grid Kings out of Brooklyn entirely. Truth be told the football squad may not need Prescott's prodding as the club is already said to be in financial difficulty after a dreadful 1-9 season and a 3-17 mark over the past two years. The grid Kings have been in a downward spiral ever since former coach John Brainard left for the Navy shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Recently FABL President Sam Belton, under the direction of the baseball magnates, passed a mandate prohibiting the use of any FABL stadium by a grid team -pro or college- until there were no more games scheduled at that part that could have an impact on a pennant race. The move, which will affect many AFA preseason games and likely some regular season tilts as well, was prompted after a Chicago Wildcats exhibition game played in the rain last September tore up Whitney Field so badly that a Chiefs game against the Pittsburgh Miners the following day nearly had to be postponed. Prescott has his own feud with the AFA beyond the stadium issue. He was reportedly extremely upset when the grid owners -spurred on by the football Stars and Kings magnates- refused his bid last spring to field a second New York club for the 1944 season. Prescott felt with both Gothams Stadium and Dyckman Stadium available and a rapid fan base in the city the additional New York entry made perfect sense to fill the league's need for a 10th team last season but the AFA President Jack Kristich, under pressure from New York (Football) Stars owner Erasmus Scott, denied the request on the grounds of not favoring club owners with interests in other professional sports. It is rumored this was a straw horse and the reason was simply Scott's refusal to countenance direct competition beyond the already existing Brooklyn (Football) Kings despite the city of New York possessing not just one, but two potential venues for Prescott's prospective entry. Prescott eventually did became a minority AFA owner, along with Cincinnati Cannons boss John Tice, as the duo was secretly involved in the Cincinnati Tigers expansion entry which was headed by Tice's long-time business partner Edward Chiles but there are some hypothesizing the long-term plan of the group is to see the Tigers franchise eventually land in New York. __________________ Lead Columnist of The Figment Sporting Journal The Scripture of Sports

12-12-2022, 01:31 PM	#585
Jiggs McGee All Star Reserve Join Date: Dec 2019 Posts: 677	January 1, 1945 JANUARY 1, 1945 CANNONS, PIONEERS MAKE MAJOR DEAL The Cincinnati Cannons are clearly 'All-In' with their quest for a third straight World Championship Series title after adding two more veterans from the St Louis Pioneers in a move that saw a pair of first round draft selections in this month's FABL rookie draft head west. The full deal sends talented but injury prone 33 year old centerfielder Gail Gifford and 36 year old righthander Sam Sheppard to the Cannons in exchange for two first round draft picks (Cincinnati's and the one the Cannons previously acquired from Boston) along with AAA pitcher Bobby Horner and minor league outfielder Dutch Peters, who is presently serving in the Army. The key to the deal for the Cannons is Gifford. The 3-time all-star hit .317 with a Federal Association leading 26 stolen bases last season but has missed substantial time each of the past two seasons with various injuries. Cincinnati will be hoping he can stay healthy and take over the lead-off role in the line-up from Bob Griffith, who was called to military service in November. Sheppard is a former Allen Award winner who had a tough 6-17 season a year ago but won 21 games the previous season and the Cannons are confident he can fill a spot in the bottom half of their rotation. It is clearly another win-now move by a Cincinnati club that has loaded up on veterans the past couple of seasons and had that move pay off with back to back World titles. The Pioneers are headed for another rebuild with the deal but after a last place finish a year ago this gives them a jump start on young talent with a potential pay off similar to what the Detroit Dynamos accumulated with their 4 first rounders a year ago. The Pioneers have 3 first round selections and Peters gives them a solid corner outfield prospect when the war ends. Cannons Make CA Title Tougher For the Wolves in 1945 A trade between St. Louis and Cincinnati over the Christmas season has changed the landscape in the CA just as thoughts of Spring Training are beginning to stir in the minds of all baseball fans. The Cannons got a present under their tree from Santa Claus in the form of 3 time All-Star P Sam Sheppard, 36, CF Gail Gifford, 33, also a selection to the mid-summer classic three times. The cost was high as the Pioneers, with a definite look to the future, acquire two late first round picks in the upcoming draft plus OF Dutch Peters who is currently serving, along with P Bobby Horner. When asked about the trade there were a number of comments from from Toronto management. A front office insider, who spoke under the condition of anonymity, said "This is nothing new for that GM we saw it constantly when he was in Brooklyn. All moves are generally focused on the short term, draft picks and younger players with potential are pieces to moved around the chess board for the FABL team. Our scouting department feels that Peters, 24, will be an above average OF if the time in the Army has not diminished his skills over the last 2 years. Horner, 32, should be able to fulfill a role as an innings eater while the Pioneers wait on development of some younger pitchers. If St. Louis hits the jackpot on either or both draft picks this already formidable team with be a pennant contender every season for the foreseeable future. Cincinnati's acquisition of Sheppard, the first overall selection by Detroit in 1931, should strengthen the Cannons' rotation if he can return to his 1943 form after a disappointing 1944. Gifford a career .300 hitter who will not hurt the team in the OF, but is prone to the strikeout. He will be a short term asset if he can overcome his recent injury history. When asked if the Wolves were planning a move to counter this trade the same insider said "We are always looking to improve the product in Toronto, we do not make specific moves in response to other teams trades. This season is especially complicated by the uncertainty going on in the war. George Garrison has already returned, the recent reports of the Battle of the Bulge has now probably delayed the return of more players from the European theatre, no one knows how long the fighting will go on in the Pacific. Our plans now are to set up the entire organization with what we know we have then make adjustments if players return from this seemingly unending nightmare. Our philosophy is somewhat different than the Cannons, we rely on our scouting department to provide an unending stream of players trying to challenge for a spot on the big league roster only moving prospects in trades in extreme circumstances. The great unknown of when the war will end forces all FABL teams to have several different plans for 1945, 1946 and beyond; the phones were ringing off the hook before Christmas with teams willing to trade picks in the upcoming draft. Those teams seem to feel players will be returning in the immediate future. When Manager Bob Call was asked about the trade he said "Playing the Cannons with a possible rotation of Rufus Barrell II, Butch Smith, Sam Sheppard, Jim Crawford and Tom Barrell will be a challenge but I feel the Wolves are up to the task. Do not forget the teams in Chicago, Philadelphia were in the race at some point last season. Montreal, the Stars, Cleveland, Brooklyn all have teams that are formidable, we cannot worry about one team we just play the schedule as it comes hoping to have a pennant when the dust settles in September." THE FUTURE IS NOW FOR CANNONS There is no off-season when it comes to the Cincinnati Cannons as the club made another major deal. They are certainly the oldest team in baseball now with the addition of 33 year old outfielder Gail Gifford and 36 year old pitcher Sam Sheppard. Between them the duo own 6 all-star game appearances and an Allen Award. There are questions about both but they certainly apprear -at least at this juncture- to have solved the Cannons needs following the latest scalpel work done by Selective Service to cut appendages off the Cincinnati championship machine. Gifford will become the third all-star to patrol centerfield at Tice Memorial Stadium in 3 years following Bob Griffith, who took over for Fred Galloway when Galloway left for the Coast Guard. Griffith is in the Army now so the Cannons dipped into their future once more to bring Gifford over from the Pioneers. Gifford, 33, is coming off an all-star season when he hit .317 and looks to be the perfect replacement for Griffith at the top of the Cincinnati batting order. The worry is durability. Gifford has missed substantial time the past few seasons and the Cannons are gambling he can play 120 games in center for them this year. Sheppard also has a lot of question marks. The 36 year old was one of the best pitchers in the game a decade ago, and won an Allen Award after a 28 win season in 1935. He fell out of favour in St Louis -and his poor work ethic and questionable attitude did not help- but then he had a resurgence in 1943 when he won 21 games and finished third in Allen Award voting. Last year was a down year, but the same can be said about the entire Pioneers club, so Cannons brass is hopeful he can pitch somewhere in between his outstanding 1943 season and subpar 1944 campaign. If he can, Sheppard will be a more than adequate replacement for Chris Clarke, who also departed to join the war effort. * Cannons Look to Special Achievement * The future might be a big problem but the Cannons brass is clearly 100% focused on doing something that has only been accomplished once before in FABL history - winning three straight World Championship Series. Assistant General Manager Red Franklin summed up the clubs approach very succinctly, "Winning three in a row would be a special achievement. We are going to do our best to accomplish it and we will handle whatever the future deals us when the time comes. Plus," Franklin added with a twinkle in his eye, "who says we are done dealing yet." 1944 IN REVIEW IT HAD ITS UPS AND DOWNS, BUT '44 WAS A YEAR TO REMEMBER IN SPORTS Despite it being another year where many of the star athletes from all sports were away from the game and focused on the war effort, 1944 was still a banner year for sports. It was one filled with great performances, incredible suprises and immense disappointments. The year began with a surprise National Collegiate football champion in Wisconsin Catholic finishing off a perfect season with a New Year's Day win over Northern California in the East-West Classic. That victory capped a completely unexpected run to the AIAA title for the Cavaliers and a performance by a mid-level team that might never again be duplicated. January also gave us the FABL draft and perhaps the early stages in the building of a dynasty in Detroit after the Dynamos- having traded Red Johnson to the Gothams- were starting over with four of the first nine draft selections and 6 in the top 18. Detroit would also go on to enjoy a surprisingly good season, defying many of the so-called experts with a second place finish in the Federal Association. As winter turned to spring we received positive news from the play-for-pay grid group as the American Football Association announced it would return to ten teams after dropping to 8 due to war-related roster shortages the previous year. It brought a return of football to the nation's capital after a one-year sabatical for the Wasps and a brand new entry in the Cincinnati Tigers. The news was not all good in Cincinnati during the spring as two-time Allen Award winner Deuce Barrell suffered a season ending elbow injury in March and would miss the entire season. The Barrell injury combined with losing reigning Whitney Award winner Adam Mullins to the war effort seemed to put an end to thoughts of a second straight World Championship Series win for Ad Doria's charges. April brought us a second straight collegiate cage title for Rainier College thanks to a memorable 27 point effort in the championship game from AIAA Player of the Year Gary Harrison to lead the Majestics past Annapolis Maritime. April also marked the beginning of perhaps the best two months of baseball ever played by a FABL ballclub as the Chicago Cougars raced out to a record setting start to the Continental Association season only to suddenly fall apart, and suffer possibly the greatest collapse in FABL history in the second half. After the All-star game, which was a dandy and won 1-0 by the Fed, the Cincinnati Cannons got hot and -following a colossal deadline deal with the Chicago Chiefs to acquire Rabbit Day and Tom Bird- the Cannons rolled to a second straight pennant. Meanwhile the Federal Association was a dogfight all season long before the Philadelphia Keystones -led by one of the best offensive seasons ever recorded courtesy of Bobby Barrell- emerged as the winners. Barrell would be an unanimous choice as the Federal Association Whitney winner but he and his mates could not get past a Cannons team - one aided by a comeback season from Bobby's big brother Tom Barrell on the mound- and the Cannons prevailed in a dramatic World Championship Series that went the distance for the third year in a row. Autumn gave baseball fans plenty of bad news with Rabbit Day's retirement announcement after 18 seasons and 321 career victories, plus the loss of many more star players to the war effort. The tide was turning in the war -which was the greatest news of all this year- and it meant there was at least a slow trickle of athletes returing to the professional sporting scene. And not just in baseball. World Heavyweight Champion Hector Sawyer was discharged from the Army in December and will return to the ring to defend his title in February of 1945. We have had a World Title Fight for the first time in nearly four years as Archie Rees defended his Middleweight crown before 20,000 soldiers in England with a 13th round knockout of former champ Jorge Cuellar. That bout seemed to drive home the fact that there was indeed an end in sight, and the world could hopefully soon return to a sense of normalcy. Football gave us a mighty Rome State team - perhaps one of the best in collegiate history- led by their backfield All-American duo of sophomores Gus Thompson and Chet Donelson. The pro game gave us the emergence of Billy Bockhorst - the 1942 Christian Trophy winner at Noble Jones College- as a dual threat quarterback in Pittsburgh, the dominance of New York Stars running back Jerrry McElheny and the Philadelphia Frigates defensive backfield. It also gave us the swan song of Stan Vaught - the great Detroit end who almost singlehandedly was responsible for the new reliance on the passing game. Unfortunately for Detroit fans there was no celebration to go along with Vaught's trip off in to the sunset, as the Philadelphia Frigates defense -with 6 interceptions- was just too strong for Vaught's Maroons in the championship game. 1945 promises to be a banner year, with hopes that much of the world -sporting and otherwise- will return to normal. There are many great things expected in the year ahead including two brand new professional football leagues, world championship boxing and perhaps even the return to the game of many of the FABL stars who -like the rest of us- have had our focus in a different direction for so much of this decade. TALES FROM THE WOLVES DEN Let's see if we can put together a roster of the greatest players who have donned a Wolves uniform through their 63 year history. It will give you, the reader, something else to debate over the Christmas season rather than the events of WWII which has now dimmed the last six Christmas seasons in Canada. I have searched old copies of the Mail & Empire for stories about the early days. Although they are not numerous they do provide some stories of bygone years and players. To compile this list the writer also talked to old time fans and reporters about the early days in an attempt to gain insight on the 19th and early 20th Century teams. This Mail & Empire article is meant to spark conversation, it is one man's list. Comments will be welcome from the fans, reporters all throughout the FABL. First of brief franchise history: 1882-91: The team began as the Provincials in the Border Association. After winning the championship the inaugural season the Provincials never again came close to a second championship season. Overall record (10 seasons) 514-701 Best Finish 1st 1882 Worst Finish 8th 1890, 1891 1892-99: Toronto joins the FABL after the decline of the Border Association that is well chronicled by other reporters. The team replaces the Provincials nickname becoming known as the Wolves in 1899. FABL holds its first World Series between the Federal and Continental Association pennant winner in 1893 after the demise of the Border Association. Toronto recovers after a mid-decade slump to win the first franchise title in 1898. Overall record (8 seasons) 525-582 (.474) Best Finish 1st, win World Series 1898 Worst Finish 8th 1893, 1895, 1896 1900-1909: Most successful decade in terms of winning percentage for the team. NY Stars are the most successful CA team, Boston Minuteman win five pennants consecutively fashion in the Fed. Start of the big two era for Toronto Allen, Sis then hope to hang on until they can pitch again for the Wolves. Julious begins his four decade career as a manager. Overall Record 869-669 (.565) Best Finish 1st, lost World Series in both 1904 and 1909 Worst Finish 7th 1906, 1907 1910-1919: Wolves begin a rapid decline after a title in 1911. One wonders how bad it would have been without Allen and Sis. CA sees the rise then decline of many teams only the Clippers repeat as pennant winners. FA also has a competitive decade Detroit are the only winners back to back. Overall Record 645-712 (.457) Best Finish 1st, win World Series 1911 Worst Finish 7th, 1917 1920-1929: Another decade of misery for Toronto fans, finish no higher than third after Allen and Sis hang up the cleats. CA sees the Stars win three in a row mid-decade with the Philadelphia Sailors becoming dominate at the end of the Roaring Twenties. FA has no repeat pennant winners. Overall Record 657-816 (.446) Best Finish 3rd, 1926, 1927 Worst Finish 8th, 1921, 1922, 1923 1930-39: Worst decade winning percentage in Toronto. Light appears on the horizon after the acquisition of McCormick, Howerton in 1938. Garrison, Hancock drafted. CA sees many classic battles between Cleveland Foresters, Brooklyn Kings go down to the wire. FA has NY Gothams win four pennants, Philadelphia Keystones win back to back in 1932-33. Overall Record 657-875 (.430) Best Finish 2nd 1938 Worst Finish 8th 1932, 1933 1940-44: Toronto led by Fred McCormick wins title in 1940 as draft picks from the lean years populate the lineup. WWII changes the entire landscape. All FABL teams are confronted with manpower changes necessitated by players going off to serve their country. Overall Record 411-359 (.540) Best Finish 1st 1940, won World Series Worst Finish 5th 1941, 1942 ALL-TIME TORONTO WOLVES TEAM C: Jake Ebner- Catching over the years has never been a strong position for the team. Ebner started 696 games for the Wolves 1909-15, the New Orleans, LA native compiled a career .262/..358/.317 with 235 RBI. Ebner's highlight was leading the league in BB in 87 in 1909. Current catcher Clarence Howerton could be considered for this position but he only came north at age 28 had he spent his entire career with the Wolves he would probably easily replace Ebner once he decides to hang up the cleats. 1B: Bill Harris- A position that was adequately manned over the years but with no one standout. Harris started 1048 games in Toronto 1909-16 this Crosse, WI product put up consistent, but not spectacular, numbers finishing with .292/.350/.426 520 RBI in 1109 games. Harris will be easily replaced on this list if and when Fred McCormick returns from the current conflict with even a modest decline in skills after leaving in 1941. McCormick's issue is the lack of time in a Toronto uniform, he has only spent three full seasons in Toronto, but what seasons they were for the fans. McCormick has a line of .360/.455/.570 in 477 games. At age 35 already can he be considered an all-time team great if he does not put up at least a few more above average seasons? Walter Pack also has shown the potential to be considered for this honour if he can return to his 1943 performance. 2B: John Partain- Partain's was tremendous second baseman robbing countless hits from the opposition. No telling how many games, big innings he literally saved for the Wolves. Spent entire 15 year career in Toronto 1900-15 starter 1902-10, native of Philadelphia, PA was also no slouch at the plated finishing with .287/.333/.380 604 RBI over 6103 times at the plate. Current players Hal Wood, Mike Rollinson look to have more offensive contribution but neither have anywhere close to the fielding prowess of Partain. Either Wood or Rollinson would have both up their game with the bat and improve significantly in the field to even be considered as a replacement for Partain on this list. 3B: Ossie Julious- Brett had difficulty here due to Julious' relatively short career in Canada 1897-1906 after coming from the Gothams in spring training 1897, Oyster Bay, NY started 821 games .327/.450/.408 402 RBI. The decision was to include him because "How do you not include a member of the Hall of Fame?" . A close second was Charlie Nabb who was a starter for entire 17-year career in Toronto, Brett thought a line of .277/.338/.360 over 9276 times in the batter's box deserved at least some consideration for this team. Nabb was also another defensive gem taking away sure hits off the bat into LF. It was as though Ockie Holliday when he was drafted he would challenge for this honour after his retirement, he will have to have a number of high performance seasons, his first 4 years as a starter have been lackluster for the this highly touted 1937 draft pick. SS: Al Stout-The second half of the middle infield double duo, balls on the ground to the middle of the infield rarely made it on to the OF grass. Friendship, ME native spent 9 years in Toronto starting from 1909-15 in 1072 games .275/.361/..391 377 RBI. Stout and Partain kept the Wolves close in many games with the starting pitcher's best friend, the double play, during the first half of the second decade of the 20th Century. Charlie Artuso may eventually be brought into the conversation in the future. He was the first overall pick in 1934, he has already held down the starting SS job for 7 years at age 29. LF: Jeff Greene- Greene is oldest player Brett selected his team. LF has not been a position of power over the life of the franchise. Only in Toronto 1891-97 put up .306/.389/.435 with 94 triples 457 RBI for this native of Pittsburgh, PA. At this position there is room for replacement. Can someone like Juan Pomales with his two-way abilities have a career that would vault him to all-time status? CF: Freddie Malley- If LF has never been a real position of strength CF has not been any better over the years. This Ledyard, CT native was the best of a substandard bunch, steady but not spectacular .270/.324/.392 682 RBI over a 12 year career, all in Toronto. With the players in CF for today's Wolves there is definitely room for one on this team. Will Stickels stay long enough in Toronto to be considered for a Wolves team? Will Tom Frederick continue his promising play when he finally returns from overseas service? RF: Rich Rowley- While the other two outfield positions has no obvious choice that was not the problem in right. Rowley, a Bedford, TX native spent entire 11 year career in Toronto .328/.402/.450 702 702 RBI. In ten years as a starter he led the league in RBI during 1899 with 116. In the days where field conditions were nowhere today's standards Rowley was an above average fielder at his position. Any of the current players at this position have a long way to go before they are even in the conversation to replace Rowley. P: Allan Allen- Toronto only has three former players in the Hall so you cannot leave anyone off the team. Allen is a legendary name, the current Pitcher of the Year award is named in after him, he spent 10 season in Toronto leading the league in wins twice 1904, 1906. To mention all the categories he led the league in while in Toronto would take up too much newspaper space. Almost half of his 514 wins, 251, came as a Toronto hurler. P: Charlie Sis- Another pitcher of legend, spent 13 years in Toronto after coming out of retirement in 1908. For the next decade he dominated CA hitters with seeming ease leading the circuit in wins three years running 1915-17. In 12 of 13 seasons he won more than 20 games for Toronto. P: Birdie Smith- Smith spent 16 years with the Wolves his 155-192 4.33 career is not going to get into the Hall but he was best pitcher for bad teams logging over 230 innings for 10 straight seasons leading the CA in wins (21) in 1925. Birdie gave everything he had and more to the Wolves organization. P: Don Cannady- Cannady suffered the same fate as Birdie Smith, a good pitcher eating up innings on a bad Toronto Wolves teams. Even with his lack of support Don managed a 129-130 3.95 record leading the league in wins (25) in 1926. Ten years in Toronto must have seemed like an eternity after he came over from the Gothams in 1922. Although the present day Wolves seem to have a wealth of strong starters it will be a herculean task to replace either of the top two on any list but Smith and Cannady could be targets for present Wolves hurlers Garrison and Hancock in the future. Manager- Ossie Julious- Julious will make the all-time team in two locations 3B, Manager. He is in the Hall due to his managerial skills, as skipper in Toronto from 1906-28 led the Wolves through both good times and bad. He led the Toronto squad to a World Series victory in 1911 over the Detroit Dynamos after coming up short in 1908 against the same team. After leaving before the 1929 season Julious went on to manage the Baltimore Cannons for 8 years then moving on to Detroit for his final season in 1937. In 32 seasons as a FABL manager he compiled a record of 2276-2418 (.484), his only championship was the 1911 title with the Wolves. There are no relievers on this first rendition of an all-time team due to the fact this is a relatively recent addition to the game's strategy. BANNER YEAR AHEAD EXPECTED IN FIGHT GAME Like the rest of the sporting scene, the boxing world is anticipating a banner year and a return to normalcy as the year progresses. More and more fighters are returning from long stints in the army and navy and when the war finally ends there will be plenty more pugilisitic talent ready to make it's mark on the sport. 1944 finally saw the first World Title Fight in over 3 years when Archie Rees stopped Jorge Cuellar on a September evening in Liverpool before a screaming crowd of soldiers and sailors. Nothing is finalized at this point but it is expected that Rees will defend his middleweight title again sometime in the year ahead and Heavyweight king Hector Sawyer will also make his first title defense in 4 years. The welterweight division, without a champion since early 1939 when Brit Jimmy 'Kid' Simpson retired at the age of 37 with a 59-2-0 career record, should also have it's new belt holder at sometime this year. Here are the champions and top contenders in each of the major divisions Code: HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION RK NAME AGE REC HOMETOWN CHAMP Hector Sawyer 30 49-3-1 New Orleans, LA 2 Cannon Cooper 23 15-0 Rockford, IL 3 Mark Fountain 26 18-1-1 New York, NY 4 Scott Baker 25 11-0-2 Philadelphia, PA 5 Ken Taylor 24 10-1-3 Sacramento, CA MIDDLEWEIGHT DIVISION RK NAME AGE REC HOMETOWN CHAMP Archie Rees 32 34-4-1 Tadcaster, England 2 Edouard Desmarais 28 34-0 Paris, France 3 Frank Melanson 27 27-0-1 Pittsburgh, Pa. 4 Jack Rainey 30 21-2 New York, NY 5 Jorge Cuellar* 35 42-2-2 Zaragoza, Spain is believed to be retired now WELTERWEIGHT DIVISION (no champion at this point) RK NAME AGE REC HOMETOWN* 1 John Gregory 26 13-1-1 Vista, CA 2 Dennis O'Keefe 28 17-1 Jacksonville, FL 3 George Gibbs 27 13-0 Pueblo, CO 4 Mark Westlake 33 18-1-1 Biloxi, MS 5 Mitchell McFadden 30 21-3-1 Detroit, MI McELHENY NAMED AFA MOST OUTSTANDING PLAYER New York Football Stars halfback Jerry McElheny was named the American Football Association's Most Valuable Player after a record setting campaign. The second year back burst on to the scene last year when he finished second in the AFA in rushing yardage with 783 while also leading the league with 9 rushing touchdowns. This season he became just the fourth player in modern AFA history to top the 1,000 yard mark while also establishing a record for rushing touchdowns with 15, smashing a mark that was a decade old. It has been quite a start to McElheny's pro grid career, especially when you consider how close he was to having no career at all. The Atlanta native was a two-sport star at Georgia Baptist -running track in addition to playing football for the Gators- but suffered a devastating knee injury that cost him all of the 1942 season and made him 4-F for the war effort. He was content to begin life in business until a chance meeting with Tom Barrell at a Georgia Baptist alumni event in February of 1943 in which Tom Barrell put him in touch with his brother Dan. Dan, thinking of his own football injury and how he overcame it to have a successful big league baseball career, convinced McElheny to give foobtall one more chance. It has clearly paid off for McElheny, and the New York Stars. McElheny is also one of just 3 players who made the all-star team for the second year in a row. He is joined by Detroit Maroons veteran end Stan Vaught and Chicago center Bus McLean. Here are the 1944 All-Star Team members. Code: 1944 AFA ALL-STAR TEAM POS NAME TEAM QB Billy Bockhorst Pittsburgh Paladins B Jerry McElheny New York Stars B Ollie Bishop Philadelphia Frigates B Tommy Milatz New York Stars E Stan Vaught Detroit Maroons E Don McIntyre Philadelphia Frigates T Glen Winters New York Stars G Paul Kline Washington Wasps C Bus McLean Chicago Wildcats G John Michaels New York Stars T Justin Thomas Philadelphia Frigates AVIATORS NEED BIG WIN IN EAST-WEST CLASSIC Chances are very remote that anyone will overtake Rome State for the National Championship of collegiate football but a pair of schools will do their best. The Centurions do not accept Classic bids so their season -and a completely dominant one in which they outscored their opponents by a 452-52 margin- is over with a perfect 9-0 record. Central Ohio can do one better and finish 10-0 if the Aviators can prevail over Coastal California in today's East-West Classic while Iowa A&M can run their record to 9-0 with a win at Dallas in the Lone Star Classic against Payne State. In all there are 5 classic games on the docket for today with the Hawaii Classic once again cancelled as it has been since the attack on Pearl Harbor. Most eyes will be focused squarely on Santa Ana where the Great Lakes Alliance champions from Columbus, Ohio will attempt to prove they are worthy of the number one ranking. It is likely a losing cause -even if the Aviators win- as the chances of swaying support away from a dominant Rome State eleven seems remote at best. NEW YEAR'S CLASSIC SCHEDULE EAST-WEST CLASSIC (Santa Ana, CA) Central Ohio (9-0) vs Coastal California (8-1) SUNSHINE CLASSIC (Miami, FL) Noble Jones College (8-1) vs Easten Oklahoma (7-1) LONE STAR CLASSIC (Dallas, TX) Payne State (7-1) vs Iowa A&M (8-0) CAJUN CLASSIC (New Orlenas, LA) Alabama Baptist (8-0-1) vs Frankford State (7-2) DESERT CLASIC (El Paso, TX) St Blane (6-3) vs Darnell State (8-2) U.S. LOOP WOULD DRAW GRIDMEN FROM POOL Representatives of the newly organized United States Football League, which now plans to operate with teams in just six cities next year, discussed an entirely new method of selecting players at a session in Akron, Ohio last week. League President Urban Dane, who won fame as a 3-time All-American back at Lincoln College, said players who would play on league teams would be distributed from a players' pool selected by a league scouting organization. Members agreed not to deal with any player under contract to an American Football Association team, but said they considered the AFA reserve list "open territory and will sign any player not definitely under contract." The U.S. loop had originally envisioned 10 to 12 teams for next season but now find themselves with only six planning to compete in 1945, with two others -Washington and New York- eyeing a 1946 kick-off. SOLDIERS HOLD THEIR OWN CLASSIC GAME Spaghetti Classic HQ, Somewhere in Italy, Jan 1 --Battle weary soldiers, flaunting the noisy German radio, which insists that their festivities will be interrupted by a Nazi bomb attack, were ready today for their own New Year's Day football game in which teams from the Twelfth Air Force and Fifth Army will battle for the championship of the Italian war theater, before 25,000 servicemen. There will be a lot of the same participants, but in a different setting from last year's Arab Classic game in north Africa, reflecting the progress of the war. The hope is unanimous that this will be the first and last Spaghetti Classic game, too, but the GIs are out to make it a big occasion just the same. Although this undesignated site is a stadium which holds more than 45,000 and there are enough service men to pack it, there won't be a capacity house- the war is too close for that. CAROLINA POLY FINALLY LOSES The Carolina Poly Cardinals have looked unbeatable at times this season but two days before Christmas they finally ended up on the losing end of a score. The Cardinals made a holiday trek into the Lone Star state and were upended in a surprising upset 36-35 by Texas Gulf Coast. The Hurricanes entered the game with a 3-5 record but the hot hand of junior guard John Toombs paved the way for the surprise victory. Toombs scored a game high 14 points but it was a little used senior backup by the name of Ernest Shuman who was the hero. Shuman has never started a game in his 4 years at Texas Gulf Coast and averages just 2.2 points per game this season. His only shot attempt in his 7 minutes against Carolina Poly was the biggest bucket of his career, sinking an 11 foot set shot with just 12 seconds remaining in the game to prove the margin of victory. The Cardinals had no after effects of the shocking loss, as they completed their western holiday swing with a dominant 50-36 victory in Phoenix over the Valley State Gunslingers and then tacked on two more wins on their home court this week. The result is the Cardinals remain at the top of the collegiate rankings with a 9-1 record and continue to look towards the start of section play, which for the Cardinals begins with a tough one when they travel to Raleigh for a showdown with 5th ranked North Carolina Tech in just over 2 weeks time. COLLEGE ATHLETES IN 4-F FACE DRAFT BOARD REVIEWS Military 4-F's currently performing in 1-A fashion for college athletic teams may expect to hear from their local draft boards one of these days. The Office of War Mobilization has stated that Director James F. Byrnes' recent order to review 4-F classifications of professional athletes applies also to college sports figures. Although the Byrnes directive does not call for any revolutionary change in established Selective Service practice, officials said it might have the effect of speeding review of 'borderline' cases. Selective Service officials pointed out that no athlete, college or professional, is deferrable because he is an athlete. "A man with a punctured eardrum might be a 4-F and still able to spring 90 yards to a touchdown in the last 30 seconds of play," one official said. However, there frequently are instances in which a registrant has a slight defect which may correct itself subsequently. He would be classified 4-F but six months later might be place in 1-A. Code: COLLEGIATE BASKETBALL RANKINGS # Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference 1. Carolina Poly (71) 9-1 1799 2 South Atlantic Conference 2. Great Plains State (1) 14-2 1715 3 Indy Midwest 3. Mobile Maritime 9-1 1612 1 South Atlantic Conference 4. CC Los Angeles 8-1 1538 4 West Coast Athletic Association 5. North Carolina Tech 11-2 1493 8 South Atlantic Conference 6. St. Patrick's 12-2 1483 5 Indy Northeast 7. Liberty College 13-2 1432 9 Indy East 8. Rainier College 7-1 1281 7 West Coast Athletic Association 9. Annapolis Maritime 11-2 1254 11 Indy South 10. Western Florida 7-2 1126 6 Deep South Conference 11. Chesapeake State 7-2 1099 13 South Atlantic Conference 12. Mississippi A&M 10-3 960 21 Deep South Conference 13. Garden State 9-3 951 25 Liberty Conference 14. Lincoln 7-3 536 24 Great Lakes Alliance 15. Plover College 11-3 534 NR Indy Midwest 16. Western Iowa 5-3 511 14 Great Lakes Alliance 17. St. Blane 11-4 496 16 Indy East 18. Bardney 11-3 493 NR Indy Northeast 19. Piedmont University 13-3 481 15 Indy South 20. Central Ohio 8-3 466 NR Great Lakes Alliance 21. Empire State 7-2 397 NR Liberty Conference 22. Miami State 11-3 384 10 Indy South 23. Middlesex 11-3 360 NR Indy Northeast 24. Travis College 7-3 293 NR Southwestern Alliance 25. St. Pancras 11-3 274 NR Indy East Others Receiving Votes: Ohio Poly 11-4 120 Indy Midwest Conwell College 9-3 102 Indy East Oklahoma City State 9-3 57 Plains Athletic Association Elyria 9-3 57 Indy East St. Martin's College 12-4 52 Indy Northeast Noble Jones College 8-3 19 Deep South Conference Coastal California 7-4 7 West Coast Athletic Association Alabama Baptist 7-3 5 Deep South Conference Custer College 8-3 5 West Coast Athletic Association Wisconsin State 6-3 4 Great Lakes Alliance Redwood 8-3 4 West Coast Athletic Association RESULTS INVOLVING RANKED TEAMS MONDAY DECEMBER 25 #7 Liberty College 61 Pierpont 35 #10 Western Florida 50 Coastal State 37 #14 Lincoln 52 Maldin 46 Topeka State 35 #16 Western Iowa 33 TUESDAY DECEMBER 26 #1 Carolina Poly 50 Valley State 35 #5 North Carolina Tech 48 Berwick 45 #9 Annapolis Maritime 37 Lane State 32 #23 Middlesex 60 Bronx Tech 51 #25 St Pancras 40 Manhattan Tech 34 WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 27 #2 Great Plains State 54 Daniel Boone College 43 #3 Mobile Maritime 43 Glover(GA) 36 #12 Mississippi A&M 41 Capital(MS) University 18 #15 Plover College 45 Cumberland 37 #17 St Blane 64 Minnesota Tech 35 #18 Bardney 50 George Fox 44 #20 Central Ohio 48 Jersey City Tech 40 #24 Travis College 44 Spokane State 42 THURSDAY DECEMBER 28 #4 CC Los Angeles 48 Topeka State 40 #6 St Patrick's 55 Ellery 45 #7 Liberty College 54 Brunswick 41 Campion 42 #10 Western Florida 39 #16 Western Iowa 54 Poweshiek 34 FRIDAY DECEMBER 29 #1 Carolina Poly 55 St Matthew's College 38 #2 Great Plains State 53 Lubbock State 46 #24 Travis College 51 #3 Mobile Maritime 49 #5 North Carolina Tech 42 Daniel Boone College 19 #9 Annapolis Maritime 55 NW New York State 41 #12 Mississippi A&M 43 #22 Miami State 35 #15 Plover College 43 Wisconsin State 41 SATURDAY DECEMBER 30 #13 Garden State 62 #17 St Blane 61 Cowpens State 38 #19 Piedmont University 36 #21 Empire State 54 Brandywine 51 #23 Middlesex 44 Hampden 29 SUNDAY DECEMBER 31 #1 Carolina Poly 51 El Paso Methodist 43 #15 Plover College 53 Laclede 46 #22 Miami State 48 Northern California 45 #25 St Pancras 62 Bigsby College 59 Code: AIAA SCORING LEADERS # PLAYER POS MIN PTS REB AST TEAM 1 Jimmy Martens SF 35.4 18.6 4.8 1.3 Tempe College 2 Morgan Melcher SG 33.8 17.4 4.1 1.5 Coastal California 3 Max Lucia PF 34.8 16.2 6.0 0.8 Chesapeake State 4 Darron Gaynor PG 35.1 15.9 2.8 1.9 Miners College 5 Preston Fannin SF 32.6 15.2 4.7 1.0 Columbia Military Academy 6 Trent Lockett SF 32.1 14.7 3.4 1.7 Brookland 7 William Gulley C 31.8 14.6 6.8 1.2 Conwell College 8 Lesley Fry PG 34.9 14.3 1.5 2.2 Richmond State 9 Buddy Gore PG 34.6 14.2 2.6 1.4 American Atlantic 10 Ned Nolan SG 33.3 13.9 5.3 2.3 Liberty College 11 Romeo Hales SF 31.1 13.8 4.1 2.5 Wisconsin Catholic 12 Kevin Kennard SF 31.7 13.8 5.2 1.8 St. Magnus 13 Kenny Irizarry SF 30.9 13.4 5.3 1.5 Perry State College 14 Carl Phipps SF 29.9 13.3 4.1 1.5 St. Blane 15 Dan Newlin SF 35.0 13.0 4.5 2.3 Wyoming A&I 16 Charles Robb PF 32.7 12.9 3.7 1.7 Lexington State 17 Dean Sollars PG 31.8 12.8 2.7 1.1 Alexandria 18 Steve Pesce C 33.1 12.8 4.6 2.5 Charleston Tech 19 Ruth Kahler SG 33.1 12.7 2.9 2.9 St. Pancras 20 Sal Gresham SF 29.2 12.7 4.2 1.8 Coastal State Code: AIAA ASSIST LEADERS # PLAYER POS MIN PTS REB AST TEAM 1 Oswald Sansom PG 33.3 5.8 1.3 5.9 Charleston Tech 2 Jonathan Suazo PG 34.0 7.5 3.8 5.5 Plover College 3 Bernard Tharp PG 31.6 5.1 2.9 5.4 Lincoln 4 Hunter Enright PG 35.6 9.7 3.4 5.2 Frankford State 5 Stephen Rubalcava PG 31.2 9.3 1.2 4.9 Detroit City College 6 Leland Francisco PG 33.8 3.9 2.7 4.7 Perry State College 7 Wilford Eakins SG 33.7 6.3 1.9 4.5 Arkansas A&T 8 Eusebio Constant PG 33.0 9.1 3.8 4.5 Coastal State 9 Joe Hampton PG 31.5 8.0 2.9 4.5 Western Iowa 10 Arthur Pugh PG 30.5 7.0 2.6 4.4 Central Ohio The Week That Was* Current events from the week ending 12/31/1944 An assassantion attempt on Prime Minister Winston Churchill by left-wing ELAS forces was foiled when nearly a ton of dynamite hidden in a sewer just outside British headquarters in Athens only a few hours before Churchill was to open a peace conference in the Greek capital. The German army drove three fast-rolling Panzar columns into the France-Belgium border area in a new surge of power that ripped away a deep American bulge in it's right flank and linked up the northern and central prongs of the Nazi offensive in a solid 35-mile front. The news turned positive by the end of the week as American reinforcements halted the German push. However, the week ended with a critical battle underway around Bastogne, where German forces have launched a 2-way attack against the US 3rd Army's corridor through the city. Following the capture of Leyte, which General Douglas MacArthur says cost Japan 113,221 men in their worst military defeat in history, American forces are setting their sights for other Philippine islands. Tokyo continues to be the target of multiple B-29 bombing runs this week and the latest tally from the Navy states the total number of enemy vessels sunk or seriously damaged in the Pacific now numbers 1,090. __________________ Lead Columnist of The Figment Sporting Journal The Scripture of Sports

12-13-2022, 12:10 PM	#586
Jiggs McGee All Star Reserve Join Date: Dec 2019 Posts: 677	January 8, 1945 FABL rookie draft begins JANUARY 8, 1945 NEW YORK! NEW YORK! STARS & GOTHAMS LAND TOP TWO DRAFT SLOTS The new FABL lottery system is a big hit in the city of New York as the Stars and Gothams landed the top two spots in the draft lottery. The new system, designed to encourage teams to focus on improving, rewards clubs with additional entries in the draft lottery based on how well they fared vs their previous season record. The lottery slots will determine the first two rounds of the draft with the regular season standings providing the order for the remainder of the 25 round draft. As has always been the custom the seleciton order will alternate between the Continental and Federal Association teams with the CA getting the odd picks this time around. Here is the order of the first two rounds: 1 Stars 2 Gothams 3 Cougars 4 Eagles 5 Kings 6 Dynamos 7 Wolves 8 Miners 9 Foresters 10 Chiefs 11 Saints 12 Pioners (originally Minutemen) 13 Sailors 14 Pioneers 15 Pioneers (originally Cannons) 16 Keystones CHRISTIAN TROPHY WINNER GOES FIRST The New York Stars got the draft started with the announcement that Christian Trophy winning outfielder Bob Riggins from the National Collegiate Champion Grange College Mustangs would be their selection as the first overall choice. A two-time All-American selection, the 21 year old Detroit native topped the TWIFB mock draft in August after a .333,10,49 showing in 62 games this past season. Riggins is just the second Christian Trophy winning position player to be selected first overall in the draft, joining Narragansett's Sal Pestilli who was taken by Detroit at the top of the 1936 draft. Three pitchers have won the Christian and gone first overall. They are Tommy Wilcox (1928 Liberty College -Brooklyn), Joe Hancock (1933 Henry Hudson-Toronto) and Bob Arman (1941 Bluegrass State - Boston). * STARS SURPRISE WITH DEAL FOR SECOND PICK * The second selection still went to New York but it ended up also going to the Stars as the Gothams made a deal with their cross-town rivals. The second overall pick went to the Stars with three prospects heading the other way. The pick was used by the Stars on high school shortstop Ralph 'Woody' Hanson, a 17 year old from Beaver, Pa. with limited experience but loads of potential. The cost was high as the Stars sent top pitching prospects Wally Hunter and Jerry Decker along with young centerfielder Flipper Robinson. Hunter is the key piece of the deal, a 23 year old who went 2-2 in a brief stint with the Stars in 1943 before joining the Army Air Corps. He may well prove to be a better hitter than he is a pitcher but is currently ranked as the 15th best pitching prospect in the game by OSA. Decker, 22, has been in the Army since December of 1941, but is still considered to be close to a top 100 prospect by the league scouting service, which feels he can become a solid starter. Robinson, also 22, is the highest rated of the Stars deep collection of centerfield prospects but, like the other two, is also away at war -serving in the Navy the past two years. A 1941 second round pick, ht hit .285 at AA in his only full season of minor league ball. *COUGARS GET CONSOLATION PRIZE * The Chicago Cougars are coming off an awful collapse last season but they were thrilled to land the third slot in the draft lottery. It was a good consolation prize for the Windy City Kitties and they also landed their back-up choice in the draft. Cougars brass, like most other teams, had their eyes on Bob Riggins as their top prospect but when Riggins went first to the Stars the Cougars nabbed a nice fallback choice in Liberty College standout centerfielder Johnny Peters. Peters, like Riggins, is a two-time All-American selection and was a finalist in voting for the Christian Trophy this past season. OSA calls him a potential elite centerfielder on a contending team and there is a chance that he, just like Riggins, may be ready to step directly into the big leagues when his AIAA season ends in June. Code: 1945 FABL ROOKIE DRAFT ROUND 1 # TM PLAYER POS AGE SCHOOL HOMETOWN 1 NYS Bob Riggins CF 21 Grange College Detroit, MI 2 NYS Ralph Hanson SS 17 Beaver(PA) HS Beaver, PA 3 CHC Johnny Peters CF 20 Liberty College Lawrenceburg, TN 4 WSH 5 BKN 6 DET 7 TOR 8 PIT 9 CLE 10 CHI 11 MON 12 STL 13 PHS 14 STL 15 STL 16 PHK ROME STATE DECLARED NATIONAL CHAMPION For the first time in school history the Rome State Centurions have claimed the collegiate football national championship. Led by the sophomore backfield duo of All-Americans Gus Thompson and Chet Donelson, the military academy completely dominated the opposition in posting a perfect 9-0 record while outscoring opponents by a 453-52 margin. It was not a case of the Centurions simply running up the score against inferior competition as they dominated such powerful teams as St Blane (54-7) and Pierpont (47-3) while also ending a 3 year losing streak to rival Ananpolis Maritime with a convincing 38-16 victory over the Navigators early last month. Fans in the midwest might try to state a case for either Central Ohio (10-0) or Iowa A&M (9-0) after each came up with a New Year's Day victory but it is clear that no other team this season could compare with the Centurions dominating ground game. St Blane might have had visions of doing so, and the Fighting Saints were considered the top team in the nation by some at the midway point of the season but successive losses to Annapolis Maritime, Rome State and St Magnus doomed the Saints. To make matters worse St Blane was beaten for a 4th time when Darnell State upset the Saints 23-21 in the Desert Classic. Code: FINAL 1944 COLLEGE FOOTBALL RANKINGS # SCHOOL REC 1 Rome State 9-0 2 Central Ohio 10-0 3 Iowa A&M 9-0 4 Alabama Baptist 7-1-1 5 Noble Jones College 10-1 6 Charleston Tech 8-1 7 Payne State 8-2 8 Coastal California 8-2 9 Frankford State 9-2 10 Darnell State 9-3 11 George Fox 7-0-1 12 Eastern Oklahoma 7-2 13 Annapolis Maritime 7-2 14 Georgia Baptist 7-3 15 Indiana A&M 7-3 16 Detroit City College 7-3 17 St. Blane 7-4 18 Boulder State 6-1-1 19 Rainier College 6-2 20 Northern Mississippi 6-2 NEW YEAR'S CLASSIC RESULTS Central Ohio 24 Coastal California 17 East-West Classic (Pasadena CA) Frankford State 31 Alabama Baptist 21 Cajun Classic (New Orleans LA) Noble Jones College 35 Eastern Oklahoma 3 Sunshine Classic (Miami FL) Darnell State 23 St. Blane 21 Desert Classic (El Paso TX) Iowa A&M 14 Payne State 10 Lone Star Classic (Austin TX) CASE CAN BE MADE FOR CENTURIONS AS BEST COLLEGE GRID ELEVEN EVER ASSEMBLED With world events clamouring for the nations attention and the service academies preoccupied the past three years with far more important things than collegiate football it is easy to see why little time has been spent admiring what Rome State's grid eleven accomplished this past year. A perfect 9-0 season, outscoring opponents -and no cupcakes amongst them- by a whooping 455-52 margin. Simply destroying the likes of St Blane, Pierpont, the Coast Guard, Carolina Poly and having absolutely no trouble at all with their rivals from Annapolis Maritime. No less a source that Pittsburgh State legendary coach Patsy O'Callaghan remarking with awe that Rome State was the best college team he had ever faced after his Finches were pasted 53-0 early in the season. A team that feature a pair of All-American backs in Gus Thompson and Chet Donelson - who tore through opposing defenses with the ball and crushed opponents dreams time and again with their interceptions while on defense themselves. Sophomores both, arguably the best sophomore duo ever to play the sport and one has to wonder just what they might accomplish on the gridiron the next two years -assuming the army does not fast-track the duo through Rome State and on to the battlefield. There have been some great college teams of the past. Teams like the great 10-0 St Blane team of 1926 with a backfield deeper and as impressive as the Rome State pair because it had four of them in Ben Montgomery, Frank Oliver, Casper Wilson and Roger Cass or the amazing Georgia Baptist eleven that went a perfect 11-0 and an even more perfectly shutout every opponent it faced that year. One might also make a case for one of those Centerville teams from the very early days of football led by the great John Oxendine. In truth there really is no way to definitivly prove which was the greatest college football outfit ever assembled but you can rest assured that decades from now when the conversation comes up there will be mention of the 1944 Rome State Centurions. That much seems certain. CAGE COACH FOILS BOOKIES BY REJECTING FREE THROWS The first known attempt of a basketball coach to foil New York bookmakers was revealed last week after Bronx Tech beat Huntington State, 59 to 53, at the Bigsby Garden. The bookies foe, in this instance, was Christopher Malik, Bronx Tech Flying Dutchmen head coach, who admitted after the January 5th game that he ordered one of his players to waive the free throw and take possession of the ball at midcourt, rather than take a chance of the charity toss being good and giving bookmakers a bonanza. It was explained that Malik's club was a 6 to 8 point favourite, which meant that a person betting on Bronx Tech gave 8 points, and if he wagered on Huntington State he received six points on an even money basis. Andy Chester of Bronx Tech was fouled with only 1 second to go and his team leading by 6 points. If Chester had taken the shot and made it, Tech would probably have won by 7 points. Had this been the difference in score, the gamblers would have collected all bats, is in New York basketball wagering, where betting points vary only two points, such as 2-4, 4-6, 6-8, etc. the bookies are the winners if the split is down the middle. As in this case it would have been "seven", the difference before six and eight had Malik not decided to ruin the bookmakers evenings. CCLA AND RAINER COLLEGE LEADING PACIFIC CHARGE Don't look now but Rainier College -winners of the last two AIAA basktball championship tournaments and three in the past five years, are quickly on the rise once again. Since dropping their season opener to Golden Gate, the Majestics have been perfect and improved to 10-1 on the year and the number six ranking in the weekly AIAA poll. Rainier is not the only Pacific power on the rise as CC Los Angles (11-1) and Coastal California (9-4) are also starting to make their presence felt. Things are also looking up in the Middle West as the Great Lakes Alliance - after a very shakey start for the conference as a whole, is on the rise. Western Iowa, Lincoln and Central Ohio have all cracked the top twenty-five rankings. Code: COLLEGIATE BASKETBALL RANKINGS # Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference 1. Carolina Poly (67) 10-1 1795 1 South Atlantic Conference 2. St. Patrick's (3) 15-2 1680 6 Indy Northeast 3. CC Los Angeles 11-1 1653 4 West Coast Athletic Association 4. Liberty College (2) 16-2 1608 7 Indy East 5. Annapolis Maritime 14-2 1530 9 Indy South 6. Rainier College 10-1 1447 8 West Coast Athletic Association 7. Chesapeake State 9-2 1349 11 South Atlantic Conference 8. Great Plains State 15-3 1286 2 Indy Midwest 9. North Carolina Tech 11-3 1243 5 South Atlantic Conference 10. Garden State 11-3 1103 13 Liberty Conference 11. Mississippi A&M 11-3 1080 12 Deep South Conference 12. Mobile Maritime 9-2 949 3 South Atlantic Conference 13. Western Iowa 8-3 930 16 Great Lakes Alliance 14. St. Blane 13-4 882 17 Indy East 15. Empire State 10-2 743 21 Liberty Conference 16. Lincoln 9-3 708 14 Great Lakes Alliance 17. Miami State 12-3 582 22 Indy South 18. Middlesex 13-3 556 23 Indy Northeast 19. Western Florida 9-3 511 10 Deep South Conference 20. Central Ohio 8-3 480 20 Great Lakes Alliance 21. Conwell College 12-3 473 NR Indy East 22. Alabama Baptist 9-3 232 NR Deep South Conference 23. Coastal California 9-4 183 NR West Coast Athletic Association 24. Darnell State 10-3 106 NR Southwestern Alliance 25. Noble Jones College 9-3 94 NR Deep South Conference Others Receiving Votes: Redwood 9-3 45 West Coast Athletic Association Bardney 12-4 42 Indy Northeast St. Pancras 11-4 31 Indy East Custer College 9-3 27 West Coast Athletic Association Ohio Poly 12-5 20 Indy Midwest Plover College 12-4 11 Indy Midwest Eastern State 12-4 10 Indy South Dickson 9-4 6 Academia Alliance Holland 8-3 2 Central Athletic Alliance Piedmont University 13-4 2 Indy South Wichita Baptist 12-4 1 Midwestern Association RESULTS INVOLVING RANKED TEAMS MONDAY JANUARY 1 #2 St Patrick's 43 Lambert College 33 #3 CC Los Angeles 39 Kansas Argricultural 38 #4 Liberty College 44 Sadler 32 #5 Annapolis Maritime 41 Smithfield College 24 Eastern Oklahoma 56 #8 Great Plains State 41 Whitney College 42 #9 North Carolina Tech 34 #13 Western Iowa 52 Wyoming A&I 31 #14 St Blane 50 Brunswick 35 #15 Empire State 28 Western Montana 20 #18 Middlesex 45 Brooklyn Catholic 34 #23 Coastal California 57 Mahoning Valley State 45 TUESDAY JANUARY 2 #1 Carolina Poly 51 Eastern Viriginia 42 #6 Rainier College 60 San Francisco Tech 40 #7 Chesapeake State 52 St Pancras 45 Baton Rogue State 54 #12 Mobile Maritime 48 #17 Miami State 57 #19 Western Florida 49 #21 Conwell College 46 Tinker 32 #24 Darnell State 47 College of Cairo 46 WEDNESDAY JANUARY 3 #13 Western Iowa 51 Payne State 42 #16 Lincoln 50 Needham 34 #18 Middlesex 50 Constitution State 38 #25 Noble Jones College 53 El Paso Methodist 40 THURSDAY JANUARY 4 #2 St Patrick's 45 Bay State 40 #3 CC Los Angeles 40 Minnesota Tech 23 #4 Liberty College 41 St Martin's College 37 #5 Annapolis Maritime 50 North Shore 43 #6 Rainier College 51 Valley State 37 #10 Garden State 56 Tinker 38 #11 Mississippi A&M 46 Detroit City College 36 #14 St Blane 54 Sadler 47 #19 Western Florida 34 Alabama Gulf Coast 31 #21 Conwell College 51 Provo Tech 38 #22 Alabama Batist 47 Mississippi Tech 38 #24 Darnell State 44 North Central(NE) 34 FRIDAY JANUARY 5 #15 Empire State 46 Hampden 41 SATURDAY JANUARY 6 #3 CC Los Angeles 47 College of Omaha 37 #4 Liberty College 42 Allentown State 23 #5 Annapolis Maritime 54 Ferguson 30 #7 Chesapeake State 57 Brookland 35 #8 Great Plains State 49 Hamman 28 #13 Western Iowa 43 Rock Island 33 #19 Western Florida 47 Bulein 29 #21 Conwell College 51 Texas Panhandle 44 #22 Alabama Baptist 50 Lexington State 41 SUNDAY JANUARY 7 #2 St Patrick's 66 Eastern Kansas 56 #6 Rainier College 51 Chicago Polu 49 #10 Garden State 41 Troy State(NY) 33 #15 Empire State 54 Bardney 45 #16 Lincoln 41 Iowa A&M 29 #23 Coastal California 50 San Francisco Tech 24 #24 Darnell State 53 Baton Rogue State 50 SCHOOLBOY FIGHTING MITCHELL THIS WEEK SHOWS TREND OF SPORTS If you've been wondering what the new year will bring in sports, you can start with the fact that a high school boy will fight a main bout in the Bigsby Garden on Friday night. That's not taking anything away from young Dave Neal of New York City, who'll tussle 10 rounds or less with the venerable Ira Mitchell. In fact, some might think it's a greater novelty to find a fighter sufficiently interested in education to stay in high school. Dave has an impressive knockout record as an amateur but stepping up to fight men is a different story entirely for the 17 year old. Then again he might just be as a good a welterweight as there happens to around these days -at least one fighting outside of the military exhibition ring. He may be a great fighter some day, but for now he still is a high school kid fighting in the ring that has been used by many of the greatest boxers of the past 20 years. WILLIAMS, EASTON BATTLE TO DRAW Veteran west coast fighter Chris Williams made his return to the ring after a 3 year stint in the Navy but it was not quite the result he hoped for. The 36 year old Sacramento native had to settle for a draw against Phil Easton, a 27 year old Canadian with limited ring experience. Neither fighter was knocked down and the decidedly biased crowd at the Sacramento Auditorium felt the local star had done enough to win but the judges disagreed with one calling the bout a draw and the other two declaring one point victories- with each selecting a different fighter as the winner. Williams, who now sees his pro record settle in at 38-7-3, had his best chance to end things in the 10th round of the 12-round bout, staggering the Edmonton-born Easton with a powerful combination with less than 30 seconds remaining in the round but somehow the Canadian managed to stay on his feet until the bell bailed him out. Easton is now 12-5-1 as a professional pugilist. OTHER NOTABLE FIGHT RESULTS THIS WEEK HW Millard Perry (16-10-4) unanimous decision over Dave Warren (13-12-6) HW Jeff Thompson (24-9-2) majority decision over Cecil Woods (6-22) HW Greg Bullock (19-6) unanimous decision over Joe O'Halleran (4-17-1) HW Damon Christian (24-13-4) unanimous decision over Justin Morris (2-12-0) The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 1/07/1945 President Roosevelt has urged total mobolization, asking the 79th Congress to enact a national service law and, in a 30-minute address over all major radio networks, promised that American people that their sons and brothers and loved ones on the fighting front will receive "all the support of which this great nation is capable." Heavy fighting continues in the general area of Bastogne as the American 3rd Army faces heavy artillery fire as it prepares for an expected full-scale offensive against the German bulge. German forces under siege in Budapest have massed their remaining artillery on the grounds of Budapest University, which has been transformed into a last-ditch citadel of the Hungarian capital's defense with Russian troops surrounding them. The Pacific war blazed with new fury along an 1,100-mile front southwest of Japan as American forces surged inland from two new beachheads on Mindoro, counted 25 Japanese ships wrecked around Luzon and pressed a carrier-based assault against Formosa and the Ryukyu Islands. American Superfortresses continue regular bombing runs on Japan with Osaka and Nagoya facing the brunt of this weeks assault. Tokyo was not spared either, with a weekend fire bomb attack aimed at the Japanese capital. The new Congress convened for the first time this week and was in a somber mood to organize for legislative business prepping for the possibility of two more years of war plus the future problems of peace. __________________ Lead Columnist of The Figment Sporting Journal The Scripture of Sports Last edited by Jiggs McGee; 01-31-2023 at 09:32 PM.

12-14-2022, 12:48 PM	#587
Jiggs McGee All Star Reserve Join Date: Dec 2019 Posts: 677	January 15, 1945: Rounds 1 & 2 of FABL draft JANUARY 15, 1945 COLLEGE PLAYERS ENJOY OPENING ROUND RESURGENCE Pitchers Last Much Longer Than Usual A year ago only two of the sixteen players selected in the first round came out of the collegiate ranks. It was a different story this year as five of the first seven selections and eight of the 16 taken in the opening round were from the AIAA. The other big change was the run on position players at the top of the draft. The first six selections did not include a single pitcher -something that has not been seen since 1920 when the first pitcher was selected 9th overall. In this case it was Otis Porter, the scholarly star righthander of the National Champion Grange College Mustangs, that became the first pitcher called when the Toronto Wolves selected him with the seventh pick. Three more pitchers would follow shortly after but it was centerfielders that were the marquee position this year with Bob Riggins of Grange College going first, Liberty's Johnny Peters third, Ralph Johnson of Topeka State fifth and Florida high schooler Barry Lowry rounded out the collection of centerfielders when the St Louis Pioneers tabbed him with the 15th pick. * EAGLES HOPE TO FIND SECOND COMING OF GOINS DEEP IN HEART OF TEXAS * The Washington Eagles best first round pick ever made was spent on a high school catcher from Texas taken first overall in 1919. That would be Arlington born T.R. Goins, a two-time Whitney Award winner who helped the Eagles to their last World Championship back in 1923 and would win another one with the Cleveland Foresters late in his career. Since trading Goins to the Foresters midway through the 1933 season the Eagles have been looking for their next superstar player. A few, such as Mel Carrol, have come close but no one has stepped to the forefront like Goins did. Perhaps the solution is to go back to Texas for another highly touted catcher and the Eagles did just that with the selection of 18 year old Ike Perry with the fourth overall pick. Perry, a two-time high school All-American from Navasota High School, grew up in Hearne, Texas, roughly 150 miles south of where Goins was born and has hopes in following in Goins' rather sizeable footprints. Texas has actually given FABL six catchers who have played over 800 career big league games and Perry is hoping to be the next name on that list. In addition to Goins, the Eagles had another Texas born catcher as their starter for several years. That would be Jim Sith, who was their primary catcher from 1913 thru 1918. Code: TEXAS BORN CATCHERS YRS TM G AVG HR TR Goins 1923-38 WSH,CLE 2025 .336 270 Jim Smith 1911-22 WSH,CHI 1091 .275 5 Mickey Dowell 1924-34 BKN,MON 1019 .296 42 George Mitchell 1909-19 PHS,PHK 965 .214 40 John Williams 1916-27 CHI 949 .239 21 Tom Aiello 1929-43 BKN,CHI,PIT 844 .272 23 The ten round human GM portion of the draft continues this week before the AI controlled Scouting Directors take over for rounds 11 thru 25. All selected players must complete their high school/college year before being eligible to report to the big league organizations that drafted them in June. Code: 1945 FABL ROOKIE DRAFT ROUND 1 # TM PLAYER POS AGE SCHOOL HOMETOWN 1 NYS Bob Riggins CF 21 Grange College Detroit, MI 2 NYS Ralph Hanson SS 17 Beaver(PA) HS Beaver, PA 3 CHC Johnny Peters CF 20 Liberty College Lawrenceburg, TN 4 WSH Ike Perry C 18 Navasota(TX) HS Hearne, TX 5 BKN Ralph Johnson CF 20 Topeka State Omaha, NE 6 DET Del Johnson 2B 21 West Goshen State Conshohocken, PA 7 TOR Otis Porter P 20 Grange College Augusta, GA 8 PIT Paul Williams LF 18 Clayton HS, St Louis St Louis, MO 9 CLE Bert Haines P 17 North Tonawanda(NY)HS North Tonawanda, NY 10 CHI Dick Mills P 17 South Boston(MA) HS Concord, MA 11 MON Hank Smith 1B 21 Talmadge State Trotwood, OH 12 STL Artie Smtih C 20 South Valley State Waukon, IA 13 PHS Gordon McDonald P 18 Liberty(SC) HS Liberty, SC 14 STL Barry Lowry CF 17 Tarpon Springs(FL) HS Tarpon Springs, FL 15 STL Dan Finch 3B 17 Bowman(SC) HS Darlington, SC 16 PHK Nate Power 1B 21 Daniel Boone College Bryant, AR 1945 FABL ROOKIE DRAFT ROUND 2 # TM PLAYER POS AGE SCHOOL HOMETOWN 17 NYS Larry McClure C 18 Bentonville(AR) HS Bentonville, AR 18 CHC Carl Clark CF 17 Springfield(MO) HS Youngwood, PA 19 CHC Dutch Yoak P 17 La Porte(TX) HS Houston, TX 20 WSH George Penza SS 21 Yellowhammer State Waco, TX 21 BKN Harry Trinity P 18 University HS, Nashville Lebanon, TN 22 DET Dick Estes RF 20 Rutherford College Atlanta, GA 23 TOR Harry Finney SS 21 Bluegrass State Tulsa, OK 24 PIT Chet Tinsley C 18 Bellville(TX) HS Houston, TX 25 CLE Bob Miller 3B 21 Queen City University Lancaster, OH 26 CHI Jake Pomarico CF 21 Detroit City College South Bend, IN 27 MON Mike Cochran 2B 17 Pelton HS, San Francisco San Francisco, CA 28 BOS Tom Cooprider C 17 Millersburg(PA) HS Millersburg, PA 29 PHS Jerry Keith 2B 18 Forest Park(IL) HS Milwaukee, WI 30 STL Tom Hansen CF 18 Eutaw (AL) HS Eutaw, AL 31 CIN Al Browner 3B 17 Wharton(TX) HS Wharton, TX 32 PHI Russ McLean P 17 Shady Side Acad. Pittsburgh Washington, DC CANNON FIRES KO IN RING RETURN Cannon Cooper made his triumphant return to the ring with another knockout. The Rockford, Il. heavyweight, recently discharged from the Coast Guard, improved to 16-0 and it seems just a matter of time before he gets a chance at the World Title. His latest victim was Carson Barnes, a veteran New York heavyweight who did well just to survive until the 12th and final round before Cooper made him his 7th knockout victim before a packed house at Chicago's Lake Side Auditorium. Barnes, who made his pro debut a dozen years ago, now sports a record of 18-14-2 after being knocked out in the ring for the first time in his career. MITCHELL MAKES SHORT NIGHT FOR TEEN OPPONENT Dave Neal quickly found out there is a big difference stepping into the ring against grown men as compared to facing teenage amateurs. The highly touted New Yorker is just 17 years old and widely considered the best youth amateur boxer in the northeast but he certainly bit off much more than he could chew on the weekend. The youngster, who is still in high school, was a late fill-in on a card at the Bigsby Garden and was matched against 24 year old Ira Mitchell - a rising Chicago born welterweight. Mitchell improved to 10-0 with the shortest night of his boxing career, taking just 2 minutes and change to knock out the youngster Neal with a powerful flurry of blows that culminated in a uppercut that clearly meant the end of the night for the teen. Neal is young and looked fine after the bout despite holding a big old ice pick over a right eye that has likely never looked more purple, but it was clear his handlers gravely erred in giving the boy a decent payday instead of making a more cautious choice for his pro debut. Mitchell is continuing his impressive rise through the welterweight division with 9 of his 10 victories coming by knockout. OTHER MAJOR RESULTS THIS WEEK HW Charlie McDougall (22-10-1) unanimous decision over Jimmy Robertson (7-11-3) HW Dave Gwynne (15-11-3) split decision over Joe Smith (6-21-2) GRID OWNERS ADOPT WAIT AND SEES ATTITUDE AT CHICAGO CONFAB Regaining their composure after the shock of President Roosevelt's message to Congress urging enactment of work or fight legislation, professional sports leaders today adopted a watchful waiting attitude pending action on the Hill. Briefly, the situation is so confused at this stage that no one can say with any degree of certainty what the next step will be. A complete blackout on pro sports for the remainder of the war is possible, but highly improbable. There is better than an even chance that all sports will continue, if on a curtailed basis, once Congress has passed a law clarifying the status of 4-F's. Coming almost on the eve of the American Football Association's meeting in Chicago this week, the President's message is certain to be the chief topic of conversation, but there won't be much the league can do about putting its house in order until it knows how Congress intends to go about funnelling 4-F's into war plants. At the moment there isn't any visible reason why the league can't function in 1945, although the schedule might have to be drafted to limit travel to one-day hops. AFA President Jack Kristich, who previously said the league would operate next year if selective service orders did not interfere, had "no comment" on the latest developments. One thing certain, neither Krisitch, acting for the league, nor individual club owners will try to buck the Government. They'll go along quietly on whatever the lawmakers deem best. The announcement certainly changed the tone of the owners meeting. The agenda had expected to be dominated with talk of finding a way to work with baseball - after the ball magnates closed down access to their parks in September, and on preparing for a battle of sorts with the two proposed new leagues. There also was a lot of in-fighting between the football bosses, but the President's announcement quickly united them once again. The dominant topic now will be trying to figure out what is next? And the answer to that question is left up to Congress. COLLEGES DEBATE NEW GRID RULES Possibility that the American Intercollegiate Athletic Association may take the college football rule book out of the refrigerator was seen after the joint convention of the National Coaches Association and the AIAA in Columbus, OH., last week. Top AIAA executives expressed themselves as favourable, to action that would remove the 'freeze' from grid laws which was implemented when the war began. Three of the suggested alterations deal with passes, two with the kickoff and one with the use of the forearm in offensive blocking. Some conferences implemeneted a trio of the changes last fall. Here are the changes recommended by the coaches: 1) A mandatory in-bounds kickoff. If out-of-bounds, five-yard penalty and kick over. 2) Mandatory use of one-inch artificial tee for kickoffs with ball held. 3) Pass anywhere behind the line of scrimmage. 4) Restrictions on the use of forearms in offensive blocking. hands must be in contact with the body. Infraction regarded as unnecessary roughness. 5) Change of penalty for lateral pass that becomes forward pass to five-yard penalty from the point where the attempted lateral was thrown and loss of down. (Present penalty is return to scrimmage as incompleted pass.) 6) Change of penalty for lateral pass that becomes forward pass on punts and kick-offs to five-yard penalty from the point where attempted lateral was thrown. (Present penalty 15 yards.) In its closing session, the AIAA recognized the growing epidemic of gambling on intercollegiate contests by adopting a resolution to crush the practice if such be within the co-operative effort and human endurance. SECTION PLAY GETS UNDERWAY The tune-up games are over as college basketball enters the heart of it's schedule over the next couple of weeks with each of the sections getting their in-conference schedule underway. A pair of conferences -the Academia Alliance and West Coast Athletic Association- got an early start to the proceedings with some key matchups this past week. The Academia Alliance has a rich history with 7 National Championships but they all came in the early days of the sport and none since Pierpont won it all in 1918-19. The Dickson Maroons might be the Academia eight's best hope this season as they can count an early season upset of 4th ranked Annapolis Maritime as part of their 10-4 record entering section play. Sadler took the Maroons to overtime in Wednesday's conference opener before Dickson finally pulled out a 59-58 victory. Grafton and Ellery are both 2-0 to lead the way after the opening week. The West Coast Athletic Association has been one of the dominant sections in all of college hoops with Rainier College winning each of the last two National Tournaments while CCLA and Coastal California are also serious threats each year. All three are ranked in the top 17 of the polls right now and each started WCAA play off with a win. The 3rd ranked Coyotes are 13-1 after beating Portland Tech 46-36 in their conference opener yesterday. Rainier College is also 13-1 and ranked 5th following the Majestics 55-51 win over in state rival Spokane State. Senior forward Tree Turner had a career best 26 points in the win over the Indians. Unlike Rainier College and CCLA, Coastal California has never won a national title despite 13 appearances in the semi-finals and 3 trips to the title game. As a result the Dolphins always seem to be playing catch-up in trying to match their two conference rivals but this year they may well have the best player in the nation in senior forward Morgan Melcher. Melcher averaged 17.8 ppg a year ago and is nearly duplicating that total this season despite being held to 11 in the conference opening 34-33 narrow win over Lane State. The Great Lakes Alliance section slate gets underway this week with only Western Iowa and Lincoln College among the top 25 teams in the nation. The Canaries are on a roll with six straight victories and have been getting stellar play from junior guard Joe Hampton. The former St Louis Pioneers baseball prospect and son of ex-big leaguer Jim Hampton is among the nation leaders in assists while still averaging close to 8 points a game. Code: COLLEGIATE BASKETBALL RANKINGS # Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference 1. Carolina Poly (72) 13-1 1800 1 South Atlantic Conference 2. St. Patrick's 17-2 1722 2 Indy Northeast 3. CC Los Angeles 13-1 1622 3 West Coast Athletic Association 4. Annapolis Maritime 17-2 1585 5 Indy South 5. Rainier College 13-1 1514 6 West Coast Athletic Association 6. Liberty College 18-3 1472 4 Indy East 7. Chesapeake State 11-2 1372 7 South Atlantic Conference 8. Mobile Maritime 11-2 1199 12 South Atlantic Conference 9. Western Iowa 10-3 1186 13 Great Lakes Alliance 10. North Carolina Tech 12-4 1175 9 South Atlantic Conference 11. St. Blane 15-4 1115 14 Indy East 12. Mississippi A&M 12-3 1006 11 Deep South Conference 13. Garden State 11-3 1000 10 Liberty Conference 14. Lincoln 10-3 807 16 Great Lakes Alliance 15. Great Plains State 16-4 758 8 Indy Midwest 16. Empire State 11-2 742 15 Liberty Conference 17. Coastal California 11-4 649 23 West Coast Athletic Association 18. Miami State 15-4 520 17 Indy South 19. Conwell College 14-4 484 21 Indy East 20. St. Pancras 13-4 366 NR Indy East 21. Ohio Poly 13-5 336 NR Indy Midwest 22. Dickson 11-4 288 NR Academia Alliance 23. Western Florida 10-4 195 19 Deep South Conference 24. Darnell State 10-3 195 24 Southwestern Alliance 25. Middlesex 14-4 147 18 Indy Northeast Others Receiving Votes: Central Ohio 9-4 114 Great Lakes Alliance Noble Jones College 10-4 21 Deep South Conference Alabama Baptist 9-4 6 Deep South Conference Wisconsin State 9-4 3 Great Lakes Alliance Plover College 13-5 1 Indy Midwest RESULTS INVOLVING RANKED TEAMS MONDAY JANUARY 8 #3 CC Los Angeles 51 Mahoning Valley State 39 #4 Annapolis Maritime 49 Frankford State 38 #10 North Carolina Tech 58 #6 Liberty College 50 #7 Chesapeake State 35 Bigsby College 27 #9 Western Iowa 60 Lambert College 32 #20 St Pancras 49 Cuyahoga University 39 #22 Dickson 32 Georgia Baptists 31 TUESDAY JANUARY 9 #1 Carolina Poly 53 Chicago Poly 40 #5 Rainier College 49 Poweshiek 38 Minnesota Tech 49 #15 Great Plains State 41 #17 Coastal California 52 Cache Valley 44 #19 Conwell College 37 St Gordius 36 Texas Gulf Coast 66 #23 Western Florida 48 #25 Middlesex 42 Manhattan Tech 37 WEDNESDAY JANUARY 10 #8 Mobile Maritime 50 Centerville 38 #11 St Blane 63 Brooklyn Catholic 55 #16 Empire State 41 Hartford Wesleyan 40 #18 Miami State 48 Alabama Gulf Coast 40 #21 Ohio Poly 47 Central Kentucky 31 #22 Dickson 59 Sadler 58 THURSDAY JANUARY 11 #1 Carolina Poly 62 Piedmont University 41 #2 St Patrick's 51 Noble Jones College 40 #4 Annapolis Maritime 44 Western State 42 #5 Rainier College 61 Central Illinois 48 #6 Liberty College 54 Valley State 44 #15 Great Plains State 44 Topeka State 42 #23 Western Florida 51 Travis College 40 FRIDAY JANUARY 12 #8 Mobile Maritime 54 Alabama Baptist 44 #11 St Blane 54 El Paso Methodist 48 #14 Lincoln 51 Oklahoma Bible College 41 #18 Miami State 39 Boulder State 21 Cowpens State 40 #19 Conwell College 45 #20 St Pancras 49 Harrisburg State 36 SATURDAY JANUARY 13 #1 Carolina Poly 41 Eastern State 39 #2 St Patrick's 44 #10 North Carolina Tech 42 #4 Annapolis Maritime 71 Maryland State 43 #7 Chesapeake State 56 Utah A&M 42 #9 Western Iowa 51 Opelika State 44 SUNDAY JANUARY 14 #3 CC Los Angeles 46 Portland Tech 36 #5 Rainier College 55 Spokane State 51 #6 Liberty College 42 College of Omaha 24 #12 Mississippi A&M 60 Huntington State 53 #17 Coastal California 34 Lane State 33 #19 Conwell College 56 Eastern Virginia 34 The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 1/14/1945 The commander in chief of the Atlantic Fleet, Admiral Jonas Ingram, warns that it is "possible and probable" that New York City or Washington will be hit by buzz bombs within the next 30 to 60 days. He was speaking of bombs similar but probably smaller than the V-1 or V-2s launched against Great Britain. He warned against panic, saying the greatest danger to expect was from fires and that the bombs were not expected to seriously damage any large buildings. An American invasion army numbering 100,000 strong is driving down the highway toward Manilla after meeting just feeble Japanese resistance which cost virtually no beachhead casualties. Alarmed Nazi broadcasts said that the Red Army had opened three more major offensives n East Prussia and Czechoslovakia and that a "gigantic struggle of decisive importance in raging" on a 600-mile front between the Baltic and Danube Valley. __________________ Lead Columnist of The Figment Sporting Journal The Scripture of Sports

12-15-2022, 11:39 AM	#588
Jiggs McGee All Star Reserve Join Date: Dec 2019 Posts: 677	January 22, 1945 JANUARY 22, 1945 KEEP BASEBALL AS GI TONIC, PAPENFUS URGES Seattle, Jan 16- Pete 'The Heater' Papenfus, the kid from Willow Springs, Mo., who was the smoke ball king of FABL, was back in the United States today with the conviction that baseball "is one of the American ideals we in the service are fighting for." Chief Specialist Papenfus made port yesterday after an 18-month tour of duty which took him into both Pacific and Atlantic Oceans so he knows what he is talking about. Baseball gives the men in foxholes and on the ships at sea something "to dream of seeing again at home," said the 1941 Allen Award winner. "I can't for the life of me see how a handful of 4-Fs and overage men playing baseball can make much difference in our war effort." KEYSTONES ADD VETERAN OUTFIELDER GRIFFITH FOR AFTER WAR There was not a lot of trade activity during the FABL amateur player draft but one move did see all-star centerfielder Bob Griffith head to the Philadelphia Keystones. The 28 year old Ohio native likely won't be joining the Keystones outfield this season as he joined the Army in November shortly after helping the Cincinnati Cannons defeat the Keystones in last year's World Championship Series. A two year starter in Cincinnati after being selected by the organization in the third round of the 1934 draft, Griffith hit .291 last season and made the Continental Association all-star team. However, with the Cannons having added Gail Gifford from St Louis to replace Griffith while he is at war, and having a post-war outfield that will also include Fred Galloway, Al Wheeler, Sam Brown and Mike T. Taylor there was limited opportunity for Griffith with the Cannons. The Keystones sent their third and fourth round picks in the current draft to the Cannons in order to have Griffith hopefully join them next year. The Keystones plan, according to Philadelphia Inquisitor columnist Johnny Bologna is for Griffith to be in center field, flanked by Bobby Barrell and Hank McKay. This would allow current starter Chuck Hood, who saw his average sink to just .256 last season, to take on a reserve role with either young Charlie Enslow or Bobby McHenry. The plan is for Griffith to be a placeholder for a season or two until either Enslow or 20 year old prospect Johnnie Porter is ready for full-time duty in the middle of the Broad Street Park outfield. CANNONS LOOK FOR HIGH SCHOOL TALENT IN DRAFT The Cincinnati Cannons had a long wait before they could make their first selection in the 1945 FABL draft but they feel they acquired a pretty solid young third base prospect in Texas high schooler Al Browner. The 17 year old hit .461 with 4 homeruns in 25 games as a junior at Wharton High School last season. Cannons head scout Bill Bordwell feels Browner has the potential to be an above average big league third baseman and should have some pop in his bat. The Cannons entered the draft targeting a third baseman but it was reported to be local college product Bob 'Junior' Miller they coveted. Miller has plenty of ties, both to the city and the organization, but was selected by Cleveland 6 picks ahead of the Cannons in the second round. In addition to playing his college ball at Queen City University and being from nearby Lancaster, Oh., Miller's father Bob Sr. spent his entire 12 year big league career with the Cannons organization. They were based in Baltimore then but Miller posted a 99-123 career mark after being a first round pick back in 1922. * Griffith dispatched to Keystones The Cannons dealt outfielder Bob Griffith, who played so well last season but is now serving in the Army, to the Philadelphia Keystones for a third and a fourth round pick. Griffith likely should have been worth more after his all-star season but the Cannons, with a surplus of big league outfielders once the war ends, received little in the way of interest primarily due to other teams being concerned about roster surpluses of their own. Griffith should do well with the Keystones and the trade gave Cincinnati back to back picks at the end of both the third and fourth rounds. In round three the club opted for a pair of high school pitchers in Jimmy Block and Alex Drake. Block is 6'5" righthander and a three-sport star at Dundee High School in Michigan wth a 25-7 record over the past three seasons. Bordwell sees him as a future number 4 of 5 starter which is also how he projects Drake. The 18 year old lefthander has pitched just one season for Trenton (NJ) High, but was very impressive with an 8-1 record and a 1.20 era to go with a 13.4 K/9 rate. In the fourth round the Cannons dipped into the college ranks for catcher Chet Bower. The 20 year old from Macon State had an impressive debut season of AIAA ball, hitting .291 with 8 homers in 52 games. Bower is projected to develop into an above-average catcher according to Boshart. The second pick from the Keystones was used on Max Conrad, a speedy centerfielder out of a California high school. Boshart feels the 18 year old has the talent to flourish as a big league outfielder some day. Wartime's second dimout in America is due February 1, but more than likely the lights will stay on for athletic events. A War Production Board official disclosed that baseball will not be affected by the new night-lighting restrictions, which has caused other sports to take heart. So basketball, hockey and boxing are looking to business as usual the remainder of the indoor season. Racing -both horse and dog- is going to take a beating as there is no indiciation the an on those sports will be lifted soon, but for baseball it is one big obstacle overcome. Now, just the matter of the 4-F's remains. The Japanese Baseball Association has officially announced it will not hold a season in 1945. The loop played a very reduced schedule a year ago and has decided to suspend operations indefinitely. The Kobe Bulls won their third straight tile last season in the seven year old loop. CONTINENTAL FOOTBALL CONFERENCE GRID LOOP OUTLOOK APPEARS BRIGHT Lt. Commander Ben Montgomery has his post-war job all lined as President of the Continental Football Conference and while officially he isn't supposed to devote any thought to matters outside a tight circle of Navy business, Montgomery did a little unofficial thinking yesterday. Montgomery, who was a key piece of the famous St Blane backfield in the mid-1920s and formerly head football coach at Brooklyn State, opined his circuit would be a full-fledged rival for the long established American Football Association. In fact, he is already thinking of a world championship game between the two league champions -but that's unofficial from the league's as well as the Navy's viewpoint. The Continental loop plans to be a far-flung organization, stretching from coast to coast, and from the Canadian to the Mexican border. The setup involves not only much travel, but wide variation in climate and we suggest it might pose a problem or two. But the commander brushed the thought aside. "Our teams will make the long hops by plane and we'll arrange the schedule so that games in northern areas will be played early in the season to take advantage of good weather there, while the late games can be played out in California." How about players? Won't the new league find it tough to our-bargain the well-established American Association? Wouldn't the AFA be stronger -on paper at least- immediately after the war? Montgomery said no, no and no. Club owners of the new organization, which will include franchises at Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago and New York, are prepared, spiritually and financially, to take a loss for at least five years. At the end of that time the league president-to-be believes most will be on solid footing or the league will be revamped to meet changing situations. The Continental Conference will set up a draft system of its own, and Montgomery, with a twinkle in his Irish eye, said he thought any club in his circuit could bid as high for any player as the club who drafted him in the rival loop. As for relative strength of the two wheels, he says they'll start on fairly even footing after the war because a number of AFAers now in service will be too old to be of an real vaule when ustered out. Finally Montgomery weighed in with his thoughts on the topic of 4-F athletes. He hopes some way will be foun to continue sport in this country because the boys on those arid pin points in the Pacific, in the swamps and jungles of the world down under, eat 'em up. He knows the score in that game because he was out there for 18 months before recently returning home. ST PATRICK'S TAKES OVER TOP SPOT IN COLLEGE CAGE RANKINGS The college basketball rankings show a new number one team this week after Central Carolina lost for just the second time this season. The Cardinals fell to their biggest rival in the South Atlantic Conference, dropping a 47-43 decision on the road against North Carolina Tech. That opened the door for both St Patrick's and Annapolis Maritime to sneak ahead of the Cardinals, who had held down the top spot all season. Being independents and as such having no conference schedule means that both the Shamrocks and Navigators are nearing the end of their games for the season. Each is 20-2 after both had successful results this week. St Patrick's had little trouble in beating Boston State, Smithfield College and Alabame Gulf Coast this week but do have some tough games coming up on the schedule with the biggest being the February 2nd tussle with Annapolis Maritime at the Bigsby Garden in New York. The Navigators beat North Carolina Atlantic 69-53 yesterday to extend their winning streak to 11 games. Code: COLLEGIATE BASKETBALL RANKINGS # Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference 1. St. Patrick's (72) 20-2 1800 2 Indy Northeast 2. Annapolis Maritime 20-2 1688 4 Indy South 3. Carolina Poly 13-2 1641 1 South Atlantic Conference 4. Rainier College 15-1 1616 5 West Coast Athletic Association 5. Liberty College 19-3 1510 6 Indy East 6. Mobile Maritime 13-2 1415 8 South Atlantic Conference 7. CC Los Angeles 14-2 1373 3 West Coast Athletic Association 8. North Carolina Tech 13-4 1311 10 South Atlantic Conference 9. Western Iowa 12-3 1216 9 Great Lakes Alliance 10. Chesapeake State 13-3 1167 7 South Atlantic Conference 11. Garden State 13-3 1069 13 Liberty Conference 12. Lincoln 12-3 944 14 Great Lakes Alliance 13. St. Blane 16-5 942 11 Indy East 14. Great Plains State 18-4 913 15 Indy Midwest 15. Mississippi A&M 12-4 809 12 Deep South Conference 16. Ohio Poly 15-5 620 21 Indy Midwest 17. Miami State 16-4 609 18 Indy South 18. St. Pancras 16-4 604 20 Indy East 19. Coastal California 12-5 593 17 West Coast Athletic Association 20. Noble Jones College 12-4 384 NR Deep South Conference 21. Alabama Baptist 12-4 311 NR Deep South Conference 22. St. Martin's College 15-6 291 NR Indy Northeast 23. Conwell College 15-5 226 19 Indy East 24. Plover College 14-5 86 NR Indy Midwest 25. Western Florida 11-5 67 23 Deep South Conference Others Receiving Votes: Middlesex 15-5 43 Indy Northeast Northern California 10-6 40 West Coast Athletic Association Wichita Baptist 14-5 34 Midwestern Association Empire State 11-4 23 Liberty Conference Darnell State 11-4 20 Southwestern Alliance California Catholic 13-5 13 California League Harper College 15-5 12 Indy East Eastern State 14-6 6 Indy South Elyria 13-5 4 Indy East RESULTS INVOLVING RANKED TEAMS MONDAY JANUARY 15 #1 St Patrick's 54 Boston State 27 #13 St Blane 44 Tempe College 20 TUESDAY JANUARY 16 #2 Annapolis Maritime 49 Harrisburg State 46 #10 Chesapeake State 52 Cumberland 32 #18 St Pancras 56 Sunnyvale 34 #20 Noble Jones College 48 Oklahoma Bible College 45 #21 Alabama Baptist 51 Topeka State 48 #22 St Martin's College 45 Constitution State 35 #24 Plover College 39 Red River State 29 #25 Western Florida 51 Glover(GA) 44 WEDNESDAY JANUARY 17 #1 St Patrick's 46 Smithfield College 31 #14 Great Plains State 47 Springfield State 37 #16 Ohio Poly 50 Lexington State 44 THURSDAY JANUARY 18 #2 Annapolis Maritime 49 University of New Jersey 33 #8 North Carolina Tech 47 #3 Carolina Poly 43 #6 Mobile Maritime 56 Columbia Military Academy 48 #9 Western Iowa 49 Minnesota Tech 28 Central Carolina 56 #10 Chesapeake State 47 #11 Garden State 39 Brooklyn State 31 #12 Lincoln 37 Wisconsin State 26 #18 St Pancras 47 Bethlehem College 35 #20 Noble Jones College 67 Armstrong 32 #21 Alabama Baptist 62 Daniel Boone College 37 FRIDAY JANUARY 19 #1 St Patrick's 48 Alabama Gulf Coast 24 #4 Rainier College 43 Portland Tech 28 #5 Liberty College 58 Topeka State 47 #19 Coastal California 34 #7 CC Los Angeles 26 #17 Miami State 63 Oklahoma Bible College 49 SATURDAY JANUARY 20 #6 Mobile Maritime 50 #15 Mississippi A&M 40 #9 Western Iowa 42 Central Ohio 29 #12 Lincoln 33 Indiana A&M 30 College of Omaha 46 #13 St Blane 43 #14 Great Plains State 58 Capital(MS) University 28 #15 Ohio Poly 36 Michigan Lutheran 22 #21 Alabama Baptist 39 College of Cairo 27 #22 St Martin's College 49 Eastern State 36 Queen City 51 #25 Western Florida 49 SUNDAY JANUARY 21 #2 Annapolis Maritime 69 North Carolina Atlantic 53 #4 Rainier College 47 Lane State 43 #7 CC Los Angeles 39 Idaho A&M 26 #10 Chesapeake State 57 #23 Conwell College 41 #18 St Pancras 50 Bay State 39 Northern California 53 #19 Coastal California 45 HILLARD WINS BY TKO Gil Hillard -the Phoenix born heavyweight who had a slow start to his career but has been making some noise in the southwest of late, was back in the ring Saturday night and scored another victory. Hillard's overall mark is an unimpressive 11-9-1 but he has strung together some fine outings of late and ran his winning streak to 5 bouts with an 11th round technical knockout of Raleigh Morton in their weekend tilt in San Antonio, Tx. Among Hillard's recent victims are Daron Ross -who entered their fight a perfect 7-0 and veteran Cowboy Ron Ramsey, who had lost just once in 19 fights before facing Hillard. Morton is not quite up to those standards, now sporting a 10-9-1 record and having lost each of his last five fights but had only been stopped once before in his career. NOTABLE FIGHT RESULTS FROM PAST WEEK HW Harris Martin (18-12-5) win by DQ over Coy Parks (12-20-2) HW Tim Blanton (10-10-2) win by TKO in 11th over Eric Washington (14-17-6) HM Brian Sinclair (7-27-2) unanimous decision over Richard Snyder (20-14-2) The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 1/21/1945 President Roosevelt was inaugrated for an unprecendented fourth term, and warned against isolation nothing that we shall have no lasting peace if we approach it's committments with suspicion, mistrust and fear. A key East Prussia fort falls as the Red Army drive gains 37 miles in a single day. A day later Warsaw falls in the greatest Russian offensive of the war. Prime Minister Churchill told Commons today that the Allies will fight on until Germany surrenders unconditionally even if such a policy stiffens Nazi resistance and prolongs the war. US Secretary of War Stimson announced that American ground forces along suffered 332,912 casualties on the western front since D-Day on June 6 to January 1. The total includes 54,562 killed and 45,676 missing. Under the threat of increasing bombing attacks, Tokyo has announced plans to move it's government offices underground on a "permanent basis." Under the direction of the War Department, doctors at Army Induction Centers across the country have began the physical re-examination of thousands of 4-F's. The exams are counted on to replace previous decisions in cases of men barred from the army as physically unfit and has targeted men between 18 and 30 who were rejected by army doctors on or before February 1, 1944. __________________ Lead Columnist of The Figment Sporting Journal** The Scripture of Sports

12-16-2022, 09:19 AM	#589
Jiggs McGee All Star Reserve Join Date: Dec 2019 Posts: 677	January 29, 1945 JANUARY 29, 1945 Baseball owners can now go ahead with their plans for the upcoming season, because they have the President of the United States on their team. Franklin D. Roosevelt, at his Washington Press Conference early this week told reporters that he could see no reason why the game shouldn't continue -providing it didn't interfere with the war effort. "I'm all for baseball," added the Chief Executive, which should be good enough for everybody. The magnates have always played ball with Uncle Sam, so that there will be no question of the game's continuance postponing the defeat of Germany and Japan. The remark that Mr. Roosevelt passed that he didn't think that pefectly healthy young me should be playing baseball at this time didn't dim the green light switch on by the President in 1942. All the perfectly healthy are already serving. "We've never wanted to use men the Government needed, either in the armed forces or war plants," pointed out a prominent New York official who didn't want to be quoted. "It's the principle we've been operating on ever since Pearl Harbor. "To me, it's very good news," said New York Stars owner Al Mielke. "Mr. Roosevelt says we should carry on without hurting the war effort. That's the way we want it." The President's okay carries with it further implications that the majority of players in 4-F will not be disturbed unless Congress puts through work-or-fight legislation. Of course, the army and navy could lower their physical standards. Both possibilities seem to remote to consider. Army and navy officals reiterated today that they have no revision of the sort in mind. Those 4-Fs are needed if the minors are not to be closed down. Farm clubs would have been heavily raided for replacements. Now the game can get by as it has in the past, with 4Fs, the overage and underage. It is the word for which baseball has been listening. It wanted to know it's fate above everything else. It would have padlocked its parks without a whimper if that had been the Government dictum. * Some Doubt Stamina * Across the league there was a collective sign of relief upon hearing the President's words. All expressed pleasure at the message and some felt it only made sense. Boston Minutemen manager Bill Boshart didn't think 4-Fs could stand the grind of even war work. "Why, some of 'em couldn't take a doubleheader last year." Boston owner Jesse Barton added that the Minutemen would not ask any favors of any draft board. Daniel Fitzpatrick said it was consistent with what the President said three years ago and wasn't unduly surprised. The Pittsburgh Miners owner said baseball would continue to do what it has been doing - keep on going as long as they can muster nine men to a side. The GI Joes want baseball, the President wants it, baseball wants to along with what it has left, the fans at home want it for relaxation -the rest of the world doesn't matter its little pessimistic objectors. WOLVES START LOOKING AT FUTURE: JANUARY 1945 DRAFT With the calendar turning from 1944 to 1945, war news news not showing any signs of a quick end in either Europe or the Pacific Brett will try to give the Wolves' fans something more to discuss over coffee or during breaks in the war factories. Toronto lost two of their top three picks 1944 picks to the war effort, understandable as there are bigger issues facing young men now than baseball. The Mail & Empire along with all Wolves staff and fans are praying that all players return from the war in one piece to resume their career in baseball. Now a look at the first five picks Toronto has made in 1945: 1: Otis Porter-21 RHP Grange College: A fireballer, first pitcher drafted, with a 4-pitch mix has played in a tough college league. Scouts rave about his ability to learn, apply new concepts in short order. Probable summer 1945 destination, if signed, Vancouver but could progress quickly to A-ball and beyond. 2: Harry Finney-21 SS Bluegrass State: Another college junior can play all over the infield. He has a quick bat along with being an outstanding defender. Probable summer 1945 destination, if signed, Vancouver where he will play many infield positions. His versatility is major factor for Wolves management. Progression will depend upon how he deals with professional pitchers. 3: Rudy Gerbaugh-17 OF Chicago High School: Some people think that Gerbaugh was a stretch in the third round although Toronto's scouting department sees a future member of the Wolves in this youngster, he hit .477 last summer. Probable summer 1945 destination, if signed, Tuscaloosa where he will be introduced to the rigors of daily baseball along with the required travel. If he progresses during 1945 that would be a bonus. 4: Corky Aban- 17 RHP Ottawa, IL High School: Unlike Porter, Aban relies on his pin-point control to retire hitters. He has struck out over 15 batters per 9 inning pitched in his last two seasons showing that you do not necessarily have to blow the ball by the batter. Probable summer 1945 destination, if signed, Tuscaloosa, he may start in the 'pen until he is grounded, his guile should allow him to be in the rotation before the end of summer. 5: Lynn Horn- 17 RHP San Francisco High School: A third straight high schooler taken by Toronto Horn is a real worm killer pitcher. He keeps the ball on the ground which plays well in the Wolves organization. Probable summer 1945 destination, if signed, Tuscaloosa. If and when this horrific loss of life ends in either Europe, Asia or both there will be a large number of players returning expecting to resume their baseball activities so these draftees will have hit the ground running at the start of their professional, hopefully long, lives. All FABL teams are going to face with roster restriction as players return, the question will be whether the teams releases youngsters or older, proven, veterans. Bob Riggins will almost assuredly be in the big leagues at some point in time, perhaps as early as this year. The Christian Trophy winning outfielder from Grange College might even make it sometime this summer as there has never been a first overall draft pick to fail to play at least 1 big league game before his career came to an end. The top three in terms of big league games played as far as first overall picks go are Max Morris, Al Wheeler and Rankin Kellogg. At the other end of the spectrum we have Karl Stevens -Cleveland's 1926 first overall pick- who appeared in just 14 games in his career. As for pitchers, and there have been 13 of them taken number 1 including Roy Schaub a year ago. The winningest amongst them is Tom Barrell with a 163-106 career mark. Barrell is still active with Cincinnati but may eventually be passed by Toronto's Joe Hancock (139-97) or perhaps even his nephew Deuce Barrell (90-52). Interesting to note is that nearly half of the 13 first overall pitchers are presently away from game as part of the war effort. They include Hancock, Vic Carroll, Bob Arman, Hiram Steinberg, Bobo White and Curly Jones. Intersting note part two: 4 of the 13 pitchers selected first overall are presently in the Cincinnati Cannons organization: both Barrells along with Carroll and Arman although only Deuce and Carroll were drafted by the Cannons. Being taken second overall is no guarantee of big league success. In fact 3 players selected second in a FABL drafted never played a big league game: They are Pete Hunt (1932-Toronto), Jim Harris (1930-Toronto) and Ted Howe (1911-St Louis) While being drafted in one of the early rounds certainly enhances a ballplayers chances of making the big leagues, there is always hope for those late round picks. Just ask Job Readus. The first basemen played 7 seasons with the New York Stars - hitting .314 in 947 big league games and won 3 World Championship Series rings while batting .317 in 13 WCS contests. Not bad for a player who was drafted in the 28th round. FABL doesn't even have a 28th round any more -it stops at 25- but Readus was selected 447th overall out of Maryland State by Pittsburgh in 1917. The Miners released him 3 years later but he caught on with the Stars and the rest is history. Surprisingly Readus is not the lowest drafted player ever to appear in a big league game. That honour falls to Jay Combs, who was selected 456th by St Louis in 1923 out of Liberty College - three years after the Pioneers picked him 448th out of Buffalo High School in 1920. Combs likely is also the only player ever drafted 3 times by the same team as he failed to sign with the Pioneers in 1930, again in 1922 when they used a 12th round pick on him before finally signing in 1923. The Pioneers then immediately cut him -perhaps as payback for not signing earlier- and Combs bounced around the minors for 3 seasons before catching on with the Gothams. The outfielder would play 292 games for the Gothams from 1927-29, making him the lowest draft pick ever to play a FABL game. RAINIER COLLEGE EYES THIRD STRAIGHT CROWN The Rainier College Majestics started their season off on the wrong foot by falling 49-40 to Golden Gate in the opening game of the Preseason AIAA Chicago Showcase but they have not lost since and are looking like they are well positioned to become just the second team in collegiate basketball history to win three straight National Championships. The Majestics still have a long ways to go before they can duplicate the feat of the 1921-23 North Carolina Tech Techsters, but with two straight titles and a 17-game winning streak on the go this season they are certainly headed in the right direction. Rainier College Head Coach Red Bennett moved west to Puyallup, Wa. from Ohio Poly 8 years ago and elevated what was always a pretty solid program into the envy of all of college basketball. In his first season Bennett guided the Majestics to the quarter-finals and two years later they won their first National Title. Two more would come over the past two season and Rainer College is now 193-53 with 3 National Titles under the veteran coach's tutelage Fourth year starter Tree Turner coninutes to be the leader of the Rainier College offense but he gets plenty of help from fellow senior Tony Williams, who also played a big role on last season's title team. Both Turner and Williams are scoring in double figures and they other key addition has been sophomore forward Buford Garrison, who has stepped in nicely to replace the departed Gary Harrison, who became the first Majestic to be named National Player of the Year when he won the award last season. There are some tough conference games remaining on the schedule including a trip to Los Angeles to face Coastal California on Friday, but it is hard not to put the Majestics near the top of the short-list for national title contenders. Code: COLLEGIATE BASKETBALL RANKINGS # Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference 1. St. Patrick's (72) 21-2 1800 1 Indy Northeast 2. Carolina Poly 15-2 1686 3 South Atlantic Conference 3. Rainier College 17-1 1620 4 West Coast Athletic Association 4. Annapolis Maritime 21-2 1618 2 Indy South 5. Liberty College 21-3 1538 5 Indy East 6. North Carolina Tech 14-4 1447 8 South Atlantic Conference 7. Western Iowa 14-3 1376 9 Great Lakes Alliance 8. Mobile Maritime 14-3 1240 6 South Atlantic Conference 9. CC Los Angeles 15-3 1226 7 West Coast Athletic Association 10. St. Blane 16-5 1171 13 Indy East 11. Garden State 14-4 1003 11 Liberty Conference 12. Ohio Poly 17-5 998 16 Indy Midwest 13. Chesapeake State 13-4 989 10 South Atlantic Conference 14. Mississippi A&M 13-5 836 15 Deep South Conference 15. Great Plains State 18-5 827 14 Indy Midwest 16. St. Martin's College 17-6 667 22 Indy Northeast 17. Noble Jones College 14-4 638 20 Deep South Conference 18. Miami State 17-5 480 17 Indy South 19. St. Pancras 17-5 432 18 Indy East 20. Middlesex 18-5 316 NR Indy Northeast 21. Lincoln 12-5 288 12 Great Lakes Alliance 22. Texas Gulf Coast 13-6 283 NR Southwestern Alliance 23. Western Florida 13-5 189 25 Deep South Conference 24. Conwell College 17-6 174 23 Indy East 25. Wichita Baptist 16-5 132 NR Midwestern Association Others Receiving Votes: Coastal California 12-7 109 West Coast Athletic Association Plover College 15-5 80 Indy Midwest Harper College 17-5 50 Indy East Empire State 13-4 46 Liberty Conference California Catholic 15-5 32 California League Dickson 13-6 26 Academia Alliance Brooklyn State 11-7 26 Liberty Conference Alabama Baptist 13-5 24 Deep South Conference Eastern State 16-7 17 Indy South Charleston Tech 13-5 15 South Atlantic Conference Lane State 10-8 1 West Coast Athletic Association RESULTS INVOLVING RANKED TEAMS MONDAY JANUARY 22 #17 Noble Jones College 48 Frankford State 46 Central Kentucky 46 #18 Miami State 44 #23 Western Florida 56 Potomac College 44 TUESDAY JANUARY 23 #4 Annapolis Maritime 47 Alabama Gulf Coast 45 #20 Middlesex 51 Boston State 49 #24 Conwell College 48 Northern Minnesota 29 WEDNESDAY JANUARY 24 #1 St Patrick's 55 Bayou State 49 #12 Ohio Poly 46 St Matthew's College 34 THURSDAY JANUARY 25 #2 Carolina Poly 52 Petersburg 44 #5 Liberty College 61 Narragansett 34 #6 North Carolina Tech 39 Alexandria 37 #7 Western Iowa 46 Wisconsin State 39 #8 Mobile Maritime 44 Lexington State 30 Jersey City Tech 63 #11 Garden State 47 #14 Mississippi A&M 61 #15 Great Plains State 56 #16 St Martin's College 64 Boston State 41 #18 Miami State 53 Wisconsin Catholic 47 Central Ohio 45 #21 Lincoln 43 North Carolina Atlantic 61 #24 Conwell College 49 #25 Wichita Baptist 45 Eastern Oklahoma 42 FRIDAY JANUARY 26 #3 Rainier College 53 Northern California 52 #12 Ohio Poly 51 Rock Island 42 #19 St Pancras 57 West Corners(NY) 49 #20 middlesex 55 Central Maryland 45 #22 Texas Gulf Coast 59 Arkansas A&T 38 SATURDAY JANUARY 27 #2 Carolina Poly 51 Bulein 30 #5 Liberty College 44 Ogdensburg 35 #7 Western Iowa 71 St Ignatius 46 Petersburg 60 #8 Mobile Maritime 48 #11 Garden State 69 Manhattan Tech 49 Cowpens State 43 #13 Chesapeake State 41 #17 Noble Jones College 51 #14 Mississippi A&M 41 #16 St Martin's College 45 Pierpont 37 St Magnus 49 #21 Lincoln 42 #22 Texas Gulf Coast 55 Canyon A&M 35 #23 Western Florida 49 Baton Rogue State 39 #25 Wichita Baptist 48 Payne State 39 SUNDAY JANUARY 28 #3 Rainier College 43 Redwood 33 #9 CC Los Angeles 38 Northern California 26 #24 Conwell College 51 #19 St Pancras 45 #20 Middlesex 42 Narragansett 32 DELANEY WINS IN RING RETURN Long ago Nick Delaney was one of the rising young fighters in the heavyweight division. Back in 1935 he was 19-2 and there was talk the Stamford, CT. slugger might just be developing into one of the best fighters in the country. Then it suddenly turned after he was badly injured in a savage loss to Whipper Walsh in early 1936 that kept him out of the ring for nearly two years. Delaney did come back but was a shadow of his former self, going 3-5-2 before enlisting shortly after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Delaney saw action in North Africa before being shipped home after being shot in the leg last January. He recovered from the wound and got himself back into shape sparring and participating in some military fundraising bouts over the summer. Discharged in November he decided to resume his pro career at the age of 34 and looked pretty good in that debut, scoring a one-sided unanimous decision over Arthur Spencer (8-17-4) in the nation's capital last Tuesday. Delaney is now 23-7-2 and while he admits he will never be the top fighter that was once predicted of him, he does have plans to stay active in the ring as long as he can. ANOTHER VICTORY FOR CRAWFORD Up and comer Roy Crawford improved his record as a heavyweight to 18-2 with a first round knockout of Eugene Morse at Denny Arena Friday night, much to the delight of the more than 10,000 fight fans that packed the venerable old Boston stadium to witness their hometown favourite first hand. Crawford now counts 8 knockouts among his victories and barely had a glove laid on him in this one. It took just 32 secords for Morse to end up flat on the canvas as Crawford came out swinging and smothered his opponent in a barrage of punches. Morse struggled to his feet but was clearly dazed, prompting Crawford to go in for the kill. A huge hook by the New Englander less than a minute later sent Morse sprawling once more and while he did show moxey in regaining his feet once more it was clear Morse was seeing stars. As soon as Morse had he regained his feet and been given the go-ahead to continue did Crawford charge forward once more, driving home a wicked hook to the midsection followed quickly by a violent shot to the jaw and Morse was down and out with the official time of the stoppage being 2:57 of the first round. OTHER NOTABLE BOUT RESULTS FROM LAST WEEK HW Geoff Graham (30-23-3) unanimous decision in 12 round bout over Tyler Ellis (2-12) HW Dave Daley (20-12-3) unanimous decision in 12 round bout over Jesse Ford (10-12-1) The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 1/28/1945 Red Army troops continue to push westward over the frozen Polish plains in a lightning sweep that has advanced them as close as 94 miles from Berlin. Hitler has reportedly rushed Gestapo Chief Heinrich Himmler and others of his best commanders to the Eastern Front and given them "complete power" to rally German strength against the Russians in any way they saw fit. The American 7th Army completely restored their shaky lines in northern Alsace, hurling the Germans back across the Moder River and breaking up their dangerous offensive on a 20 mile front. A strong Nazi raid on the Serchio River valley in Italy was repulsed by the American 5th and 8th armies. 765 American soldiers are feared lost after a troop ship carrying 2,200 was sunk recently in European waters by enemy action. Secretary of War Stimson confirmed that the North Atlantic is still very much alive with German Submarines. American troops in the Philippines are within sight of the Clark Field airstrips, only 53 miles north of Manilla. Unconfirmed reports from China said that 50 American and Japanese ships battled for nine hours in the East China Sea within 300 miles of Shanghai in the biggest naval engagement since October. A bit of a scandal for the President to deal with. The Senate Military Affairs Committee has decided to investigate "the whole priority practice" -and particularly the 'A' priority that kept Col. Elliott Roosevelt's dog on an army airplane while three service men were bumped. __________________ Lead Columnist of The Figment Sporting Journal The Scripture of Sports

12-19-2022, 11:09 AM	#591
Jiggs McGee All Star Reserve Join Date: Dec 2019 Posts: 677	February 12, 1945 FEBRUARY 12, 1945 WILD SEASON LIES AHEAD FOR FED Baseball's Federal Association has often given us some memorable season with four or more teams waged in a tight battle for much of the year but 1945 is shaping up to be perhaps the largest pennant chase seen in decades in the loop. At this point as we sit a month away from the start of spring training there is no clear cut favourite for the Fed flag and one could easily make a case for all but perhaps the St Louis Pioneers as the team to beat. The Philadelphia Keystones are the defending champs after winning by a fairly wide 9 game margin a year ago. They will be without 15 game winner Pepper Tuttle (army) and starting shortstop Tim Humphrey (navy) and both will be missed although vet Jake Creel was acquired over the winter and is probably a little better with the glove at shortstop than Humphrey was. The Keystones offense revolves around Bobby Barrell and while another triple crown season might be too much to ask for, one still has to think The Georiga Jolter will come up big once again. First baseman Harry Shumate has had two strong seasons in Philadelphia but he will turn 35 shortly after opening day so perhaps there are worries about a bit of a slide. The rotation, anchored by ace Red Ross, looks solid at the top but Tuttle will be missed. As is the case with most teams, all of the top pitching prospects are overseas but perhaps 22 year old John Grimes, who had a solid season in AAA a year ago, can step up to replace Tuttle. Few, if any, expected the Detroit Dynamos to finish second a year ago but they were one of the bigger surprises of 1944. For that reason alone it is hard to count them out but there seem to be a lot of holes in the Detroit roster for 1945 with second sacker Gil London (army), 15 game winner Jimmy Mayse (navy), 10 game winner Pug Bryan (navy) and relief ace Willie Montgomery (army) all lost to the war effort. Add in the fact that third baseman Frank Vance will turn 43 this season and the fact the club is facing a cash crunch that might force them to part with a player like outfielder Henry Jones -another greybeard at age 40- and there is little reason to think the Dynamos will contend, but that was the same tune we were singing a year ago with the prospect of Detroit facing a full season without Red Johnson. The Pittsburgh Miners have been beat up badly over the years by Selective Service and this year was no different with outfielder Luke Berry (navy) and promising 21 year old infielder George Darnell (army) getting the call along with reliever Speed Brown (navy). There was a little good news on the war manpower from as Tony Puccinello will return after a hernia made him 4-F. Pooch last pitched in 1942 but might be a solid replacement for Brown. The Pittsburgh rotation returns four strong startes in Karl Johnson, George Phillips, Don Miller and Billy Ligons, who had a breakout season a year ago as a 27 year old. There are going to be some holes in the offense to patch but if vets Mahlon Strong and Moxie Pidgeon can stay healthy -a big ask- and productive the Miners might be just fine. Many anticipated another step forward from the Washington Eagles in 1944 after a stellar '43 season that saw the Stockdales stay in the thick of the pennant race until a late season fade. Instead the club got off to a terrible start to the '44 campaign and was never in contention although some positives can be taken from a 34-18 stretch run. The Eagles pitching staff had a strong season a year ago but must duplicate it for Washington to have any chance. The good news is for the most part the Washington pitchers escaped the military draft and even added to it's ranks with the return of Juan Tostado after missing 3 seasons due to the war. But before you start thinking Washington got off easy there is the little matter of Mel Carrol and Jesse Alvardo -perhaps the two best offensive players on the team that finished last in the Fed in runs scored a year ago- both leaving for the navy. Runs might be very hard to come by for the home side at Columbia Stadium this season as neither will be easy to replace. The prospect of Larry Colaianni and Bob Coon being penciled in as the starting third baseman and left fielder instead of Carrol and Alvardo is likely causing more than a few sleepless nights for Eagles skipper John Lawrence. Boston won it all '43 but dipped a year ago despite a big season from Walt Wells on the mound and the addition of Billy Dalton. The good news for the Minutemen is Selective Service did not hit them too hard this off-season. Catcher Buster Farrar (army) and pitcher Dick Higgins (navy) have left but many other teams were hit much worse. The big question mark once again surrounds Bill Van Ness and can he finally be the strong starting catcher the Minutemen thought they were getting when they drafted him 6th overall in 1935. Van Ness was awful last season and may even lose his starting job to Jiggs Jackson if he has a repeat of 1944 so catcher remains a big concern in Boston. The Chicago Chiefs have spent three consecutive seasons in the second division and clearly admitted to their fans they were in rebuild mode with deals last summer to send Tom Bird and Rabbit Day to Cincinnati. The Al Wheeler experiment-who also went to the Cannons in a separate transaction- was a terrible experience for the organization. They also lost starting centerfielder Wayne Newcomb, Bird's replacement at catcher Frankie Kitchen and pitcher Luis Sandavol all to the army. The Chiefs do stil have Ron Rattigan and Bob Martin -two of the few remaining links to their pair of WCS wins last decade- and perhaps if things break right they could surprise after dealing stars like the Dynamos did a year ago. Selective Service has once again played a role as many teams were affected over the winter by war losses but the one exception might be the New York Gothams, who benefited greatly with the return of pitcher Harry Carter from the navy. The Gothams also did not lose a single key regular to the war effort this winter and their rotation of Ed Bowman, Jim Lonardo and Jim Baggett along with Carter might just be enough to make the Gothams the team to beat in the Fed this season. The St Louis Pioneers are perhaps the one team you can count out this year. They lost 21 game winner Buddy Long to the army air corps which likely contributed their decision to deal veteran centerfielder Gail Gifford and pitcher Sam Sheppard to Cincinnati for a pair of first round draft picks and highly touted outfield prospect. As if things couldn't get worse in St Louis, the Pioneers also lost 24 year old outfielder Pershing Christian, coming off a very strong rookie season, to the Army. There is a lot of young talent in the organization but so much of it is overseas. However, perhaps if pitchers Lazaro DeLeon and Ben Fiskars and infielder Homer Mills can break out after getting some FABL experience last season and 21 year old outfielder Larry Gregory enjoys a successful rookie season this can still be a productive year for the Pioneers. Eagles owner William Stockdale is confident that war mobilization director James Byrnes will come to recognize the value of wartime baseball. "I have met with Undersecretary of War Patterson for two and one-half years," he stated. "I know he thinks the expenditures of manpower and transportation for baseball are worth while. I think Mr. Byrnes will come to that same decision. From my experience, I know folks on the hill are friendly to baseball. They realize the contribution the game has given to war relief. Although baseball is listed as nonessential, I don't think any one in his right mind thinks that baseball should stop." Nothing official but the latest activity in Washington regarding the business of baseball in wartime has all the earmarks of a trial balloon. No authority of the ODT will accept responsibility for the rumour that the big leagues would be asked to realign themselves into East and West groups to reduce travel. This was a rumour that had baseball people scattering to verify all weekend. The idea was first floated a couple of years ago but nothing became of it. Aboard the Battlewagon Alabama, pride of the Third Fleet, Pete Papenfus ranks next to Admiral Halsey as the most popular man in the Navy but he is running out of catchers when he wants to throw a few. His first catcher was a cook named Haynes, but he had to quit when his thumb was shoved half way to the elbow with one of Peter the Heater's fastballs. He has since gone through 3 more of them, and all went away with hand injuries. Too bad he doesn't have someone like Adam Mullins or Heinie Zimmer on board. COLLEGE BASKETBALL HEADS MOVE FAST TO COMBAT GAMBLING EVIL AIAA Chief Suggests Return of Game to Campus Might Aid College basketball authorities throughout the nation, disturbed by admission of four Jersey City Tech players they had accepted $1,000 to throw a game, pondered anew today methods of combating widespread gambling on games that one source estimated ran as high as $10 million weekly. Leaders of the indoor sport, such as Charles B. Darrow, promoter of the doubleheaders at Bigsby Garden, assert that the action of the Jersey City Tech players in no way typlified the attitude of the college athlete in general. The AIAA issued a call for the "every day fan, who is in no way to be confused with the professional gamblers, to help us by not betting on college athletics." Meantime, a grand jury called into a rare night session by Judge Samuel S. Leibowitz, heard testimony from the four players: Al Harbison, Ulysses Bucci, Don Sparkman and Eric Bode as well as Jersey City Tech head coach Duke Van Kirk. Police have disclosed that more than 12 men have been arrested in Bigsby Garden on bookmaking charges since the horse racing ban of January 3. The men, according to police, are accused of "making book" on fights, hockey and basketball after complaints had been received that race-track followers had mushroomed a "new business." The players are alleged to have conspired with known gamblers to throw a January 20th game against Manhattan Tech, one in which Jersey City Tech would lose 50-47 despite being heavily favoured and are also suspected of shaving points in a 3 point win over Brooklyn Catholic on February 3 in which the Techsters were favoured by 6 points. AIAA officials are contemplating a return of the game to campus play only, eliminating the high revenue generating events like those that are scheduled weekly in major arenas in big cities like New York, Chicago and Boston. Code: COLLEGIATE BASKETBALL RANKINGS # Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference 1. St. Patrick's (72) 24-4 1800 1 Indy Northeast 2. Annapolis Maritime 24-2 1715 2 Indy South 3. Carolina Poly 18-3 1591 3 South Atlantic Conference 4. North Carolina Tech 18-4 1557 6 South Atlantic Conference 5. Rainier College 20-2 1554 4 West Coast Athletic Association 6. Liberty College 24-3 1496 5 Indy East 7. Western Iowa 18-3 1375 9 Great Lakes Alliance 8. Ohio Poly 21-5 1255 11 Indy Midwest 9. CC Los Angeles 18-4 1248 8 West Coast Athletic Association 10. Garden State 17-5 1127 10 Liberty Conference 11. Mobile Maritime 16-5 1107 7 South Atlantic Conference 12. St. Martin's College 21-6 951 14 Indy Northeast 13. St. Blane 18-7 923 15 Indy East 14. St. Pancras 20-5 841 18 Indy East 15. Chesapeake State 15-6 802 12 South Atlantic Conference 16. Noble Jones College 16-5 695 13 Deep South Conference 17. Mississippi A&M 15-7 628 16 Deep South Conference 18. Middlesex 21-6 523 17 Indy Northeast 19. Texas Gulf Coast 15-7 447 NR Southwestern Alliance 20. Great Plains State 20-9 328 NR Indy Midwest 21. Conwell College 19-7 327 19 Indy East 22. Western Florida 15-6 260 NR Deep South Conference 23. Miami State 19-7 216 NR Indy South 24. Lincoln 14-7 185 22 Great Lakes Alliance 25. Wichita Baptist 18-6 171 20 Midwestern Association Others Receiving Votes: Dickson 16-7 110 Academia Alliance Plover College 17-7 45 Indy Midwest Eastern State 18-8 39 Indy South Lane State 13-9 38 West Coast Athletic Association Empire State 15-6 14 Liberty Conference Charleston Tech 15-6 12 South Atlantic Conference Harper College 17-6 10 Indy East Coastal California 14-9 6 West Coast Athletic Association Oklahoma City State 15-6 4 Plains Athletic Association RESULTS INVOLVING RANKED TEAMS MONDAY FEBRUARY 5 none scheduled TUESDAY FEBRUARY 6 #13 St Blane 67 Valley State 64 #20 Great Plains State 41 Payne State 38 #23 Miami State 38 Michigan Lutheran 32 WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 7 #1 St Patrick's 52 Hartford Wesleyan 41 #8 Ohio Poly 54 Huntington State 36 #12 St Martin's College 53 Narragansett 36 #14 St Pancras 47 Bardney 40 #16 Noble Jones College 49 Cumberland 30 Opelika State 52 #17 Mississippi A&M 37 Troy State(NY) 54 #18 Middlesex 49 Pittsburgh State 49 #21 Conwell College 40 #22 Western Florida 45 St Andrews College 40 THURSDAY FEBRUARY 8 #3 Carolina Poly 54 Columbia Military Academy 46 #4 North Carolina Tech 46 Lexington State 37 #6 Liberty College 49 St Matthew's College 41 #7 Western Iowa 62 Detroit City College 44 Alexandria 47 #11 Mobile Maritime 43 #13 St Blane 47 Kansas Agricultural 27 #15 Chesapeake State 48 Bulein 31 #24 Lincoln 43 St Ignatius 34 Lambert College 56 #25 Wichita Baptist 50 FRIDAY FEBRUARY 9 #1 St Patrick's 36 Strub College 26 #2 Annapolis Maritime 47 Brunswick 40 #5 Rainier College 47 Custer College 42 #14 St Pancras 39 Orrville 35 #19 Texas Gulf Coast 49 Lubbock State 44 Northern California 45 #9 CC Los Angeles 26 SATURDAY FEBRUARY 10 #3 Carolina Poly 57 Maryland State 39 #4 North Carolina Tech 46 #11 Mobile Maritime 44 #7 Western Iowa 49 #24 Lincoln 44 #12 St Martin's College 47 Noth Carolina Atlantic 38 Alexandria 30 #15 Chesapeake State 29 St Andrews College 38 #16 Noble Jones College 32 #17 Mississippi A&M 46 Bluegrass State 44 #18 Middlesex 39 Western Montana 32 #19 Texas Guld Coast 61 Red River State 40 #21 Conwell College 51 Grant(IN) 38 #25 Wichita Baptist 52 Perry State College 22 SUNDAY FEBRUARY 11 #5 Rainier College 48 Lane State 46 #9 CC Los Angeles 36 Redwood 31 #20 Great Plains State 52 East Missouri Seminary 25 SAWYER SAYS HE IS READY FOR TITLE DEFENSE Heavyweight Champion Hector Sawyer says he is excited to get back into the ring after more than three years in the army. The World Champion, who sports a 49-3-1 record, has spent plenty of time boxing in fundraising matches while in the service including most recently on the undercard of the big Archie Rees middleweight title fight in England last September, but says there is something different about a pro fight. "The army bouts are great and all," Sawyer explained "but they don't compare to a big time pro fight. It will be something to get back in the ring with the title on the line." Sawyer's challenger, 35 year old Minnesota native Willie Meyer (32-7-1) is not expected to provide much of a challenge for the champ. This bout is clearly designed to ease Sawyer back into the pro game before he faces a real opponent -likely Mark Fountain- in June or July. RUTLEDGE MAKES PRO DEBUT The much anticipated pro debut of Danny Rutledge came last week and the 20 year old welterweight did not disappoint, earning a second round knock in front of a hostile crowd at the Cleveland Arena against hometown boy Will Wright. Rutledge, who hails from Louisville is considered to be one of the best young fighters around in any weight class. THIS WEEKS FIGHT ROUND-UP Wayne Dunn continues to impress in the welterweight division as the 29 year old Hartford native improved to 22-6 with an unanimous decision over Henry Nichols (15-10) in Baltimore on Tuesday. Dunn counts 17 knockouts among his 22 victories and is considered to be among the best welterweights in the nation. There was controvery in Kansas City when Pete Roe was disqualified for multiple infractions in his heavyweight bout with Michael Wilkins. Roe was deducted points and warned repeatedly for low blows and leaning on his opponent's neck before the referee finally had enough and called the fight in the 8th of it's scheduled 10 rounds. That set off a melee in the ring when someone from Roe's corner attacked the referee and soon a half dozen men were going at it in the ring. It took the police to settle things down and result in Roe's trainer spending a night in jail. Wilkins improves to 8-13 with the win while Roe, a 35 year old St Louis native, falls to 21-5-3. The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 2/11/1945 A Moscow report says Red Army advance forces have broken across the Oder River before Berlin and claim the "complete destruction of Nazi Germany is very near." Four divisions of the American 3rd Army were reported making "good progress" in a new offensive launched across the German frontier from Luxembourg on a 22-mile front. American troops have seized control of much of Manila while Tokyo is rocked by both a 'severe' earthquake and one of the largest forces of Superfortresses ever to hit Japan. Diplomatic quarters believe that one of the momentous decisions to be announced at the end of the Big Three conference may be the formation of a military board by the United States, Britain and Russia to deal the death blow to the German army. Observers believe the Russians are now ready -for the first time- join the Americans and British in a joint military committee that will execute the strategy planned by Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin. Civil rule in Berlin ceases, with the city in a panic and described by Moscow radio as a "city of death and ruins." Two oil tankers collided in New York Harbor, setting fire to both, killing at least 12 and disrupting Harbor traffic with blazing oil slicks. __________________ Lead Columnist of The Figment Sporting Journal The Scripture of Sports

12-20-2022, 12:16 PM	#593
Jiggs McGee All Star Reserve Join Date: Dec 2019 Posts: 677	February 26, 1945 FEBRUARY 26, 1945 PLAYERS TO WATCH IN 1945 Spring training is just a few weeks away and baseball fever has hit all across the nation. In every FABL city, fans are thinking this might be the year -well, perhaps not in St Louis- that their heroes rise to the top. This Week in Figment Baseball took a look around the league and came up with a list of 10 names you should watch closely. The list is in no particular order nor within any specific theme beyond the fact that these are intriguing players to watch this season. Some are fine young prospects who might make their mark as rookies, others are grizzled veterans taking advantage of war-created jobs for one last moment in the spotlight and a select few are on the hotseat and needed to come up big for their respective teams to have a chance at postseason success. 1- ELI PANNETON: The 23 year old 4th overall pick in last years draft went straight from the campus of Aberdeen College to the bright lights of Dyckman Stadium. He was nothing short of amazing in his first 4 starts, but then was ordinary in August and clearly out of gas in September. Scouts are in agreement he is one of the best pitchers in the game today. Can he show it for a full season and perhaps singlehandedly lift the New York Stars into contention this summer? 2- BOBBY BARRELL: The pressure for an encore performance in follow up to his Whitney Award winning triple crown season is immense. The Keystones came up just 1 game short last season in losing the WCS but another big year from Barrell might just be enough to get them back to playing October baseball again in 1945. 3- DEUCE BARRELL: Like his uncle, Deuce has a lot of pressure on him this season. The Cincinnati Cannons have sold most of their future for a chance to become just the second team in FABL history to win three straight World Championship Series. In order to do so they will need a big season from Deuce, who won back to back Allan Awards in 1942 and 1943 before missing all of last season when he blew out his elbow in spring training. 4- KEN MAYHUGH: Mayhugh is one of several players who will need to come up big if the Chicago Cougars are going to rebound from that awful collapse last season and overcome Cincinnati and Toronto in the Continental Association. The loss of Hank Barnett, Leo Mitchell and Billy Hunter means Chicago is desperate for offense beyond that which will be contributed by Cliff Moss, Skipper Schneider and Harry Mead. 5- GEORGE GARRISON: The Wolves were licking their wounds after Selective Service took Bernie Johnson and Jimmy Gibbs but the return of George Garrison -for hardship reasons after the death of his brother overseas and the passing of his father- has given Wolves fans hopes that they may just have enough to stop Cincinnati and Chicago. In order to do so, Garrison will need to show he has not lost anything from the form that he displayed in his all-star 1942 season. 6- CARL POTTER AND ROY SCHAUB: A two-for-one deal as the Dynamos future hinges on their 4 super prospects from the 1944 draft. The two position players in outfielder Edwin Hackberry and shortstop Stan Kleminski have joined the war effort leaving just the pitching duo of Potter and Schaub. The big leagues is likely not in the card this season although Potter had some nice outings in AA as an 18 year old last season but all of Detroit will be eyeing the minor league boxscores very closely whenever either of these two are on the mound. 7-DICK BLASZAK: Badly injured fighting in the Pacific, Blaszak is back and said to be fully recovered for spring training. The Chicago Chiefs gave up a lot (Rabbit Day and Tom Bird) to bring the former second overall pick over from Cincinnati and the 23 year old has not played since 1942 but odds are we will see him in the Windy City sometime this season. 8- BILL VAN NESS: Boston has a team that could win it's second Federal Association title in three years but to do so they will need a catcher they can count on and with Buster Farrar now in the army that responsibility falls on Van Ness. The 28 year old has to be running out of chances with Boston management, who expected so much more from him when he was selected 6th overall in 1935 so this may be his final opportunity to prove he is a big-time big league catcher. 9- BOB COON: This is a crucial year for the Eagles who, after tantalizing fans with what looked like finally a return to contention in 1943, had an awful start to the 1944 campaign and never recovered. The pitching did a very good job last year and returns intact but the Eagles lost their two best hitters in Mel Carrol and Jesse Alvardo. Coon, who was a 1939 2nd round pick out of St Magnus, has shown some glimpses of his ability but never really got the chance to play everyday in an often crowded Washington outfield. Well, this is his opportuntiy to show the strong showing in short stints is a sign of what he can accomplish. A big year from Coon, and strong pitching once more, might just keep the Eagles in the thick of the Fed flag chase. 10- BUD JAMESON- manager New York Gothams- So our final name is not a player at all but rather a rookie manager thrust into the spotlight with the departure of long-time Gothams bench-boss Ed Ziehl. Ziehl is off doing his part to raise war bond funds while his son Eddie is patrolling the open seas with the navy. For the first time since 1928 the Gothams have a new skipper and there could not be more pressure on Jameson. Like his mentor Ziehl, Bud is a former franchise star so he knows what it is like to be under the microscope in New York but this might just be a little different. With the return of Harry Carter from the navy the Gothams might have the best starting 4 pitchers in baseball. Add in slugger Red Johnson, veteran Leon Drake and a solid supporting cast and expectations could not be higher for the Gothams this season- which means an awful lot of pressure on Saint Bernard, who has zero managing experience entering the start of spring training. A bonus 11th name on this list could be all of Congress. Debate wages on over a decision on 4-Fs and if the ruling goes the wrong way for baseball it could make things very tough on the sport. President Roosevelt is on record of saying he wants to see baseball continue, but only if it doesn't interfere with the war effort and Manpower head Byrnes seems to think it will. So far, Congress seems unwilling or perhaps unable to reach a decision and the longer that drags out perhaps the better it is for baseball. EASY NIGHT FOR SAWYER IN DEFENCE OF WORLD HEAVYWEIGHT TITLE World Heavyweight boxing champion Hector Sawyer barely broke a sweat in notching the 50th victory of his professional career. The 30 year old New Orleans native was making his return to the ring -at least on a professional basis- after 3 years in the Army and he had no trouble in his first title defense since 1940, knocking out Willie Meyer in the fifth round of their bout at the Denny Arena in Boston. Meyer (32-7-1) was handpicked as an easy tune-up opponent for Sawyer before he takes on a true contender, but the Minneapolis native who is 2 weeks shy of his 36 birthday, put up a game effort despite being clearly out of his element and somehow survived until the fifth round. The champ was all over Meyer right from the opening bell and most in attendance will say the challenger never landed a punch in the opening three minutes. Instead Meyer spent most of his time trying to block punishing body blows frow Sawyer. The biggest blow of the round was a vicious cross that had Meyer collapsing like a house of cards in the closing seconds of the first round but he struggled to his feet as the bell was sounding. Meyer went down again in the second thanks to The Cajun Crusher's signature strong hook but again the Minnesota native managed to get back to his feet and somehow survive the round. Meyer kept on his feet in the third but suffered a terrible gash just outside his right eyebrow. In the fourth the challenger landed what would be his only big blow -a hard cross that seemed to catch Sawyer off-guard. It actually served to pause Sawyer's attack for much of the round but after a stern lecture from his corner during the break the champ set to finishing off the bout in the fifth. An early salvo caused a large strem of blood to erupt from Meyer's nose, joining the gash above his eye that continued to flow. Two minutes into the round with Sawyer looking to finish his opponent off he connected with a wild overhand right that landed flush, sending Meyer down to one knee. Meyer again rose but looked badly shaken and as Sawyer reigned blow after blow it was clear Meyer was just looking for a place to fall. Finally a short cross to the temple did the challenger in, sending him to the canvas for a fourth and final time on the evening. TOURNAMENT FIELD PICTURE COMING INTO FOCUS With two weeks remaining in the collegiate basketball schedule the 32-team field that will comprise the postseason National Championship is starting to take shape. 15 of the bids automatically go to the conference winners leaving the remaining 17 spots for at large invitations. Here is a conference by conference look at those likely to still be playing as we hit the middle of March. DEEP SOUTH CONFERNCE: Three schools from the Deep South seem assured of tournament berths. Each have been ranked in the top 25 pretty much the entire season. They are Noble Jones College (19-6), Mississippi A&M (18-8) and Western Florida (18-7). The only hope for a school like Alabama Baptist (17-9) or even St Andrews College (13-12) is a conference title and the Deep South race is far too close to call with six teams within a game and a half of the lead. GREAT LAKES ALLIANCE: It has been just an awful year for the GLA, which normally sends as many as half a dozen schools to the March event. This year it will likely only be Western Iowa (22-3). With James Brown (11.8 ppg) and Joe Hampton (7.9 ppg, 4.8 apg) leading the way the Canaries are a perfect 10-0 in section play but with 4 games remaining Whitney College (14-11, 9-3) still has a slight chance to take the crown and earn a bid alongside Western Iowa. LIBERTY CONFERENCE: The newly formed loop with some former members of the Northeastern Conference has seen some schools have a down year with only likely conference champion Garden State (20-6) qualifying for the tournament unless Brooklyn Tech (17-9), which is tied with the Redbirds for the conference lead with 3 games remaining can clinch an automatic berth with the conference title. SOUTH ATLANTIC CONFERENCE: Carolina Poly (21-4) and North Carolina Tech (22-4) have been top five schools all season and are certain to qualify. There is a chance three other SAC schools could join them including Mobile Maritime (16-9), Charleston Tech (17-8) and Chesapeake State (16-9). In conference play there is a slight chance Central Carolina (13-12) might overtake North Carolina Tech. The Techsters are 10-0 in conference play while the second place Lions are 8-2 with 4 games remaining for each. WEST COAST ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION: Despite some ups and downs both Rainier College (21-5) and CC Los Angeles (20-6) should have no trouble extending their streak of tournament appearances. The Majestics have made 10 straight appearances and won it all each of the last two years. CCLA has missed the tournament only once since 1915-16. Another streak might come to an end as Coastal California (17-10) appears to have come up short and if so it will be the first time in tournament history that the Dolphins did not quality -that goes back all the way to 1909-10. Lane State (17-9) is on the bubble but appears to be in the field of 32 at the moment and with a 1-game lead on Rainier College atop the loop they may just get an automatic berth as WCC champions. INDEPENDENTS:The folding of the Northeastern Conference has made a dramatic change in the landscape for independent schools this year with 9 of them likely qualifying for the tournament including 3 former members of the Northeastern section. In: St Patrick's (24-5), St Martin' College (24-6), Liberty College (25-4), Conwell College (21-8), Ohio Poly (24-5), Plover College (19-8), Annapolis Maritime (25-3), Miami State (21-8), Eastern State (19-9) Out: Middlesex (21-7), St Pancras (21-7), Great Plains State (20-10), Rome State (18-10), Golden Gate (17-12) One bid conferences ACADEMIA ALLIANCE: With two games remaining the Ellery Bruins (14-13) are 10-2 in conference with a 2-game lead over Dickson (18-9 overall, 8-2 conference) but the Academia Alliance is the only conference that has a post-season tournament to determine it's champion. CALIFORNIA LEAGUE: Still up for grads with California Catholic (18-9, 8-2) holding a 1-game lead on Sunnyvale (9-17, 7-3). CENTRAL ATHLETIC ALLIANCE: Completely up for grabs with North Shore holding a 1 game lead on Cleveland and Western State but each has 4 conference games remaining and the Blackhawks will play both of the teams pursuing them in the final two weeks. EASTERN SIX: With teams having 3 or 4 games remaining in a conference slate that sees all 6 separated by just 2 games the race is clearly wide open. Boston State won the E6 last year but right now it is the University of New Jersey and a 9-17 overall Constitution State team that are leading the way. KEYSTONE ALLIANCE: Armstrong, which has only made the tournament twice in it's history, is currently leading the way but with 4 games remaining for each school the race is still very much wide open. MIDWESTERN ASSOCIATION: Wichita Baptist (21-7) has already set a school record for wins in a season and will make the tournament for the first time since 1933-34. The Warriors have already clinched the conference title. PLAINS ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION: A two team race between Oklahoma City State (18-7) and Lawrence State (15-11) will decide who gets the berth. The two square off in Oklahoma City tonight in an obviously key meeting. ROCKY MOUNTAIN ATHLETIC ALLIANCE: The season finale on March 10th between Colorado Poly (13-12) and Cache Valley (13-12) will likely decide who wins the RMAA. SOUTHERN BORDER ASSOCIATION: El Paso Methodist (12-13, 7-1) and Tempe College (18-8, 8-2) are fighting it out for the conference title, something they have only combined to win 3 times in the 21 year history of the loop. SOUTHWESTERN ALLIANCE: Texas Gulf Coast (19-7) has been ranked most of the year and seems assured a berth with a conference best 10-1 record. Amarillo Methodist (16-10, 9-2), is still in the running and has a chance for the automatic berth but they will need a win in Houston on March 2 over the Hurricanes. Code: COLLEGIATE BASKETBALL RANKINGS # Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference 1. St. Patrick's (42) 24-5 1763 1 Indy Northeast 2. North Carolina Tech (21) 22-4 1724 4 South Atlantic Conference 3. Western Iowa (9) 22-3 1605 7 Great Lakes Alliance 4. Carolina Poly 21-4 1584 2 South Atlantic Conference 5. Annapolis Maritime 25-3 1571 3 Indy South 6. Liberty College 25-4 1471 6 Indy East 7. Ohio Poly 24-5 1340 8 Indy Midwest 8. Rainier College 21-5 1325 5 West Coast Athletic Association 9. CC Los Angeles 20-6 1182 11 West Coast Athletic Association 10. Garden State 20-6 1149 10 Liberty Conference 11. St. Martin's College 24-6 1117 9 Indy Northeast 12. Texas Gulf Coast 19-7 956 12 Southwestern Alliance 13. Noble Jones College 19-6 922 16 Deep South Conference 14. Mississippi A&M 18-8 887 20 Deep South Conference 15. Western Florida 18-7 723 22 Deep South Conference 16. St. Pancras 21-7 604 18 Indy East 17. Lane State 17-9 541 25 West Coast Athletic Association 18. Wichita Baptist 21-7 452 17 Midwestern Association 19. Brooklyn State 17-9 445 NR Liberty Conference 20. Miami State 21-8 382 21 Indy South 21. St. Blane 19-9 374 19 Indy East 22. Middlesex 21-7 315 24 Indy Northeast 23. Conwell College 21-8 242 14 Indy East 24. Coastal California 17-10 225 NR West Coast Athletic Association 25. Great Plains State 20-10 214 NR Indy Midwest Others Receiving Votes: Plover College 19-8 94 Indy Midwest Chesapeake State 16-9 60 South Atlantic Conference Mobile Maritime 16-9 55 South Atlantic Conference Eastern State 19-9 41 Indy South Oklahoma City State 18-7 17 Plains Athletic Association Chicago Poly 17-11 9 Indy Midwest Dickson 18-9 8 Academia Alliance Harper College 19-8 2 Indy East Charleston Tech 17-8 1 South Atlantic Conference RESULTS INVOLVING RANKED TEAMS MONDAY FEBRUARY 19 #20 Miami State 37 Central Carolina 35 TUESDAY FEBRUARY 20 none scheduled WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 21 #13 Noble Jones College 43 Northern Mississippi 35 #14 Mississippi A&M 55 Georgia Baptist 33 #15 Western Florida 47 Bayou State 46 #18 Wichita Baptists 43 #20 Miami State 42 #21 St Blane 43 Mahoning Valley State 34 THURSDAY FEBRUARY 22 #2 North Carolina Tech 41 Petersburg 25 #3 Western Iowa 54 Minnesota Tech 35 Alexandria 50 #4 Carolina Poly 36 #10 Garden State 48 Manhattan Tech 38 #19 Brooklyn State 56 Brooklyn Catholic 38 FRIDAY FEBRUARY 23 #24 Coastal California 59 #8 Rainier College 58 #9 CC Los Angeles 43 Idaho A&M 35 #12 Texas Gulf Coast 46 Arkansas A&T 32 #17 Lane State 51 Northern California 27 SATURDAY FEBRUARY 24 #2 North Carolina Tech 48 Coastal State 40 #3 Western Iowa 44 Wisconsin State 40 #4 Carolina Poly 44 Chesapeake State 42 #10 Garden State 66 Jersey City Tech 36 #12 Texas Gulf Coast 66 Canyon A&M 48 #13 Noble Jones College 55 Central Kentucky 23 #14 Mississippi A&M 33 Baton Rogue State 32 #15 Western Florida 49 Georgia Baptist 33 #19 Brooklyn State 55 Bronx Tech 41 SUNDAY FEBRUARY 25 #7 Ohio Poly 62 Needham 30 #9 CC Los Angeles 42 #8 Rainier College 30 #17 Lane State 38 Portland Tech 32 Chicago Poly 43 #18 Wichita Baptist 35 Frankford State 58 #23 Conwell College 53 The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 2/25/1945 Allied troops have opened a big push, launching a grand-scale offense near Cologne, forcing across the Roer River line at six or more points. General Eisenhower says this drive is designed to smash Germany. American forces strengthened their hold in the Philippines by gaining control of strategic San Bernardino Strait with the seizure of Caul Island, off southeastern Luzon. On Iwo, weary marines, armed with flamethrowers and bayonets, battled across the central airfield on the island and complete control of the field appears almost within their grasp. By weeks end the Marines had captured half of Iwo Jima. The Premier of Egypt was assassinated a few minutes after he read to the Chamber of Deputies a royal decree declaring war on Germany and Japan. A single shooter fired 4 bullets at close range as he crossed the lawn to read the same decree to the Senate. The Turkish National Assembly voted approval of a declaration of war against Germany and Japan. Amazingly 5 survivors walked away with only minor injuries after an American Airlines plane crashed in Virginia, killing 17. __________________ Lead Columnist of The Figment Sporting Journal The Scripture of Sports

12-21-2022, 10:36 AM	#594
Jiggs McGee All Star Reserve Join Date: Dec 2019 Posts: 677	March 5, 1945 MARCH 5, 1945 FORESTERS CAN LOOK SOUTH FOR INSPIRATION The Cleveland Foresters are going through their worst stretch of baseball since the 1908-14 edition of the club finished either 7th or 8th in the Continental Association six straight seasons. The current version of the Foresters can duplicate that dreadful run with a bottom two finish this season and there is little to indicate that won't happen. Cleveland baseball fans are certainly still paying the price for the pair of pennants and their first and only World Championship Series victory which came in 1934. All of that success seems so long ago but Foresters faithful can perhaps look south to Cincinnati for inspiration. A half-decade ago the Cannons -while still based in Baltimore at the time- were in an even worse predicament. The club had gone 8 years finishing no higher than 6th and was dead last in the Continental Association for six straight seasons from 1934 thru 1939. That turned around suddenly in 1940 with a few key trades and now -just 5 years later- the Cannons are on a quest for their third straight World Championship Series victory. A look at the Foresters system seems to indicate a lot of the same pieces that the Cannons possessed in 1939 are already in the fold. The Cannons had a gifted young shortstop in Jimmy Hensley. Cleveland has one of it's own in Jim Adams Jr. The Cannons had loads of young pitching and they moved some of those arms, along with some draft picks, for veteran pieces like Moxie Pidgeon that turned the clubs fortunes around quickly. Cleveland has those same quality young arms, although the war has certainly thrown a wrench into their development, but that will change perhaps as early as next year. Hiram Steinberg is considered one of the greatest high school pitchers of all-time and, assuming the war is over and all returns to normal next season, he could make his big league debut at age 23. Richie Hughes will also be 23 and OSA actually ranks Hughes higher than Steinberg on it's prospect list. There is more on the mound. Names such as John Jackson, who struggled last season at AA but is just 20 years old. Unfortunately Jackson won't have a chance to improve upon his AA showing as he is now in the Coast Guard. 20 year old Davey Morris and 24 year old Augie Hayes Jr. are both, like the other three, serving their country right now but those 5 have the makings of a pretty solid young rotation. That is not taking into account 24 year old Ducky Davis, who made his Cleveland debut last season and looks like a solid big league pitcher. Add in 1945 first round selection Bert Haines and you have an impressive crop of young arms on the way up. The Foresters have young talent all over the diamond led by the previously mentioned Jim Adams Jr. The 1943 first overall selection out of St Ignatius has already proven he can hit at the big league level but the 23 year old does need some time to develop his defensive skills at shortstop. Perhaps Adams eventually ends up at second base as the Foresters have a smooth defender in 22 year old Glenn White, who made his big league debut last season but is now in the Navy. Then there is 18 year old Earle Haley, who is now in the Army, but made his pro debut last season after being selected in the second round of the 1944 draft and might be the best defender of the three. The Foresters have a power hitting first base prospect in local product Lorenzo Samuels. The 22 year old Cleveland native has spent the last two years in the Navy but impressed in class C as a 19 year old. Talented young outfielders Benny Everidge, Paul Porter and Pete Sigmund also give Clevelanders plenty of hope for the future but those three -like nearly all the top Cleveland youngsters- are fighting overseas. They recently drafted Bob Miller, another Ohio native, in the second round and he may be their long-term answer at third base. That leaves catcher as perhaps the one area of concern for the Foresters brass. They did draft Joe Robinson second overall in 1944 but many scouts felt that selection was quite a reach. There clearly are a lot of pieces in place. The task ahead for the Foresters -although likely not until after the war is over- is the tough job of indentifying which players they will build around and who could be moved for veteran leadership or to fill holes in other areas. That was the model the Cannons used and it paid off well. Stay patient Cleveland ball fans. Your opportunity may be coming. LOVELLE WON A WHITNEY AND LED A GENERATION The Cannons franchise has seen just 4 players win a Whitney Award over the 34 years it has been presented. Of course there is Adam Mullins who claimed the hardware two seasons ago after the catcher helped the Cannons win their first World Championship Series since 1914. 1914, by the way, was one of the years the only multi-season Cannon award winner collected the Whitney. That would be The Ragland Ripper, Powell Slocum. Pehaps better known to Cincinnatians as the long-time manager of the Brooklyn Kings but for two decades Slocum was the face of the Baltimore franchise. It was known as the Clippers for much of his tenure when he won 4 Whtiney Awards including 3 straight from 1912-14. It is interesting to note that the only other player to win 3 straight Continental Association Whitneys is none other than current Cannon Al Wheeler, who turned the trick under Slocum's guidance with the 1935-37 Brooklyn Kings. The third Cannons player to win a Whitney Award was slugger Lou Kelly, who earned the honour in 1932 after hitting 40 homers and leading the CA in round-trippers three straight seasons. So you have Mullins, Kelly and Slocum but who is the fourth Cannon Whitney winner? As a hint he is actually still a part of the team right now. Many will be surprised to realize it is Cannons first base coach Sandy Lovelle who holds the distinction of being the first Continental Associaiton Whitney winner of the modern era. That was 1926 -when the human GMs took over and the Allen Award made it's debut to separate the top pitcher and top hitter honours for the first time. You can be forgiven if you did not think of Sandy Lovelle as a Whitney Award winner. Most do not, including it turns out, Lovelle himself. "I won the batting title that year and led the league in triples," Lovelle recalls, "but that was the only season I was anywhere near close to top spot. We were a bad team that season...which happened a lot during my time in Baltimore...and to be honest I was shocked I won. I was convinced it would go to Mickey Dowell, who had a big year in Brooklyn and they nearly knocked off the Stars." Lovelle would win the award and it would be the only individual honor of his career. There was no All-Star game back then and even if there was Lovelle would be hard pressed to make another team beyond the 1926 squad. The '26 season was one of only two in his career that he started as many as a 122 ballgames in the Cannons outfield. He had some injuries and as it turned out would be out of the game-at least as a player- by 1930 at the relatively young age of 32. He would get into coaching a couple of years later and has been with the Cannons ever since their move from Baltimore to Cincinnati in 1940. * STARTED THE CUBAN WAVE OF OUTFIELDERS * Lovelle was the first player born in Cuba to play regularly in FABL. The pioneer was actually a player by the name of Elias Marquez who played 2 games in 1902 followed by Tony Lopez, who made his big league debut in 1919 with Washington and would play 132 games over parts of 4 seasons but it was Lovelle who would pave the way for later Cuban star outfielders like Pablo Reyes, Carlos Montes and Juan Pomales. It is no coincidence that those that followed Lovelle from Cuba to the big leagues were predominately outfielders as each cited Sandy and to a lesser extent Carlos Cano as their inspiration. Lovelle went from Havana to the bitter cold of Milwaukee and a collegiate career at Wisconsin State. He was a star for the Brewers and helped them to the AIAA playoffs twice in a 3 year span, even hitting .401 in his draft year. There were no All-American teams back then but he might well have earned that honour before the Cannons selected him 8th overall in the 1919 FABL draft. He peaked at #30 on the OSA prospect rankings and made his big league debut two years later. In his second season, 1922, Lovelle batted .303 and hit the same average the following season. Batting averages were higher back then, and the ball was dead unless you were named Max Morris, but Lovelle hit over .300 each of his first six seasons culminating in that Whitney Award winning 1926 campaign. It would prove to be his last year as a everyday player as he struggled in 1927 and would lose his starting job to Lou Kelly -the other Cannons Whitney Award winner. Lovelle did hit .308 playing somewhat regularly in 1929 but after a slow start the Cannons cut him in 1932 and he chose to retire rather than play in the minors or try to catch on with another organization. Lovelle would spend a couple of years coaching in his native Havana including working in the off-season with Reyes -who was in college at the time and would later surpass Lovelle as the highest drafted Cuban born player and the one with the most career hits- before moving back to the United States and beginning his managerial career at Peoria. A new start that would eventually bring Sandy Lovelle full circle back to the big leagues with the Cannons organization. A little less confusion for fans in La Crosse - The Cougars Class C affiliate. They had two players by the name of Bill Martin on their roster last season but catcher Bill "Mr Semi-Automatic" Martin and son of veteran Chiefs infielder Bob Martin is now in the Army, leaving 1B Bill Martin (no relation) to carry on the name with the Lions. Bob's son was a 7th round pick of the Cougars in 1944 and the 19 year old hit .257 in his first taste of pro ball last summer. COACHES, DARROW SHORING UP CRUMBLING WALLS OF CAGE GAME With the college basketball world still trembling under the shock of perhaps the great sports scandal the amateur ranks have ever seen, New York area college coaches and athletic directors met last week with Charles Darrow, president of Bigsby Garden, in a hurried attempt to shore up the weakening walls of bigtime basketball promotions. With the National Tournament final two rounds once again slated for the New York venue and less than a month away, several steps were taken to help overcome the damage caused by the bribe-taking of four members of the Jersey City Tech quintet. Foremost is to have teeth placed in the penal law to punish bribe giving and taking in amateur sports. At present, the law provides only punishment for bribery in professional sports, leaving a loophole for the guilty in the Jersey City Tech case. Although the reaction of school heads, coaches and those supposedly "in the know" differed radically, there is no doubt that the fear of 'fixed' games was uppermost in the minds of several coaches when a 'secret' meeting was held some time ago and preventive measures were discussed. Jersey City Tech coach Duke Van Kirk was one of the coaches who told his players temptation might come their way, and he felt that if lightning did strike, it would be far removed from his Wizards ballclub. * Pay The Players Brooklyn State coach Charlie Bryant was another in that 'secret' meeting and he came away with a novel, but unconventional idea "I say, put the players on a regular salary basis. Pay them for playing, just like the pros. After all, when you get down to it, there's no difference between college and pro ball today." With the college game's biggest event just over a week away one can expect extraordinary measures will be taken to prevent anything underhanded from occuring again. It is much easier said than done, as the bookmakers seem to have their hands in every pie, especially in the bright lights of the Bigsby Garden. It is too late for this season, but there is growing talk among AIAA executives to move the national showcase away from New York. WESTERN IOWA TAKES OVER TOP SPOT IN POLLS On the strength of a perfect 14-0 record in Great Lakes Alliance play, the Western Iowa Canaries have moved into the top spot in the weekly collegiate basketball poll. The Canaries have been steadily climbing the rankings and soared to number one thanks to a winning streak that has stretched to 20 games. The GLA is not as strong this year as it normally is but if they can win their final two games -at Indiana A&M and Detroit City College- the Canaries can become the first team in it's 31 year history to go through a Great Lakes Alliance conference schedule without a loss. The Canaries won a tight game over St Ignatius 48-46 on Saturday but it cost them the services of center J.C. Senn, who broke a bone in his foot and is likely done for the season. Fortunately, Senn was probably the starter they could most afford to be without as the team leaders remain junior guard and All-American candidate Joe Hampton (7.6ppg,4.7 apg) along with senior forward James Brown (11.5 ppg). Code: COLLEGIATE BASKETBALL RANKINGS # Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference 1. Western Iowa (46) 24-3 1754 3 Great Lakes Alliance 2. St. Patrick's (14) 24-5 1713 1 Indy Northeast 3. Annapolis Maritime (3) 26-3 1649 5 Indy South 4. Carolina Poly (9) 23-4 1630 4 South Atlantic Conference 5. Liberty College 25-4 1517 6 Indy East 6. North Carolina Tech 22-6 1454 2 South Atlantic Conference 7. Rainier College 23-5 1364 8 West Coast Athletic Association 8. Ohio Poly 24-5 1296 7 Indy Midwest 9. Garden State 21-6 1228 10 Liberty Conference 10. St. Martin's College 24-6 1139 11 Indy Northeast 11. Noble Jones College 21-6 1066 13 Deep South Conference 12. Texas Gulf Coast 20-7 1002 12 Southwestern Alliance 13. CC Los Angeles 20-8 905 9 West Coast Athletic Association 14. Chesapeake State 18-9 812 NR South Atlantic Conference 15. St. Pancras 22-7 767 16 Indy East 16. Mississippi A&M 19-9 691 14 Deep South Conference 17. Western Florida 19-8 581 15 Deep South Conference 18. St. Blane 20-9 547 21 Indy East 19. Middlesex 22-7 501 22 Indy Northeast 20. Plover College 21-8 369 NR Indy Midwest 21. Miami State 21-8 319 20 Indy South 22. Conwell College 21-8 310 23 Indy East 23. Lane State 18-10 260 17 West Coast Athletic Association 24. Oklahoma City State 20-7 149 NR Plains Athletic Association 25. Great Plains State 20-10 127 25 Indy Midwest Others Receiving Votes: Dickson 20-9 76 Academia Alliance Wichita Baptist 21-8 58 Midwestern Association Brooklyn State 17-10 45 Liberty Conference Coastal California 19-10 36 West Coast Athletic Association Charleston Tech 18-9 19 South Atlantic Conference Mobile Maritime 17-10 9 South Atlantic Conference Alabama Baptist 19-9 4 Deep South Conference Eastern State 19-10 3 Indy South RESULTS INVOLVING RANKED TEAMS MONDAY FEBRUARY 26 #19 Middlesex 58 Hartford Wesleyan 47 #24 Oklahoma City State 56 Lawrence State 45 TUESDAY FEBRUARY 27 #18 St Blane 43 Sunnyvale 26 #20 Plover College 41 College of Cairo 32 WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 28 #11 Noble Jones College 63 Opelika State 53 #16 Mississippi A&M 40 Central Kentucky 39 Alabama Baptist 63 #17 Western Florida 55 THURSDAY MARCH 1 #1 Western Iowa 33 St Magnus 30 #3 Annapolis Maritime 46 Eastern State 36 #4 Carolina Poly 63 Coastal State 52 Charleston Tech 60 #6 North Carolina Tech 51 #14 Chesapeake State 42 Maryland State 30 FRIDAY MARCH 2 #7 Rainier College 35 Redwood 26 #12 Texas Gulf Coast 53 Amarillo Methodist 33 #23 Lane State 39 #13 CC Los Angeles 24 #15 St Pancras 53 Johnston Tech 35 #20 Plover College 50 Chicago Poly 33 SATURDAY MARCH 3 #1 Western Iowa 48 St Ignatius 46 #14 Chesapeake State 39 #6 North Carolina Tech 30 #9 Garden State 47 Empire State 39 #11 Noble Jones College 40 Bayou State 34 Cumberland 50 #16 Mississippi A&M 49 #17 Western Florida 53 Northern Mississippi 34 #24 Oklahoma City State 49 Iowa A&M 44 SUNDAY MARCH 4 #7 Rainier College 53 Northern California 51 Redwood 52 #23 Lane State 45 REES SET TO DEFEND MIDDLEWEIGHT TITLE IN NEW YORK World Middleweight Champion Archie Rees arrived in New York City this week in preparation for a defense of his title against veteran American fighter Tommy Erwin. The bout will take place at the Bigsby Gardens on March 22 and will be Rees first fight since he defeated Jorge Cuellar in the big September tussle before the troops in Liverpool, England. The 32 year old Rees, known as The Tadcaster Thunderbolt , will be back on American soil to fight for the first time since 1941 when he knocked out Nathan Sears in the second round to claim the middleweight title. He has a lifetime record as a professional of 34-4-1 including 25 wins by knockout. Erwin, a 33 year old Bronx born fighter, is 27-6 but has not fought in just over a year. The card will also feature a key heavyweight match as Mark Fountain is set to face Englishman Leo Carmichael in what is expected to be a tune-up for the New York native in advance of a potential summer meeting with World Champion Hector Sawyer. Fountain is 18-2-1 as a professional and will turn 27 years of age a week after the bout. Not a lot is known about Carmichael as he 36 year old had been in the British army the past 5 years and has had just one professional fight since 1939. He is listed as having a record of 29-4-1 but is said to have fought more than 200 military exhibition bouts over the past half decade, rumoured to be without suffering a single defeat. WESTLAKE WINS BY TKO Veteran welterweight Mark Westlake moved closer to earning a spot in the proposed 'playoff' to fill the vacant World Welterweight Title with a 9th round technical knockout of Carter Moore on Wednesday in New York. The 27 year old Biloxi, MS. native improves to 19-1-1 with the win and is now considered by the American Boxing Federation to be the best fighter in his division. Moore falls to 15-8. The welterweight crown has been vacant since early 1939 when Brit Jimmy 'Kid' Simpson retired at the age of 37 with a 59-2-0 career record. There were plans to stage a playoff of sorts among the top contenders but it never occured due to the war. Many of the top fighters in the division remain involved in the war but there is growing support to stage a title fight, perhaps as early as the summer. The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 3/04/1945 President Roosevelt told Congress that the United States must retain a key world role and take responsibility for political conditions in Europe or face the alternative of another war. American tanks and shock troops battled yard by yard through the last German defenses before Cologne and are withing six miles of the Rhineland fortress. Reports indicate that the Germans are preparing to retreat behind the Rhine. The Red Army has resumed its attack along the Oder River front some 30 miles east of bomb-battered Berlin after a long lull. Fierce hand-to-hand combat continues on Iwo as Marines break through the enemy's main defense belt and have forced the Japanese to with half a mile of the islands north shore. 200 men are lost after the Japanese sank an ammunition-laden naval cargo ship in the South Pacific. Lt. Gen. Millard Harmon, air force commander of the Pacific Ocean areas, and nine other officers are missing in the Pacific after their plane was reported overdue from a routine flight. Finland has joined the allies, declaring war on Germany. __________________ Lead Columnist of The Figment Sporting Journal** The Scripture of Sports

12-22-2022, 08:50 AM	#595
Jiggs McGee All Star Reserve Join Date: Dec 2019 Posts: 677	March 12, 1945 MARCH 12, 1945 GOTHAMS MAY BE TEAM TO BEAT IN FED No team in all of baseball has had more ups and downs than the New York Gothams. Say what you will about the Gothams but they do not do anything halfway. The Gothams are often the best team in the Federal Association with 5 pennants in the past 15 years but they are also often the worst team in the loop as displayed by the club finishing at least 30 games out of first place six times during that same span. New York has finished 1st, 6th, 7th or 8th in each of the past 15 seasons with only one year -1933 when they came in third- to break that trend. Like we said the Gothams are either very good or very bad. No in between at all. So after following up a 1942 World Championship Series win with a last place finish in 1943 the Gothams were 7th place last year. Is this the beginning of another long stretch of futility like they endured from 1936-41 when only once did they finish within less than 32 games of top spot? Early indications were that might be the case but those thoughts changed suddenly with the winter news that Harry Carter was back. Carter was discharged from the Navy due to chronic migranes suffered while serving aboard the USS Wolverine and that might prove to be a major headache to the rest of the Federal Association. With Carter joining Ed Bowman, Jim Lonardo and last season's surprise breakout star in the then-32 year old Jim Baggett, New York suddenly has the best rotation in the Fed. Add in the bat of Red Johnson and perhaps big seasons from Leon Drake and Pete Casstevens and the Gothams might just make another of the their famous worst-to-first turnarounds. There is one big question mark though and that is in the New York dugout. Ed Ziehl, who has managed them club for the past 17 years is gone -choosing to sell war bonds while his son Eddie serves in the Navy- and that leaves Bud Jameson, with no previous managerial experience, in charge. There will be a lot of pressure on the 40 year old, who was a teammate of many of these Gothams less than two years ago, as he becomes the one to call the shots. The Federal Association has a lot of teams that could make some noise this season and the New York Gothams are certainly one of them. TALES FROM THE WOLVES DEN Wolves Update as Spring Training Approaches - Toronto brass are now huddled discussing the how to man the organization. Currently there are only 21 players on the Major Roster which means there will be competition for at least one OF position and two backup spots on the infield. On the mound, the bullpen is almost wide open along with one spot in the rotation. Deciding on the number of invitees to spring camp is the first topic of business and after that decisions will need to be made on how many players will be in the system. Currently there are only 131 players under contract to the Wolves, not including 92 in the service. Early indications are that the Wolves will run the minors on short rosters with the GM's directive being "Push everyone up to highest level we think they can handle, and if they can't handle it then we will find a replacement. With war news getting better in Europe we may be awash in players under contract before the season begins in April. Even if there are setbacks overseas we have players coming in June from the amateur draft. This gives us 3 to 4 months to separate the wheat from the chaff. The minor league managers will be instructed to make it plain to their players that many of them are playing for baseball careers. Time to perform is now." DEUCE SAYS HE IS READY We caught up with Deuce Barrell this week when he was in town getting a full medical once over from team doctors and the news is nothing but positive. Cannons trainer George Gorham says recovery is right on schedule and Deuce should be able participate in some game action at the tail end of spring camp and is expected to be fully ready for April 19 when the Cannons open their season at home against Toronto. It has been 11 months since Barrell's elbow fell apart and a tough time for the 27 year old who admits that while he enjoyed cheering his teammates on to their second straight World Championship Series title, "it really hurt not being out there to help." Barrell is also looking forward to having his uncle Tom Barrell as teammate this season. Despite a 6 cent hike that makes the average ducat at Tice Memorial worth $1.24, the Cincinnati Cannons are reporting brisk sales of season tickets and are projecting an increase of more than 15% over least years sales. Good thing for the Tice family as fielding a championship team is not cheap. The veteran laden Cannons are projected to have the highest payroll in the league, and at over $620,000 it will top last year's costs by more than 120k. The addition of Sam Sheppard and Gail Giffored over the winter added $78,000 to the ledger. * OHIO POLY TO CARRY TORCH IN CAGE CHAMPIONSHIP * The Ohio Poly Cardinals are the only area team going to the year end collegiate basketball tournament. No Central Ohio, as it was a down year for the Columbus school and really the enitre Great Lakes Alliance. Local outfit Queen City had a solid 17-12 season but the Monarchs missing the tournament is no surprise as the last time the Cincinnati school qualified was 20 years ago. Central Kentucky was there a couple of years ago but hasn't won a tournament game since 1928 while neither Bluegrass State and Grange College have qualified in over a decade. So that leaves the Toledo based Cardinals to carry the banner for the region. Under the leadership of coach Hawk Pizzo, Ohio Poly put together a very impressive 24-7 season but they will face a tough task in the Oklahoma City State Wranglers in their Midwest Region opener on Sunday. There is a big matchup issue in trying to defend Joe Schlegel, a powerful 6'8" center who has started all 4 years with the Wranglers and averaged nearly 12 points and 6 rebounds a game this season. Ohio Poly's top player is Jack Simons, a senior forward who scored at a 10.4 ppg clip this season and has plenty of secondary help in guards Dan Austin and Harold Mata. Ohio Poly's best tournament run came back in 1937 when the school made the title game only to fall short against Brooklyn State. * RISING WELTERWEIGHT TO FIGHT HERE * One of the many up and comers in the welterweight division will be in town to display his skills at the Cincinnati Auditorium. Ira Mitchell, a 25 year old Chicago-born fighter, is 10-0 and recently made his ring return after more than three years in the Army. He will take on veteran local fighter Steve Landry (30-12-2) on March 24 in a 12 round tussle. 32 TEAM FIELD SET FOR AIAA CAGE TOURNAMENT Despite finishing second to North Carolina Tech in the South Atlantic Conference standings, the Carolina Poly Cardinals used the strength of a 6-game winning streak to take over top spot in the final college basketball poll of the season. The Cardinals will also claim the top seed in the South Region of the AIAA year end tournament. Carolina Poly (25-4) was rewarded with the number one ranking in the poll despite Western Iowa completing the first perfect season in Great Lakes Alliance play ever recorded. The Canaries won all 16 section matchups and 22 in a row to finish with a 26-3 record on the year. Western Iowa will be the top seed in the Midwest Region with North Carolina Tech (west) and Annapolis Maritime (east) claiming the other two top seeds for the 32 team tournament which will get underway this weekend. The championship game will be held at Bigsby Garden in New York on April 2. Rainier College, the two-time defending champion, is back and will be the second seed in the west after winning their second straight West Coast Athletic Association conference crown. The Majestics will face the California Catholic Crusaders -winners of the California League with a 19-10 overall record- in the opening round. BRUNSWICK WINS ACADEMIA ALLIANCE POST-SEASON TOURNEY Brunswick earned the right to represent the Academia Alliance in the AIAA tournament despite the fact the Knights finished with a 16-16 record on the season and were only third in the conference regular season standings. In a tradition that goes back to the first season of organized college basketball in 1909-10, the Academia Alliance is the only conference to use a single-elimination tournament instead of regular season order of finish to decide who will garner the automatic berth to represent the loop in the AIAA national championships. The Knights ride to the conference title nearly was derailed in their opening game as they needed Jess Gallardo to sink two free throws with just 3 seconds left on the clock to lift Brunswick to a 46-45 win over George Fox University. Gallardo, a senior guard, had 14 points in that game and 12 more the next day as the Knights upended second seed Dickson 59-56 to reach the title game. Gallardo again led the way in the finals with 18 points as Brunswick beat Sadler 59-52 to win its first conference tournament in 4 years. For their efforts the Knights will be rewarded with a matchup against top seeded Carolina Poly in the opening round of the AIAA championships. OPENING ROUND (1) Ellery 40 (8) Henry Hudson 33 (2) Dickson 54 (7) Pierpont 32 (3) Brunswick 46 (6) George Fox 45 (4) Sadler 42 (5) Grafton 34 SEMI-FINALS Sadler 56 Ellery 46 Brunswick 59 Dickson 56 FINAL Brunswick 59 Sadler 52 Code: COLLEGIATE BASKETBALL RANKINGS # Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference 1. Carolina Poly (53) 25-4 1772 4 South Atlantic Conference 2. Western Iowa (10) 26-3 1701 1 Great Lakes Alliance 3. St. Patrick's (7) 24-5 1645 2 Indy Northeast 4. Annapolis Maritime (2) 26-3 1626 3 Indy South 5. North Carolina Tech 24-6 1494 6 South Atlantic Conference 6. Liberty College 25-4 1479 5 Indy East 7. Rainier College 24-5 1364 7 West Coast Athletic Association 8. Ohio Poly 24-5 1303 8 Indy Midwest 9. Garden State 22-7 1182 9 Liberty Conference 10. St. Martin's College 24-6 1142 10 Indy Northeast 11. Texas Gulf Coast 22-7 1121 12 Southwestern Alliance 12. Noble Jones College 22-7 1003 11 Deep South Conference 13. Mississippi A&M 20-9 882 16 Deep South Conference 14. St. Pancras 22-7 796 15 Indy East 15. CC Los Angeles 20-9 690 13 West Coast Athletic Association 16. Chesapeake State 19-10 639 14 South Atlantic Conference 17. Oklahoma City State 22-7 530 24 Plains Athletic Association 18. St. Blane 20-9 510 18 Indy East 19. Middlesex 22-7 502 19 Indy Northeast 20. Western Florida 20-9 426 17 Deep South Conference 21. Miami State 21-8 322 21 Indy South 22. Plover College 21-8 302 20 Indy Midwest 23. Coastal California 20-10 279 NR West Coast Athletic Association 24. Brooklyn State 19-10 211 NR Liberty Conference 25. Conwell College 21-8 198 22 Indy East Others Receiving Votes: Wichita Baptist 22-8 163 Midwestern Association Great Plains State 20-10 78 Indy Midwest Dickson 21-10 19 Academia Alliance Lane State 18-11 17 West Coast Athletic Association Eastern State 19-10 3 Indy South Alabama Baptist 20-10 1 Deep South Conference RESULTS INVOLVING RANKED TEAMS MONDAY MARCH 5 #17 Oklahoma City State 49 College of Omaha 42 TUESDAY MARCH 6 none of top 25 scheduled WEDNESDAY MARCH 7 #12 Noble Jones College 40 Georgia Baptist 39 #13 Mississippi A&M 63 #20 Western Florida 53 THURSDAY MARCH 8 #1 Carolina Poly 61 Cowpens State 40 #2 Western Iowa 35 Indiana A&M 29 #5 North Carolina Tech 45 Maryland State 33 Bronx Tech 46 #9 Garden State 37 #16 Chesapeake State 48 Mobile Maritime 42 #24 Brooklyn State 54 Manhattan Tech 33 FRIDAY MARCH 9 #7 Rainier College 50 Idaho A&M 34 #11 Texas Gulf Coast 60 Lubbock State 26 Spokane State 36 #15 CC Los Angeles 32 #23 Coastal California 32 Redwood 30 SATURDAY MARCH 10 #1 Carolina Poly 60 Central Carolina 40 #2 Western Iowa 47 Detroit City College 40 #5 North Carolina Tech 60 Cowpens State 46 #9 Garden State 68 Brooklyn Catholic 62 #11 Texas Gulf Coast 44 Red River State 28 Alabama Baptist 43 #12 Noble Jones College 40 #17 Oklahoma City State 49 College of Omaha 37 #20 Western Florida 51 Opelika State 34 #24 Brooklyn State 43 Jersey City Tech 36 SUNDAY MARCH 11 no games scheduled: End of Season MELCHER OF COASTAL CALIFORNIA TOPS BASKETERS AGAIN Morgan Melcher of Coastal California went on a late season scoring spree with 63 points in his final three games of the season to help him finish in first place in the national collegiate individual high scoring basketball race. It marks the second year in a row the senior guard led the nation in scoring. His 527 points on the year, good for an average of 17.6 per game, easily allowed him to outdistance Jimmy Martens of Tempe College, who ended up second with 444 points. If the Dolphins can advance a few rounds in the National Championship Tournament Melcher may have a shot at breaking his own record for points in a season (including tournament play) of 586, which he established last season. Coastal California will open the tournament on Sunday against Mississippi A&M. GLA BARS PROS, PUTS LIMIT OF FOUR SEASONS ON OTHERS The Great lakes Alliance today clamped down on it's wide-open football eligibility rules in effect since shortly after Pearl Harbor, banning civilians from more than four years' competition and ostracizing professional athletes. The conference Faculty Committee, which had waived most of its eligibility sanctions to capitalize on all available manpower during the war, declared there was need to return "as rapidly as possible towards normal rules and regulations." Obviously striking at age and experience disparity among conference athletes resulting from unrestricted play by 4-F's, the committee limited play by civilians, as such, to four seasons. It also specified that athletes from the Rome State Military and Annapolis Maritime Naval Academies would be considered as civilians. No civilian student who is a professional in any sport will be eligible for conference varsity competition in that sport under the revised rules. DRAKE WINS BY DQ Michael Drake escaped with a victory in his heavyweight tussle with Doug Franklin despite being badly outpointed on the night. Franklin couldn't keep his punches up and it cost the 28 year old a decision as he was disqualified in the 10th round of their bout, scheduled for 12, due to being warned for repeated low blows. It snapped a 6-fight winning streak for the Jersey City native, who's camp was incensed with referee's ruling after the bout. Drake looked out of sorts all night in making his return to the ring after a more than 3 year absence during which time he was in the Navy. The native of Lowell, MA. improved his record to 25-10-3 while the loss drops Franklin to 24-5 for his career. The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 3/11/1945 Two key rivers have been crossed as Allied troops continue to take German territory. Elements of the American 1st and 3rd Armies crossed the Rhine less than 10 miles apart between Colbenz and Bonn. Meanwhile, to the east the Red Army broke across the Oder River south of Kuestrin and are within 27 miles of Berlin. With all of the positive news coming out of Europe, many are speculating Germany is close to surrendering but army officials caution there is still plenty of hard fighting ahead. Tokyo is reporting that a 77-ship American invasion armada was maneuvering for landing on the southwest tip of Mindanao, the second largest of the Philippine Islands. 15 square miles of war factories, business houses and other buildings in the heart of Tokyo lay in flaming ruins following the heaviest Superfortress raid ever made on Japan. Industry and C.I.O. members of the War Labor Board are at odds over the basic question of whether wage increases now would be good or bad for postwar American. The CIO is calling for increases now to "prevent the triumph of deflationary forces" but industry members assert that "some deflation is inevitable...real wages, not dollars, are the important thing." __________________ Lead Columnist of The Figment Sporting Journal The Scripture of Sports Last edited by Jiggs McGee; 12-22-2022 at 11:59 AM.