April 21, 1941 Regular Season begins
 

APRIL 21, 1941

BASEBALL IS BACK!

Any concerns the Detroit Dynamos might have had about Sal Pestilli's poor spring vanished very quickly as the 25 year old outfielder homered in each of Detroit's first two games and helped the Dynamos to a 5-1 start, the best in either association. There were some rumblings after Pestilli struggled most of the spring before picking up the pace in the final few games. Still his .229 Citrus League average was worrisome especially when considering his batting average was .307 in 1938 but fell to .258 in '39 and dropped further to .249 last season. It turns out the struggles at the dish in Florida meant nothing, at least to start the season, as Pestilli hit .375 with 3 homers and 6 rbi's in Detroit's first six games.

The news was not all good for the Dynamos as newly acquired pitcher Nate Spear lasted just one inning before suffering yet another injury. This time it was back problems for the often-injured 25 year old who came over from the Gothams during the winter. Spear will be sidelined at least until the all-star break, dashing Detroit's hopes of having him fill the void in the rotation created by Frank Crawford's injury. Crawford is expected back early next month.

QUICK HITS

• The Cannons are reeling after the news that All-Star catcher Adam Mullins will miss 6 weeks after hurting his leg in his second game in Cincinnati. Mullins injury leaves the Cannons catching situation with a lot of question marks. It looks like 29 year old career minor leaguer Buster Farrar gets the starting job although there is some talk the Cannons are considering bringing 20 year old Rick York up from AA if Farrar struggles.
• It was not the week the 2-4 Cannons had planned as in addition to the Mullins injury, Cincinnati also saw young ace Deuce Barrell get rocked twice and all-star outfielder Moxie Pidgeon start the season by going 3-for-25 with no extra base hits.
• Deuce's former teammate Gus Goulding also had a pair of terrible outings for the New York Gothams in the opening week. Gothams fans are excited with Walt Messer's start, as the young first baseman hit .318 with a pair of homers. Two other pieces of the 'Million-Dollar Infield' also fared well to start the season as Billy Dalton and Roosevelt Brewer looked very good.
• Patience is wearing thin in New York with Bunny Edwards. The 25 year old has always been an OSA darling and threw a no-hitter in the minors but he struggled mightily with the Gothams each of the past two seasons. Walks have been a big reason why and judging by his first start this season nothing has changed. Edwards gave up 5 earned runs and walked 8 in just 5 innings of work against Detroit. No loss for him this time (he is 7-16 for his career) because the Gothams managed to pull out a 6-5 victory.
• Boston apparently cannot field the ball. 12 errors in the first 6 games. Bright side is they are pitching well and scoring runs.
• The Pioneers started the season with five consecutive complete games but due to a lack of offense went just 2-3. The bullpen didn't see action until David Abalo took the mound Sunday and was removed after seven innings and two earned runs. Meanwhile Buddy Long, demoted to AAA Oakland, tossed a complete game shutout in his debut.
• Some more fancy numbers from Percy Sutherland. This time on the subject of stolen bases:
  Looking at it in terms of run events, your success rate at stealing bases needs to be about 67% just to break even. There were 25 players in the FABL in 1940 who stole at least 10 bases (led by Washington's Don Miller's 34). Of those, only 4 had a success rate of at least 67%. The Miners Pablo Reyes and his 32 stolen bases (2nd to Miller) produced just 1.1 in run value. The most valuable base stealer was Chick Donnelly of Boston, whose 10 swiped bags produced a 2.3 run value. The least valuable was Brooklyn's Rats McGonigle--his 11 stolen bases and 44% success rate "produced" a -3.7 run value. Don Miller? With 34 steals and a 58.6% success rate, he cost his club over 3 runs with his larceny (-3.4).
  
  A little redemption for Rats McGonigle. Removing the 10 stolen bases filter, you find that Boston's Pete Day was the least valuable. He stole 4 bases with a 25% success rate, which is good for a -4.7 run value.
  
  Poor Jack Bush of Washington. He was "good" for -33.2 batting runs last season. His base running wasn't any better: -5.2. So his offensive contributions cost the Eagles 38.4 runs in 1940. Assuming 9 runs per win that's a negative 4.2 wins. No matter how good his glove is, that's hard to make up
• First week for Peter the Heater: 2 W, 17 IP, 6 BB, 19 K. The Chicago Cougars also got a big week out of veteran John Lawson. Last year's Whitney Winner picked up right where he left off, taking home Player of the Week. The 38-year-old was 12-for-29 (.414) with a homer and 7 RBIs
• Sal Pestilli shook off a sluggish spring and hit 375 with 3 home runs and 7 RBI's in the first week. He now stands at 144 career home runs and will likely hit his 150th before Decoration Day at the end of May. Freddie Farhat of the Detroit World suggests Pestilli probably had a real shot at 500 homers but Farhat's suspicion is the war might claim some of his seasons. Maybe he still gets there, as he will like be at 200+ at the end of the 1942 if he stays healthy and out of the draft.
• With the injury to Nate Spear, Detroit's acquisition of Bobo White looms even more important. White, acquired from Washington for a late draft pick, would have started at AAA to just regain some confidence is now being thrust into the rotation in place of the Spearman. The decision was between Whetzel and White but after looking at White's spring with DC, Dynamos brass decided to let Whetzel continue to refine his pitches at Newark for now.

• Nazi forces continue their advance in Greece, making gains both against Greek forces in the mountains to the north and British troops along Salonika Gulf. By the weekend the Germans had planted their flag on Mt. Olympus.
• Britain is having a little more success in Libya this week, reporting several successful bombing runs on German and Italian columns in north Africa.
• Trading blow for blow, R.A.F. bombers ripped into the German naval base of Kiel while Nazi raiders delivered savage aerial attacks on widely scattered English towns and then hurled their heaviest bomb concentrations at Northern Ireland, with a heavy death toll reported in Belfast. The week end with London in flames following a devastating attack.
• Britain announced plans to destroy historic landmarks in Rome should the Axis powers do the same and attack Athens. British sources also say they have learned the Italians plan to destroy Vatican City with captured British bombs should an attack be carried out on Rome.
• A man arrested on a $7 robbery confessed to Long Island police he was a Nazi Gestapo spy and was promised a job in 'actual sabotage work' by the German Consul's office. He had a swastika branded on his left arm which led to a long line of questioning that eventually revealed he entered the country illegally.
  
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April 28, 1941
 

April 28, 1941

BREAKING NEWS: DRAFT NOTICES SEND SHOCKWAVE THROUGH FABL

Concern is rising across the Federally Aligned Baseball Leagues as players have begun receiving draft notices. With a handful of players already having traded their baseball duds for Army green, a new batch of notices were recently received by players who would form a solid core for an All-Star team: Bobby Barrell of the Keystones, Mel Carroll of the Foresters, Fred McCormick of the World Champion Wolves and George Cleaves of the Federal champion Miners all revealed that they received draft notices this week.

All four players noted that they have applied for deferments. No details on the bases these players used for the deferment requests, though most speculation centers around their head-of-household status in supporting spouses and children. Each of the four are married men and several have children of school age or younger.

The draft board in each man's home state will review their cases individually and a final decision for each is expected within two to four weeks. One thing is certain, if any of these men do head off to the Army, it will have a significant impact on the fortunes of their ballclubs.

In other draft news former Boston Minutemen pitcher Mike Lee reported to the same artillery camp in Massachusetts that New York Stars pitcher Dixie Lee (no relation) is presently at. The Minutemen's Lee missed most of last season with a shoulder injury and started this season at AAA Columbus before getting his draft notice.
Doleful talk today in Toronto - at any cigar store, tavern or street corner:
"Guess the Wolves can't win now."
"Nope, not with McCormick out of there."

The surprise news came this week. Fred McCormick, the great hitter of the Toronto Wolves, received his formal orders from the military for induction into the Army and barring a successful request for a deferment, will report to a military base in his native Ohio sometime next month. There was similar dour talk in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia as news broke that Miners catcher George Cleaves and Keystones outfielder Bobby Barrell had also each received notice that their 'numbers' came up. Certainly not a pennant contender like the other three, but the Cleveland Foresters were also invited to this party as star third baseman Mel Carrol was also given notice.

There is still the possibility that none of the four all-stars leave during the season as deferments are possible in each case, but these latest announcements hit home for FABL clubs just how serious Hitler's war in Europe is to the survival of the sport over the next few years.

I caught up with Washington club owner William Stockdale, who has the ear of FDR. Stockdale stated he has no intention of requesting preferential treatment of baseball players in connection with their being drafted for military service. He has no plan to suggest for deferring players and stands by an earlier statement that baseball, with other industries, will contribute it's share toward national defense.

"I've been misquoted on that subject several times," says Stockdale, "and I want to get it straight once and for all. I have no idea of asking favors for players. If our boys have to go then they'll go - that's all."

"I do believe, though, that some of the local draft boards have been a bit hasty in classifying some players with dependents in class 1-A."
Cleveland's Mel Carrol is expected to appeal contending he is the sole support of his parents. Carrol has received no official notice of his classification from the local board in Erie, Pennsylvania, but Chairman W. B. Crumpton has stated Carrol has been placed among the Army eligibles. Under customary procedure, Carrol will not be called for induction until after May 15th at the earliest.

The basis for Carrol's appeal will be the fact that his father has a double hernia and is unable to work. Ownership of a gas station in Erie, which provides year-round revenue, may operate against Carrol's chances of being reclassified. He already has passed his physical examination but may also attempt to request a four-month deferment.
Keystones Libby Feels the Heat- Managing a big league ballclub, especially a contender, is a difficult job even in the best of times. But in times like this it is downright near impossible to do. Just ask Bill Libby. Libby is in his third year at the helm of the Philadelphia Keystones and by all accounts doing a fantastic job although the team is off to a slow start this season. His club is full of rising young talent and is considered to have a very good shot at winning the Federal Association pennant. However, Uncle Sam may be on the verge of destroying the Keystones pennant hopes for this season with word that Bobby Barrell's number has come up and he has been added to the Army's growing roster of prospects. No, nothing is set in stone yet as there is a chance that Barrell might get a deferment but that is not a certainty and it clearly throws Libby, and the rest of the Keystones, into a panic. Losing Bobby Barrell, the club's on-field leader and, aside from spare part Doug Lightbody, their elder statesman would be a devastating loss.

"I am not sure how we could fill that hole," said a shocked Libby upon first hearing the news. "But it is looking like this thing is going to affect a whole lot of ballclubs." Libby paused and then added "Losing Bobby would be a huge blow to this club."

STARS OFFENSE IS OUT OF THIS WORLD

It is no wonder the New York Stars own the best record in baseball at 11-2. The Stars offense has dominated opponents in the early going, averaging well over 7 runs a game with budding superstar Bill Barrett (.429,6,20) and ageless wonder Dave Trowbridge (.455,1,10) leading the way. While the offensive display is impressive but likely won't last at it's current pace, it does not come as much of a surprise as the Stars pitching has in the early going. Heading into the season there were concerns about their depth on the mound but Billy Riley (3-0,2.05), Chuck Cole (2-0, 2.50), Chris Clarke (2-0, 2.70) and an incredible start from Vern Hubbard (3-0, 0.38) have alleviated those concerns and even 5th starter Lou Robertson (1-1, 3.57) has done a solid job.

ABALO CAREER IN DOUBT

The bad news gets even worse for the St Louis Pioneers as they learned that pitcher David Abalo's career is likely over following his latest injury. For the second time in less than a year Abalo was forced to leave the mound with a serious shoulder injury. Many in the crowd could hear something pop in the top of the 5th inning against Chicago when the Pioneers lefthander unleashed a pitch to the Chiefs Hank Barnett. Abalo immediately walked off the mound, cradling his tender left arm. It was learned yesterday that the club doctor has advised the 27 year old his baseball days are over. The diagnosis is a torn rotator cuff and becomes just the latest in a series of injuries to St Louis pitchers.

Abalo suffered a similar should injury last July but had said he felt no pain or discomfort in his 4 spring appearances or his first start a little over a week ago. If this is indeed the end, and all indications are it is, Abalo leaves with a career mark of 87-59 over 8 seasons with the Pioneers. He had three consecutive 17 win campaigns starting in 1935 as a 21 year old but since 1938 he has been hampered by a series of injuries.

It was an improbable run for the native of Venezuela who got his start in North American baseball as a 16 year old when he attended an open tryout for the Lone Star Association prior to that league's inaugural season. It took him 4 years before he made his minor league debut and but was then immediately noticed by Pioneers scouts, who pushed for the team to acquire him from San Antonio of the Lone Star loop in 1933. After just over a year in the St Louis system Abalo made his FABL debut in May 1934, two months before his 21st birthday, beating Washington 5-3 with a complete game. He would go 8-8 that season. His best season might well have been 1935 when Abalo (17-12) combined with Sam Sheppard's (28-7) Allen Award winning season to carry the Pioneers to second place in the Federal Association, just two games back of the champion New York Gothams.

Lately the Pioneers organization has fallen on hard times with Sheppard's decline and injuries to Abalo being tabbed as a key reason for the struggles.

QUICK HITS

• Bad news for Boston beyond the loss of 24 year old pitcher Mike Lee to military service. Slugger Bob Donoghue suffered a bit of a setback from the knee injury he picked up in spring training and his debut this season will be delayed a few more days. The Minutemen had hoped to have the 27 year old, who led the Federal Association in homers in 1939, in the lineup last week after he had been sidelined over a month. Donoghue's health is key to a successful season for the Minutemen.
• I have said it here before but it bears repeating after his start this season. I see Bill Barrett emerging as perhaps the best player in FABL this year. He is already a two-time all-star and hit .320 with 13 homers last season but that is just the tip of the iceberg for what the 21 year will accomplish in this sport. Barrett had a 5-hit game last week and in back to back games hit 2 homers while extending his hitting streak to 20 games. Barrett is batting .429 with 6 homers and 20 rbi's and the season is just 2 weeks old. He won't keep it up but his pace right now suggests a 71 homer, 237 rbi season.
• The bad news for David Abalo means good news for Buddy Long as the Pioneers are expected to recall the 26 year old Long from Oakland to replace Abalo in their rotation. Long is 41-41 in his FABL career despite suffering through a 9-21 season a year ago in St Louis.
• Going back to last season Ron Rattigan of the Chiefs now has hit safely in 30 consecutive games. That is the longest such streak since the Keystones Bobby Barrell had a 35 gamer back in 1936. The FABL record is 47 games set by Rich Rowley of the Toronto Wolves in 1900.
• Should the Cannons request overtime pay? A 5-2 week included a 21 inning win over Cleveland with their two losses coming in 16 innings (to Toronto) and 15 innings (vs Sailors)
• Percy Sutherland points out that it may be time for the Kings to conclude that Harry Barrell is just no longer a lead-off hitter. He had -13.8 batting runs in 1940 and is on pace for -24.5 in 1941, hitting just .228/.279/.333. Some argue Barrell is a much better hitter than what he has shown so far but Sutherland points out this is the second season of this level of performance from the Kings shortstop.
• The Keystones have struggled out of the gate to a 5-9 record. Leadoff hitter Hank McKay is hitting .037. He's followed in the batting order by Billy Woytek, who is hitting .050. Yes--those averages have a zero as the first digit.
• Dan Barrell with some early thoughts on streaky play across the league. "The Keystones have been the biggest surprise to me so far," said the OSA boss. "I wouldn't expect the offense to continue to sputter any more than I would expect the Stars offense to continue at its current torrid pace. We've got some hot & cold running offenses around the league right now."

• German forces are knocking on the gates of Athens and Berlin quarters predict the swastika would be planted on early next week atop the hallowed acropolis where Solon and his colleagues fashioned the first democracy 2,450 years ago.
• The British Mediterranean fleet bombarded Tripoli, capital of Italian Libya and landing point for German forces in north Africa.
• A close call for an American merchant ship off the coast of Spain when a British sub fired shells just over the ships bow. It was foggy weather and the British craft claimed it could not see the US flag or markings.
• The US takes one step closer to entering the war as FDR confirms that the Navy will step up an extend patrol system - to all the seven seas if necessary - to counteract Axis patrols and make good "our promise to get war supplies to Britain."
• Roosevelt also sharply criticized Colonel Charles Lindbergh and others who express the opinion that the Axis will defeat Britain. Their viewpoint, he told a press conference, is like that of appeasers who wanted George Washington to surrender during the hardships of Valley Forge. He added that Lindbergh and other doubters constitute a small American minority. Lindbergh resigned from the US Army Air Corps Reserve in response.
• The Treasury suggested that Congress cut non-defense expenditures as much as $1 billion and raise $3.6 billion in new revenue by imposing drastic surtaxes on middle and lower class incomes and a general increase in all other taxes.
  
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May 5, 1941
 

MAY 5, 1941

ONE ALL-STAR DENIED DEFERMENT

Of the four all-star players that were given draft notices last week, This Week in Figment Baseball has learned that only three of them were successful in their request for a deferral. The confidential source, with inside knowledge on the military induction process, would not specify which player was unsuccessful but confirmed that one of the four: Bobby Barrell, Mel Carrol, George Cleaves and Fred McCormick, was denied his request to defer and will report to army training sometime in the next couple of weeks.

The official announcement on which player will leave his club and report to the Army will likely come some time in the next week. Until then the teams these four play for, and really the league as a whole, will be on pins and needles waiting to see what happens. Regardless of which player goes it will have a huge impact on the pennant races. Barrell and Cleaves are key parts of a pair of Federal Association contenders while McCormick is the best hitter on the defending World Champion Toronto Wolves. Even if the unlucky club is Cleveland with Mel Carrol being the one to go it will still impact the pennant races as one has to think Carrol might have been a very popular player as the trade deadline approached.

Which team would be in the biggest trouble should they be the club that draws the short straw? Let's look at the impact on each of the teams involved starting with the Philadelphia Keystones.

The Keystones are off to a rough start this season but after a breakthrough 1940 campaign some experts, including Dan Barrell of the OSA, tabbed Philadelphia as the likely pennant winner in the Federal Association this season. Bobby Barrell, Dan's brother, is a 6-time all-star with a pair of Whitney Awards on his resume. Now nearing age 31 he may not be quite the player he was half a dozen years ago but he is still one of the best outfielders in the Fed and the veteran leader on a young Keystones team. Chuck Hood had a terrific season last year but has been relegated to the bench with the emergence of Davey Robicheaux this season. Robicheaux has struggled, like many of the Philadelphia batsmen, but assuming he gets straightened out and Hood can be similar to the player he was last season the Keystones can withstand the loss of Barrell in their outfield. They certainly won't be as good without him but they would still be a solid ballclub although one has to think they would be scrambling for a veteran outfielder to add depth and leadership.

The Cleveland Foresters are a bad team with or without four-time all-star Mel Carrol so in that regard he won't be missed. However, Carrol is, along with Dean Astle, the most marketable trade pieces the organization has should they wish to take a major step in tearing the club apart and starting over. Should Carrol be made available, assuming he is not leaving now, his trade value will be high but it remains to be seen how much it would be impacted by the deferment news. Just because a player may receive a successful deferral for the rest of the season there is no guarantee that deferal will be permanent and they could easily miss future seasons. If Toronto was to lose Fred McCormick you would think Carrol might be high on their list of players to acquire as Walt Pack could shift to first base and Carrol would be a nice replacement for McCormick. One could also see the Stars, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh and perhaps even Boston looking to Carrol at the deadline if they are in a pennant race.

As for Pittsburgh, one has to think they would be the team affected the most should it be their star player who is leaving. George Cleaves is a five time all-star and the 1939 Whitney Award winner. He is quite possibly the best catcher in the game right now and the Miners do not have anyone in their organization that could even come remotely close to replacing him. Their backup right now is Lou Chandler, a 29 year old with 63 career FABL games and a .215 career average. The only option in AAA is another 29 year old by the name of Clem Bliss. Bliss does have 262 career FABL games under his belt but would not be someone a pennant contender would want playing regularly. If Cleaves does indeed leave the Miners, one would expect, have to be desperate to acquire a catcher if they want any chance of winning a third straight Federal Association pennant. The problem is there are very few catchers available that could step in. Perhaps Tom Aiello of the Chicago Chiefs might be a possibility but the Chiefs could be reluctant to help out Pittsburgh if Chicago feels they are contenders. Boston would be in the same situation with Bill Van Ness so it is much more likely the Miners have to settle for a player like Ken Vance of Cleveland, Brooklyn's Fred Barrell or Washington's Paul Brophy and I am not sure how much any of those would be of an upgrade on Bliss or Chandler.

That leaves the Toronto Wolves and losing McCormick, a 7-time all-star who won Whitney Awards in 1938 and 1939, would be a serious blow. Like Philadelphia I believe it is one the Wolves could possibly withstand especially if they were able to swing a deal for a player like the previously mentioned Mel Carrol. Toronto might even be content to shift Walt Pack to first base and promote Ockie Holliday from AAA Buffalo to play third. There are other options, none quite like McCormick, but still serviceable choices for the Wolves as both they and the Keystones benefit from the fact that first baseman and outfielders are much more plentiful that high end catchers. Could Toronto still win the Continental crown without McCormick. It would be a much more difficult task than doing it with him but Toronto's pitching is strong enough that they still might just be able to contend and with a few breaks perhaps even repeat as pennant winners, especially if they could land a player like Carrol to fill the void.

It is obvious any team that loses an all-star player will feel that loss and all four of these teams would suffer, and suffer to the point where a pennant opportunity might be out of the question, but none more than the Miners should they find out in the next 7-10 days that George Cleaves has traded his bat and glove for a rifle and bayonet. One thing is for sure. There will be a lot of sleepless nights this week for the managers of each of those four teams.

STARS AND COUGARS THREATENING TO RUN AWAY WITH CONTINENTAL ASSOCIATION

The Continental Association is very quickly becoming a two horse race as the New York Stars and Chicago Cougars are a combined 29-11 to begin the season while none of the other 6 teams are over .500 and the group as a whole own a 48-64 record. Third place is tie between the Philadelphia Sailors and Brooklyn Kings and after just three weeks those two clubs are already 5.5 games back of the front running Stars.

New York at least showed signs of mortality this weekend as the Stars dropped a pair of games at home - first to Toronto on Saturday followed by a 3-2 defeat at the hands of last place Cleveland yesterday. That put an end to a 14 game winning streak for the New York side. The Cougars have been much more methodical in their 14-7 start, never winning more than 4 in a row but also, aside from back to back losses to the Stars a week and a half ago, the Cougars have not tasted defeat in successive contests.

The Stars offense slowed a bit over the weekend with those two 1-run losses but it has been dominating and still averaging well over 6 runs per game. Bill Barrett (.390,8,23) is on a tear and Dave Trowbridge (.418,1,17), the oldest player in FABL is following up his batting crown winning season of a year ago with another terrific start: Trowbridge leads the bigs in hitting at a .418 clip.

QUICK HITS

• With the bugle already ringing in Dixie Lee's ears there now appears to be some some danger that another New York Stars player may be in army service before the end of the season. That would be Joe Angevine (.315,0,12) who is single and without dependents. The 25 year old registered at Austin, Tex., his home city, and has a high draft number, but with the possibility that more men will be called than at first planned the young shortstop may be one of those inducted.
• Ron Rattigan's(.333,2,10) hitting streak, dating back to last season, came to an end this week at 34 games but the 32 year old 5-time all-star followed up his 0-for-5 showing on Friday against the Keystones with a 3 hit effort Saturday and added another base knock Sunday in a loss to Pittsburgh. Rattigan's mark is a new record for Chiefs hitters, snapping by one the 33 game streak established by Mike Pierce in 1927.
• Lots of positive news out of Boston, just not in the win column. CF Bill Burkett picked up the batter of the month award. Ray Dalpman won the FA Rookie of the month. Duke Hendricks picked up the first win of his career in a shutout win against the Gothams. Yet, the Minutemen are still sitting at 9-10 on the season in sixth position 3 games back in the standings. Hopefully the return of slugger Bob Donoghue can inject some life in the offense which aside from Burkett has been largely disappointing. Currently, Boston sits 7th in runs scored and 6th in batting average.
• Moxie Pidgeon (.211,2,11) is finally showing signs of getting his bat going. After a terrible start to the season the 34 year old has 6 hits in his last 4 games including his first two homers of the season, which both came yesterday in a 9-0 whitewashing of Montreal. Deuce Barrell (1-2, 6.84) is another Cannon of to a slow start but the club has seen that before as Barrell, who won 19 games and finished with a 3.55 era, had a rough April last year as well - going 1-1 with a 5.23 era.
• Quite a start to the season for veteran Frank Mack in the Western League. The 35 year old second sacker is hitting .538 (21-for-39) to start the season, the highest batting average in organized ball at the moment. A high school National Championship Series MVP in 1922 he was a 9th round pick of the Sailors in 1924 and made it as high as AAA but never got the call to the big leagues. This is Mack's 4th season with Wichita of the Western League.
• A one minute interview with Cougars pitcher Dick Lyons- the oldest thrower in the bigs this season. "There's been some talk about what I'm a throwin' this year. Well, I got a slow ball that's so slow the infielders can come in and autograph it before it's to the plate. Then the batter's a-swingin' at a souvenir."
• Dan Daniel, New York Baseball scribe, comes up with an attractive idea. He would like to see President Roosevelt at the all-star baseball game in Brooklyn.
  "In July," Dainel wrote, "the annual all-star game will be played at Kings County. Brooklyn is a fine city and in a key area for Navy defenses. A nice ballpark with a rich history. The game will win America in a fervor of tremendous patriotism. Let us pray it finds America yet out of this war. But this game should have a flavor of American patriotism.
  "Why not ask President Roosevelt to come to Kings County Ballpark and before the game make a 10-minute talk to America, right out of the ball park.
  "If the President cannot go to Brooklyn, let him make his talk over the telephone and broadcast out of the Detroit ball park. Let this all-star game be not merely a demonstration for baseball. Let it be, also, a great festival of Americanism."

• Germany increases it's focus on the Mediterranean vowing to "destroy completely Britain's position and power there."
• Embattled Britain took fresh heart from Prime Minister Churchill's stirring speech which frankly conceded defeats in Greece and Libya but predicted British victory with United States aid at sea.
• 26 US merchant ships loaded with arms and munitions for the aid of Britain in the Middle East, have arrived at the Suez Canal.
• Those US supplies will be of great aide to British troops in Africa, who this week clashed with pro-Axis Iraq forces after Iraqi artillery shelled a British air base.
• The United States Atlantic patrol has been ordered to "avoid shooting at all costs short of getting sunk," as the mission is not to destroy Axis ships or airplanes but "to spot them" and protect their conveys until British forces can arrive on seen to take over.
• The Secretary of War told a Senate committee that the coal strikes have crated a crucial situation and if the mines are not reopened promptly "the entire national defense effort will be in grave jeopardy."
• The coal dispute was settled late in the week and President Roosevelt called for a 24-hour day, 7-day week work schedule in defense industries to help the United State win the world battle of production for the democracies in this "crucial situation."
• Orson Welles' 'Citizen Kane' debuted in theatres this week.
  
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May 12, 1941
 

MAY 12, 1941

WOLVES MCCORMICK TO REPORT FOR MILITARY DUTY

The Toronto Wolves learned late last week that Whitney Award winning first baseman Fred McCormick will be lost to the team for the next 12 months as McCormick will be inducted into the Army tomorrow. The news is not a complete surprise as the Wolves had been made aware of McCormick's draft status but they had hoped an appeal for a deferment would be granted. However, on Thursday McCormick learned his request to defer on financial grounds had been declined and the club was informed that same day.

McCormick was one of a quartet of top-level FABL players who recently received a draft notice, but became the only one of the four to have his deferment request denied. McCormick left his teammates in Philadelphia immediately following Sunday's game with the Sailors. Asked about having his salary shrink from $27,500 a year to $21 a week, he replied “”I made up my mind to go when I was called. My country comes first.”

The 31 year old 7-time all-star had hoped the need to support his family would grant him the chance to finish the season and join the army in October but it was ruled his investments would provide sufficient income so his claim was not accepted. Three other all-stars: Pittsburgh's George Cleaves, Cleveland's Mel Carrol and Philadelphia Keystones slugger Bobby Barrell were all successful in their deferment requests and will not be required to report at this time. However, that could change in the future.

McCormick played for the Wolves in their weekend series against the Philadelphia Sailors but will miss today's series finale as he boarded a train to return to his home on a farm just outside of Dayton, Ohio. He will be inducted in Dayton on Tuesday morning. Ironically, Tuesday is the day the Wolves are slated to raise their World Championship banner at Dominion Stadium in advance of a game with Montreal. There was talk McCormick's draft center would allow him to arrive Thursday so that he could participate in the flag raising ceremony in Toronto but he declined, saying he did want any preferential treatment.

The 31 year old began his big league career with St Louis in 1931 before being dealt to the Wolves prior to the 1938 season. He immediately dominated Continental Association pitching, winning the CA batting title and the Whitney Award each of his first two seasons including a triple crown winning performance in 1939 when the Wolves came within 2 games of winning their first pennant since 1911. Last year they finally got that pennant and followed it up with a WCS win over the Pittsburgh Miners behind a dominant playoff performance from McCormick, who hit .500 (9-for-18) in the Series and was named WCS Most Valuable Player.

Rumor has it that McCormick will train as a tank gunner. While the United States currently remains neutral, McCormick plays his home games in Canada, which is already at war and though Wolves fans will miss McCormick's bat, they are astute enough to realize that if (or when) the U.S. joins the fray, they'll still have "The Reticent Reaper" on their side.

Fred McCormick drafted are words that will stay in the Toronto fans memory for generations. The Wolves are still trying to sort out all the fall-out from McCormick's departure but Walter Pack had been working with coach Dick Dennis at First base since Fred received his notice from the draft board. The initial plan is as pundits predicted Pack to first, Holiday on his way from Buffalo to man the hot corner.

Other options discussed were moving either Larry Vestal or Tom Frederick to first but they were dismissed in favour of the Pack/Holiday plan. Pack's shift across the diamond will be closely monitored to see if either of the other plans need to be brought forward in the future.

In a statement released this morning the Wolves organization wishes Fred well during his 12-month hitch above all to stay safe before his return to Toronto. Manager Charlie Reed held a closed door meeting with the team after McCormick left, sources say that Reed told the team that Fred is not the first and probably will not be the last player lost to a team during these unsettled times, the team has a 130 games left in the season to repeat as World Champions so everyone will have to dig a little deeper to pick up the slack left with their 1B departure.

RELIEVED MINERS FOCUSED ON RETURN TO SERIES

With concerns of losing George Cleaves to the army behind them, at least for now, the Pittsburgh Miners have returned their full attention to winning a third consecutive Federal Association pennant - and fourth in five years. There was plenty of worry the season would be lost when Cleaves number came up with the draft board in his home state of New Jersey but he was able to secure a deferment which should keep him in the Miners lineup for the rest of the season. Had they lost their all-star catcher the pennant talk would likely have left town along with the 27 year old star but instead Miners fans are celebrating both Cleaves staying put and a 7-3 start to May which gives Pittsburgh a 1.5 game cushion atop the Fed standings.

The Miners did drop a pair of games last week, falling twice to the surprising St Louis Pioneers, a club that was dead last in the Fed a year ago but now, thanks to an 11-4 stretch, is right there with Detroit in second place. St Louis was not as bad as they proved to be last year and while some might question if they are really good enough to stick around in the pennant race beyond the All-Star break long suffering fans in Missouri are enjoying the moment. The Pioneers do have limited power but they are getting on base and led the Fed in runs scored thanks to a group led by catcher Heinie Zimmer (.341,2,9) and 22 year old shortstop Luke Micheals (.367,0,19). Add in young Danny Hern (4-1, 2.04) and a motivated Buddy Long (3-0, 2.67), who has been solid since his recall from AAA Oakland, and the Pioneers do have a lot to look forward to. St Louis does have a big series coming up starting tomorrow when they have a rematch vs the Miners but this time it will be at Pittsburgh's Fitzpatrick Park.

The Continental Association remains a two-horse race with the New York Stars leading the way with the Chicago Cougars trying to keep pace. Bill Barrett (.430,11,33) continues to be a one man wrecking crew for the Stars as the 21 year old phenom hit 3 more homers this week while batting .565 to claim the CA player of the week award.

Cincinnati, Philadelphia and Toronto all continue to struggle in the Continental and the loss of Fred McCormick seems to indicate it is very unlikely the Wolves will be around in October to to defend their WCS win. One team that is making waves is the Brooklyn Kings, who have won 11 of their last 13 games and are reminding fans of the glory days from not so long ago. One has to wonder how long that feeling will last as while the Kings offense, led by a pair of Frank's in LeMieux (.395,2,13) and Lightbody (.375,1,9), has been strong their pitching has not looked very good.

CANNONS PERRY FIRES NO-HITTER

There has been little to celebrate in the early going for the Cincinnati Cannons but last week gave the club a rare positive moment as pitcher Roger Perry fired a no-hitter in an 8-0 win at Montreal. Perry's special game was the first in FABL in nearly two years and the first in franchise history since Les McCants threw one for the Baltimore Clippers, as they were known back then, in 1892. The no-hitter is the first in the CA since Doc Newell tossed one for the Sailors against Brooklyn in 1938. The only other no-hitter since then was one by Detroit's Jack Wood in 1939.

As for Perry perhaps it is a turning point in his season. It was the first victory of the year in 4 starts for the 33 year old who came over to the Cannons in an off-season deal with Pittsburgh. The 33 year old is 1-2 on the season and 111-63 for his FABL career. He had thrown four 3-hitters in his career including one against the Cannons back in 1932 when he was with Cleveland but never had he gone the distance and allowed less than three hits until last week.

COUGARS ADD ANOTHER VETERAN

The Chicago Cougars acquired veteran first baseman Dick Walker from the Philadelphia Sailors in exchange for a pair of minor league prospects. The 34 year old Walker is a 14 year veteran with over 1,900 FABL games on his resume and adds to the Cougars reputation as the oldest team in FABL. With the addition of Walker half of the Chicago active roster - 12 players in all -are at least 30 years old. The Cougars also get Ossie Grogan, a 25 year old rookie they selected from Philadelphia in the rule five draft. That move simply gives Chicago the ability to demote Grogan to the minor leagues instead of having to return him to Philadelphia if they had attempted to demote him.

Going to Philadelphia are AA infielder Jim McCarthy and Class C first baseman Vince Conforti. McCarthy, a 19 year old taken in the fifth round in 1939 by the Cougars, is ranked 293rd on OSA's prospect list while Conforti, a 20 year old 16th rounder, does not crack the OSA top 500.

JIGGS MCGEE'S TAKE - Walker isn't a flashy power hitting first baseman but he is a solid dependable hitter who draws a lot of walks and looks like an ideal number #2 hitter. He should be a great table setter for John Lawson and Cliff Moss but the only question I have is where do the Cougars plan on playing him? Ray Ford has done a very good job at first base the past few season and in 7 games this season is batting .692 (no that's not a misprint). There is a good a good chance the lefthanded hitting Walker may end up platooning with Ford at first base but he also might be primarily used as a pinch-hitter.

On the Sailors side of the ledger this move removes the final link to the Sailors 1928 WCS winning squad as Walker was a key contributor to 3 straight pennants and a pair of WCS wins for Philadelphia. Neither prospect the Sailors added looks to have much long term potential so this move feels like strictly a cost cutting measure to get Walker's $18,400 salary off the books and perhaps open the door for highly touted 23 year old prospect Johnny Zeidman. Zeidman is a natural third baseman but has some experience at first base so he and/or veteran Marion Boismenu will take over first base duties full-time. Zeidman was selected 11th overall in 1939 out of McNair University in Springfield, Mo. and was hitting .274 through 24 games with AAA San Francisco this season.

The timing of the deal seems unusual for Philadelphia. Yes, Walker is struggling in the early going this season, hitting just .228, but he is drawing walks and his on-base percentage is comparable to the previous two seasons. It feels like the Sailors have made a decision that Walker's best days are behind him.

2000 HITS FOR BOBBY BARRELL

It was good news all around for Bobby Barrell and the Philadelphia Keystones. To start with the club learned the request to defer Barrell's military service until at least the end of the season has been approved so it appears Bobby will be able to finish the season with the Keystones. The next piece of good news is the struggling Keystones managed to win 4 of 6 games this week and perhaps are showing signs of snapping out of a terrible slump, especially at the plate, to start the season.

Barrell, the 30 year old leader of the Keystones crew, had not been subjected to the slump as he was one of the few performing well at the plate, batting .317 with a pair of homers and a team leading 19 rbi's. Among Barrell's 32 hits on the season so far was a special milestone as The Georgia Jolter smacked the 2,000 hit of his career in just his 1,533rd career game. He would add 4 more hits to finish the week but the milestone marker came in a 5-4 loss to Detroit on Wednesday. It was a lead-off single to start the 4th inning of what was at that point a scoreless game with Charlie Wheeler on the hill for the Dynamos. Barrell would later hit a 2-run homer off Wheeler in the 8th inning to give the Keystones a 4-2 lead but they would eventually fall in 10 innings.

Barrell has had pretty good success against Wheeler over his career, hitting .353 (24-for-68) with a pair of homers against the 26 year old Detroit righthander. The pitcher he has had the most hits off of in his career is former Gotham and Chief hurler Jim Lonardo, who is now in the Continental Association with the Chicago Cougars. Barrell has 53 hits against Lonardo with Pittsburgh's Bill Ketterman (46 hits) and Sam Sheppard of St Louis (42 hits) number two and three on the Barrell victim list.

QUICK HITS

• There is word that the army has agreed for a pair of professional golfers in their ranks to be allowed to compete in the US Open later this summer. So this brings up an interesting point. If the Toronto Wolves were in a crucial series, why wouldn't it be possible for Private Fred McCormick to come off the 'voluntary retired' list and chase up to Toronto to help the Wolves in some key contests.
• From Percy Sutherland and his nephew's fancy numbers: "McCormick just missed hitting .400 in 1939, finishing at .399. If he had that same performance in 1925 when the league batting average was .300, McCormick's average would have been .426."
• Cougars and Stars are crushing the CA right now. Luck? Skill? Other teams in a slump? Are they both really that good or are they due for a reality check? All of the above according to Sutherland.
• Tough break for the Brooklyn Kings as they learned Rats McGonigle's injury is more serious than first thought. Doctors say the 22 year old outfielder will miss up to 3 months with a knee issue. The third year Kings outfielder was hitting .265 in 8 games this season.
• The Montreal Saints are coming off a 4-3 week and at 4 games under .500 are pretty much right where management expected the team to be. There have been some surprises, both good and bad, in the early going. Count infielders Charlie Woodbury (.333,1,12) and Mark Burns (.385,1,12) as those on the positive side of the ledger which forced Spud Bent to AAA after Bent struggled in April. Catcher Ben Richardson (.257,0,6), one of the pieces in the deal that sent Adam Mullins to Cincinnati, had a rough start to the season but rebounded very nicely last week with 9 hits in 17 at bats. On the negative side we have Gary Carmichael (.176,0,3), who looks lost at the plate and forfeited his starting job at third base to Burns. The Saints also want to see more out of top prospect Bill Greene or he may have to go back to AAA Minneapolis.
• By far the biggest highlight so far in Montreal has been the pitching of Wally Doyle (6-0, 1.98) as the 22 year old has taken a huge step forward in the early going.
• While the Cannons could celebrate Roger Perry's no-hitter it turned out that was the only celebrating done by Cincinnati as the struggling Cannons dropped 5 of 6 games last week to fall to 10-15 on the year. At 9.5 games back of first place New York already in the CA race some in Cannonland are questioning whether the deal for Adam Mullins was worth it. Mullins is hurt and that certainly has an effect on Cincinnati's offense but in truth the club appears right now to be much further away from contention then perhaps they thought they were over the winter. Mullins is obviously a great catcher and a very talented player but would Cincinnati have been better off with Jack Flint, who is doing quite well for himself in Boston, and a boatload of prospects sent to Montreal that they could have developed or packaged for other pieces as they get closer to mounting a serious challenge.
• The other school of thought in Cincinnati is this is just one of those years where a club takes a step backwards only to leap two steps forward next season. The Wolves did that with a terrible 1939 following a surprising pennant run in '38 and that experience gained paid off with a title last year. Could Cincinnati's fate be similar?
• 3 more weeks without Mullins for the Cannons but will he make that much of a difference? Aside from the catcher, the Cannons are the same team as a year ago but the results since the All-Star break last season have not been good…and both Deuce Barrell and William Jones, along with Moxie Pidgeon have played very poorly. But Pidgeon had a decent week this time so perhaps he is on the verge of breaking out of his funk.
• More on Mullins as Cannons fans see Jack Flint enjoying success in Boston: Percy Sutherland says "I've always liked Jack Flint. Jack Flint is a really good catcher. But Jack Flint is no Adam Mullins. If I have a chance to acquire an under-28 top 5 catcher, I'm going to take that chance nearly 100% of the time. Picks and prospects are still just picks and prospects. Even if those picks turn into Hall of Famers, I'd consider it a good deal. It's like fans who criticize football teams for going for it on 4th down. If they don't make it, then it's obvious they shouldn't have tried. But that's not how you evaluate decisions."
• And the New York Mirror weighs in on Flint pointing out "A top 5 catcher is probably the most valuable commodity right now. We have a ton of OK catchers. Some that can kind of hit well and are average behind the plate. Or some that are great behind the plate but can't hit. Seems to be a rare combination of both. And one that's decent behind the plate and can hit well? A GM would be crazy not to snatch him up given the chance."
• While Boston is thrilled with Jack Flint, Doc Shaw explains there is plenty else wrong with the Minutemen. "Utter frustration in Boston as Mack Sutton has been completely awful to start the season. After posting a 126 OPS+ in 1940 Boston fans finally felt they had turned a corner with the young highly touted slugger from Arkansas. Unfortunately this year Sutton is currently hitting .146 and playing sub average defense at 3B.
  
  "The decision has been made to give Art Spencer more time at 3rd as he produced well (without the power) covering for (the injured Bob) Donoghue. Also, the once productive Boston outfield finds itself struggling as well. Pete Day and Chick Donnelly who have 7 all-star appearances between them have both struggled out of the gate. Day especially. This is also prompting Boston management to give more time to rookie Les Rich.
  
  Meanwhile, the pitching that has carried the team through the early season offensive struggles hit a bump of their own. Although it is still early in the season Boston management may feel that whatever window they had thought to fit into has sufficiently closed and maybe the club should consider dealing from their core roster and prepare for yet another rebuild. Doc Shaw here feels that maybe a little more patience is in order but does conceded that Sutton and Van Ness, the cornerstones of the '35 draft that had Boston with 2 picks in the top 6 have not developed into top flight talent."
• A 4-2 week for the Keystones as they try to get up off the mat and get past an awful start. Bobby Barrell recorded his 2,000th hit with a single off Detroit's Charlie Wheeler in the top of the 4th of Wednesday's 5-4 loss to the Dynamos. With an 11-15 record, the Keystones need a couple of more weeks like this one to climb back to .500.
• Percy Sutherland is starting to worry about Rabbit Day's chances of reaching 300 wins. Day is 2-5 this season (266-168 for his career) and new Chiefs scouting director Hoyt Schmidt is not sure that the 37 year old has much left in his tank.
• Freddie Farhat of the Detroit World shares some thoughts on the Dynamos. "Sergio Gonzales has been pitching really well. He's 2-0 with a 0.90 ERA in his 5 starts. He isn't on the ERA leader board though because he's only thrown 20 IP in those 5 starts. The club has tried to space his starts out to get him past all the day to day timelines but back spasms and now reoccurring finger blisters continue to disrupt his season. With Frank Crawford physically ready to come back, Detroit is either going to DL Gonzales and give him time off or carry 10 pitchers for a week and let Gonzales rest while traveling with the team.
  
  The season so far besides Gonzales issues is resembling a bit of a MASH unit. 3B Frank Vance is suffering from a quad strain and at his age should get shut down (my opinion). LF Rip Curry who has been tearing the cover off the ball, is out for 8 weeks with a shoulder ailment.
  
  The plan will be to bring Constantine Peters up and plug him at 3B for Frank Vance. He can also play in the OF if needed. SS Gil London has been decent at Newark but with the Gonzales issue he might have to wait a week to come back up.
  With 6 players on the early season injury list it's been an interesting start to the season.
• While the Pioneers might still be last in home runs in the Fed they are up to 11 now. Which ties them with Bill Barrett of the New York Stars.
• 7 errors for the Miners in a 6-5 win over Washington. Joe Owens, George Cleaves and Mahlon Strong all had one, while Pablo Reyes and Les Tucker each had 2 a piece.
• Pablo Reyes has 6 errors now, which is the usual, he's normally in the low 20's range. But, his ZR is already at 7.6 in 25 games, and his efficiency is at 1.132, his previous career high is 1.074 his rookie year in just 48 games.
• While Pittsburgh leads the way in the Fed their Class A club is struggling. The Gary Steelman were 1-12 entering the week but they won 4 of their last seven and are now somewhat respectable at 5-19, especially when we compare them to some of the teams in the Washington Eagles organization. The Eagles minor league clubs are a mess right now. Only Class A Trenton, at 9-15 and in 6th, is not in last place and there is no team in baseball worse than the 3-21 Pensacola Pelicans of the Class C Gulf States League. The other Eagles affiliates are giving the Pelicans .125 winning percentage a run for it's money. Class B Everett of the C-O-W League is 6-19 (.240), AAA Kansas City 6-18 (.250) while both Trenton and AA Atlanta are 9-15 (.375). The big league Eagles are 11-15 (.423) so the class of the organization.

• One of Hitler's top aides responded to Churchill's address last week by stating Germany always will have superior weapons of war - regardless of American claims of aid to Britain- and the Nazi's might achieve victory "quite soon."
• Churchill won an overwhelming vote of confidence in the British House of Commons by a 447-3 margin after pledging the British Empire to "fight to the death," in defense of it's strongholds in the Mediterranean and Middle East.
• As fighting in the Middle East heats up, R.A.F. bombers inflict heavy damage on Bagdad and other Iraqi targets. Axis forces focus on bombing the Suez Canal. American made bombers were used by the R.A.F. in both the Middle East and Europe this week.
• London newspapers, pointing a speech by Secretary of War Stimson this week, say it is just a matter of time before the United States joins Britain in the war. Stimson called for the US Navy to intervene in the war "knowing full well what that challenge to Hitler might mean."
• 11 American fliers, and 111 others lost their lives when a Canadian ship heading to Britain was sunk by enemy actions. There was no explanation given why the fliers, engaged to fly American made bombers to Britain, where on a ship bound for England.
• More than 200 German sailors, stranded when their ships were seized, have been arrested in New York City and Miami out of fears they may act as saboteurs.
• An returning American expedition reported Germany maintained an Antarctic naval repair base -only 600 miles from South America -that was blown up and abandoned just six months ago according to Chilean Naval officials.
  
  https://i.imgur.com/I0EfgCX.jpg

May 19, 1941
 

MAY 19, 1941

SKY IS THE LIMIT FOR STARS BARRETT

Bill Barrett is quickly making a case to be considered the best player in all of FABL. The 21 year old is not just leading both associations in all three triple crown categories, but he is posting what looks like high school numbers against the best pitching in the world. The New York Stars outfielder is batting .442 with 11 homers and 37 rbi's thru the first 31 games of the season. His 11 homers are four more than Detroit's star Sal Pestilli, who sits atop the Fed with 7 round trippers, and Barrett's 37 rbi's lead the Cougars John Lawson, who is second in that category by 11.

Barrett is on pace to hit 55 homeruns this season. Only Max Morris (three times) and Joe Masters have ever hit that many in a campaign. His rbi pace of 184 would be the second highest total of all time, only surpassed by Masters amazing 195 rbi season for the Chicago Chiefs in 1928. His batting average is on pace to be the highest total of all-time.

Now, it is highly unlikely Barrett keeps this up the entire season but it is clear he has reached a new level in his game and Continental Association opponents have to be shaking with fear at where the ceiling just might be for Barrett once he hits his prime. Barrett hit .500 last week to win his second CA player of the week award this season but his New York Stars ballclub won just 3 of their 5 games this past week. That total was still good enough to add another half game to their lead on second place Chicago atop the Continental standings as the Stars, now up 3.5 games, and Cougars are threatening to eliminate the other six CA teams from pennant contention before the all-star break.

FEDERAL ASSOCIATION
In contrast to the Continental Association, the Federal Association is a logjam with all eight clubs within 5.5 games of top spot. The number one position continues to belong to the Pittsburgh Miners but they have some surprising company hot on their heels. The St Louis Pioneers, who finished dead last a year ago, are just a game back and the New York Gothams, a perennial second division club, are 1.5 games off the pace.

Both the Pioneers and Gothams have had some recent success against the defending Fed champs with St Louis taking 3 of 4 from Pittsburgh in the past two weeks including the split of a two game set in the Steel City this week. The Gothams followed the Pioneers into Pittsburgh and left Fitzpatrick Park with two wins in a 3 game series as a pair of ex-Cincinnati Cannons in Gus Goulding (2-5, 5.74) and Rusty Petrick (3-3, 4.01) proved too much for Pittsburgh hitters in back to back meetings.

Much like the question of Bill Barrett being able to maintain his torrid pace in the Continental, plenty are wondering if the Pioneers and Gothams will last in the heady space that is the Fed first division. In St Louis' case one has to question if the bats, which currently lead the Fed in on-base percentage and are second in both runs scored and batting average, can keep it up. Four of the five hitters at the top of the St Louis batting order in Heinie Zimmer (.343,3,12), Hal Sharp (.313,1,10), Les Hendrix (.288,1,20) and Zip Sullivan (.345,0,8) are all enjoy starts to this year much better than their numbers from a year ago. The lone exception is Luke Micheals (.355,0,24) and that is only because the rookie was in the minor leagues last season. St Louis has very little power - clean up man Sullivan has never hit more than 10 homers in a season and has yet to get one this time around- and questionable depth in their pitching staff. Danny Hern (5-1, 1.89) has had a tremendous start and Harry Sharp (5-2, 3.98) is winning games but it just feels like at some point the bubble will burst and the Fed is so close right now that one bad week can drop a team from second to 7th very quickly.

If it seems like the New York Gothams have been rebuilding forever that is because they pretty much have. The tear down began in 1936 and is perhaps finally showing signs of paying off. They have a good quartet of youthful talent in the infield, although Billy Dalton (.269,5,16) and Mule Monier (.253,1,6) are not so young anymore, and we have been waiting for Roosevelt Brewer (.314,1,14) and Walt Messer (.277,3,11) to take that next step for a couple of years now. Pete Casstevens (.247,3,9) may not develop into an elite catcher but he is still a solid option and perhaps a revitalized Leon Drake (.298,3,17) and Hub Parks (.302,0,12) can plug the glaring holes in the Gothams outfield. Like St Louis, there are still worries about the Gothams pitching as Goulding has yet to deliver on the immense promise he showed when selected second overall out of St Blane in 1934. Bunny Edwards (3-1, 2.56) and Harry Carter (3-1, 2.86) are both off to solid starts but Fred Ratcliffe (1-3, 5.32) is struggling again this season.

Perhaps this is the year long suffering fans in New York and St Louis are rewarded with a pennant race but it seems just a matter of time before the Detroit Dynamos, Philadelphia Keystones and perhaps even the Chicago Chiefs rise to the top and become the true challengers to the Pittsburgh Miners mini-dynasty. Until then, the Gothams and Pioneers should enjoy the run and perhaps look to the Continental Association which has given us more than it's share of rags to riches stories the past couple of years. Maybe they can spread the magic dust to a pair of Fed Cinderella teams. However, the smart money might be on Bill Barrett maintaining his pace as a more likely scenario than the chances of either the Pioneers or Gothams playing in October.

WHO IS THE BIGGER SURPRISE IN THE FED? ST LOUIS OR THE GOTHAMS?

It is an interesting question. The Fed is a deep league, and that shows in the standings right now. I would say the Pioneers are the bigger surprise because I've felt the Gothams' young talent hasn't been delivering as they should for a couple seasons now. And the Gothams' braintrust is right in saying the expect more as pitcher Gus Goulding is underachieving bigtime and so are both Walt Messer & Billy Dalton (the latter to a lesser degree). If those three get it going the Gothams will stay in the pennant race.

As for the Pioneers - everything's clicking for them right now and their pitching is still 5th in runs allowed, and that's because defensively they're a mess. That's hard to fix because the hitters are killing it, aside from homers. In the final analysis it's going to be hard for them to stay top 3 given their defensive liabilities and the sheer talent of the other teams in the league.

Ultimately, Pittsburgh, Detroit & Philly are still the three most talented teams in the Fed. Boston's pretty damn good and the Chiefs lineup will always make them dangerous. I wouldn't expect the Miners to drop and will be extremely surprised if both the Dynamos and Keystones aren't back in the fight before long.

STARS ADD THIRD BASEMAN CARMICHAEL

Gary Carmichael (.171,0,3) was off to a terrible start in Montreal and not only lost his job but found himself moving to a new home as the Saints gave up on the 27 year old third baseman and sent him to the New York Stars for a pair of mid-level prospects. In return the Stars part with 24 year old Tony Hendricks, a center fielder who was playing at AAA, and 22 year old Class A catcher Jimmy Faerber. Hendricks is ranked 398th by OSA on their top 500 prospect list while Faerber failed to make the list.

JIGGS MCGEE's TAKE -I guess the Saints really wanted to get rid of Carmichael as they received really nothing in return for the 27 year old. Granted Carmichael would not command much on the open market but while he is certainly not a star or perhaps even an everyday player right now he is a pretty good defensive infielder and can hit a little bit. What Carmichael is though is an ideal depth infielder and likely the replacement for Del Huddleston, who seems to be the odd man out now. I get Montreal is committed to Mack Burns at third and young Charlie Woodbury or Bob Jennings at second base but the way the draft notices have started coming one would think Carmichael is good insurance to have around in case Uncle Sam starts picking off some of the young Saints infielders. And that is precisely why I say that "right now" Carmichael is not an everyday player but once Uncle Sam finishes making his cuts players like Carmichael might be in great demand.

QUICK HITS

• SIGN FOR SERIES AIRING -Contracts for the exclusive broadcast of the 1941 World Championship Series over WOR and the Mutual Broadcasting system were signed today in the office of the FABL commissioner in Washington by J.P. Spang Jr., president of Gillette Safety Razor Company, and Fred Weber, Mutual's general manager.
• When the Keystones opened their season, the Philadelphia Boys Club sent RANKIN KELLOGG a note to the effect they wished "No. 30" would be out there playing first base. Rankin, whose familiar "No. 30" was put away when illness forced him to quit baseball, replied: "I wish "No. 30 was out there, too.
• There are reports Keystones pitcher Lloyd Stevens has been notified by the draft board in his hometown of Newport News, Virginia that he may be called very shortly. It is a similar situation for Cincinnati Cannons infielder Clyde McCullough. There is a possibility both will qualify for an extension allowing them to finish the season with their respective ballclubs.
• Rip Lee of the Sailors was another player close to cutting his season short but the 27 year old Jersey City native has been granted permission to delay reporting until the season concludes.
• The Toronto Wolves, minus the gangling Fred McCormick, were like lettuce without dressing this week. They hoisted their WCS championship flag prior to their game against Montreal on Tuesday but the fellow who had played such a key role in winning that title had sworn allegiance to a more important flag before being inducted into the Army. The Wolves did manage to beat Montreal on flag day behind the 3-hit effort of Ockie Holliday, who had a nice debut week after coming up from Buffalo to fill McCormick's roster spot.
• Wolves brass felt the Pack/Holiday corner combination was adequate, noting there are more concerns over the slow start of pitchers Joe Hancock and George Garrison. Hopefully both will heat up with the Toronto weather. Levi Redding's fractured finger, out until July, has led to Juan Pomales call-up from Buffalo. Pomales may get a shot in CF if Ed Marshall does not produce in his expanded role. Pomales, a two-way player, may also see some mop-up work in the 'pen or some rotation work. Toronto fans are stoic about the loss of McCormick, they have seen many NHL players go into service since Canada entered the conflict 21 months ago. The fanbase seems to be taking the same approach as the Wolves staff, "It has happened so carry-on, next man up."
• A crucial pseudo 5 game series between CA powers Chicago and New York starting at the end of next week. 3 games in the Windy City, then back to NY for a 2 game set. If one side blows out the other in the 5 games, the CA race will get real interesting.
• Gothams skipper Ed Ziehl is thrilled with Harry Carter (3-1, 2.86). He has been a nice find, settling in as the #3 starter. A couple of shutouts then this week goes 12.1 scoreless in what eventually was a 16 inning 1-0 win. But it is time to move the struggling Fred Ratcliffe out of the rotation and try someone from AAA. Bunny Edwards (3-1, 2.56) is finding some success. Not by limiting the walks, but by limiting hits. 24 hits in 40 innings over his past 5 starts. Also 25 BB
• A 5-2 week puts finally puts Boston on even footing. Oh course now they have the Gothams and the Pioneers coming to town. Last year that would have been a great scenario. This year....different story.
• For whatever reason the Detroit Dynamos can't get going. Unfortunately SP Frank Crawford led the charge for a lousy 1-5 week going 0-2 with an almost 9 ERA in his first 2 starts in his return. Sal Pestilli (.248,7,21) has stalled again with a sub .250 average and a struggling BABIP rate. While only 3 games out this isn't what we hoped for once again. Injuries have played a big role in Detroit's struggles and Red Johnson (.252,3,14) is off to a slow start after his Whitney win a year ago.
• The Chiefs are also struggling. Tom Bird is walking a lot, striking out at the lowest rate of his career, yet he's hitting .208.. His BABIP over the past 4 seasons: .341, .348, .338, .334. This season: .215. Everything he hits is being caught. In the midst of Bird's struggles as well as Hank Barnett's (his 3 homeruns all came in the first two weeks of the season and he is hitting just .238), Ron Rattigan (.326,5,20) is having a career year.

• Rudolf Hess, Hitler's number 3 man in the Nazi Party was reported missing and presumed dead in circumstances suggesting a deranged mentality. However, a day later Hess parachuted out of a bullet-ridden plane on to a Scottish farm with the words "I have come to save humanity," in trying to negotiate peace. Some believe Hess' intense hated of communism and he split with Hitler because he feels Germany is being led to a full partnership with Russia.
• Following intense interrogation, Great Britain officially expressed belief that Hitler knew of Hess' flight to Scotland and the Brits reject any attempt to start a move for peace on Axis terms.
• 50 Scots were seized and accused of plotting a separatist movement setting off more wild speculation about Hess. This one being that perhaps the Germans were attempting to broker a deal with Scotland. Others claim Hess fled Germany because he realized the Nazi regime is a "revolution of the criminal underworld."
• The Nazis denied reports that Prof. Karl Haushofer, a key member of their inner circle and close associate of Rudolf Hess has been arrested.
• The R.A.F. inflicted heavy damage in successive nights on two of Germany's main submarine bases.
• French leader Marshal Henri Phillippe Pertain told his country in a radio address that France must collaborate with Germany in Europe and Africa.
• 30,000 Italians reported dead after British blows against Axis lines of communication in north Africa.
• Tension increase in the Middle East as Italians rush planes to Iraq and while British and French colonial troops clash in Syria.
• President Roosevelt defied Germany to put in place a blockade of the Red Sea in preparation for sending 27 US cargo ships through the Red Sea with supplies for the British armies in the Middle East.
• Nazi sources warn that continued 'interference' by Roosevelt will until all of Europe in "complete co-operation" behind Germany.
• A machinists' strike in San Francisco forced suspension of work in 11 shipyards, delaying construction of over $500 million worth of defense contracts.
  
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May 26, 1941
 

MAY 26, 1941

MINUTEMEN TAKE THEIR TURN AT THE TOP OF FED

String together a few wins and you can be riding high in the tightly contested Federal Association. Just ask the Boston Minutemen who jumped from fourth place to first this week after winning 4 straight and 11 of their past 14. Their lead is slim, just a game up on both Pittsburgh and Detroit as all 8 Fed clubs are within 5.5 games of top spot.

While the Continental Association still has two clear early powerhouses in the New York Stars and the Chicago Cougars the rest of the CA did gain some ground last week. That was because the Stars stumbled, finishing the week with four straight road losses - two each in Cincinnati and Chicago - and their lead on the second place Cougars is down to just one game with the two teams squaring off 3 more times this week.

AIAA ALL-AMERICAN TEAMS SELECTED

Miami State and Huntington State led the way as each school placed two players on the 1941 AIAA First Team All-American squad. Outfielder Hank Eason, who was selected 10th overall by the Montreal Saints in the January portion of the draft, and Huntington State teammate Gordon Klein each made the club after the duo tied for the AIAA homerun lead with 14 each this season. Klein is a freshman who was drafted by the Philadelphia Keystones in the 18th round last year but elected to go the college route instead. He is one three freshman who made the first team. Of the 18 players in total chosen to the two squads only 6 of them were draft eligible juniors.

Eason, who's father Hal enjoyed a long big league career with Montreal and the Philadelphia Keystones, is also one of three finalist for the Frank Christian Trophy, awarded annually to the top collage ballplayer. The other two finalists are Bluegrass State sophomore pitcher Bob Arman (11-1, 1.75) and sophomore catcher Mark Smith out of tiny Davidson University in Oregon. Smith led the nation in batting with a .385 average, a number only surpassed by current Detroit Dynamos star Sal Pestilli's .409 at Narragansett in 1934.

STEINBERG HEADLINES SENIOR DOMINATED HIGH SHOOL ALL-AMERICAN TEAM

Unlike the college awards, which were dominated by underclassmen, seniors ruled the day in the High School All-American selections. Hiram Steinberg, the dominant pitcher out of Washington High School in New York was named to the team for a 4th consecutive season as was slugging third baseman Otto Christian from Walla Walla, Washington. Steinberg finished the season 12-0 to complete an undefeated high school career that saw the pitcher win a National High School record 47 games and also set career high school marks for strikeouts and ERA. He and Christian, who led the nation with 13 homeruns, were named as two of the five finalists for the Adwell Award, presented to the top High School player in the country.

Steinberg was the first overall draft pick in January, selected by the Cleveland Foresters while Christian also went in the first round - with pick 13 to the Chicago Cougars. The other three Adwell Award nominees are Hal Renard, who was chosen by Detroit in the first round, Cleveland third round pick Lorenzo Samuels and pitcher Bert Cupid, who was drafted 4th overall by Montreal.

The '41 team also has some famous names in it as the sons of a pair of FABL greats were named to the team. They are junior outfielder Art Goins, son of former Washington and Cleveland catching great T.R. Goins, and pitcher Joe Hampton, who's father Jim still patrols the outfield for the Chicago Chiefs.

QUICK HITS

• 60-DAY MILITARY EXTENSION -There is a possibility Lloyd Stevens may linger with the Philadelphia Keystones longer than his 1-A draft classifications seemed to indicate. It was believed Stevens would be in an army uniform by June 1st, but club owner Edward Meachum, says Stevens will apply for a 60-day extension after he was notified this week to report for induction.
  Meachum cites a brand new amendment to the Selective Services Act that would allow Stevens to plead for 60 days in order to "straighten out business affairs." The decision on such applications, or course, would reside with Stevens' local draft board in Virginia.
  While prospects of being deferred or reclassified are felt to be slim, there is a good chance of obtaining an extension, the idea being that the money he makes in that period of grace would enable his family to better weather financial storms when he is eventually called into the Army. If approved, that extension is expected to be modified from 60 days until the end of September to allow Stevens to finish the season with the Keystones.
• Cannons infielder Charley McCullough is still waiting for a response on his request for deferment or extension and word comes that Les Hendrix of St Louis has been notified by his draft board of a call to service.
• With the phase two of draft approaching (the baseball one this time) one has to wonder if big league clubs are going to risk big dough in hefty signing bonus for college players. Brooklyn Kings Scouting Director John Spears says "the high school kids will still command top dollar but with the army draft it might be foolish for big league clubs to risk the dough on the college boys."
• We are already seeing it in some crazy college baseball results but if next October's college football is slightly wacky and unpredictable, blame Uncle Sam's local draft boards, says former Lincoln College gridiron great Urban Dane. Dane thinks it will be a great season for pre-draft college sophomores but the games are going to be "wild as a turkey" with so many inexperienced players. Expect some major upsets in the AIAA this season.
• A tough week for the St Louis Pioneers, who go 2-5 with their 5 losses by a combined total of 6 runs.
• Pitcher Frank Crawford’s return from the DL is not going according to plan in Detroit. 3 starts with an 0-3 record and and ERA north of 11. And to make matters worse, Red Johnson joins the walking wounded in Detroit. It's a day to day injury which is uncertain in recovery time. Thankfully Ed Whetzel has been solid in his call up with a 3-1 record and a 2.72 ERA. Mike Murphy returns in a week and the Dynamos really need the rotation to get back to where it was to be able to hang around all season. Detroit’s been fortunate that no one in the Fed has gotten off to a hot start.
• Light at the end of the tunnel for the Cannons? The club will get catcher Adam Mullins back this weekend after their prize acquisition missed all but the first two games of the season with a knee injury. Cincinnati also looked good in taking four of five from the Cougars and Stars, but then they dropped two of three at home to Cleveland. Rookie Bill Sohl, the second overall pick last year, made his debut in one of the Cleveland losses. No decision for Sohl, who clearly had some first game jitters and allowed 7 runs (5 earned) in 7 innings of work.
• Pitching duels were plentiful last week as FABL had several low scoring affairs including a pair of 1-0 games. It started on Tuesday when Cincinnati's Glenn Payne fired a 2-hit shutout to nip Jim Lonardo and the Cougars 1-0. Then yesterday Washington, behind Eddie Bloom's 3-hitter, blanked Lefty Allen and Pittsburgh 1-0. Of course for that one there is always the possibility the hitters on both sides were exhausted from running around the bases the previous two days in which both games ended in a 9-8 score.
• Gothams fans have to be excited about 20 year old pitching prospect Marcus Mangum. The 1939 fifth overall pick threw a shutout the other day to improve his record at Class B Fresno to 6-3 with a 2.17 era.
• While talking minor league pitchers we should mention Tuscaloosa Tomcats teen Sam Jordan. The 19 year old righthander tossed a no-hitter against Pensacola last week in Gulf States League (C) action. It was the first no-hitter in nearly two years in that loop.
• Looking at the high school ranks and it was another perfect season for Hiram Steinberg. The 1st overall pick in January by the Cleveland Foresters went 12-0 with 0.55 ERA. 4 year career at New York's Washington High School: 47-0, 0.55, 855 strikeouts and 74 walks. New HS career leader (including feeders) in Wins, ERA and K's.
• Slugging third baseman Otto Christian, taken 13th overall by the Cougars out of Walla Walla, Washington hit 13 more homers giving him 53 for his high school career. Only feeder league star Roger Landry with 62 hit more. Only 4 players hit at least 45 as high schoolers - Landry, Christian, Pete Peters (1918-21 then played 3 FABL games for Keystones in his career) and Joey Binette (another feeder guy 1929-31 who was a Brooklyn second rounder in 1931 but still in the Kings farm system a decade later without ever playing a FABL game)
• One of the January draft picks, pitcher Dallas Griffith out of Monroe, Wisconsin, says he is going to pass on whatever the Philadelphia Sailors might offer him and get his degree at Central Kentucky. The 18 year old went 5-1 this season for his high school club and was taken in the second round by the Sailors. Last year, one second round pick - catcher Johnny Thacker selected by Washington - failed to sign as he chose to enroll at Columbia Military Academy.

• 323 feared dead including 142 Americans after Axis forces sank the Egyptian passenger liner Zamzam in the South Atlantic. However, a day later it is learned that the Nazi raider that sank the cruise ship rescued it's crew and passengers.
• German parachutists, air-transported troops and -for the first time in the history of warfare -glider-borne soldiers landed in Crete as the Nazis launched a furious attack upon Greek and British defenders.
• Jubilant Nazis celebrated the sinking of Hood, one of Britain's mightiest battleships in heavy fighting off Greenland. A brand new German ship, the Bismarck, was credited with the sinking which renews German confidence in their ability to destroy ships carrying supplies from America to Britain.
• President Roosevelt named New York City Mayor LaGuardia the head of the newly created Office of Civilian Defense.
• Charles Lindbergh continues to create trouble for FDR. In two speeches he and a Montana Senator blasted the Roosevelt administration's foreign policy and claimed that four-fifths of Americans oppose the US entering the war.
  
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June 2, 1941
 

JUNE 2, 1941

COUGARS CLOSING FAST ON CONTINENTAL LEAD

The Chicago Cougars have replaced the New York Stars as the hottest team in the Continental Association and are within a half game of catching them for top spot in the loop. The Cougars and Stars played a rare 5 game series last week and the boys from Chicago won four of them to at least temporarily slow down the high flying Stars. Once they got away from the Cougars though, the Stars did go right back to their winning ways, finishing a busy week with 3 wins over Brooklyn before splitting a Sunday doubleheader with Cincinnati.

A hot run from the New York Gothams, combined with the Stars success, has Big Apple fans dreaming of a rematch of 1926, when we had our first and only all-New York World Championship Series. Title talk and the Gothams have not gone hand in hand for quite some time but a 4-game sweep of Detroit, including 3 consecutive shutouts, has the Gothams faithful dreaming big. The Fed actually is in the midst of a first place showdown series between the New Yorkers and the Boston Minutemen - now that is a phrase few would have expected at the start of the season. Boston has contended in recent years on a number of occasions but the New Englanders always seemed to drop quicker than the temperature once September arrives. The truth is the race in the Federal Association is wide open with only the disappointing Philadelphia Keystones perhaps showing some indication of conceding early. Philadelphia is sinking like a stone with just 1 win in their last nine outings and are in grave danger of letting a season, thought to be filled with pennant dreams, quickly turn into a nightmare.
The calendar has turned to June, but what do my near-sighted eyes see? Is that our very own New York Gothams tied for the most wins in the Fed? We've passed the quarter mark and are closing in on one third of the 1941 campaign being completed and still the boys from Queens are battling for the lead. And why is that happening? I do believe it's this new fangled invention manager Ed Ziehl has discovered. Something we haven't seen in these parts for a half decade. It's called....Pitching. Suddenly the Gothams rotation is churning out quality performances day after day. Yes, the Gothams lead the FA in pitching, having allowed the fewest runs in the league. A 3.39 ERA that is second in FABL to only the cross town Stars.

Just this past week the club rolled into Detroit and shellacked the Dynamos by matching 9-0 score. Gus Goulding and Rusty Petrick finally showing why they are slotted in at the top of the rotation. Then the next day after an all night train from Detroit the Gothams hosted the very same Dynamos with Harry Carter getting in on the act. The May pitcher of the month also tossed a complete game shutout, his 3rd in 9 starts this season. With solid contributions from Bunny Edwards and Charlie Sutton the team fashioned a 6-2 week to move into second place.

It wasn't just pitching. Leon Drake continues to show that his early career success isn't a thing of the past. Picking up the FA player of the week award, Drake is sitting at .303 for the season, with 12 doubles, 3 triples and 5 homers. Roosevelt Brewer is enjoying a breakout season, hitting .337 with a league leading 11 SBs.

These are heady times in New York with all three teams enjoying success as the hot days of summer approach.


Like fine wine, Dave Trowbridge just seems to get better with age. The 42 year old New York Stars first baseman became just the 24th player in FABL history to reach the 2,500 hit plateau. The milestone marker came in fine style as it was Father Time's third hit of the game in a 3-2 victory over the Chicago Cougars on Wednesday. Fellow greybeard Dick Lyons was on the hill for Chicago making the duo quite likely the oldest batter-pitcher combo ever when a 2,500 hit was delivered. Between the two of them they are 83 years, 293 days old.

Trowbridge did not rest on his laurels, far from it in fact as he added 3 more hits the next day and at the end of the week had passed former teammate Pete Layton for 22nd all-time. Trowbridge was also named the CA player of the week after going 14-for-31 (.452) with a pair of homers the past seven days. He won his first career batting title last season and is trailing only teammate Bill Barrett in the CA batting race this time around.

DOUGLASS GETS DECLARED 1-A

Jim Douglass, Washington Eagles pitcher whose full name is James Charles Douglass, was notified yesterday that he has been classified as 1-A by his local selective service draft board in Haddonfield, New Jersey. Douglass is 23 years old and in his second season with the Eagles. He is off to a great start to the season at 8-2 with a 4.56 era. His 8 victories are tops in either Association.

Douglass is a player the Eagles have been counting on heavily for service during the summer as they try to remain in contention in the tightly contested Federal Association. Good news for the Eagles is that he will not be called for service until at least September.

It was also good news for the Cincinnati Cannons and St Louis Pioneers as each club learned one of their key regulars will also not be called before September. Cannons 25 year old second sacker Charley McCullough (.316,1,29), who is having a breakout season, and 26 year old Pioneers outfielder Les Hendrix (.272,3,24) each were successful in requests for delaying their reporting dates.

AMATEUR AWARDS HANDED OUT

The two most prestigious awards an amateur baseball player can win were handed out this week with the announcement of the winners of the Christian Trophy and Adwell Award. The Christian Trophy, named after legendary college coach Frank Christian is presented annually to the top player in AIAA college baseball while the Adwell Award goes to the National High School player of the year.

It comes as no surprise that winner of the Adwell Award is pitcher Hiram Steinberg out of New York City's Washington High School. The 18 year old senior, who was selected first overall by the Cleveland Foresters in January, won the award for a record third time and single-handedly rewrote the high school pitching record book at the same time. In 4 years at Washington High Steinberg never lost game, posting a 47-0 record with a 0.55 era and 855 strikeouts. Each of those figures are career marks for a high school pitcher (including the feeder era). He also set the single season record for strikeouts with 223 this year, breaking his own record of 222 set last year, and finishes with 4 of the 5 highest single season strikeout totals of all-time. His 1940 junior season era of 0.23 is also a single season record. Steinberg has committed to Carolina Poly but is expected to receive a signing bonus in the neighborhood of $20,000 to join the Foresters organization.

ARMAN WINS CHRISTIAN TROPHY

In a tightly contested ballot the AIAA Player of the Year award went to Bluegrass State sophomore pitcher Bob Arman. The 20 year old narrowly outpointed Huntington State's Hank Eason to claim the Frank Christian Trophy. Arman went 11-1 with an AIAA best 1.75 era and national college leading 156 strikeouts. He will be eligible for the FABL draft in January. Eason, who was selected 10th overall in the January portion of the draft by the Montreal Saints, tied for the AIAA lead with 14 homers this season while batting .316 with 57 rbi's. Eason's father Hal had a long big league career with the Saints and Philadelphia Keystones. Mark Smith, a sophomore catcher out of tiny Davidson University in Mommouth, Oregon, finished a distant third in the polling. Smith led the nation with a .385 batting average, second highest single season average in the post feeder era.
The Cincinnati Cannons were a busy team during round four of the FABL draft but after selecting three players in the first 8 picks of the June portion of the draft the Cincinnati staff took the rest of the day off. The Cannons made two trades with the biggest being the acquisition of highly touted 1B/OF Chuck Adams from the Brooklyn Kings and the second being a move that saw them send all of their picks in rounds 6 thru 10 to Chicago in exchange for the Cougars 4th round selection.

The draft picks coming to the Cincinnati organization where Maurice Carter, an 18 year old first baseman who was honourable mention for the High School All-American team, Joe Beckstrom, a 17 year old righthander who went 27-3 over three seasons with his high school club in San Francisco, and Dutch Peters, a 21 year old slugging outfielder out of Columbian College in Georgia. It was Peters that cost the Cannons 6 draft picks in rounds 6-thru-10 as Cincinnati felt he was too good a player to pass up on.

Beckstrom was selected with a pick acquired from the Kings on draft day with the centerpiece for Cincinnati being Adams, a 24 year old ranked 8th overall in OSA's prospect pipeline. Adams hit .250 with his first career big league homerun in a 20 game tryout with the Kings last summer but for some inexplicable reason found himself languishing in A ball this season. The Cannons are expected to bring Adams to the big league immediately and give him a chance to compete with Denny Andrews for the starting first base job. The Cannons also picked up 23 year old pitching prospect George Scruggs in the deal. Scruggs, who originally came to Brooklyn in the same deal that brought Adams from the Chicago Chiefs, split this season between AA and AAA, going 1-1 with a 3.99 era. He spent a good chunk of last season with the Kings but will be assigned to AAA Indianapolis.

The cost was heavy for the Cannons as they parted with a pair of top young players in 20 year old second baseman Howard Rivers and 24 year old first baseman Don Cress. Rivers was hitting .284 at AAA but with his path to the big leagues blocked by a number of good young middle infielders in the Cincinnati system the club felt he was expendable despite being ranked 17th on the OSA prospect list. Cress was also a top 50 prospect until the 24 year dropped off the list because he has played 48 big league games, batting .309 in the process. Cincinnati did like the youngster but the club was looking for more of a power bat at first base.

"Don is going to be a very good hitter in this league," explained Cannons scouting director Rufus Barrell. "Very good eye and a solid hitter, but we have tablesetters like (Fred) Galloway, (Mike T) Taylor and Charley (McCullough). So the goal was to get a young power bat for first base and we think Adams can more than fit the bill."

The Cannons will not draft again until the automated portion kicks in with round 11. The club feels pretty good about it's June draft picks as Carter was a player they had considered taking in the second round before eventually deciding on Hamby instead. Cincinnati, picking 4th in the round, had Carter number three on their board behind pitchers Lazaro DeLeon and Wally Reif but they were selected with the two picks prior to the Cannons choice. The deal with Brooklyn gave the Cannons back to back picks and with the 5th selection of the round they went with Beckstrom after some long debate over selecting outfielder Eddie Heaton.

"We actually thought we had deals in place to land both the 7th and 8th picks of round four," explained Cincinnati Assistant General Manager Red Franklin, "as we were looking to land both Heaton and Dutch Peters. Unfortunately, we could not persuade the Sailors to part with their pick despite several offers and after they grabbed Heaton we made the deal with the Cougars to ensure we could pick up Peters. The really disappointing thing is we tried to get a deal done with Washington, who picked 6th, just ahead of the Sailors, and likely would have but they did not answer their phone in the final minutes before their pick was due. Disappointing to not land Heaton, but overall we are really happy with the 3 players we did get and ecstatic to add Chuck Adams."

Adams has had loads of potential and it feels like he just never got a fair shake in Brooklyn. If he can prove to be the type of hitter OSA projected he would become the Memphis native should be a huge addition to the Cincinnati offense.

QUICK HITS

• A milestone for the Sailors General Manager as he recently claimed his 1,300th victory as a FABL GM. The Sailors boss, who has been with the team since human GM era began following the 1925 season, is the all-time wins leader and owns a pair of WCS titles to go with 3 Continental Association pennants. His overall record is 1303-1053, giving him a 15 win margin on the former Brooklyn and current Cincinnati GM. The only other GM with at least 1,200 wins is the Keystones boss - also an original who was remained in the same organization throughout. His teams are 1227-1131 overall.
• Stars slumped at the wrong time, as a number of hitters were struggling entering the big Chicago showdown. Having Bill Barrett (.382,12,43) still nursing a tender arm for much of the week didn't help matters either.
• Pete Papenfus flashed his stuff against the Stars as the Cougars offense put up 9 runs behind him. He was just a hit and walk away from protection, and added seven more strikeouts in a complete game shutout. The 23-year-old continues to lead the league in strikeouts and K/9 and is tied with Wally Doyle in the CA for wins with 7.
• Speaking of Doyle, looks like the bubble burst for the 22 year old Montreal lefthander. After a 7-0 start that saw The Waco Kid post a 1.98 era, he has been beaten up badly in his last 3 outings, falling to pitch even 5 innings in two of them.
• Excitement in Cincinnati, and maybe some hope as Adam Mullins returned from an injury sustained in the opening week of the season. The All-Star catcher had hits in each of his first three games and the Cannons won 5 of 8 in a busy week that included a pair of doubleheaders. After a terrible start Deuce Barrell has now won 5 straight starts and, while it wasn't a work of art, rookie Bill Sohl got his first career big league victory last week, topping the Sailors 8-6.
• Can't ask for much better from the Gothams this week. Three straight complete game shutouts to start the week. 9-0, 9-0, 4-0. Goulding, Patrick and Carter. And to top it all off outfielder Leon Drake is selected the Fed Player of the Week.
• Now for a (lack of) clobbering (the baseball), the Keystones scored 17 runs all week and predictably went 1-6. 3 one-run losses, but the 1-6 showing pushed the Keystones into the cellar all by themselves. Johnny Bologna of the Philadelphia Inquisitor notes "It's mighty dark down here."
• Percy Sutherland asks "What do Rufus Barrell (5-2, 3.66), Ray McCarthy (4-0, 1.93), and Dave Rankin (4-1, 3.60) have in common? They each would have made a better selection for the CA Pitcher of the Month than Del Lyons." Lyons had 8 saves and was 3-0 with a 1.61 era but logged just 22 innings. Gothams starting pitcher Harry Carter, who went 3-0 with a 1.60 era was the Fed's top pitcher in May.
• Tom Bird and Hank Barnett are both under performing their career norms for the Chicago Chiefs. Ron Rattigan, though, is on pace for one of the better seasons of his career. And he's joined by newcomers Jim Watson and Hank Jones. Watson--the 34 year old Rule 5 pickup--is also on pace for one of the best seasons of his career.
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• The Chiefs Al Miller (3-6, 3.35) is getting just 2.8 runs/game of support this season. At the bottom of that list are Boston's Duke Hendricks (2-3, 2.84) with 2.2 runs/game of support and Washington's Del Burns (2-5, 3.47) with 2.3 runs/game. On the other end of the spectrum, Pittsburgh has welcomed Tom Barrell (3-2, 5.46) to the Fed with a robust 6.4 runs/game of support. Note that the Gothams' Charlie Sutton (1-2, 3.66) hasn't pitched enough innings to qualify, but his teammates are scoring just 1.3 runs/game for him so far.
• Boston fans are very pleased to find themselves atop the FA scrap heap going into June. Long road ahead though for a team that has historically faded in the last two months of the season. On the other hand, what a difference a week or two make in the Fed as Clarence Keenan of the St Louis Star Times had to be careful not to twist an ankle jumping off the Pioneers bandwagon so fast, stating "Being competitive was nice while it lasted in STL." Easy to understand the skepticism on the banks of the Mississippi after how last season went.

DRAFT UPDATE

• After a 72 hour hunt involving half the British battleships in the North Atlantic, aerial torpedoes and naval shells sank the 35,000 ton pride of the Nazi navy, Bismarck. The British were seeking revenge after the Bismarck had sank one of their most powerful ships, the Hood.
• Iraq has requested an armistice with Britain after British forces had broken thru the gates of Bagdad.
• Germany claims it has conquered Crete and forced the British fleet back to the fringes of the narrow eastern Mediterranean Sea.
• German threats will not discourage United States determination to give Great Britain short-of-war aid against the Axis. This from White House sources after the Nazis again warned assignments of US Naval convoys to British shipping would be "an open warlike act" and responded to as such.
• President Roosevelt asked Congress this week for another $3 billion which would be earmarked for more warplanes.
• Several baseball games were delayed last Tuesday as the audio from President Roosevelt's address to the nation was piped into ballparks for fans to listen to prior to the opening pitch. In his speech, FDR led the nation near the limits of an undeclared war and prepared to implement his proclamation of an unlimited national emergency by invoking new executive powers.
• Following Roosevelt's speech Great Britain revealed her war aims before the world for the first time, aims calling for the establishment everywhere of President Roosevelt's :Four Freedoms" and stern military and political terms to prevent Germany from ever again aspiring to the mastery of Europe.
• A British aviation expert says the Nazis could bomb New York or any other east coast city whenever it wanted to do so, explaining the Atlantic no longer was a barrier between the Old World and the New as the Germans have aircraft capable of performing the task and getting back home.
  
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June 9, 1941
 

JUNE 9, 1941

GOOD NEWS, BAD NEWS WEEK FOR MINUTEMEN

The Boston Minutemen went 5-2 over the past week and increased their lead atop the Federal Association to 4 games. That 4 game bulge on both New York and Detroit is the largest lead any Fed team has enjoyed all season. The Minutemen have been hot of late, winning 14 of their last 18 including taking 2 of 3 on the road against both the Gothams and the Dynamos over the past 10 days. Things seem to be looking up for the Minutemen, or at least they were until the club received word last week that first baseman Bob Donoghue (.267,4,21) is back on the injury list. It is Donoghue's knee again, something that has given him lots of problems in the past, and this time the man known as 'Mr. Clout' in New England will miss at least two months.

Injuries are nothing new to Donoghue but he had stayed relatively healthy each of the past two seasons and it is no coincidence they were also the best years of the 28 year old's career. This year has been a different story as Donoghue missed most of spring training and the first two weeks of the season with knee troubles. After he returned to the lineup in late April he struggled. Meanwhile, Art Spencer (.349,2,15), a natural second baseman, was doing a terrific job filling in for Donoghue at first and spelling the underachieving Mack Sutton (.188,5,18) at third. If Spencer can keep up his performance the Minutemen might just be okay until their slugging first baseman returns, especially with second year outfielder Bill Burkett (.350,9,36) suddenly turning into a power hitter. Boston leads the Fed in runs scored, something one would not have thought possible with Donoghue and Sutton playing the way they are. The Minutemen also lead the Fed in fewest runs allowed, with veteran Ed Wood (8-1, 2.30) and rookie Ray Dalpman (7-0, 2.86) leading the way, as the club tries to snap a 27 year pennant drought.

MCCULLOUGH DEFERMENT REQUEST DENIED

Bad news for the Cincinnati Cannons as the club learned this week that the draft board in Newark, New Jersey has declined infielder Charley McCullough's request for a deferral on financial grounds. The 25 year old McCullough, who is in the midst of the best season of his career, is single but supports his ailing father, his mother and two younger siblings. The board denied it, citing McCullough's sizeable savings from his baseball career as sufficient money to support his dependents. McCullough does plan on going to Newark and meet the draft board in person and has a hearing set for the day after the all-star game. If McCullough is required to report for service it will likely be by the end of July.

DRAFT BOARD CALLS CHIEFS OUTFIELDER JONES AGAIN

Selective Service officials disclosed this week that William B. 'Bill' Jones, Chicago Chiefs outfielder, has been asked to submit for re-examination by his local draft board in Plainfield, Il., as his case has been reopened. Jones had a low Selective Service number but was deferred because of a dental deficiency. The re-examination reportedly was ordered because of a change in Selective Service dental requirements. The 29 year old is in his fourth season with the Chiefs but has appeared in just 13 games this season while batting .194.

QUICK HITS

• Trivia question. The single season leader for pitching wins at George Fox University is closing in on his 1,000 career FABL game. Can you name the player? Answer at the bottom of quick hits.
• It was a bad week for serious injuries. First Boston loses Bob Donoghue for 2 months and then a pair of pitchers go down. Veteran Montreal hurler Ed Baker (2-9, 5.07) is done for the year and perhaps his big league days are over after he blew out his elbow on Friday and two days later the Sailors Paul Richardson (0-1, 5.02) saw his season come to an end with an injury to his elbow. And this just a week after Washington's Eddie Bloom (3-3, 4.23) suffered a hamstring strain that will sideline the 33 year old for up to 3 months.
• Lost in the excitement of Bob Donoghue's injury was the fact that the Fed leading Boston Minutemen will also have to play without young second baseman Buddy Schneider (.335,0,18) for a week after he got hurt Saturday in a win over the Chicago Chiefs.
• Tough week for the Gothams as they dropped 4 straight and went just 2-5 over the past 7 days. The slumping Keystones, in the midst of a 5-12 stretch, scored 10 runs in back to back games off of New York pitching.
• Some in the New York media feel the Stars are struggling and they were a couple of weeks ago when they dropped 6 straight to Cincinnati and Chicago, but since beating the Cougars in the finale of their 5 game series the New Yorkers have won 9 of their last 14 in a stretch that included 3 twin bills. Meanwhile, the second place Cougars are just 6-5 including that loss in the finale against the Stars.
• Pitching depth, which a lack of was expected to be their downfall this season after trading George Phillips to Pittsburgh and losing Dixie Lee to the army, has not been a problem in New York. They demonstrated that through a tough stretch that saw them play 12 games in the last 10 days. The Stars have allowed the fewest runs against in the CA and have 7 pitchers who have thrown at least 30 innings and all have an era below 3.00
• What has happened to George Phillips? The ex-Stars hurler looked great in spring training and has been solid the past three seasons but is just 1-9 with a 4.69 era for the Miners this season. He looked great in a complete game shutout of Philadelphia in his second start but is 0-7 with a 5.69 era since May 1st. At least Charlie Stedman (5-3, 2.17) and Karl Johnson (5-4, 3.70) are winning some games in Pittsburgh as Tom Barrell (3-4, 5.62) and even Lefty Allen (4-6, 3.98) are also struggling to earn some W's.
• It's been a month now since Fred McCormick left for the army and the Toronto Wolves have gone 13-17 in that span. With 7 of those losses in extra innings and an 8th by just one run, you have to wonder if the defending champs would be much closer to .500 with their star 1B still in the fold. It has been a struggle for Toronto all season but you can't blame Ockie Holliday (.286,2,16). The 25 year old was promoted to replace McCormick on the roster and has had a pretty solid first month as a big leaguer.
• Glen Sexton started his major league career with the Keystones by going 0-for-11, but his first major league hit was a big one, a 2-run single off the Gothams Gus Goulding to open the scoring in a 10-6 win over New York. The hit has been his only hit in 20 at-bats. Sexton was splitting time with Chet McCormick in AAA Louisville where he was hitting .375 in 56 at-bats. Meanwhile, McCormick has continued to excel in AAA, slashing .333/.380/.490 in 153 at-bats, so he will likely get a promotion shortly. Both catchers are considered prospects, but you have to give some credit to Keystones catching great Carl Ames. Ames was signed to a minor league contract on April 30th after not making the major league club and since Ames reported to Louisville, McCormick has hit .352 (38-for-108), while Sexton hit .349 (15-for-43) before his call-up.
• The AAA Union League has only seen 11 no-hitters in it's 35 year history but nearly half of them have been thrown by Louisville Derbies pitchers. Tim Walters was the latest as the 36 year old career minor leaguer notched the 5th no-hitter in Derbies history by beating Richmond last week. Walters has been in the Keystones system since 1925 but has never made it to the big leagues.
• Trivia answer. A trick question as the answer is current Detroit Dynamos outfielder Rip Curry. a two-way player in college, Curry went 19-8 over three seasons with the Reds including an 11-1 season in 1929. The AIAA record for wins in a season is 12, so Curry is in a large group that was one shy of that mark. He never pitched as a professional player.

• in an unexpected meeting Hitler and Mussolini discussed plans for "final liquidation" of the British Empire in a conference at Brenner Pass. To include active French collaboration against England Hitler asked Mussolini to 'make sacrifices' in his territorial demands upon France. They also discussed plans for the next step of the war and the possible effects of enhanced American aid to Britain.
• President Roosevelt signed the mandatory priorities bill giving the Government legal authority to subordinate civilian needs completely in the interest of national defense. It requires industry to produce first the things the government tells it to, and without protest.
• FDR threatened to send in US troops to break the strike at a California plant tasked with manufacturing planes and vowed to take similar drastic action to end defense work stoppages during the unlimited national emergency.
• The US Navy says it has the world's most powerful and heavily armored fleet and is ready for war if need be although the second ocean part of the "two-ocean" Navy still is in the making. The Army feels it needs another year as many of it's men are still green and up to date tanks and artillery are just beginning to come out of the factories.
• A usually reliable Soviet source claims Italy and Germany have completed an ambitious plan designed to attack and overwhelm the Panama Canal. The information suggests the US keep a close eye on Germany merchant vessels which recently have cleared South American ports, saying they could be transformed into armed raiders on the high seas.
• Portugal expects a Nazi invasion and does not intend to put up any defense. Much of the Portuguese army has been sent to the Azores and other Portuguese possessions and important government documents have been sent out of the country in anticipation of a Nazi invasion.
• ex-Kaiser Wilhelm II, last of the German emperors and driving force of the last war, died this week in Holland where he had been living in exile. He was 82.
  
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June 16, 1941
 

JUNE 16, 1941

BOSTON EXTENDS FED LEAD

A three game sweep in St Louis last week helped the Boston Minutemen increase their lead atop of the Federal Association to 5.5 games over second place Detroit. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh and New York are a pair of Federal clubs going in opposite directions. The Gothams have struggled of late and now are 6 games back after being tied with Boston for top spot just 18 days ago. New York caught Pittsburgh at the wrong time as the Miners swept the Gothams in a 3-game set as part of a 6-1 stretch that has seen the defending champs rise from 7th place a week ago to third this time around.

The Continental Association remains a battle between the New York Stars and Chicago Cougars with the Brooklyn Kings trying to crash the party. Since being swept in a 3 game series to end the month of May, the Kings have been the hottest team in the Continental with 11 wins in their last 14 games and are now just 4 games back of the co-leaders. Brooklyn has been the Continental's hottest club in June but despite their success they have not been able to gain a lot of ground as New York and Chicago have been nearly as successful over that span.

RICHARDSON HAS 6 HITS AS SAINTS WIN 'FOOTBALL GAME' 25-10

No records are tracked but one has to suspect the Montreal Saints established a franchise high water mark, if not one for FABL as a whole, for runs in their 25-10 win over Cleveland yesterday. Saints catcher Ben Richardson led Montreal's 30 hit outburst, going 6-for-6 with 6 rbi's and 3 runs scored. The 31 year old becomes the first player to have a 6-hit game since Pete Layton did it for the Chiefs just over 3 years ago and the first Montreal player to turn the trick since 1921 when Edwin Segovia also had a 6-for-6 day.

STEVENS DEFERMENT MAY BE 'TEST CASE'

Philadelphia June 11 (INS)- A 60 day draft deferment granted to Lloyd Stevens, star righthander of the Philadelphia Keystones, is threatening to develop into a Selective Service "test case" which may affect the draft status of all other eligible athletes, in baseball and other sports.

Stevens' deferment by his local draft board in Newport News was disclosed when Paul Armstrong, Virginia Director of Selective Service, filed an appeal from the board's action with President Roosevelt, stating Stevens should serve his year in the Army starting at once.

"I am a great Keystones fan and an admirer of Stevens," Armstrong said. "However, regardless of my personal feelings, I am bound to carry out my duties as prescribed by law and laid down by my superiors."

Stevens was granted deferment, his local board explained, after he requested it on the ground that should he be inducted June 20, as scheduled, it would place "unusual hardship" upon him.

The 25 year old pitcher today enlarged on that official explanation. His engagement to Dorothy Meachum, daughter of Edward Meachum, owner of the Keystones, was announced several weeks ago and Stevens said he asked for the deferment because he wanted to be married before his induction "and have enough money saved to provide for my wife during my year of service."

Stevens salary is estimated at $16,000.

PESTILLI CALLED -In other news, Keystones minor league outfielder Tony Pestilli - younger brother of Detroit Dynamos Sal and Chicago Chiefs Alf Pestilli, has been ordered to report to a board in New Orleans for his physical examination. Pestilli, who is currently playing for the AA New Orleans Showboats of the Dixie League, was notified recently of his draft status by his hometown draft board in Westerly, Rhode Island.

BELTON FEARS U.S. BLOW TO BASEBALL

Sam Belton, President of FABL, told the Brooklyn rotary club today that he was "fearful that some well-meaning but ill-advised Government official will try to do away with baseball during the period of emergency."

"I hope you will join with us in trying to keep baseball alive during this time of stress and turmoil," Mr. Belton said. He pointed out that in 1918 the baseball season was cut short, but the game never suspended entirely.

At the same luncheon in the Hotel Bossert, Powell Slocum, Kings manager, predicted Brooklyn would win the pennant. The Kings currently sit third in the Continental Association, 4 games back of the front-running New York Stars.

QUICK HITS

• The Pioneers continue to come crashing back down to earth, riding a 6-game losing streak that has dropped St Louis 8.5 games back in the Federal Association and ahead of only struggling Philadelphia. St Louis was 19-14 and tied for first in the Fed on May 17 but have gone 9-18 since.
• An almost unbelievable stat regarding the Pioneers. St Louis has played 60 games this season and have yet to steal a base. First place Boston leads the Fed with 31 thefts while the last place Keystones, with 8, are the only club other than St Louis that has yet to hit double-digits in steals. Last year the Pioneers stole 50 bases, which was 8th overall in FABL.
• Worried about an offense that has gone 9-5 in June but six of those wins were by just 1-run, the New York Stars have moved Lew Seals (.231,4,22) to second base and Clark Car (.245,2,22) to the bench, hoping the addition of Howie Smith, a recent callup from AAA Los Angeles, in the outfield will give them a jump start.
• Another indicator of why they are co-leaders in the CA. In one run games this season the Stars are 17-9 while the Cougars are 11-4. At the other end of the spectrum you can see why Cincinnati and Toronto are struggling this season. The Cannons are 8-13 and the Wolves 7-13 in one run games. Then there is Montreal at 4-11.
• The Cannons have been awful on the road at 14-22 but decent at home (14-9). They, along with Cleveland have played the most road games in the CA this season: 36 for each club away and just 23 at home. Cincinnati just started a 15 game homestand with a weekend split against the Stars so if the Cannons are going to get back into contention one has to think now is the time.
• Adam Mullins has been a big help, as expected, since his return. Mullins is hitting .420 in 18 games this season after missing 6 weeks with an injury.
• Wally Doyle is certainly living a charmed life. He is 9-4 for Montreal this season despite the fact the Saints are 9 games under .500 as a club. Only 3 pitchers in either association are getting better run support than Doyle is so far this season...of course 25 runs yesterday against Cleveland certainly aided in that regard. Doyle gave up 8 runs but still got the win. Perhaps that helps offset his last two losses when his Saints were shutout both times.
• The Saints are benching (.268,0,15) center fielder Heinie Billings. Not so much for what the 24 year old has accomplished this season but rather because Bill Greene (.287,0,13) forced their hand. Greene, also 24, is a top ten prospect and former third overall draft pick.
• After going over 2 years without a cycle we had them on back to back days as Joe Herman of Brooklyn turned the trick against Cincinnati on Monday and then the Keystones Hans Wright did it vs the Chiefs the next day. Maybe the struggling young Philadelphia hitters are starting to wake up as the Keystones Davey Robicheaux also had a big day at the plate this week. The 24 year old rookie went 5-for-6 with 5 rbi's in a 16-4 win over Detroit Saturday. In true Keystone fashion this season they were then hammered 14-2 by the Dynamos the next day.

• Using bayonets to scatter pickets, the US Army took over the North American Aviation plant near Los Angeles after civil authorities had resorted to tear gas in an unsuccessful effort to reopen the strike-bound airplane factory.
• The chairman of the House Un-American Activities Committee says Nazi collaborators and communists were responsible for inspiring the strike at the airplane plant.
• The strike situation grows even darker for the US with work stoppages in the aluminum industry resulting in the cessation of all bomber production.
• Mussolini says Italy and Germany will smash Great Britain in spite of American aid. The Italian leader also declares the United States is already in a 'de-facto' state of war with the Axis.
• The United States confirmed that a US freighter sunk in South Atlantic waters May 21st, was torpedoed by a German submarine as had been suspected. In response Berlin claims the destroyed ship was carrying contraband bound for Britain and the Nazis vow to continue to sink ships sailing for Britain with supplies.
• Reacting to that news FDR elects to freeze all German-Italian assets un the United States- including patents - in the dual objective of waging an economic counterattack against the Axis and to curb espionage and sabotage of vital American defenses.
  
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June 23, 1941
 

JUNE 23, 1941

PAPENFUS LEADING COUGARS TO TOP OF CONTINENTAL

Pete Papenfus is certainly making the most of what might be the final couple of months of his FABL season. The 23 year old, who is expected to get the call from his local draft board in August, has won his last 6 starts, going the distance in each of them and posting a era of 2.0 while fanning 39 over that period. On the season he has already set a career best in wins with an 11-4 start, a FABL leading 108 k's and an impressive 2.93 era. He is also a big reason the Chicago Cougars have overtaken the New York Stars for top spot in the Continental Association and why Chicago fans are dreaming of a another pennant. The Cougars have been very consistent through the years, never going more than 9 seasons between CA crowns, and with this being the 8th season since they last celebrated in 1933 it feels like they are due for another title.

The New York Stars got off to an incredible start, with wins in 15 of their first 17 games, and it is not like they have lifted their foot off the gas with 12 wins in their last 17 games but the Cougars have been just as strong. Chicago's 18-7 start, while still very impressive, left them with some ground to make up on the New Yorkers and they did so by claiming 4 wins in the five game set between the two at the end of May. Since the beginning of that series the Cougars have played at a .759 clip (22-7) which includes a current winning streak of 6 games. The Stars, meanwhile, had to settle for just 5 wins in their last 6 games and as a result New York now trails the Cougars by a game as the two continue to run away with the CA.

FEDERAL ASSOCIATION
The Boston Minutemen continue to lead the way in the Federal Association thanks to a rising young star pitcher of their own and a career year out of a backup infielder. The pitcher is Ray Dalpman, a 24 year old rookie the Minutemen acquired from Detroit in a deal that sent veteran catcher John Wicklund to the Dynamos three years ago. Dalpman won his big league debut last September and is 10-0 with a 2.24 era this season, so he has yet to suffer a loss in the big leagues. In fact the Minutemen won 12 of Dalpman's 13 starts this year with the lone defeat coming in early May when the Boston bullpen let a game against St Louis get away from them. The other big surprise in Beantown is Art Spencer, who is making fans say Bob Who? after taking over at first base for the injured Bob Donoghue much of the season. Spencer (.376,4,29) has improved his average each month and is presently batting .419 in 21 June games after the slugging Donoghue went down with knee troubles. Spencer has always been a decent hitter - the 29 year old owns a .294 career average - but he has spent most of his career as a backup infielder but if he keeps it up the Minutemen will have no choice but to make room for him somewhere in the lineup everyday even after Donoghue returns in late July.

STEVENS WITHDRAWS DEFERMENT REQUEST

Lloyd Stevens, the 25 year old Philadelphia Keystones pitcher, today made himself available for immediate induction into the army as a draftee, announcing in a formal statement that he had withdrawn his request for a 60-day deferment. Stevens original request for deferment was granted by his local draft board but an appeal from the local board's order was taken immediately by Paul Armstrong, Virginia Director of Selective Service, on the ground the ball player should be given no more consideration than any one else eligible to be drafted. Stevens is expected to leave the Keystones sometime in the next week or two.

McCULLOUGH TO RECEIVE APPEAL HEARING TUESDAY

Charley McCullough, Cincinnati Cannons second baseman, has a final appeal to receive a deferment from immediate military service. His first hearing was declined but pushed up to a higher level. The hearing is granted to allow McCullough to place "new" evidence before the board. It will be held in Cincinnati rather than his hometown of Newark so McCullough is not likely to miss any game action while attending the hearing as the Cannons are home to Montreal to start the week.

QUICK HITS

• It certainly is looking like we are entering a Golden Age for young arms. There is Pete Papenfus (11-4, 2.93) with the Cougars plus fellow 23 year olds Harry Sharp (8-5, 4.53) in St Louis and Jim Douglass (9-5, 4.80) in Washington. Cincinnati's Deuce Barrell (9-3, 4.17) seems like a seasoned veteran in his fourth season at just 24 years of age. The 25 year olds are headlined by Boston's Ray Dalpman (10-0, 2.24) but there is also Ike Keller (7-2, 1.81) in Washington, the Gothams Bunny Edwards (7-3, 3.19) and Rusty Petrick (6-6, 3.91) and the well seasoned Al Miller (7-6, 3.18) is also still just 25 despite being in his 6th full season with the Chicago Chiefs. And then there is the baby of the group in Montreal's Wally Doyle (9-5, 3.98), who has stumbled a bit of late after a 7-0 start, but is still a very impressive pitcher.
• A lot of talk around the league this week about Charlie Stedman's Hall of Fame chances. The 39 year old Pittsburgh pitcher is enjoying a strong season with a 7-3 start after topping the 20 wins mark for just the second time in his career a year ago. Stedman is 225-200 for his career and owns an Allan Award and a pair of all-star game appearances but in my book "Hard Luck Chuck" is dealt another setback and falls just short, at least right now. If he can win another 40 games over the next two and a half seasons (assuming he sticks around that long) my opinion would likely change but he has the albatross of some poor WCS starts hanging around his neck and while he did not get the run support many years, I just find it hard to vote for him when there are so many great pitchers who won over 250 games that deserve a spot in Boone County before Stedman. He is close, and it may change if he can channel his inner Dave Trowbridge and be dominant in his early forties, but right now he doesn't make my ballot.
• Bob Stewart of the Washington Times Herald disagrees saying of Stedman "He deserves to get in - Stedman's a legend of the game who has remained consistently one of the league's best pitchers for the last decade." Stewart added "Stedman deserves to get in because he was the best pitcher of the 30's. He may not have been the best in any individual year during that stretch, but he was consistently one of the top 5 pitchers in the leagues in most stats, year in, year out."
• Red Wedge of the New York World Telegram counters "Day led the league in Ks 8 times. And in a lot of other categories, a lot of times. Definite HoFer. Far better than Stedman."
  And Archie Irwin of the Chicago Daily News concurs with Wedge noting "Stedman was great in the 30s, but Day was definitely the best pitcher of the decade."
• From Percy Sutherland: "I'll preface this by saying at this point I still think Stedman is just outside of the Hall--a very good, but not quite great pitcher. However, with 3954 IP, he is 36th all time. There are 32 pitchers with 4000 or more IP (Day just crossed that threshold this season). Stedman will make it 33. It's actually striking how similar Day and Stedman are:
  H/9: Day 8.7, Stedman 9.6
  HR/9: Day 0.3, Stedman 0.3
  RA/9: Day 12.4, Stedman 12.5
  K/BB: Day 1.4, Stedman 1.4
  ERA+: Day 124, Stedman 120
  Of course, Day has a big leg up on Allen Awards, wins, WCS wins, and championships."
• Finally, Doc Shaw of the Boston Globe: "While I do not feel Stedman is a Hall of Fame pitcher myself I don't think a person is crazy for making the argument."
• All the Stedman talk got Percy Sutherland focusing on another player. "Mention of Thomas Watkins triggered me to go and look, and yes Big Tom absolutely needs to be in the Hall. Of the members of the 3,000 hit club, Watkins picked up his hits in the fewest number of games--2,337, which works out to be 1.3 hits/game. He had 5 straight years with 200 or more hits--and this was with a 140 game schedule. He picked up 212 hits in a 134 game schedule during 1902. A 5-time batting champion. He also had 624 stolen bases in his career.
• Lew Seals wasn't horrible at 2B this past week for the New York Stars, so he'll get the majority of the playing time there again this week according to club sources. Howie Smith, the solid full time bench bat, started the season off strong and will play another week in LF (after missing weeks with a broken thumb). Its a shame since Clark Car started hot then just kind of went cold, and the Stars would much rather have his glove at 2B. But they feel they cant afford dead weight in the lineup as the race with the Cougars is far too close and its not even the all star break yet.
• It's only June, but the Cougars Billy Hunter has already sprained his knee 5 times and will now miss another three weeks
• At the risk of sabotaging it, it looks like the Chiefs pitching is finally stabilizing. A big part of that has been waiver pickup Les Zoller. And of course, Al Miller's June: 4-0, 2.82 in 4 starts and 2 shutdown relief appearances. And catcher Tom Bird is finally looking like Tom Bird, hitting .368/.420/.529 in June.
• All the Stedman talk got Percy Sutherland focusing on another player. "Mention of Thomas Watkins triggered me to go and look, and yes Big Tom absolutely needs to be in the Hall. Of the members of the 3,000 hit club, Watkins picked up his hits in the fewest number of games--2,337, which works out to be 1.3 hits/game. He had 5 straight years with 200 or more hits--and this was with a 140 game schedule. He picked up 212 hits in a 134 game schedule during 1902. A 5-time batting champion. He also had 624 stolen bases in his career.

• President Roosevelt ordered closure of all German consular and propoganda offices in the United States and the expulsion of their German employees on charges of improper activities "inimical to the welfare of this country." Only the German Embassy in Washington was allowed to remain open. In response, Hitler closes all American consulates in Germany and German-occupied territory.
• Mussolini ordered freezing restrictions on assets of Americans in Italy today and banks refused to release money from American held bank accounts. It was in response to a similar ban imposed by FDR on Italians in America and affects more than 6,000 Americans across Italy. The US also announced the closure of all Italian consulates and expulsion from the country of it's Italian employees.
• US Secretary of War Stimson warns Congress the the United States "must prepare for a very long emergency."
• The British are making headway in Africa, as the slash forward in the desert across the Libyan frontier with what has been described as "enormous forces."
• Turkey and Germany are reported to have agreed to a non-aggression pact and it has been initialed by both sides but not yet formally signed.
• Russia is creating a 'zone of ruin' along the Nazi border, destroying bridges and railroads and burning or blowing up houses and entire villages to create it's "devastation zone."
• As the week came to a close there was news that hundreds of British and German fighters and bombers were engaged in what is being called one of history's greatest aerial battles as they clashed all day Sunday and into the night over the English Channel and French "invasion coast."
  
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June 30, 1941
 

JUNE 30, 1941

STEVENS REJECTED BY ARMY

Uncle Sam lost a rookie doughboy today and the Philadelphia Keystones regained a solid pitcher when Lloyd Stevens was rejected by Army physicians at an induction center in Philadelphia. The Army medics found the pitcher was suffering from a chronic perforation of the right ear, an ailment, they declared making him unfit for military service.

An examining physician in Newport News, Virginia made the same report last winter, after examining Stevens at the request of his local draft board. Later, he was re-examined when the Keystones returned to Philadelphia from their Spring training trip, and was declared fit for Army service and put in Class 1-A.

Prior to the pronouncement of Army physicians, Stevens announced that his marriage to Miss Dorothy Meachum, daughter of Keystones owner Edward Meachum, was "indefinitely postponed." They had planned to be married in the Fall. Following his rejection he said their wedding plans would be carried out as scheduled, and he said he would probably rejoin the Keystones immediately.

Stevens at no time sought deferment on physical grounds, although he asked for an induction delay upon advice from Washington. The request later was withdrawn and he had left Wednesday after pitching seven and two-thirds innings against the Pioneers in a game his mates won as a "farewell present." However, after the army quickly rejected him, Stevens didn't even miss a start as he was back on the mound yesterday and beat Washington 6-4 with a complete game.

BIG WEEK AHEAD FOR BOTH LEADERS

As we enter the final week of play before the All-Star break the pennant talk might just heat up with both the Continental and Federal Associations providing a first vs second matchup in the next few days.

Let's start with the Continental Association where the Chicago Cougars put their 1 game lead on the line at home as the face the second place New York Stars in a 3-game series beginning today. The Cougars and Stars have already met 10 times this season and those games did nothing to prove who was the superior club with each team claiming 5 wins. The Cougars are 20-7 so far in the month of June while the Stars are 18-9 but on a 9-3 run. The Cougars had been red hot, with a 10 game winning streak, but that changed over the weekend in Brooklyn as the Kings tamed the Cougars in back to back games.

It is hard to distinguish between the two clubs. New York is first in the CA in runs scored and has allowed the second fewest while Chicago has allowed the fewest runs in the loop and scored the second most. Each club has a long-time veteran guiding the offense with John Lawson (.343,11,59) of the Cougars and the Stars Dave Trowbridge (.335,4,43) continuing to cheat time. The Stars have Bill Barrett (.405,20,74) who is making a case to be considered the best player in the game while the Cougars have Pete Papenfus (12-4, 2.93) who is on the verge of consideration for best pitcher in the sport. A highlight of the series should come when Papenfus and Barrett square off, possibly on Wednesday. So far the 21 year old slugger has lived up to his nickname "William the Conqueror" when he faces "Peter the Heater". Barrett is 10-for-25 with 2 homers against Papenfus for his career. This season Barrett is 3-for-7 vs Papenfus with his only extra-base hit being a double. Papenfus is 1-2 on the year against the Stars but his last meeting was a 9-0 shutout in which he threw a complete game 1-hitter.

The Boston Minutemen continue to be the surprise leader of the Federal Association and have extended their lead to 7.5 games after beating Pittsburgh 5-2 in a rare 1-game series yesterday. Ed Wood (10-3, 3.12) continued his terrific season on the mound, going the distance for the win. That Boston win snapped a 5 game winning streak for Pittsburgh. The Miners and Minutemen will meet again starting Thursday with a 3-game series over two days (Friday doubleheader) at Fitzpatrick Park. A sweep for Boston would go quite a ways towards helping long suffering Minutemen fans feel a little better about their second half chances. Boston has been in contention before at the all-star break, although not recently with a lead like this, but always seemed to fade in August and September. Will this year be different?

TWIFB ALL STAR BALLOT

The ninth annual All-Star Game goes a week from tomorrow at Kings County Stadium in Brooklyn which means it is once again time for This Week in Figment Baseball to name the 18 players deserving of starting the mid-summer classic.

Let's start with the Federal Association

CATCHER - It is usually a tough battle in the Fed between Tom Bird (.263,3,30) of the Chiefs and and Pittsburgh's George Cleaves (.318,2,36). Heinie Zimmer (.281,4,24) of St Louis is having another strong year as well but with Bird struggling - at least by his standards - our vote goes to GEORGE CLEAVES

FIRST BASE -An awful lot of competition here. You have Red Johnson (.280,14,35) in Detroit, Ron Rattigan (.314,8,38) in Chicago and Mahlon Strong (.359,8,41) of Pittsburgh as the regular candidates. Then we have to consider Art Spencer's (.359,4,31) incredible showing in Boston and the breakout year Sig Stofer (.278,14,48) is having in Washington. Finally there is also Walt Messer (.299,11,49) who, at 23, is starting to show signs of putting things together. A case can be made for all as deserving but we have to go with MAHLON STRONG

SECOND BASE -Roosevelt Brewer (.320,1,20) is looking good in New York while 31 year old Al Haynes (.306,0,20) has been a nice surprise in Chicago but it is no contest as the clear winner here is Boston's BUDDY SCHNEIDER (.331,0,24).

THIRD BASE -Hank Barnett (.246,5,31) is having a down year in Chicago so this vote tightens up a lot. Frank Vance (.305,8,27) is 39 and still going strong in Detroit but he missed over a month with an injury so we will go with New York's BILLY DALTON (.281,7,31) as the choice here.

SHORTSTOP - Boston's 23 year old shortstop LEW McCLENDON (.281,6,44) although Frank Davis (.268,2,39) of Chicago made us really think about because Davis is so good defensively.

LEFT FIELD - Jim Watson (.316,6,31) is having a great season considering he was pulled off the scrap heap in Montreal and given new life in Chicago but we have to give the edge to Washington's SAM BROWN (.321,9,42) as the 30 year old is off to his best start since 1935 when he was also an all-star.

CENTER FIELD -There is just so much center field talent in the Fed. SAL PESTILLI (.297,16,54) of Detroit is the best of the group and gets our vote but Philadelphia's Bobby Barrell (.304,18,64), Bill Burkett (..316,11,44) of Boston and Pittsburgh's Pablo Reyes (.311,2,31) all deserve to be all-stars this year.

RIGHT FIELD -We would love to shift any of the centerfielders over here and pick them but you can't do that so, even though we don't want to pick any of these guys, we will go with Chicago's HANK JONES (.307,5,31) but also give a special mention to Leon Drake (.269,7,45) for his resurgence in New York this season.

PITCHER -There have been some very good pitchers this season and some past stars struggling but a pair of Boston Minutemen take center stage. Rookie RAY DALPMAN (11-0, 2.25) is our clear choice to be the starter with teammate Ed Wood (10-3, 3.12) also garnering plenty of attention. Three starters have to go on the official ballot and there are some tough decisions to be made but Pittsburgh veteran Charlie Stedman (7-3, 2.79) makes the list in our book.

CONTINENTAL ASSOCIATION

CATCHER -Usually you just pencil in the name of Adam Mullins (.409,1,16) and just walk away but the ex-Montreal and current Cincinnati Cannons catcher missed most of the first half with an injury. He has been great now that he is back in the line-up but because of the limited sample we will not select Mullins and instead reward WOODY STONE (.305,,40) of the Philadelphia Sailors. Ben Richardson (.312,4,25), who was part of the package the Saints received from Cincinnati for Mullins, also deserves consideration.

FIRST BASE -Fred McCormick is missed here but Father Time DAVE TROWBRIDGE (.335,4,43) of the New York Stars deserves to be an all-star for the third time in his career. There were some other solid options like the Sailors Marion Boismenu (.354,1,22), Montreal's Red Bond (.322,9,52) and Dick Walker (.263,8,32) of the Cougars.

SECOND BASE -This one is not even close as Cincinnati's CHARLEY McCULLOUGH (.324,1,43) is having a breakout season at age 25.

THIRD BASE -A lot of third baseman in the CA are having pretty good years. Frank LeMieux (.327,3,32) in Brooklyn, Frank Covarrubias (.316,3,46) for Cincinnati, Mark Burns (..312,3,33) in Montreal, New York's Ray Cochran (.301,1,41) and Walt Pack (.297,11,32) of Toronto. Cleveland's Mel Carrol (.301,10,38) is having a down year only when you measure it by his high standards. They all pale in comparison to 38 year old JOHN LAWSON (/343,11,59) of the Chicago Cougars. The reigning Whitney Award winner should be a lock for his 8th all-star game, having only missed out on the 1938 edition.

SHORTSTOP -Always a tough battle in the CA with plenty of talented shortstops. Youngsters Skipper Schneider (.300,2,34) of Chicago, Cincinnati's Jim Hensley (.278,2,25), Jake Hughes (.349,0,41) of Montreal and New York's Joe Angevine (.288,1,28) are the new challengers. The Sailors Rip Lee (.287,2,48) is always a solid option and Toronto's Charlie Artuso (.245,2,25) is a premier defender but he has struggled at the plate this season. Brooklyn's HARRY BARRELL (.272,1,28) was overlooked last year but he gets our vote this time around and should play in his 7th all-star game to the delight of the Kings County faithful.

LEFT FIELD -A battle between the two Canadian clubs as Toronto's Larry Vestal (.318,3,37) and Montreal's Bert Lass (.366,3,41) have been the best of a pretty decent group that also includes Cincinnati's Moxie Pidgeon (.261,9,44) and Leo Mitchell (.341,6,44) of the Cougars. It's close but we are taking BERT LASS to appear in his first all-star game.

CENTER FIELD -The CA lacks the star power in center that the Fed possesses. While Cleveland's Dan Fowler (.276,9,30) is back on track after a couple of down years we have to place him second behind Cincinnati's FRED GALLOWAY (.293,3,33).

RIGHT FIELD -We likely can just write the name BILL BARRETT in the right field slot for the next decade and be done with it. It is scary that Barrett (.405,20,74) is just 21 years old and is putting up numbers like he has for the New York Stars this season. Barrett is a look to become a three-time all-star before his 22nd birthday, joining Brooklyn's Harry Barrell as the only players to accomplish that feat. It must be tough being Brooklyn's Joe Herman (.340,5,41) or Philadelphia's Joe Watson (.336,5,41) having to compete with Barrett for the starting spot, although both deserve to be on the team as reserves.

PITCHER - With all due respect to Chicago's Harry Parker (10-5, 3.16) our three starters are fairly easy to select. 31 year old Chuck Cole (10-4, 2.73) of the New York Stars is looking like he did half a dozen years ago in Toronto and is a big part of the Stars success this year. Deuce Barrell (10-3, 4.23) overcame a slow start with Cincinnati but has won his last 9 decisions. Both pale in comparison to Pete Papenfus (12-4, 2.93) and his FABL leading 117 strikeouts. The Chicago Cougars young ace is just 23 years old but PETE PAPENFUS is quickly becoming the best pitcher in baseball and is our all-star game starter.

MINUTEMEN DEAL PROSPECT

The Boston Minutemen dealt the third ranked shortstop prospect, according to OSA, to the Washington Eagles in exchange for the Eagles first and fourth round draft picks in next year's draft. The player Washington picks up is 22 year old Al Gross, who was Boston's first round pick in 1937. Gross grades out as a decent hitter according to OSA but there are concerns about occasional lapses in the field and his defensive stats over the past few seasons of minor league ball seem to confirm the glove may be a concern.

JIGGS MCGEE's TAKE - I don't weigh in on minor league deals a lot but this one really caught my eye. I get the Eagles are desperate for an upgrade at SS as Jack Bush couldn't hit water if he fell out of a boat. I expect Gross can be a decent offensive producer but his defense at short will possibly be the worst in the league once he gets to Washington. I could see Gross being a serviceable second baseman, perhaps third but no way can I see him prosper as a big league shortstop. The bat, while good for a shortstop, is less impressive for a second or third sacker. Never mind the questions about Gross' defense (he has an .887 EFF this season), but how could Washington consider parting with their first round pick - which seems almost assured to be top five and quite possibly the first overall selection - let alone add their fourth rounder? Fourths are incredibly valuable now because they are the first round in the June phase of the draft and usually there are a couple of breakout prospects that emerge.

I guess one could say there was precedence for this type of transaction as Montreal dealt Frank Davis to the Chicago Chiefs for a first and a fourth a year ago. While on the surface they seem similar, a highly touted young shortstop going for a first and a fourth round pick, the differences are staggering. First of all Davis was already an all-star at that point and a proven quality defender at short while Gross has never played in the majors and only has 47 games of AAA experience with subpar defense all the way up his minor league journey. Then throw in the positioning of the draft picks involved. Everyone knew by last July when the Montreal move was made that the Chiefs picks were going to be nowhere near first overall, falling more in the middle of the draft.(They ended up being 10th). Those are major differences.

The Eagles have not finished in the first division since 1929 and moves like this do nothing to change that trend. If the Eagles finish last and it is the first overall pick there is a good chance this is remembered as one of the worst deals in Eagles history.

JONES LEAVING CHIEFS

It looks as if the Chiefs will lose the services of reserve outfielder Bill Jones in the near future as the 29 year old made the trip to Plainview, Illinois for a re=examination by his raft board and was placed in Class 1-A. He expects to report with the next bunch of draftee selections July 22. Previously Jones had been deferred because of a dental deficiency but he had his teeth fixed since that time.

Meanwhile Tony Pestilli became the second professional baseball player this week to be declared physically unfit for military service. The AA second baseman was deferred because of bad eyesight by Draft Board 18 in New Orleans and the report will be mailed to his Draft Board in Rhode Island where Pestilli and his more famous brothers Sal and Alf are registered. Pestilli is one of the few professional baseball players to wear glasses on the field.

QUICK HITS

• Congratulations to a long-time TWIFB favourite as Doug Lightbody of the Philadelphia Keystones notched his 2,000 career hit. The 37 year old is just a spare part now and no where near the hitter he was back in the days he claimed a Whitney Award and a pair of batting titles, but Lightbody still delivers every so often and may be a starter again the way the draft might start taking big league ballplayers away.
• No matter how hard they try the New York Gothams just can't seem to get out of the second division for any length of time. Just over a month ago they were flying high, tied for first place and one of the big surprises of the early going. Since then they have gone 9-20 and now are back in their familiar haunts of the second division.
• Is Hank Barnett hiding an injury? He has hit 1 double and 1 home run in June for a batting line of .234/.311/.271. This after leading the Fed in homers with 36 a year ago. He is never going to wow you with a high average, but the power is completely sapped. If it wasn't for Jim Watson (.316,6,31) and Hank Jones (.307,5,31), the Chiefs offense would be looking pretty bleak.
• The Miners starting rotation and their W-L records:
  
  Code:

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  Lefty Allen,    7-6
Karl Johnson,    7-6
Charlie Stedman, 7-3
Tom Barrell,    5-4
George Philips,  3-11

  ---

  Phillips especially has been a terrible disappointment but really a lot more than this was expected out Allen and Johnson this season as well. It is easy to see why they are 7.5 games back of Boston.
• Archie Irwin of the Chicago Daily News asks "Is Peter the Heater the best pitcher in the FABL? The 23-year-old fireballer has now thrown seven consecutive complete game wins, including a 1-hit and 6-hit shutout, with pitch counts ranging from 114 to 168. In that seven start span, he has a 2.14 ERA and 0.95 WHIP with 25 walks and 55 strikeouts. For the season he is 12-4 with a 2.93 ERA (134 ERA+), 1.28 WHIP, 65 walks, and 117 strikeouts, while leading all of baseball in wins, complete games (13), strikeouts, and K/9 (7.6) while recording one less out then the innings leader Jake DeYoung. In the CA he also leads in WAR, rWAR, and opponents average (.225), while ranking third in ERA. Best pitcher or not, one thing for sure, is the Cougars are really going to miss him when he inevitably enlists."

• With plans to make quick work of Russia and bleed the Reds of wheat and oil, Nazi panzer divisions smashed deep into heavily fortified zones across the Russian frontier.
• Acting US Secretary of State Sumner Welles speaking on behalf of FDR says the Americans may provide some help to Russia in her resistance against Germany. Welles said that while all forms of dictatorship are inimical to the American way of life, the immediate issue is to stop "Hitlerism."
• Britain and Soviet Russia are agreed on mutual aid to fight nazi Germany to a finish. Both are also expecting aid from the United States to help them complete the task.
• Finland also declared war on Russia this week as the Finns were goaded by incessant air attacks on Helsinki and other large cities from the Russians. Sweden has agreed to allow German troops to cross Swedish territory from Norway to Finland to aid in the attack on Russia. Hungary follows suit, also declaring war on Russia, citing past attacks.
• Nazi bombers briefly turn their focus from Britain to Russia as they attack Leningrad much of the week.
• Japan is in a tough spot, weighing the options between honouring their recently signed treaty with Russia or remaining loyal to the Axis powers.
  
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July 7, 1941 All-Star break
 

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JULY 7, 1941

ALL-STAR TEAMS ANNOUNCED

Veteran third baseman John Lawson of the Chicago Cougars and Detroit's Frank Vance will each be making a record 8th all-star appearance tomorrow at Brooklyn's Kings County Ballpark when the legends of the Federal Association square off with their Continental Association counterparts for the ninth consecutive season. Toronto star Fred McCormick is in the army or he likely would have joined Vance and Lawson as the only players to participate in 8 of the 9 contests in a series the Federal stars lead 5-3.

The Chicago Cougars led the way by placing 6 players on the Continental side while three teams had 5 members each being selected to the squad. They are the Fed leading Boston Minutemen, who have four players making their all-star debut, as well as a pair of Continental Association clubs in Cincinnati and the New York Stars. The host Brooklyn Kings have two players on the all-star roster including veteran shortstop Harry Barrell, who along with Philadelphia Keystones outfielder Bobby Barrell, compromise one of the two brother acts in the game. The other will be the young Schneider boys as both Boston's Buddy and the Cougars Skipper are making their all-star debuts. In contrast the two Barrell boys will both be competing in the all-star contest for the 7th time.

The only club that did not have a player selected was the Cleveland Foresters with each of the other 15 teams having at least two representatives although the Washington Eagles will only have pitcher Ike Keller dressed for the game. The Eagles other selection, outfielder Sam Brown, is injured and will not play which is also the case for Detroit's Frank Gordon.

There were several surprise omissions including Washington slugger Sig Stofer (.267,15,54), Sailors third baseman Marion Boismenu (.344,1,24), and Cincinnati pitcher Rufus 'Deuce' Barrell (10-4, 4.18) but the biggest omission has to be the Dynamos duo of Sal Pestilli (.299,16,56) and Red Johnson (.272,14,37). Pestilli in particular is shocking to some, as the 25 year old had never missed an all-star game and presently sits second in the Fed in both homers and rbi's.

Here are the players selected to participate in the 1941 All-Star Game.

ALL-STAR GAME FACTS

The 9th annual FABL all-star game is set for tomorrow at Brooklyn's Kings County Stadium. The stars of the Federal Association lead the series 5 wins to three but the Continental boys have claimed victory 3 of the past five years. Last season Billy Woytek of the Keystones and Detroit's Red Johnson each homered to pace the Feds to a 7-4 victory.

Three players will be making their record 7th appearance in the All-Star game. Here are the players to have been named to the All-Star teams the most often:

COUGARS IN THE CATBIRD SEAT AS MID-SEASON BREAK ARRIVES

If past results are any indication the Chicago Cougars can start printing World Championship Series tickets. As the season pauses for three days in order for the All-Star game to be played tomorrow in Brooklyn, the Cougars find themselves atop the Continental Association standings, owning a 3 game bulge on the second place New York Stars - a team they took two of three from in Chicago early last week. Each of the past three seasons and six of eight the team that has led the Continental Association at the All-Star game has gone on to win the pennant. The 1933 Cougars, Chicago's last pennant winner, were the first of those clubs with the lone exceptions being the 1935 Cleveland Foresters, who trailed Brooklyn by 5 games at the break before coming back to win the pennant and the 1937 Brooklyn Kings, who were in third place, 5 behind the Foresters before returning the favour from two years prior. It should be noted that the 1939 pennant winning New York Stars were in first at the break, but were tied with Cleveland at the time before going on to beat the Foresters by two games.

The Cougars did suffer a bit of a blow last week as outfielder Cliff Moss (.282,8,39) hurt his back and is expected to be sidelined until the end of the month. While the Cougars did take two of three in their showdown with the Stars it was not a great week for Chicago as they finished the week 4-3 after sweeping a doubleheader from Montreal but dropping back to back games on the weekend to Brooklyn including a rare loss in a Pete Papenfus start. Papenfus (12-4, 2.95), the all-star game starter, was not around for the decision in the 8-5 loss in 14 innings to the Kings but it was just the 5th of his 18 starts Chicago did not win and the first in a month and a half. The Cougars lead is now 3 games because the Stars, at least aside from Bill Barrett (.406,23,82) who won his 5th player of the week award this season, struggled to a 3-6 record in a very busy week.

FED NOT SO CUT AND DRY
While the CA leader at the break has had quite a success rate in claiming the pennant the story is quite different in the Federal Association. Last year Pittsburgh did have the lead at the midway point and went on to claim the Federal crown but that was the first time in 6 years the leader at the break claimed the Fed pennant. Included in those 5 years were the 1939 Boston Minutemen, who had a 2 game cushion on second place Pittsburgh as the all-star game arrived but would end up in third place, 10 games back of the Miners when October arrived.

DECLARED 1-B AGAIN, BILL JONES WILL REMAIN WITH CHICAGO CHIEFS

A bit of controversy surrounding the draft status of Chicago Chiefs reserve outfielder Bill Jones. Jones is once again back to 1B-deferred status after an examination just prior to him shipping out with the latest group of new soldiers. Originally Jones had been deferred because of a dental deficiency due to having upper and lower partial dental plates after many of his teeth having been knocked out during basketball games. Unhappy about being considered a draft dodger, Jones was vindicated when he produced the letter about his missing occluding molars from the doctor and last month was returned to 1-A status by the draft board. However, in a final examination last week he was reverted back to 1-B and will remain with the Chiefs at least throughout the remainder of the season.

QUICK HITS

• Ad Doria, bench boss of the Cincinnati Cannons, says he expects there will be no problems getting an deferment for his fine young infielder Charley McCullough, who just weeks ago seemed to be destined for the army just days after his first All-Star game appearance - slated for tomorrow. Doria says the new modified selective service order will allow Charley to finish out the season in Cannons red and white before dressing in Army green at some point during the winter.
• The New York Gothams are trying to find a veteran outfielder to add to their offense while the St Louis Pioneers say Gail Gifford (.281,3,27), their 29 year old 8 year FABL veteran is on the block. Perhaps they should talk.
• While the Stars slowed down last week, the same cannot be said for Bill Barrett. The 21 year old had 12 hits in 29 at bats including 3 more homers, drove in 8 runs and scored 9. He has won player of the week 5 times in the CA this season and the 21 year old (.406,23,82) has a huge lead on everyone in both associations in all three triple crown categories.
• A good percentage of the 1941 draft picks are signing contracts and reporting to teams. Both the Cannons and Chiefs lacked first round picks but each are quite happy how OSA ranks their picks. The Cannons 2nd rounder Win Hamby and 4th rounder Dutch Peters both crack the top 100, with their other two fourth rounders showing well as Joe Beckstrom settles in at 119th on the OSA list while Maurice Carter is 144th. Given that the Chiefs didn't have a 1st, 2nd, or 4th round pick in this draft, they are quite pleased that their 5th round pick--Billy Brown--is debuting at #92.
• Keystones 1939 third round pick Amby O'Brien tossed a no-hitter for Class B Bakersfield this week, beating Everett 6-0 to run his record to 10-3 with a 1.98 era. The 20 year old Pennsylvania native is proof some regional round picks can certainly show promise.

AROUND THE LEAGUE

Jiggs McGee takes a look around FABL with a quick comment or two on each of the 16 clubs. This time a list of players selected to the all-star team from each club:

BOSTON- 5: P Ed Wood (2), P Ray Dalpman (1), 2B Buddy Schneider (1), INF Jim Spencer (1), OF Bill Burkett (1)
BROOKLYN- 2: SS Harry Barrell (7), P Del Lyons (3)
CHIEFS-3: 1B Ron Rattigan (6), P Al Miller (4), OF Bill May (3)
COUGARS-6: 3B John Lawson (7), 1B Ray Ford (2), OF Leo Mitchell (2), P Pete Papenfus (1), P Harry Parker (1), SS Skipper Schneider (1)
CINCINNATI- 5: C Adam Mullins (5), OF Fred Galloway (3), P Roger Perry (2), P Butch Smith (2), 2B Charley McCullough (1)
CLEVELAND- 0: no selections
DETROIT- 4: 3B Frank Vance (8), P Frank Gordon (1), P Willie Montgomery (1), OF Sid Williams (1)
MONTREAL- 2: SS Jake Hughes (1), OF Bert Lass (1)
NY STARS- 5: 1B Dave Trowbridge (3), OF Bill Barrett (3), P Chuck Cole (2), P Robert Curry (2), P Vern Hubbard (1)
NY GOTHAMS-4: OF Leon Drake (3), 3B Billy Dalton (2), P Sammy Alger (1), SS Mule Monier (1)
KEYSTONES-2: OF Bobby Barrell (7), P Jim Whitely (1)
SAILORS- 2: C Woody Stone (3), OF Joe Watson (2)
PITTSBURGH- 4: C George Cleaves (6), OF Pablo Reyes (5), 1B Mahlon Strong (4),P Charlie Stedman (3)
ST LOUIS- 2: C Heinie Zimmer (2), P Danny Hern (1)
TORONTO- 2: OF Larry Vestal (3), P Lou Jayson (2)
WASHINGTON- 2: P Ike Keller (2), OF Sam Brown (2)

• 6 men and a woman confessed in a New York courtroom to stealing secrets relating to the national defense of the United Stats for the benefit of a foreign power. The FBI trapped them in a sting operation.
• Nazi forces claimed key victories in Russia as they move to within 350 miles of Moscow. German forces have also taken the capital of Latvia.
• Stalin admits to the Russian people that the Germans have made huge gains, but warns them they were fighting for their liberty and their lives, calling on them to fight to the finish.
• Japan has declared itself neutral in the Russo-German war, and believed to be concentrating instead on it's Far Eastern expansion policy and attempting to keep the United States out of the war by diverting it's attention from Europe.

July 14, 1941 : Continental wins All-Star Game
 

JULY 14, 1941

CONTINENTAL STARS DOUBLE FED IN ALL-STAR GAME

Fred Galloway had 3 hits and drove in a pair of runs to help the Continental Association outscore the stars of the Federal Association 8-4 in the 9th annual all-star game. The 25 year old Cincinnati Cannons outfielder, who was playing in his third consecutive All-Star contest, was named the game MVP after his performance which was highlighted by a 2-out, 2-run single in the bottom of the third inning off of losing pitcher Jim Whitely of the Philadelphia Keystones. The victory was the third in the past 4 years for the Continental Stars, but they still trail in the series five wins to four.

After Continental starting pitcher Butch Smith of Cincinnati escaped the top of the first inning without surrendering a run despite allowing a single and walk, the CA stars went to work against Boston pitcher Ed Wood, who got the starting nod from Fed Skipper Dan Andrew. Wood was in trouble right from the get go as the Continental's quickly loaded the bases on a lead-off walk to Charley McCullough, a Dave Trowbridge single and then a free pass to Bill Barrett. Wood settled down but did surrender a pair of runs, both on fielders choices and to the delight of the decidedly pro-Continental sold out crowd at Brooklyn's Kings County Park the CA had a quick 2-0 lead.

It would be a short-lived lead as Pittsburgh's Mahlon Strong tied the game with a 2-run homer off of young Chicago Cougars pitcher Harry Parker in the top of the second inning. It stayed 2-2 until the bottom of the third when Galloway had his big moment, delivering a 2-run single to plate Bert Lass and Adam Mullins. Skipper Schneider of the Cougars made the score 5-2 for the Continental's when he followed Galloway with a run scoring triple.

The Feds would get a run back in the top of the fifth to cut the CA lead to 5-3 thanks to an rbi single from Gothams third baseman Billy Dalton but once again the Continental nine answered quickly as Brooklyn's Harry Barrell doubled in Leo Mitchell in the bottom of the fifth to restore the three run lead.

Former Brooklyn King Frank Vance doubled to lead off the top of the 8th and scored on a ground out from Boston's Buddy Schneider - the brother of the Cougars Skipper - to give the Feds some hope and cut the lead once again to two runs but just as in the fifth inning the Continental side immediately had an answer. This time it was the Cougars Mitchell with the big blow, a 2-run double to plate Bill Barrett and John Lawson and give the Continental an 8-4 lead. Brooklyn reliever Del Lyons, who leads FABL in saves this season, took care of the Federals in the top of the ninth, facing the minimum 3 batters tanks in no small part to a Continental twin killing.
ASG NOTES: Pete Papenfus (12-4, 2.97) capped his incredible first half of the season by being named the winning pitcher in the game. Papenfus pitched one scoreless inning that included a strikeout of former teammate Leon Drake but he also allowed two hits including a Billy Dalton double and could have been in big trouble had he not been bailed out by a CA doubleplay - the first of two on the game.....The loss went to Jim Whiteley of the Keystones who was making his all-star debut....Next year's game will be played at Fitzpatrick Park in Pittsburgh.

BIG WEEK AHEAD FOR BOSTON

The Federal Association leading Boston Minutemen were sluggish coming out of the all-star break, dropping back to back games to the New York Gothams before salvaging the series finale with a 9-7 slugfest victory in the Big Apple. They then moved on to Detroit and won the opener of a 3-game set with the Dynamos 4-3 but it proved very costly as infielder Art Spencer left the game after being hit in the wrist by a Mike Murphy pitch in the first inning. Later that day the Minutemen learned it was a serious injury to Spencer, costing the club his services for the next six weeks. It is a big loss as Spencer was having a career year, batting .342 and challenging for the Fed lead in that category. He was also filling in very nicely for Bob Donoghue, who still has two weeks recovery time from his knee injury.

The loss of Spencer could not have come at a worse time for Boston, as the Minutemen play 11 of their next 14 games against either Detroit or Chicago, two of the three teams within 5.5 games of the front-running Bostonians, who had dropped 7 of 8 games before picking up wins Saturday and Sunday.

CONTINENTAL ASSOCIATION
The Brooklyn Kings are doing their best to make it a three horse race in the Continental Association. The Kings have won 11 of their last 14 games but dropping two of three to Cincinnati after the all-star break while the Chicago Cougars (4-1) and New York Stars (4-0) each came out of the break on fire has set the Kings back. Brooklyn is now 5 games behind the second place Stars and 7.5 off the pace set by the association leading Cougars. It might be tough to make up that ground over the next few weeks as none of the top three playing each other until August 5th when the Kings start a key stretch of 12 games in which they will face either the Stars or the Cougars a total of 10 times.

1942 DRAFT PREVIEW : PART 1 - COLLEGE PLAYERS

We begin our 1942 draft preview series with a look at the top college players eligible for the next draft. It is important to note that this list is very fluid as a number of newcomers always seem to join schools in September and many have displayed terrific skills in sandlot leagues which, combined with winter workout observations, vaults them in to the first round. One of those such players, Orie Martinez, became a first round pick of Brooklyn last January. Last year was a slim one for elite college talent as only Martinez and fellow outfielder Hank Eason, out of Huntington State, were taken in the first round. This time around the crop does seem a little strong at the top.

Here are the AIAA players that make the TWIFB top ten after consulting with sources at the OSA:

1- BOB ARMAN RHP: BLUEGRASS STATE- Arman had a dominant sophomore season with the Mustangs and won the Frank Christian Award as college baseball's top player. He was 11-1 with a nation leading 1.75 era and 156 strikeouts, which also was the top figure in college ball. It was also a nice improvement from what was a decent freshman year that saw the Brooklyn native go 9-4 with a 2.80 era and 128 strikeouts. Arman was the top player in TWIFB's way to early 1942 mock draft last July and has done nothing to dissuade us from keeping him in the top spot when our full list is released in 4 weeks. OSA feels he is a frontline starter with above average stuff, aggressiveness and durability.

2- ERNIE McCOY CF: BLUEGRASS STATE- Like his college teammate Arman, McCoy cracked the top 10 list of 1942 draft candidates we compiled last year. He looks to be a future elite big league center fielder and has been a second team All-American selection each of his first two seasons with the Mustangs. Very consistent numbers over his first two years of college ball going .314,9,49 as a freshman and .311,8,46 this past season.

3- JACK WILSON 2B: NORTH CAROLINA TECH- Finished 5th in the nation with a .321 batting average this past season earning Wilson his second straight appearance on the AIAA first team All-American squad. OSA likes his ability to make contact and he has decent strike zone recognition, predicting that he likely won't be an elite middle infielder but grades out as a second-division starter. He played 3 years of high school ball in Pennsylvania and was a 9th round pick of the Chicago Chiefs in 1939 but elected to go the college route instead.

4- CHICK MacKNIGHT C: EASTERN OKLAHOMA - When you think Eastern Oklahoma the first name that comes to mind is Adam Mullins, the current Cannons star who was taken 6th overall in 1934. MacKnight is no Mullins either at the plate or behind it, but OSA sees him as a decent starter in FABL and perhaps hitting close to .300. MacKnight is a 2-time second team All-American selection, joining Mullins as the only Pioneers to ever be so honoured. Mullins was a first team choice in 1934.

5- DICK CHAMBERLAIN CF: OPELIKA STATE - The Wildcats have a great history as one of the AIAA's original members and they won a pair of National Championships so it be surprising to learn the school has never produced a first team All-American selection. Chamberlain did make the second team last year, joining Joe Foy, Jim Harris, Ray White and Bob Higgenbotham as Wildcats that have earned that distinction. Described by OSA as very patient at the plate, the scouting services sees Chamberlain as a better than .300 hitter. Stole 35 bases last season so might project to being a solid lead-off hitter.

6- MARK SMITH C: DAVIDSON UNIVERSITY- Smith was a finalist for the Christian Award and a first team All-American after leading the nation in hitting last season with a .385 batting average. Only current Dynamos legend Sal Pestilli has posted a higher average in the post-feeder era. The concern about Smith is he plays at tiny Davidson University in Oregon and has not really faced elite competition. OSA is confidant Smith's development as a future FABL catcher looks extremely promising. It will be interesting to see if MacKnight or Smith is the first college catcher selected as MacKnight is likely the safer pick but perhaps Smith has more upside.

7- BOB KIRBY CF: MARYLAND STATE- The Bengals are another school with a rich tradition of producing big league players. Kirby is the latest and OSA thinks he will be a second division starter, noting his above average contact potential, great speed and good hands.

8- JERRY YORK RHP: NOBLE JONES COLLEGE- The 20 year old groundball specialist made his AIAA debut as a sophomore last season, posting a solid 8-4 record with a 3.29 era. A native of St. Augustine, Florida, OSA feels he has the makings of a back of the rotation arm and, aside from Arman, is the best college pitcher available.

9- NELLIE WALTERS SS: OKLAHOMA CITY STATE- A 2 year starter for the Wranglers, a school that also produced current Washington Eagles catcher Paul Wilkerson. Walters was among the best college hitters in the nation last season with a .311 batting average. He isn't flashy but does everything well - good hands, good range and a good arm with a solid swing and a decent baserunner. He projects to be solid shortstop according to OSA.

10- PETE WOODWARD CF: CLEVELAND COLLEGE - One of the better power hitting prospects in the college ranks, Woodward hit 9 homers each of his first two seasons of AIAA ball. OSA calls him a reliable hitter in an organization's grand scheme but that is drop off from last year when after his freshman season OSA felt he had the potential to be a first round draft pick in 1942.

Next time we will take a look at the top ten High School pitchers available for the 1942 draft.

QUICK HITS

• Since dropping back to back games in Pittsburgh June 20th and 21st, the Chicago Chiefs have gone a Federal Association best 13-5 and are now second behind only Boston with a big 8 game week coming up for the Chiefs including 3 each against the Minutemen and the Miners. The rest of July for the Chiefs: 6 with Boston, 6 with Pittsburgh, 5 with Philadelphia.
• Cleveland fans can breathe a sigh of relief with news that Hiram Steinberg, the New York City kid who singlehandedly rewrote the high school pitching record book, is under contract and likely to report to Class C Ottumwa of the Upper Mississippi Valley Association this week. The first overall selection received a $20,000 signing bonus and was immediately ranked #2 overall, behind only Gothams pitching prospect Ed Bowman, on the OSA top prospects list.
• Pioneers have signed all of their draft picks. First rounder P Tom Buchanan slots in at #11 according to OSA while second rounder P Gene Madison fits in at a disappointing #193. Third rounder Dick Long(#90) and fourth rounder Lazaro Deleon(#78) slot in the top 100 and fifth rounder Joe Hampton lines up at #138. STL moves up to #2 in the minor league system ranking behind only Montreal.
• All but one first round pick is under contract. The lone exception is outfielder Sid Moulton, who was selected 12th overall by the Philadelphia Keystones. The Cleveland native is weighing a scholarship offer from Ohio Poly but is expected to sign with the Keystones, perhaps as early as this week.
• The Keystones are also still negotiating with their second round pick. Joe Burns, an outfielder from Glen Falls, New York is weighing a choice between the minor leagues or Constitution State. The only other second rounder that remains unsigned is a Toronto pick. That would Harry Phillips, out of a Michigan High School who is being wooed by one of the most prestigious baseball colleges in Central Kentucky. It is expected Phillips and the Wolves will get a deal done.

• Disputed reports over who is winning the battle on the Eastern Front as Moscow claims Soviet tanks have counter-attacked and pushed the Nazis back in some areas but Berlin says it has broken thru even further in it's push into Russia.
• Soviet planes target Helsinki in the first air bombardment of the war on the Finnish capital.
• RAF bombers step up night attacks into France and Germany, targeting industrial areas including a large French airplane factory that was set ablaze.
• Peace in the Western Hemisphere is shattered with news Peruvian artillery was bombarding Ecuadorian villages as Ecuador and Peru began to wage an undeclared war.
• President Roosevelt took over military protection of Iceland after reports reached him that Germany was considering attacking to obtain a base from which to control North Atlantic shipping lanes. US forces replaced a British garrison that had been defending the independent island republic.
• Italy claims that the US occupation of Iceland is an "actual intervention" in European waters and would likely result in an Axis-American incident as Axis powers have no plans to relax their blockade of the British Isles.
• Berlin charges that Roosevelt's attitude toward Atlantic bases was "aggression against Europe," in response to the news about Iceland and rumours the Americans will assist in the construction of a military base in Ireland. "The President of the United States evidently is using every means to enter the war zone and is taking no heed whatsoever of the possible dangers that might result," authorized Nazis said.
  
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July 21, 1941
 

JULY 21, 1941

DYNAMOS CLOSE IN ON FED LEAD

Thanks to a pair of victories over the front-running Boston Minutemen to start the week the Detroit Dynamos are suddenly just 2.5 games out of the Federal Association lead. Detroit went 6-2 in a busy seven day stretch to cut into the Minutemen lead as Boston lost 4 straight games and went 3-5 on the week. The Chicago Chiefs also took a pair from the Minutemen and are just 3 games off the pace as the Fed is tightening back up.

In the Continental Association the Chicago Cougars added a little to their lead while their main rival in the New York Stars suffered through a 3-4 week while also suffering a big loss to their pitching staff. That loss would be in the form of 31 year old Chuck Cole (12-4, 2.30) who was enjoying the best season of his career until a ruptured tendon in his finger started his off-season much earlier than anticipated.

It was a bad week for pitchers as in addition to Cole, Cincinnati's rising young talent Bill Sohl (3-3, 4.92) also suffered a season-ending injury. The Sohl injury, coupled with the loss of their other top young arm as Vic Carroll was sidelined for the remainder of the season a month ago, has devastated the Cannons pitching future. Fed pitchers were not exempt as the Detroit Dynamos learned that Sergio Gonzales (9-2, 2.87) will miss the next month with a sore shoulder. Is Frank Crawford (5-8, 5.44) finally starting to come around for Detroit? The 1939 Allen Award winner missed 13 months with an elbow injury and struggled upon his return to the big leagues, but is 2-1 with a 2.77 era in his last 3 starts. If he is back to form the timing is perfect for Detroit after the Gonzales injury.

1942 DRAFT PREVIEW PART TWO: HIGH SCHOOL PITCHERS

Unless something changes drastically in their senior season this looks to be an incredibly weak crop of high school pitchers, perhaps the worst in the post feeder era. There is no dominant starter like we have seen in recent years with players like Hiram Steinberg, Donnie or Johnnie Jones, Deuce Barrell etc. Perhaps it will end up like two years ago when Joe Quade came out of nowhere to be the top high school player after debuting as a senior but at this point there are a couple of players with the potential to be top half of the rotation starters and then little else. Perhaps we were spoiled last season with Hiram Steinberg and Tom Buchanan, something this class clearly lacks although the top two seem certain to be first round selections.

Here are the High School Pitchers OSA grades highly and make the TWIFB top ten list.

1- JOHN JACKSON - 16 RHP: Salem (NJ) HS :Hometown -Baltimore, MD: Jackson was the only pitcher in this class to be considered for the High School All-American team this past June, earning honourable mention status after a 9-1, 1.15 season as a junior. A 3 year starter he has been very consistent and is considered an outstanding 'character' guy with leadership skills, intelligence and work ethic all grading high. A groundball pitcher who paints the black with ease. OSA feels Jackson should end up near the top of a big league rotation one day.

2- HOWIE HARRIS - 18 RHP: Ross HS, Hamilton, OH :Hometown -Hamilton, OH: Went 21-3 with a 1.32 era over his first two seasons of high school ball. A groundball specialist like Jackson, Harris has a quality changeup as his go to pitch. OSA feels is stuff is below average but believes he still can end up near the top of a FABL rotation one day.

3- JAKE ROBERTS - 17 RHP: West Fork (AR) HS :Hometown -West Fork, AR: OSA is very high on the 17 year old despite the fact he has a limited playing history. Roberts went 5-1 with a 1.33 era last season in his first year of high school ball, starting 9 of his 16 appearances for the Tigers. Coaches rave about his work ethic and OSA feels he projects to be a mid-rotation starter but at this point certainly appears very raw.

4- FRANK PERSHING - 17 LHP: NMMI (JuCo) ; Hometown -Roswell, NM: Pershing is technically a college player but because of his age and the lack of JuCo's in the AIAA it was decided to group him with the high school pitchers. He went 9-0 with a 1.39 era at the New Mexico Military Institute last season but tough to gauge how those numbers would translate to the more common High School or College leagues. OSA feels that Pershing, known as 'The Pecos Kid," has confidence in his abilities and the the potential to be a back of the rotation arm. However, considering his choice of schools it is very likely Pershing will be joining the army immediately following his season.

5- BILL CHAPMAN - 17 LHP: Edina (MO) HS :Hometown - Edina, MO: Went 4-1 with a 1.51 era last season as a junior at Edina High. A 3 year starter, his numbers this season were better than his freshman totals but a step back from what he accomplished as a sophomore. Has good size and already tops 90 mph with his fastball. OSA likes his control and feels he could pitch his way into a back-end rotation opportunity.

6- DIZZY DANFORTH 17 RHP- Muscatine (IA) HS :Hometown - Muscatine, IA: After the top five OSA does not see a lot of guaranteed rotation pieces so there are at least a dozen that could fit into the final five spots. Danforth was an honourable mention All-American as a freshman when he went 9-0 with a 0.86 but has been a little less effective his past two seasons although he still boasts an impressive 25-3, 1.50 mark for his High School career. OSA is not sold on Danforth being able to hold a spot in a big league rotation but he has good size (6'1") and is a solid groundball guy, although control is a concern.

7- ORRIN WILSON 17 RHP- Emmaus (PA) HS :Hometown - New York, NY: Slow to grasp things at times but no one ever questions his work ethic. Wilson went 8-4 with a 2.55 era last season but walks are a big problem for the righthander. Like any of the pitchers after the top five, Wilson's success is far from guaranteed.

8- BOB WOLF 16 LHP- Branford (CT) HS :Hometown - Brooklyn, NY: Wolf is 6'3" but as of yet does not have the velocity one would hope for, although he is one of the younger players in the draft so there is certainly time to develop. He has four pitches but his stuff is below average and is control can escape him at times. There are also whispers about his attitude and his focus primarily on what is good for Bob Wolf, rather than the team.

9- JOHN HELLER - 16 LHP: Muscatine (IA) HS :Hometown - Shenandoah, PA: Muscatine High should have a pretty strong ballclub with both Heller and the previously mentioned Dizzy Danforth pitching for the Indians. We give Heller the nod for the 9th position because he is a player OSA feels could secure a rotation spot but he really needs to add a third pitch to go with his solid slider and fringe fastball.

10- BOBBY MILLS 17 LHP- Marlington HS, Alliance, OH :Hometown -Cleveland, OH: Another of the growing list of players coming out of northern Ohio, Mills was an honourable mention All-American as a sophomore following a tremendous 12-0, 0.88 1940 season. He slumped slightly last year (10-1, 1.19) as his walks increased and strikeouts decreased. It is his control that worries OSA going forward and the scouting service says it is unlikely Mills will fill a big league spot. However, with the choices of High School pitchers available and that tantalizing sophomore season, Mills sneaks into our top ten.

Next up we look at the top ten High School hitters available for the 1942 draft.


What a difference a year makes for the Cincinnati Cannons. At this time a year ago the Cannons where the surprise team of baseball as a young club challenging for a pennant with a future that looked incredibly bright. The Cannons seemingly had it all: a gaggle of young talent both in Cincinnati and on the way, the top two draft picks in Bill Sohl and Dick Blaszak, a great pitching prospect in Vic Carroll and a talented veteran slugger in Moxie Pidgeon challenging for the Whitney Award and leading the offense. A year later the club is struggling to stay above .500, pitchers Carroll and Sohl have suffered season ending injuries that may have lasting effects, Blaszak is struggling to find his way in the low minors and Pidgeon, while having a decent season, is far from the Whitney candidate he was a year ago.

This season began with great anticipation and incredible hope as the Cannons, with newly acquired all-star catcher Adam Mullins now in the fold, felt this might be their year. Things went south right from Opening Day as Deuce Barrell, coming off a breakout season a year ago, got shelled by the Philadelphia Sailors in the opener and then everything went off the rails a day later when Mullins - in just his second game as a Cannon -suffered a serious leg injury that would sideline him for a month and a half. When Mullins was finally healthy enough to return to the lineup at the end of May the Cannons were already 7.5 games back and their season was for all intents and purposes over at that point. But it got worse!

Despite the rough start to this season the Cannons future remained extremely bright thanks to a trio of young pitching prodigies in Barrell, Carroll and Sohl. The dream rotation disintegrated in this nightmare of a season when first Carroll, the 23 year old former #2 prospect according to OSA, succumbed to the type of elbow injury that has been known to kill pitching careers. Now, just over a month later it is Sohl, a top 5 prospect in his own right, that is also done for the year after tearing a muscle in his back. Only Deuce Barrell remains standing from the trio that were expected to carry the Cannons hopes through the next decade.

"Numb," is all Cannons rookie skipper Ad Doria could say when asked how he felt about the latest news after Sohl left yesterday's game against Montreal with his injury. "This is the last thing this organization needs right now."

After a decade of inept baseball in Baltimore the Cannons started a new chapter last season with the sale of the club to Cincinnati businessman John E. Tice. They assembled a dynamic cast of executives and made several trades adding veteran talent like Pidgeon into the fold. It all nearly paid off with a pennant, what would have been the first since 1914 for the long struggling franchise and while they fell just short a year ago most expected a title would come in the near future. Today, that hope has been all but dashed and while there is still a chance both Carroll and Sohl will emerge at full strength and ready to go next spring, Cannons fans can't help but wonder if the last four months set this team back on the losing course it seemed to perpetually be sailing while based in Baltimore.

QUICK HITS

• "The Boston Slide: A new dance craze sweeping the Atlantic seaboard??" writes Doc Shaw of the Boston Globe. "No my friends, just the predicted fall by the Minutemen in the standings. 7-13 in July. 3rd straight losing week. This is a very big week for the boys from Boston as they welcome in both Chicago and Detroit for 3 games each. Only silver lining??? The Minutemen will finally get a week without a double header."
• Some of the credit for the nice stretch of baseball the Chiefs have been playing since June goes to the bats of Bird and Barnett slowly awakening. But the key has been Al Miller. Since the calendar turned to June, Miller is 9-0 with a 1.71 ERA (he's allowed 1 ER in 28 July innings).
• Reports out of Toronto blame the pitching for the defending champs struggles this season. Supposedly the strength of the team, it has been league average at best. The Toronto Mail & Empire goes on to add "With hitting below the league average it is not a good combination, that along with the 9-22 record in one-run game the management staff is banging their collective heads against the wall. Rumours around the Wolves is that first year pitching coach Art Nichols is on dangerously thin ice."
  [*}Percy Sutherland disagrees stating "I don't think pitching is the problem with the Wolves. The bats have let the team down. Starters' ERA is 3rd. Runs allowed is in the top half of the league. Not going to win without scoring runs, regardless of how few you give up."
• The fickle New York press love affair, brief as it was, with the Gothams is over. Red Wedge of the New York World Telegram pens "All that nice starting pitching from early season has gone by the wayside. They're back to being the usual crappy Gothams." Gus Goulding (6-11, 4.57) has been a real disappointment for the Gothams while Rusty Petrick (8-9, 3.91) has been a bit of a tease, but at 25 Gothams brass can be more patient. In general this is a staff with poor control which is exactly the kind of pitchers Manager Ed Ziehl doesn't like. It adds to the general dissatisfaction with everything in New York right now.
• All is good with the cross-town Stars though, despite the loss of Chuck Cole for the year. And good new is that the Stars have the 4th best minor league system. the bad news is its all OF and 1B...
• Cannons supporters are reeling after the injury bug has taken a huge bite out of the club's future. First Vic Carroll done for the year with likely career damaging injury and now Bill Sohl done with a back injury. Add in a serious injury to a decent young OF in Bob Griffith and Cincinnati might as well apply to go back to the Union League. Only positive is these guys will never pass an army physical so the draft should not be factor for the three of them."
• Power outage in Washington. What has happened to Sig Stofer (.272,15,64). The 24 year old Eagles slugger hit 25 homers in his first 100 games (including last season) with the Eagles but has just one in his last 33 games.

• FDR has told Congress the draft needs to be extended for more than a year of service, requesting that draftees remain in the military for the duration of the conflict with Germany. A few days later his Chief of Staff asked the draft numbers also be increased from a 900,000 maximum to unlimited size.
• Moscow radio allegations that Field Marshall Goering has been 'imprisoned' for opposing the Nazi drive into Soviet Russia were laughed at by Berlin, noting that it is Goering who is directing the aerial warfare against Russia from headquarters on the eastern front. However, anti-Nazi papers in Germany along with the English press are spreading the story that their is a major quarrel happening between Hitler and Goering.
• Both Berlin and Moscow claim great advances in their fight again this week. Germany claims to have captured Kiev and is closing in on Leningrad while the Soviet high command reports it is being the Nazi war machine to a half in the vital Pskov, Vitebsk and Novograd Volynsk sectors.
• With Germany's attention divided, Prime Minister Churchill says Britain is now bombing Germany at a heavier rate in tons of bombs than Germany in any one month had bombed Britain.
• Churchill also told Commons that Great Britain and Soviet Russia are now allies, but emphasized while they have common goals at the moment, Britain has not league herself with the Communists not to fight any battles for communism.
• A rising political crisis precipitated by the outbreak of the Russo-German war has seen the the entire Japanese Cabinet notify Emperor Hirohito that they have resigned. It seems to indicate clearly that a major policy disagreement within the Cabinet has arisen which could not be resolved and presumably relates to the course of action to be followed by Japan in the South Pacific and Siberia as a result of the war between Russia and Germany.
• There are late reports this week that Hitler has urged the Japanese to attack Russia in eastern Siberia because of the unexpected resistance his forces are receiving from the Soviets.
• In response to allegations from Secretary of Interior Harold Ickes that "I am connected with the interests of a foreign government," Charles Lindbergh has offered to submit to a President investigation. Lindbergh said in a letter to President Roosevelt that Ickes "for many months and on numerous occasions" has implied he was connected with a foreign government and criticized him "for accepting a decoration from the German Government in 1938." Lindbergh adds he will open his files and be glad to answer any question.
  
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July 28, 1941 Trade Deadline Approaches
 

JULY 28, 1941

MINUTMEN LOAD UP A DEADLINE

The Boston Minutemen were the first, and so far at least, only team to make a big move geared towards tipping the balance of power in the Federal Association in advance of this week's trade deadline. The Minutemen addressed a pair of needs by acquiring veteran pitcher Dean Astle and first baseman Bill Moore from the Cleveland Foresters in advance of the July 31st trade cut-off date. In return the rebuilding Foresters receive a pair of solid minor league prospects including OSA's 42nd ranked Pete Sigmund as well as the Minutemen's first round pick in the January draft and veteran backup infielder Elmer Lockwood.

The trade was necessitated by Boston in no small part because of the injury suffered by Art Spencer last week. Spencer (.342,4,26) was having a career year and filling in admirably at first base for another injured Boston first sacker in Bob Donoghue (.267,4,21). Donoghue will return to the lineup this week but with his health not assured Moore (.293,9,49) seems an ideal pickup to spell Donoghue as well as handle the left-handed pinch-hitting duties. Moore is an underrated big leaguer but the 29 year old, who was a 2-time Christian Trophy winner in college and named the greatest AIAA player of the first 25 years of college baseball, has quietly put together some decent, consistent seasons for the Foresters.

The 31 year old Astle (6-10, 4.36) has struggled the past two seasons right along with the entire Foresters team but prior to that he was a 4-time all-star and the ace of Cleveland's pair of pennant winning clubs in the middle of the decade. At worst he can fill in as a reliever in the Boston pen but there is a good chance he may replace John Edwards (5-11, 5.72) in the Boston rotation, although the unpredictable Edwards has strung together a couple of solid starts recently.

As for the Foresters this would be the first major move of the new regime as the club struggles through it's second straight dreadful season. It has been no secret that Astle, Moore and others in Cleveland would likely be moved as the deadline approached and with a couple of days left there is a good chance any other deadline deal made this week will involve the Foresters. The centerpiece of this trade for Cleveland, aside from the draft pick, is Pete Sigmund. The 19 year old was Boston's fourth round pick in 1939 and despite being just 19 years of age has already advanced to the AA level where he is performing quite well. He likely will not play in Cleveland at all this season but if he continues at his current pace he may well challenge for a spot next spring. Si Crocker is a 22 year old who reminds one much of Sigmund. Both were 4th round picks (Crocker in 1936) and both reached AA at a fairly young age. Crocker has split each of the past two seasons between AA and AAA. He has performed very well at the lower level but struggled last season at the higher one. OSA sees him as more of a depth piece rather than as a key contributor. The final piece is the lone player from the trade who will likely see time in Cleveland this season. Elmer Lockwood (.305,0,10) was a spare part first baseman/pinch-hitter on the Boston roster who would likely have been cut to make room for Moore so he will get a chance to see if he can win the job as Moore's replacement at first for the Foresters for the remainder of the season. The 29 year old has spent the past five seasons in the majors but never started more than 26 games in a season.
JIGGS MCGEE's TAKE - A solid move for both clubs. While I feel the Minutemen likely still need to do more to solidify themselves as the pennant favourite this deal does improve their chances of finally ending their 27 year title drought, but they have plenty of competition for the Fed flag. Moore is a dependable hitter and could at the very least platoon with Donoghue should the slugger struggle upon his return. He is also a much more dangerous bat off the bench than Lockwood provided, although Lockwood was hitting .333 as a pinch-hitter this season. They also have the option of trying to see if Donoghue can navigate left field on his wonky knee and let Moore man first base if Chick Donnelly (.262,12,56) struggles. Astle is a nice pickup as well and if he can get back on track with a winning team behind him he could be a key piece down the stretch. At the very least he provides great injury insurance for Boston. The cost was one Boston could easily absorb as while they did move their first round pick and a top 100 prospect the Minutemen still own Washington's first rounder, which stands to be a much higher selection than Boston's own pick.

Adding a first round pick is never a bad thing and, despite the fact this draft class appears to be one of the weaker ones in recent memory, it is still another asset for the Foresters to add as they try to turn things around. Astle was struggling the past couple of seasons and Cleveland would not contend either with or without Moore so moving both makes sense as it allowed the Foresters to add a top-50 prospect like Sigmund. The Foresters are quietly collecting and developing young assets and the rebuild, which was a long time coming, finally seems to be in full swing. As mentioned above it would come as no surprise to see Cleveland move another veteran piece to one of the other contenders before the week is out. I am not sure Mel Carrol is going anywhere, and his stock is lower than it was a year ago at this time, but perhaps pitcher Dave Rankin finds a suitor, or a depth move by another club sees them add a Dan Fowler or George Dawson type.


WILL THE STARS MAKE A MOVE? -There is no questioning the strength of the New York offense but with the season ending injury to Chuck Cole recently the Stars pitching staff is further weakened. Will they make a move and can they possibly overtake the Cougars if they fail to add another solid arm? So far at least there is no indication the Stars having anything planned and sources within the organization do not believe New York will make a move.

The Federal Association is also surprisingly quiet at the deadline. The Boston Minutemen made their move but will any of Detroit, Chicago or Pittsburgh do something to try and match the Minutemen? They all have draft picks they could deal, and each has been known to do so but prospect depth, especially for Pittsburgh, is wearing thin. The Chiefs could move top 10 outfield prospect Joe Rutherford but they have dealt much of their future away in recent years so the question is how much more would they be willing to part with. Detroit is possibly the most desperate of the three clubs chasing Boston at the moment, as the Dynamos, unlike the Miners and Chiefs, do not have a recent pennant and are quite disappointed with three straight second place finishes. The recent injury to Sergio Gonzales has to hurt but is tempered by the continued success recently of Frank Crawford, who beat Boston 6-1 for his third straight victory after struggling upon return from his lengthy injury. Will Detroit look to add pitching depth or perhaps another bat in an attempt to finally get over the hump and win that elusive pennant?

My gut feeling is we won't see a lot happening this week for two reasons. First, there is not a lot out there, aside from possibly a few Foresters, that would be both available to a contender and of sufficient quality to provide them with an upgrade. We have seen less deadline movement in recent years for this very reason. The second point is very new and quite frankly I am not sure many clubs know how to prepare for it. There is little doubt that war is coming and when it does it is expected to have a major effect on FABL. We have seen a trickle of players, including Toronto Wolves star Fred McCormick, get called to service from the draft but it sounds like what we have seen will be just a drop in the bucket. When the faucet turns fully open it may well throw the balance of power in both associations upside down so many teams are afraid to move older players now because they may be all that is left for an organization if many of the players in their twenties get the call to arms. Strange times and they have left many FABL GM's overly cautious at a time when normally those in contention might elect to go all in.

COUGARS CONTINUE TO LEAD CONTINENTAL

The Chicago Cougars are the model of consistency this season as they regularly seem to win 4 out of 6 games each week and enjoy a 3.5 game lead on the New York Stars atop the Continental Association. While New York got off to an amazing 15-2 start before slowing in May, the Cougars have simply moved steadily along like a well oiled machine. Here are the Cougars records each of the first four months of the season:
They are nearly unbeatable at Cougars Park (38-14) but equally comfortable on the road (27-18) and it doesn't matter if you throw a righthander (32-18) or a southpaw (33-14) against them. So there really is no way to stop them. Only the Brooklyn Kings (5-5) have played .500 ball against the Cougars this season and the second place Stars have been close as Chicago is 7-6 vs the New Yorkers. Where the Cougars have feasted is on the second division particularly against Philadelphia (13-4) and Cleveland (16-2).

This pennant race is exciting in no small part because of two individual stories that really showcase the strength of each club. For the Cougars that strength is pitching led by the breakout season for 23 year old Pete Papenfus while New York is all about the offense and none show off that better than 21 year old Bill Barrett who one now has to consider the best player in the sport. It will be interesting to see how Papenfus and Barrett fare down the stretch.

Here we go again. We've seen the "Do something" demand from owner Leland Winthrop. That led to some changes. But now a year later the Gothams don't seem to have gotten anywhere. Sure they've won a few more games, but they still reside with the dregs of the Federal Association. They continue to bring in players who underperform, they continue to wait for prospects to develop. Now the word around Gothams Stadium is that one or both of GM Tom Ward or Manager Ed Ziehl could be on the way out. The cloud hanging over the big ballpark in Queens is starting to resemble the one hanging over Europe, despite the difference in relative importance of the two.

For the first time there is talk in Queens that Ed Ziehl's job as Manager of the New York Gothams may be in danger. While Ed is a team legend there are questions as to whether he is the man to develop young players. As an unnamed source explained, "Sure, Ed was great when handed a team of allstars and Hall of Fame pitchers, but the past few years have seen painfully slow development of a bevy of high draft picks. The team is stuck in a place somewhere below mediocre. Patience is wearing thin." Also brought into question is the coaching staff's inability to get their younger pitchers to hit the strike zone more often. This seems to be an issue throughout the organization where promising young pitchers continue to struggle.

When asked about these rumors Manager Ziehl brushed them off, "I don't have time for that garbage. We're working hard here everyday to win ballgames."

What is a team to do? Trade their better players? Or their better prospects? Or do they wait, and wait, and wait. Fans are grumbling. Average attendance is down from early season levels and general interest in the team is waning. Endless losing will do that. With everything going on in the world the best course of action may be to ride it out and see where it leads. If I had more info on what the team planned I'd pass it along, however at the moment there is only silence and closed doors in the Gothams offices.

1942 DRAFT PREVIEW PART THREE: HIGH SCHOOL HITTERS

Catchers dominate the top ten among high school hitters, at least in our rankings 6 months in advance of the 1942 draft. However, as a whole this group, much like the high school pitchers, leaves us wanting more as it feels like there is a clear shortage of high end talent coming out of the high school graduating class this season. That being said here are the top ten position players among high schoolers according to TWIFB with an assist from the OSA.

1- SAM LANTING 17 CF -Sulpher Springs (TX) HS :Hometown -Sulpher Springs, TX: Emerged on the high school scene this season as he made his debut as a junior, batting .485 with 4 homers and 31 rbi's in 24 games. Not sure the stats back it up but OSA feels the potential is there and Lanting has the skills to flourish as a big league center fielder.

2: CRAB CROWLEY C -Framingham (MA) HS : Hometown -Providence, RI: A two time first team All-America selection, Crowley has been very consistent his three seasons of high school ball. He is another in the growing list of talented ballplayers to come out of Rhode Island, a list highlighted by the 4 Pestilli brothers but also includes Montreal's Bill Greene and several solid minor league prospects. OSA sees Crowley as someone who can play a lot in the majors once he matures. He was ranked as the top position player in TWIFB's way too early mock 1942 draft last summer.

3: BOB SCHMELZ 2B - Dravosburg (PA) HS: Hometown - Charleroi, PA: Still just 16, Schmelz had a very strong freshman season and was an All-American selection as a sophomore but his numbers dipped slightly last season. OSA sees him as someone who could perhaps challenge for a batting title, tabbing him as a possible .350 hitter in his prime. The verdict from the scouting service is Schmelz will be an above average second baseman.

4: SAM CLARKE C - Crane HS, Chicago: Hometown -Chicago, IL: Another of the group of young catchers that OSA loves. Clarke does not have the offensive numbers of a player like Crowley but OSA still sees him A player who can be penciled in for a lion's share of starts behind the plate.

5: JACK SPAHR C - Mayfield (PA) HS: Hometown -Wellsburg, WV: High school numbers are a little better than Clarke's and he gets a similar scouting report. Looks like an average big league starter according to OSA.

6: MILT RADER OF - Stroud (OK) HS: Hometown -Seminole, OK: Bidding to become the fifth player selected out of Stroud High in the past 6 years but his stats are trending in the wrong direction as his batting average and on-base percentage have lowered each of his three seasons of high school ball. He was ranked 7th overall on our top 10 for his draft class report last July but has slid in the past year. Despite that OSA feels he has plus contact skills and an above average eye which should put him at a second division starter level.

7- IVEY HENLEY 1B - Phillipsburg (NJ) HS: Hometown -Brooklyn, NY: Made his high school debut as a junior this past season slashing .486/.554/.739. OSA sees the 17 year old as a consistent hitter with a disciplined plate approach that should make him a solid starter.

8- ART GOINS OF - Arlington (TX) HS: Hometown - Washington, DC: In a draft with a number of catchers ranked near the top of a class it is a bit of a surprise that the son of one of the best catchers ever to play the sport is an outfielder and not a catcher like his dad. Make no mistake - Art Goins is his own man and not T.R. Goins in really any form except for last name. The younger Goins is not the feared slugger his two-time Whitney Award winning father was in his prime but he did finish in the top ten among high school players nationally last season in on-base percentage while also posting a respectable .506 batting average in 20 games. He does have some power, with 5 homers and a .949 slugging percentage in his lone year of high school play in his father's hometown of Arlington, Texas but the center fielder appears to project as more a lead-off bat with decent speed and strike zone judgement rather than a slugger. OSA says he could hit .270 but the scouting service is not sold on Goins becoming a big league regular.

9- DUCKY COLE OF - Long Beach (CA) HS: Hometown -Long Beach, CA: In what feels like a down year all around, but especially on the west coast Ducky Cole is considered the top high school player from California but OSA is not sold on his chances of becoming a big league regular. One thing the 17 year old has going for him is his drive - he is described by his coach as a "baseball rat, he's the first one at the park and the last one to leave." Cole was an honourable mention All-American this past season as a junior after hitting .513 in his third season of high school play.

10- ROGER CLEAVES C - Hoboken (NJ) HS: Hometown -West New York, NJ: Brother of current Pittsburgh Miners stars George and Jack Cleaves has been a three year starter at his high school and cracked the top ten in our look at the '42 class a year ago. Cleaves clearly has great bloodlines, he is the grandson of the legendary manager George Theobald and scouting guru Rufus Barrell in addition to being a half brother to the Pittsburgh duo. Despite those bloodlines OSA downplays Cleaves potential impact, grading him as a below average catcher and hitter. However, the class is weak and we expect Cleaves will be selected in January and quite possibly in the first round.

Next issue we will turn our focus even further into the future and give you a glimpse at the early favourites to be top selections in the 1943 draft.

QUICK HITS

• In a completely too early look at Whitney contenders, this is how Percy Sutherland sees things: In the FA, there is no one who is having a clearly dominating season. I see two groups forming. At the top you have: Mahlon Strong, Bill Burkett, Sal Pestilli, and Ron Rattigan. Just after them comes Walt Messer, Red Johnson, and Bobby Barrell. And in the CA, of course, there is Bill Barrett, getting your 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place votes all to himself.
• Barrett is on pace to generate over 96 batting runs (BatR). Max Morris had 4 seasons with more than 100 batting runs, including an incredible 122.7 in 1921 (.411/.511/.785, 53 HR, wRC+ 247). Without digging through all the seasons, I'm going out on a limb and saying that this is the record. Kellogg's best was 100.6 BatR in 1933 (.390/.457/.684, 45 HR, 211 wRC+).
• Lloyd Stevens of the Philadelphia Keystones is 8-11 this year with half of his wins being shutouts. The 25 year old also tied for the Fed lead in shutouts last season with 4.
• Oh, the fickle New York media. Last Monday (see column above) they were calling for the heads of their long-time GM as well as franchise legend of a manager Ed Ziehl and demanding a trade of the struggling Gus Goulding (7-11, 4.37) but after a 4-2 week that included a pair of wins over the Pittsburgh Miners it sounds like everyone is happy in the Gothams front office once again. The Gothams have been very good at times (a 19-13 stretch starting at the beginning of May) but also very bad (a 5-16 slump in June). Truth is the Gothams are simply not as good as the May version and not as bad as the June version of their club. New York is an improving club but they are still well below the top four teams in the Fed. The Gothams have had some success against Detroit this season, winning 7 of 10 but against the other Big Three in the Fed the Gothams are a combined 17-30.

• In a plea to the nation, President Roosevelt asked Congress to declare a National emergency as a means of retaining selectees and National Guardsmen in active service for the duration of the emergency. In a message to Congress and the world, FDR warned that America's Army would begin to disintegrate within the next two months unless Congress acts.
• On the Eastern Front, Germany is claiming that 6 Russian divisions were "annihilated" and that a "large number of Soviet divisions are trapped and in danger of being crushed" in the area north of Vitebak. The Nazis continue to throw increased manpower at the Soviet Russia forces. Nazi bombs also blasted a huge crater near the US Embassy in Moscow as they close in on Russia's capital city.
• Things are heating up in the Far East as Japan reaches an agreement to occupy French naval bases in the area which prompts the United States to move into the Philippines and take command of that commonwealths forces for the duration of the emergency. Japan is increasing it's warship presence in Indo-China, to the point where they now have double the number of warships that Britain has in Asiatic waters off of Saigon. Britain also renounced all trade pacts with Tokio.
• Scrap metal drives are being organized with incredible response across the country to gather old pots, pans, even farm equipment to be repurposed and used in the construction of airplanes, weapons and other war material.
  
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Special 1941 Trade Deadline Issue
 

EDITOR'S NOTE - The reason for the lack of updates is FABL is on a 1 week shutdown while our league commissioner is on vacation. We are paused at a point just a few days before the 1941 trade deadline and the season will resume next Monday. However, since we are at the deadline some General Managers have been busy so here is a special update on moves made over the weekend.


There is no questioning the desire of Boston Minutemen brass to end the longest pennant drought in the Federal Association as the club made it's second major deal in advance of this week's trade deadline. This one sees the Boston nine add a pair of veterans from the Philadelphia Sailors in exchange for a prospect and a bevy of draft picks. Coming to Beantown are two-time all-star outfielder Joe Watson (.322,6,49) and 1940 Allen Award winning pitcher Walt Wells (11-6, 3.56). In return the suddenly rebuilding Sailors add 22 year old righthander Junius Davies and 4 draft picks: Boston's 2nd, 4th, 5th and 10th round selections.

The two now ex-Sailors will join 31 year old pitcher Dean Astle and 30 year old first baseman Bill Moore, both acquired yesterday from Cleveland, as newcomers in the Boston lineup. The 32 year old Watson is a premier FABL hitter, boasting a lifetime .301 batting average for his career. He spent his first four seasons in Baltimore before moving to the Sailors as a waiver pickup in 1937 and was an all-star game selection in 1939 and again this season. Wells, 33, enjoyed the best season of his career last year when he won 20 games and the Allen Award as the top hurler in the Continental Association. A two-time all-star selection he owns a 93-60 career FABL record.

Junius 'Junebug' Davies was Boston's 6th round pick in last month's FABL draft after posting a 12-2 season for Talmadge State. The 21 year old has looked very solid in 3 starts at Class C Hattiesburg, posting a 1-1 record and a 0.73 era. OSA feels he is projected to be a mid-rotation piece.

JIGGS MCGEE'S TAKE :I love the aggressiveness of the Minutemen, who are more than overdue for a pennant and have come up short down the stretch a number of times in recent years. With the mound additions of Wells and Astle, plus the bats of Moore and Watson there is no questioning Boston's depth. The only question I have is where are these four going to fit in an already deep lineup and pitching rotation but that is the type of problem Boston bench boss Bill Boshart, or any other big league manager for that matter, would love to deal with. I also have to commend the Minutemen front office for acquiring those 4 players without surrendering their lone top 100 prospect in teenage shortstop Billy Bryan or the potentially very high first round pick they acquired from the Washington Eagles earlier in the month for minor league shortstop Al Gross.

Davies looks like a bargain as a 6th round pick based on his quick start and the Sailors organization has done wonders with developing pitchers over the years so I fully expect him to prosper in the Philadelphia organization. The Sailors traded another veteran in first baseman Dick Walker a month ago and with this latest move it appears management has recognized the need to reset things. While the club has finished below .500 only once since their last of three straight pennants in 1930, they have slid slowly down the standings the past few seasons. It seems almost assured the Sailors will finish below .500 for just the second time since 1923 but the club has always possessed a prosperous minor league system and one has to expect their stay in the second division will be a brief one.

FORESTERS MAKE TWO MORE MOVES

The long anticipated rebuild in Cleveland is in full swing as the Foresters made two more trades today and have moved 4 veterans in the past two days. First it was pitcher Dean Astle and first baseman Bill Moore going to Boston while today the news was George Dawson and Mel Carrol (.325,11,50) were both leaving town. Dawson was dealt to Detroit for a mid-level prospect and a 6th round pick while Carrol was dispatched along with a second round pick to the Washington Eagles in exchange for Leon Blackridge and three prospects.

The Carrol deal sees the 29 year old third baseman return to the club he began his FABL career with and became a star for in 1937 when he hit .409, becoming the first player to top the magical .400 mark since the legendary Max Morris hit .418 in 1925. Carrol won the Whitney Award that year and made the first of four consecutive all-star appearances. It was a shock to many when the Eagles sent him to Cleveland at the 1938 deadline and while Washington is not in contention this deal feels like it rights a wrong the Eagles made three years ago. The price was stiff as Leon Blackridge (.278,1,35) is a highly touted but often injured third baseman and 22 year old Bill Martino -one of the three prospects Cleveland receives - is a very good pitching prospect who was originally drafted out of high school in the third round in 1937. Martino, who is 7-12, 3.96 on the year at AAA Kansas City, is presently listed as #28 on the OSA prospect list. The Eagles also surrendered a pair of Class A players who are ranked just outside the top 150 prospects by OSA in 20 year old third baseman Wally Fuller and 21 year old first baseman Walt Knight.

JIGGS MCGEE's TAKE :While neither move was unexpected the destination for Carrol caught many by surprise. Most had expected if, well more a case of when, the Foresters dealt Carrol it would be to one of the big 4 teams in the Fed but Washington really is the ideal destination for Carrol. He was an extremely popular player in D.C. and will be welcomed back by a fan base, that while still very fickle about the Eagles, is growing in attendance this year and may approach 800,000 for the first time since 1827. The cost was expensive as I think Blackridge, if he can stay healthy, is going to be a very good infielder and Martino has high potential. I also have always liked the 20 year old prospect Wally Fuller so Cleveland adds some nice pieces.

DAWSON TO DETROIT

In Dawson the Detroit Dynamos land a 30 year old who was once considered one of the best defensive shortstops in the Continental Association but had lost his starting job in Cleveland this season after struggles both at the plate and in the field. A .298 career hitter, Dawson batted .308 as recently as 1939 but slumped to .247 a year ago and was hitting just .233 as a spare part this season. His defense has also tailed off substantially this year but whether that is a case of declining skills or just rust because of seeing such limited action remains to be seen. In Detroit he will have an opportunity to wrestle the Dynamos starting shortstop job away from the light hitting but defensively gifted Gil London and the move reunites Dawson with his old GM from his glory days in Cleveland.

In return Cleveland picks up Detroit's 6th round pick and 20 year old Class B second baseman Jackie Potts. A 1939 third round pick, Potts is hitting .284 this season at Chattanooga and is no way considered a sure-fire big league prospect.

JIGGS MCGEE'S TAKE :Cleveland was not dealing in a position of strength with the veteran middle infielder so the Foresters got what they could for Dawson and likely had no other offers worth considering beyond Detroit. It is a low risk gamble for the Dynamos to see if Dawson can regain his form. There is still a little time left but after the moves Boston made, Detroit fans have to be left wondering "is this all we are going to do" in an effort to get over the hump and win a pennant after three straight second place finishes.

BLUEGRASS STATE WINS 1941 AIAA NATIONAL TITLE

Highlighted by Christian Trophy winning pitcher Bob Arman (11-1, 1.75) and fellow sophomore and second team All-American selection Ernie McCoy (.311,7,46) the Bluegrass State Mustangs went 47-15 to win the AIAA title. Joining McCoy, who like Arman is expected to be a 1942 first round pick, in the Bluegrass State outfield were juniors Gussie Almond (.317,3,33), a 5th round pick of Pittsburgh last month and Washington's 23rd round pick Don Phillips (.272,5,29).

They have two other future draft eligible players freshman 2B Walt Conner (.304,1,36) and sophomore first baseman Stan Mish (.277,7,48). Conner is a highly touted prospect for the 1943 draft. Joining Arman, who is projected to go #1 overall next January in the Mustangs rotation this past season were a pair of drafted players in Bruce Anderson (7-6, 3.57) and Orville Fowler (4-7,4.57). Anderson was taken in the 6th round by Toronto while Fowler was a 12th round selection by the Chicago Chiefs.

Miami State finished second with Opelika State, Huntington State and Maryland State rounding out the top 5. The first three were well represented on the All-American team as freshman first baseman Bucky Scheffer and junior outfielder Orie Martinez represented the second rank Gulls on the first team. Fourth place finishers Huntington State placed junior Hank Eason, a first round pick of Montreal's, and freshman Gordon Klein on the first team while the third place school, Opelika State was led by sophomore outfielder Dick Chamberlain, a second team selection.

EDITOR'S NOTE - We are not using feeders anymore but TWIFB has come up with a ranking system based on the stats of draft prospect players to create a W-L record for each of the roughly 90 AIAA schools deemed to be playing at the 'Great' competition level. As a result TWIFB will annually present the season ending top ten in the AIAA.
And here are the AIAA national champions going back to it's debut in 1910

USO GETS $53,000 FROM ALL-STAR GAME

Washington, July 28 (INS)- The All-Star major league baseball game in Brooklyn July 8 resulted in a net profit of $53,226.27 which has been donated to the United Service Organizations, the office of FABL President Sam Belton announced today.

Attendance at the game was 32,000 and gross receipts totaled $63,267.08. Expenses incident to putting on the game were $10,040.81 (including $950 for "rain insurance").

• U.S. national sales levy now looms along with a cut in tax exemptions as the House considers a new revenue bill to help fund defense spending. The chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee warned that the new bill will be offered soon and predicted it may include a general sales tax and lowering of exemptions to create millions of new direct taxpayers.
• Russia claims to have routed a Nazi Division in a 13 day battle on the Finnish front while Berlin is reporting the Nazis are close to victory in a battle near Smolensk.
• Panic is setting in on the Tokio Stock Exchange after prices toppled, forcing the government to order funds be advanced to halt the market collapse.
• At least 57 are dead across the east and midwest following a torrid heat wave but relief is on the way at least for the east coast in the form of expected rainfall.
• Screen star Judy Garland and 31 year old composer and orchestra leader Dave Rose were married in Las Vegas after an airplane elopement from Hollywood.
  
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August 4, 1941 We are back. Week long vacation is over!
 

August 4, 1941

DYNAMOS CLOSING IN ON BOSTON

Like a modern day Paul Revere, many Minutemen fans on the street corners and taverns in Boston could be heard wailing 'The Dynamos are coming! The Dynamos are coming!' as Detroit closed the gap on their beloved ballclub. Such dire warnings have become an all too familiar refrain at this time of year in Boston as the Minutemen have already several times this decade, enjoyed a lead atop the Federal Association in July only to be bitten by the dog days as the season headed for the homestretch.

There are reinforcements on their way as Boston will have four recent trade acquisitions in pitchers Dean Astle and Walt Wells as well as first baseman Bill Moore and outfielder Joe Watson available today as they start the week with a series against Pittsburgh, plus Bob Donoghue's wonky knee has been pronounced fit for duty and he has been cleared to play for the first time in two months. Boston will need all hands on deck to try and get things rolling again after a missed opportunity this week as they dropped three of five games to second division residents St Louis and New York. This after they allowed Detroit to waltz in to Cunningham Field a week ago and take two out of three games from the hometown nine.

The Dynamos, perhaps surprisingly after three straight second place finishes, elected not to make any major upgrades at the deadline. Whether they were unwilling or simply unable to find a suitable trade partner beyond the move that brought the struggling George Dawson north from Cleveland is uncertain. Perhaps the best move in Detroit's case is indeed the one they did not make as the Dynamos stars might have taken the inaction as a vote of confidence in their current clan, and rewarded management's faith with three consecutive series wins, including the aforementioned showing in Boston last week, to close to within two games of the front-running New Englanders.

One thing is certain: The Federal Association pennant race has a lot of life left in it and plenty of ups and downs expected, not just for Boston and Detroit but the Chicago Chiefs and even the defending champs from Pittsburgh, presently 6 games back, are still very much in the race. Boston is in the catbird seat but they have been there before and come up short. 'This time feels different,' says many a Boston booster, although sounding unsure if even he believes his own words. In an effort to end a title drought of over two and a half decades the Minutemen made the most noise at the deadline. Now they have to do it on the field...and three losses in 5 games at home to a pair of basement dwellers hardly instills confidence they are up to the task.

COUGARS STRETCH LEAD IN CA
The Chicago Cougars are threatening to run away with the Continental Association race. Winners of 7 of their last 9 contests, the Cougars have opened up a 5.5 game lead on second place New York after the Stars limped out of Toronto with three losses in a 4-game weekend series. Chicago is firing on all cylinders with a 46-18 record since May 24, a stretch that kicked off with 4 straight wins over the Stars. New York has been nearly as good during that stretch, posting a 40-29 mark, but the showing in Canada this weekend has made their task of trying to claim a second Continental crown in the past three seasons just a little bit more difficult.

1942 PROJECTED TOP TEN PROSPECTS

The 1942 draft class feels to be, at least among first round possibilities, one of the weakest of the post-feeder era. Now that could certainly change when the late arrivals appear in January and perhaps it is just perception, rather than reality, brought on by the fact this draft does not have multiple elite players that have been anticipated for at least a year and longer in many cases.

For example last season at this time everyone was looking at Hiram Steinberg as the next big thing in baseball while slugger Otto Christian and and pitcher Tom Buchanan also received plenty of attention. In 1940 it was Bill Sohl and Dick Blaszak. Going back to earlier this decade there was often debate between Sal Pestilli and Walt Messer one year and then Deuce Barrell and Red Johnson the next. The point is there always seemed to at least two dominant players but not this year. There are still some players OSA sees as quality big leaguers but this draft appears, at least at this stage of the scouting process, to lack that dominant star beyond Bob Arman.

Here are the players we would rank, with OSA's input, as the Top Ten at this stage.
As a comparison here is who we projected as the top ten of the 1942 draft a year ago when they were still a year and a half away from their draft day:
Bob Arman of Bluegrass State has remained at the top of the list and probably the best recent comparisons for Arman are fellow college hurlers Vic Carroll and Bill Sohl, who were selected first overall in 1939 and second overall in 1940 respectively.

Here is what OSA had to say about each of them in the months leading up to their draft.
And here are the college stats each has amassed with the note that Arman still has his junior season remaining to be played.
Barring a late addition to the draft pool with an incredible report one has to believe Arman is a lock to be the number one choice in the draft. The only question is does the recent serious injuries suffered by both Carroll and Sohl, jeopardizing their careers, cast doubt on the viability of selecting a pitcher first overall? Usually teams feel pretty safe taking a college arm, while perhaps a little more tentative on high school pitchers, but will that change this time around?

A LOOK AHEAD AT THE TOP PROSPECTS FOR THE 1943 DRAFT

Unlike the 1942 class the group for 1943 appears to be much deeper, at least at this stage of the scouting process. One could easily add 25 names to this list so we will expand it to include enough players to cover more than just the first round. Here is a very early look at the top 20 players eligible for the 1943 draft

It will be interesting to follow and compare Jim Adams Jr. and Homer Mills over the next couple of seasons. Each was an All-American selection at shortstop this past season with Mills making the first team and Adams settling for second team honours but the St. Ignatius youngster Adams gets the nod as the top prospect according to OSA very early rankings. Adams dad was a long-time FABL player, primarily as a reserve infielder but did play 777 big league games over parts of 12 seasons with the Keystones and Toronto.

As a comparison here was our first attempt at projecting the 1943 draft class. It was done in August of last year.

QUICK HITS

• Keystones pick up 5 wins against a single loss this week, which was the first one out of the gate. Davey Robicheaux picked up Rookie of the Month honors as his position has risen in the order to the 3 spot in between Billy Woytek and Bobby Barrell. Philadelphia is still four games under .500, but the Keys will travel to Pittsburgh for three over the weekend to try to close the gap on fourth place.
• A positive for the New York Gothams has been the play of Walt Messer (.327,19,66), who had a huge July and is now among the Fed leaders in homeruns and batting average. A former two-time National High School player of the year, the 23 year old may finally be starting to live up to the huge expectations many had for him when he was selected second overall in 1936.
• Toronto continues its close, extra inning woes. 10-25 in one run games, 2-11 in extras. The team is surprising bad against RHP starters, 10-26. New goal is to finish in the first division by passing Cincinnati, even that could be a stretch goal. Management will also begin evaluation of the entire system which has already begun with two players given their pink slips. With the rumours of an upcoming draft and the possibility of entering the European conflict some players may remain in the system to provide warm bodies during 1942.
• The weird thing about Washington slugger Sig Stofer is that he apparently hates hitting in garbage time. Small sample size, but in 88 'high leverage' at-bats, he's posted an OPS of 1.006, which is a gain of more than .300 points compared to his .701 'Low Leverage' at bats.
• It is hard to believe that the Washington Eagles are 8-3 against Fed front-runner Boston this season but just 13-20 vs second division mates New York and St Louis. Attendance is up substantially in the nation's capital but despite that the Eagles, at 23-28, own the worst home record in the Fed. There are some positives in Washington, such as a very impressive 22-13 record in one run games, but the offense and starting pitching are bad once again this season and a 12th straight second division finish seems very likely.
  
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AROUND THE LEAGUE

Jiggs McGee takes a look around FABL with a quick comment or two on each of the 16 clubs. This time around it is an update on how each of the first round picks are doing after their first month or so of professional baseball:

BOSTON- The Minutemen selected high school shortstop Billy Bryant 8th overall and he is ranked #16 on the OSA prospect list. The 18 year old has played a dozen games at Class C Hattiesburg and is batting .238 but displaying some decent skills with his glove.

BROOKLYN- Orie Martinez was the first college player selected at 5th overall by the Kings. The 21 year old former Miami State outfielder got his pro start at Class B Tampa. He is struggling early with a .224 batting average after 24 games but is the Kings #3 prospect and ranked 21st overall by OSA.

CHIEFS- The Chiefs dealt both their first and second round picks (and their fourth as well) so their top new draft pick is regional round 3 selection Frank Stephens. The 18 year old is not thought of too highly by OSA as he did not crack the top 500 prospects and is actually listed as only the 61st ranked prospect in a weak Chiefs system. That being said the second baseman is off to a decent start at Class Waterloo, batting .296 after 19 games with the baby Chiefs.

COUGARS- Slugging third baseman Otto Christian, once considered a candidate for the first overall selection, fell to the Cougars at pick 13. The Walla Walla Walloper is #51 on the OSA prospect list and after belting 57 homers in 110 career high school games, he already has 4 in 12 pro games while batting .262 for Class C La Crosse.

CINCINNATI- The Cannons had 2 first round picks at one point but dealt them both to Montreal in the Adam Mullins trade so Cincinnati's top selections were a pair of second rounder Claude Hesser and Win Hamby. The 21 year old Hesser is struggling in the early going at Class C Burlington, batting just .205 after two dozen games and slots in at #251 on OSA's list. Hamby, an 18 year old shortstop, is 100th on the OSA list and was sent to Class B Charleston to begin his career, but is struggling at that level with a .172 batting average through 24 games but his defensive play has looked very solid.

CLEVELAND- First overall pick Hiram Steinberg rewrote the high school record book and made his pro debut with a very nice outing for Class C Ottumwa of the Upper Mississippi Valley Association. No decision in his debut but he went 9 and a third while allowing just 1 run on 5 hits and fanning 7. Thru 5 starts with the Owls he is 2-2 with a 4.20 era and ranked the #2 prospect in all of baseball by OSA.

DETROIT- 18 year old outfielder Hal Renard was selected 14th by Detroit and debuted as the Dynamos top prospect in the eyes of OSA, at #35 overall. He is hitting .200 after close to a month at Class Biloxi.

MONTREAL- Thanks to some trades the Montreal Saints owned 4 first round picks in #3 Gordie Perkins, #4 Bert Cupid, #10 Hal Eason and #11 Mel Franklin. Perkins is considered the best shortstop prospect in the game today (9th overall by OSA) and has split his time between Class B and C, batting .240 in his first 18 games as a pro. Cupid is an 18 year old righthander from Youngstown nicknamed The Buckeye Bullet. He has struggled, going 1-3 with a 6.20 era at Class C Dubuque, but is ranked #22 overall on the OSA prospect list. Eason is a 22 year old outfielder from Huntington State who was born in Montreal when his father was starring in the Saints outfield. He has struggled early at Class B Mobile, batting .179 after 19 games with the Monarchs. OSA thinks very little of catcher Mel Franklin and did not place him in their top 500 prospect list. Franklin is batting .232 after 18 games at Class C.

NY STARS- The Stars selected high school pitcher Larry Gregory 9th overall and he is considered by OSA to be their top pitching prospect at #40 overall. The Chicago native has made 5 starts at Class Alexandria, going 2-0 with a 3.09 era.

NY GOTHAMS- For the third year in a row the Gothams dealt their first and second round picks meaning regional selection Glenn Carney was their top choice. The 18 year New York City native is off to a strong start at Class C Rock Island, batting .300 through 24 games with the Steamboats. A shortstop, he did not crack the OSA top 500 prospect list.

KEYSTONES- For the second year in a row the Keystones selected a pitcher before he pitched his first high school game. It seems to have worked out quite well with Joe Quade last season and the Keystones are seeing a fast start out of this years selection - 18 year old Sid Moulton from Eastlake, Ohio. Moulton just signed recently and the 12th overall pick is 1-0 with a 1.38 era in 2 starts at Class C. Moulton is ranked #107 on the OSA prospect list.

SAILORS- Outfielder Ernie Grout, an 18 year old outfielder out of Rochester, New York was the Sailors first rounder, selected 7th overall. He is off to a hot start at Class B Miami of the Southeastern League, batting .322 and recently hit his first career professional homerun. OSA has Grout at #74 on their prospect list.

PITTSBURGH- Cincinnati native George Darnell was the Miners first selection, as the defending Federal Association champs selected the 18 year old shortstop 16th overall. Darnell has played 24 games at Class C Jackson of the Gulf States League and is batting .226. OSA slots him in at #101 on their prospect list.

ST LOUIS- The Pioneers loaded up on high school pitching in this draft, using each of their first five picks on young arms with the best of the bunch being #2 overall Tom Buchanan. The lefthander from Waterloo, Iowa is ranked #6 overall by OSA and is 1-2 with a solid 2.90 era after 4 starts for Class C Moline of the UMVA. He also has 25 strikeouts and just 7 walks in 31 innings of work.

TORONTO- Toronto went with high school shortstop John Fast with the 15th pick of the draft and he is presently ranked #15 on the OSA prospect list. The last time the Wolves selected a shortstop in the first round was 1934 and it worked out pretty well for them as that player was Charlie Artuso, who likely will block Fast's path to the big leagues for quite some time. Fast is hitting .333 after 20 games at Class C Tuscaloosa and getting some playing time at both second and third base as well as his natural shortstop position.

WASHINGTON- The Eagles drafted 18 year old outfielder Jesse Alvardo 6th overall. Born in Mexico, 'The Hidalgo Kid" moved with his family to Brooklyn when he was a child and is ranked #105 on the OSA prospect list. He made his debut at Class B and while batting just .224 has showed some of the power he displayed at Brooklyn's Canarsie High School by hitting 3 homers in 19 games with Everett of the C-O-W League.

• While the focus has been on the Eastern Front of late, Prime Minister Churchill said he feels a Nazi invasion of England could come within the month. He adds the United States "is advancing to the very verge of war," but warns that neither Russia nor the United States would win the war for Britain.
• Russian forces reported to have great success on the Finnish front, driving the Nazis back in the new two week old battle. Stalin's forces are also said to be holding strong protecting Leningrad but Hitler is reinforcing his army with the addition of Italian troops in the war against Soviet Russia and Berlin is claiming a great victory at Smolensk.
• The United States and British Navies have established a parallel patrol of the Atlantic Ocean to ensure nothing will be allowed to interfere with an "endless assembly belt" stretching from the US to Britain to insure delivery of American war material.
• After Japan issues a decree under which the army is empowered to invoke emergency law at any time it teams necessary the Tokio Stock Exchange went into a panic as prices toppled across the board.
• The Japanese Government froze assets from many countries including the US and Britain prompting widespread response from British and American companies including Standard Oil halting oil shipments and Hollywood motion picture companies suspending distribution of American movies to Japan.
• Japan issued an informal apology after dropping bombs on a US gunboat at Chungking that damaged the ship but did not injury any American sailors. The United States rejected the apology after the ship was hit while docked in a neutral, safe area.
• Police in Argentina say they smashed a Nazi plot to overthrow the present government. Nine persons were arrested and a large quantity of propaganda documents were seized.
• Gas stations all along the east coast have been ordered open only for reduced hours in an effort to conserve gasoline consumption.
  
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August 11, 1941
 

AUGUST 11, 1941

COUGARS THREATENING TO END CA RACE VERY EARLY

With 11 wins in their last 14 games there appears no slowing the Chicago Cougars down. At 73-34 on the season the Cougars are on pace to 105 games, which would be the first time over the century mark for the Cougars and a new Continental Association record for victories, topping the 1929 Philadelphia Sailors total of 103. 105 wins would also equal the 1895 New York Gothams FABL record.

The Cougars did suffer a defeat last week but only one, dropping the opener of a three game set with the Brooklyn Kings after winning twice in Montreal. The Brooklyn defeat was also a rare loss for Pete Papenfus (16-5, 3.05), who was cruising along until he came unglued in the 7th inning, allowing 4 Brooklyn runs - all coming with 2 out - on 5 Kings hits and a walk. One can excuse Peter the Heater for a rare misstep as he was disrupted from his normal routing, having undergone his first of two pre-draft physicals just 24 hours before his 25th start of the season.

The Kings have moved into second place, albeit 8 games back, after sweeping a pair from slumping New York prior to their visit to the Windy City. Lost quietly in all of the talk around the Cougars Papenfus and Bill Barrett of the New York Stars is the fact that Brooklyn outfielder Al Wheeler (.313,16,51) - a five time Whitney Award winner - is enjoying his best season since 1938. As for the Stars, August has been particularly cruel to the New Yorkers, winners of just 2 of 9 contests this month but 4 of the losses have been by just a single run and two others by only a pair. 21 year old Bill Barrett (.378,29,97) has been one of the few Stars unaffected by the August slump as he continues to hold a rather healthy lead in all three triple crown categories.

DYNAMOS TIE BOSTON FOR TOP SPOT IN FED
No need to look at the calendar to determine it is August as a mere glance at the fate of the Boston Minutemen of late will let you know the baseball season is veering towards the homestretch. The Minutemen, who seem to fade after the All-Star break every year, lost 4 of 7 and have given up their solo hold on top spot in the Fed, allowing Detroit to make up 4 and a half games over the past 13 days and pull even with Boston for the lead. After a 19-9 June the Minutemen had a 7 game lead atop the Fed on July 2nd but since then have gone 15-21. Mound newcomers Dean Astle and Walt Wells both pitched very well but each lost in their Boston debuts with Astle falling 3-2 to the Keystones and Wells dropping a tough 1-0 decision to Charlie Stedman and the Pittsburgh Miners. Wells did finish the week with a win, beating Washington 3-2 yesterday to allow the Minutemen to keep pace with Detroit.

The Dynamos were uncharacteristically quiet at the trade deadline but have won seven of their last nine ballgames behind some terrific mound work of late from Joe Shaffner (9-6, 2.51), who has allowed 2 runs or less in each of his last six starts, and the hitting of outfielder Sid Williams (.301,16,44), who is batting .400 with 3 homers already in August. After sweeping a pair in Boston, the two-time defending Fed champs from Pittsburgh are also still very much in the mix as they sit just 3 games off the pace.

ARMY PHYSICAL FOR PAPENFUS

Chicago, Aug. 7 (INS)-Pete Papenfus, baseball's leading pitcher, was called to a doctor's office today for a preliminary physical draft examination. If pronounced fit, the 23 year old Chicago Cougars ace will undergo a later test by Army doctors before being inducted.

Selective service officials there was little change of the Missouri native wearing a soldier's uniform before the end of the season. His board 20 number is 2,857 and less than 2,500 registrants have been classified.

"It's matter of weeks before he will be classified," Dr. W.L. Townsend, one of the board members, said recently. "We're not even close to Papenfus."

Papenfus received his questionnaire June 7. He has won 16 games for the Cougars so far this season.

GRIDIRON STAR KNOX BEGINS SERVICE

Selective service is hitting other sports, and not just baseball, quite hard as well. The latest of many professional football stars to join the military is Brooklyn Football Kings quarterback Tom Knox. The 1939 All-American from Cumberland had been bothered by a knee injury but it has healed sufficiently that he passed his second physical and will join the Army this week.

Other football news comes out of the college ranks and has many conferences considering a new rule to allow freshman to play. Several schools have already indicated without freshman they will be unable to field a team this season due to the number of players that have left to join the army or navy.

QUICK HITS

• 1-6 week for the Keystones and, what's worse, Bobby Barrell tore up his ankle -- out for the year. .315-256-1258 with 2090 hits in 1617 games and still just 31 years old but one has to wonder with the country seemingly on the verge of being drawn into the storm brewing overseas whether Barrell will be holding a bat or a rifle come April. 1941 was a resurgent season for Bobby (.281/.333/.507, 23 HR, 88 RBI) as those wrist problems caused by a gunshot wound many years ago seem solidly behind him. Barrell was injured chasing a line drive off the bat of Pittsburgh's Jack Cleaves in the bottom of the 1st.
• Barrell was not the only injury of note last week as Pittsburgh catcher George Cleaves (.324,5,55) missed much of the week with a sore arm and pitcher George Philips (6-13, 4.23) disappointing season with the Miners now sees the 30 year old righthander head to the disabled list with elbow troubles. Cleaves has been cleared to return to action this week but Philips is expected to miss at least two more weeks. The Miners Mahlon Strong (.363,15,73) and George's brother Jack Cleaves (.276,5,43) also got banged up a bit this week and while both injuries are considered minor, any ailment with either of those two has the potential to develop into something much more serious.

1942 DRAFT PREVIEW
A LOOK BACK AT THE 1931 DRAFT

TWIFB does not have a lot of notes from the 1931 draft but what we do have clearly indicated there was some high end talent at the top but little else beyond the first dozen or so players and as time has gone by that has certainly proven to be the case.

We had a mock top ten but that is about it and here is what it looked like a couple of months prior to draft day.

As it turned out that was a pretty good list with only Taylor, along with perhaps Haynes and Boismenu not quite living up to expectations. Here is how the first round actually panned out with some thoughts on each selection and we will finish off with the very few later round surprises that emerged.

PICK 1: CLEVELAND FORESTERS: Harry Barrell SS - There was likely a fair bit of debate between selecting Barrell, the youngest member of baseball's first family, or Christian Trophy winning second baseman Freddie Jones out of Central Ohio. As it turned out there was no wrong choice but perhaps the Foresters might have been better taking the second sacker Jones because they already had a rising young star at shortstop in George Dawson. It was the presence of Dawson that was a key reason in the Foresters decision to move Barrell to Brooklyn where he would team up with his brothers Tom, Fred and Dan with the Kings. In the end both Dawson and Harry earned themselves a WCS title and some all-star appearances but a decade later Barrell is the better player of the two. Jones has also faded of late.

PICK 2: ST LOUIS PIONEERS: Freddie Jones 2B - As mentioned above Jones has faded of late as he enters his thirties but not until after several seasons as one of the best players in the game. He led the AIAA in batting in 1930 and would also win 2 batting titles in the Federal Association to go along with the 1935 Whitney Award. Injuries possibly prevented him from more awards but Jones is a 5-time all-star and still a solid player with the Chicago Cougars after his trade from St Louis prior to the 1939 season.

PICK 3: TORONTO WOLVES: Bernie Johnson P - In hindsight George Cleaves would have been the better choice here but you can't fault the Wolves for taking Johnson, who was 11-1 and a first team All-American as a sophomore at Northern Cal before slumping a bit in his draft year. He is now a 10 year veteran and a dependable piece in a solid Toronto rotation, although it has slumped a bit this season after winning a WCS title last year.

PICK 4: PITTSBURGH MINERS: George Cleaves C -Some might argue Cleaves is the best player to come out of the 1931 draft and it would be a very close call between him and Harry Barrell. 6 all-star game appearances and a Whitney Award in 1939 as he has helped lead Pittsburgh to 3 Federal Association pennants. You can't blame the Miners post-season failures on George as he has been solid with a .294 average in 14 October games.

PICK 5: MONTREAL SAINTS: Bill May CF -The Saints had a great 1931 draft for taking outfielders drafting May, Red Bond and Al Tucker in the first three rounds. May would be dealt to Brooklyn while still in the minors in the ill-fated deal that brought Milt Fritz to Montreal and then later reunited with the GM that drafted him as they both paired up to win a pair of WCS titles with the Chicago Chiefs. He has made 3 all-star teams and led his association in stolen baes twice. Bond, meanwhile, has become an all-star outfielder in his own right with Montreal as has Tucker, who was traded to St Louis as a minor leaguer along with Heinie Zimmer in a deal that sent Tom Bird and 1931 second round pick Jake DeYoung to the Saints.

PICK 6: WASHINGTON EAGLES: Sam Brown OF -Brown was a great college hitter and a second team All-American selection at Pierpont before continuing along the same path in the big leagues. At age 30 he is a two-time all-star with over 1000 FABL games under his belt and a .315 career batting average.

PICK 7: PHILADELPHIA SAILORS: Marcel Boismenu 3B - The choices begin to get a lot slimmer from here on out so while I am sure the Sailors really wanted George Cleaves to team up with his older brother Jack in Philadelphia it did not happen, although they eventually did team up in Pittsburgh. Boismenu was a Quebec kid who went to Pittsburgh to play his high school ball. A smooth hitting third baseman he never managed to earn the starting role with the Sailors but with the recent trade of Dick Walker to the Cougars, Boismenu has moved across the diamond and is now the Sailors everyday first baseman. He is putting up solid numbers too, batting .321 on the season at the time of this writing.

PICK 8: CHICAGO CHIEFS: Joe Hunt P -Our first clear miss of the draft as the Chiefs gambled that Hunt's strong high school senior season (7-0, 1.06) was more indicative of his skillset than a pair of subpar years prior to that. He spent 4 seasons in Class C followed by a pair of years at the B level and was out of the game by age 25.

PICK 9: BROOKLYN KINGS: Dixie Lee P -Only third overall selection Bernie Johnson and Jake DeYoung, who was the second pick of round two by St Louis, have won more FABL games than the 41 victories Lee presently owns so it was not a deep class for pitchers. Lee, who's career is presently on hold after he was the first FABL player drafted into military service, had a pair of pretty good seasons for St Louis in 1937 & 1938, going 16-15 in the first of those two years and 15-11 in the second one. Beyond that he has struggled, posting a 10-33 record in his other three big league seasons combined.

PICK 10: BOSTON MINUTEMEN: Jim Taylor P - Taylor's career is likely over as he was released by Boston prior to the 1940 season and although not officially retired, has not been signed by anyone since. He hurt his back in his draft year, late in the season for Central Ohio University, but was relatively injury free beyond that. The Minutemen took their time with him and he was decent at the various minor league levels but below average in his 4 big league seasons with Boston, posting a 33-43 career mark with a 5.41 era. It was a very weak pitching crop so hard to question the selection as aside from the previously mentioned Bernie Johnson, Jake DeYoung and Dixie Lee only 13th rounder Glenn Payne (34-45) won more FABL games than Taylor.

PICK 11: NEW YORK STARS: Al Haynes 2B - Sometimes it is through no fault of their own a prospect fails. Perhaps they just never received the right opportunity. That could easily be said for Al Haynes, although finally at age 31 he might have found the perfect fit. Haynes made it as high as #16 on the top prospect list but it took until this season before the Whitney College Engineer product finally became an everyday player. That was after the Chicago Chiefs picked him up and as of this writing he his batting .302. He had limited opportunity with the Stars or the Cleveland Foresters, who acquired him in 1937 and kept him pinned to the bench most of the next four seasons despite Haynes hitting .376 in 207 career games in Cleveland. While first reaction is Haynes might just be a classic late bloomer the truth is the talent was quite likely already there, at least at the plate. It is likely his limited defensive skills that kept him pinned to the bench although the Chiefs seem to be surviving just fine with him in the field.

PICK 12: DETROIT DYNAMOS: Joe Stevens P - Sometimes a team makes a bad decision in drafting a player that it turns out was simply not big league calibre. The Detroit Dynamos made two mistakes in selecting Joe Stevens, a righthander out of Central Ohio who went 9-6, 2.72 in his draft year. Not only did they select Stevens but they also failed to sign him and he was somehow allowed to sign with the Montreal Saints rather than return to the Aviators for his senior season. It turned out it didn't matter anyway as Stevens spent a decade in the Saints system but only a brief period at even the AA level before being released in 1940. He caught on briefly with independent Richmond to finish out last season but now at age 30 he is unemployed and likely done with professional baseball.

PICK 13: BALTIMORE CANNONS: Ben Watkins P -This was a little before the Cannons trend of picking pitchers with their first round pick really got going but Watkins was a player they actually selected twice. In 1928 they drafted him in the 10th round out of New Orleans High School but he failed to sign and went to the AIAA to play his college ball for St Patrick's. We are not sure he really showed much at the AIAA level, posting an 8-9 record with a 3.25 era over two seasons with the Shamrocks but it was enough to convince the Cannons to select him again - this time with their first round pick. He did peak at #40 on the prospect list in 1932 so perhaps there was something there but he was still in A ball in 1935 when he blew out his shoulder. Watkins was waived by the Cannons but did catch on with Detroit and made his big league debut on a bad 1937 Dynamos team, going 4-6 with a 4.88 era. As Detroit improved he no longer factored in their plans but the Sailors gave him a couple of appearances in 1939 after claiming him on waivers. He was waived again prior to 1940 and is now doing a decent job for the New York Stars AAA affiliate in Los Angeles.

PICK 14: PHILADELPHIA KEYSTONES: Bob Land OF -In 1930 Bob Land, along with Dixie Lee and Ducky Jordan, were the stars of Arkansas Little Rock High School and the trio led the school to a National High School championship back when that was a thing in the feeder league days. His draft season was cut short by injury but he still impressed the Keystones enough to take him late in round one. Land would spend a few seasons just sneaking into the back end of the top 100 prospects list and posted some decent numbers in AAA but really never got much of a chance with the Keystones. He played a total of 123 big league games including 61 in 1940, batting .250 but was released over the winter. Now 28 he is still active with AAA Syracuse and hitting .271 after half a season with the independent Excelsiors.

PICK 15: CHICAGO COUGARS: Ed Reyes OF - Reyes has played 480 big league games and is currently a backup with the Chicago Chiefs. His biggest claim to fame might be that he was traded for both Rabbit Day and Joe Masters over his career, although he was one of several players exchanged for the two stars in each of the deals.

PICK 16: NEW YORK GOTHAMS: Don Filipski P - Filipski pitched just 5 games for Indiana A&M in his draft year and was the number 5 starter on a team that did not send a single pitcher to the big leagues. He spent six seasons in the Gothams organization, looking overmatched at both AA and AAA before being released. He spent 1937 with a couple of independent teams but was released at the end of the season and subsequently retired. You could call him a bust, and he certainly was not successful, but in the Gothams defense there was little also available if they were looking for a pitcher in this spot. Jake DeYoung went two picks later and the Gothams got Billy Stall (28-37) in round two but it was clear if you were going to waste a pick with a bad choice 1931 was a good year to do it because you were not missing much.


LATER ROUND SURPRISES - There were a few good picks in the second and third rounds with outfielders Red Bond (2-5 Montreal), Leo Mitchell (2-12, Cougars) and Al Tucker (3-5 Montreal) and pitchers Jake DeYoung (2-2, St Louis) being the main ones but beyond that there was very little talent that actually contributed much to FABL clubs over the next decade. The only picks after the third round to top 200 career FABL games so far were Hal Sharp, Jack Bush, Steve Summers and Joe Rainbow while 13th round pick Glenn Payne was the only pitcher taken in the fourth round or later to win at least 15 career FABL games.

This draft class gave us at least two future Hall of Famers in Harry Barrell and George Cleaves as well as Freddie Jones, Bill May, Red Bond and Leo Mitchell but as a whole it has to be considered one of the weakest draft crops of all time.

• Japan suspends all shipping bound for both North America, stranding many Americans and other foreigners. Shipping to South America was also suspended pending clarification of the South American republics posture toward Japan.
• Secretary of State Hull denounced recent foreign developments as demonstrating beyond doubt a "world movement on conquest" is in progress by the Axis. Hull's remarks came when he returned to the state department after a two month illness during which Germany attacked Russia and Japan moved into Indo-China.
• Hull also warned Japan that any attempt to move into Thailand would be a matter of concern for the United States.
• The first US shipment of war supplies to Russia has been sent. Meanwhile Soviet Russia and Nazi Germany are each claiming great victories as their war wages on.
• Britain continues to pound German cities with bombs, focusing on plants in Frankfurt, Mannheim and Karisruhe this week.
• Mussolini's 23 year old son Bruno was killed in a plane crash, reportedly testing a new type of aircraft.
• Mandatory rationing of gasoline is expected to begin in the United States after Labor Day. Gasoline prices have also increased to as high as 20 and a half cents a gallon. Milk and other commodity prices are also expected to see large price increases over the next year.
  
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August 18, 1941
 

AUGUST 18, 1941

NO STOPPING DETROIT

It was another big week for the Detroit Dynamos as baseball's hottest team went 6-1 to improve their August record to 12-3 and more importantly take over top spot in the Federal Association. Starting with taking two of three games in a series at Boston the weekend of July 25-27, the Dynamos have won 16 of their last twenty while Boston went 10-12 over the same stretch of time. The result is Detroit is now 2 games ahead of the Minutemen and sitting atop the Federal Association table, as the Dynamos attempt to win a pennant after three consecutive second place finishes. However, Detroit is not the only hot team right now as the Pittsburgh Miners - the club that finished ahead of Detroit each of the past two seasons - has gone 13-4 this month and is just 3 games back of Detroit.

The Dynamos 6 wins last week all came on the road and included a 3 game weekend sweep of the slumping Chicago Chiefs. With apologies to Joe Shaffner (11-6, 2.71), who has been outstanding on the Detroit mound the past month and a half, the Dynamos clearly got things together as soon as Frank Crawford (9-8, 4.50) returned to form after missing over a year recover from a serious elbow injury. Crawford, who won the 1939 Allen Award, struggled upon his return in losing his first 4 starts and was 3-8 with a 6.35 era at the all-star break. Since then the 33 year old lefthander has been unbeatable, winning 6 straight starts and looking every bit the pitcher he was prior to the injury. Having Red Johnson (.287,23,69) and Sid Williams (.311,17,47) combine to go .366,10,29 this month has certainly helped as has getting outfielder Rip Curry (.359,4,32) back in the lineup after a two-month absence. Sergio Gonzales (9-2, 2.87) is also close to returning so Detroit, despite losing bullpen piece Jack Richardson for the season last week, is for the most part healthy and certainly motivated to end a three year stint as the Fed bridesmaid.

Pittsburgh can never be counted out and the Miners are winning despite a number of nicks and bruises to key offensive contributors but it just seems the Miners do their best work when they are short-staffed. They likely need Mahlon Strong (.365,15,73) and his Federal Association leading batting average back on the field if they are going to win their third straight pennant but the good news is Strong is expected to return to the lineup Tuesday after missing 5 games with a bruised thumb.

What of Boston? The Minutemen made the most noise at the trade deadline and the newcomers have been very productive but Boston has gone just 8-8 in August and is 5 games under .500 since July 1st. Veteran lefthanders Walt Wells (2-1, 1.35) and Dean Astle (1-2, 2.55) both seem right at home in their Federal Association debuts while Bill Moore's bat has hit at a .346 clip since coming over from Cleveland with Astle. The Minutemen went 4-3 last week to begin a grueling 17 game road trip that includes a big 3 game series with the Dynamos at Thompson Field. That series is a week away and the task for Boston this week is to remain within range of Detroit to give themselves an opportunity to retake top spot with a big showing in the Motor City.

RARE DOWN WEEK FOR COUGARS

The Chicago Cougars are not used to losing streaks this season and have only lost consecutive games three times since June 3. All three of those times the Cougars fell in back to back games it was to the Brooklyn Kings including this past weekend as the Kings managed to move to within 5.5 games of front-running Chicago. The Cougars took the series opener at home Friday, pounding Art White (9-14, 4.23) 13-4 thanks in no small part to a 4-hit, 5 rbi game from catcher Harry Mead. That victory put the Cougars 7.5 games ahead of Brooklyn and the club had to be pretty confident with Harry Parker and Pete Papenfus scheduled to start the two weekend contests. It did not work out they way the Cougars had planned as the Kings put up 5 runs against each of the two young all-stars, winning 5-2 on Saturday and 5-1 yesterday to keep the Continental Association pennant race interesting.

A 3-3 week for the New York Stars, who have completely fallen apart in August, ruining a terrific start that saw the Stars begin the season with 15 wins in their first 17 games. They have gone 5-10 this month and now trail the Chicago Cougars by 7.5 games. On June 21st New York was in first place with a 42-20 record. Chicago passed them the next day and the Stars are 26-26 since then while Chicago has gone 32-16.

MACK SUTTON SEEKS LAWYER TO FIGHT DRAFT INDUCTION DUE TUESDAY

Pittsburgh, Aug 14 (AP)- Mack Sutton, Boston Minutemen third baseman, scheduled to join the Army next Tuesday, today indicated he won't exchange his Boston baseball club uniform for khaki without a battle. He intimated he planned to appeal.

"I want to talk to a lawyer in Boston after I study the communication from my draft board," said Sutton. "All I know right now is what I read in the papers because the letter from my draft board was mailed to Boston and a fellow at the ballpark is forwarding it to us on the road. I expect to get the letter on the weekend while we are in Washington.

"I haven't appealed my case yet," informed Sutton. "I contacted my draft board and told them I'd like a 90-day deferment to carry me through the baseball season. They gave me a 60-day deferment but I'd still like to get through the season.

DEPENDENTS CITED

"My mother and dad are dependent on me entirely. My sister works and makes $15 a week, so naturally I've contributed to her support. The draft felt my folks should make a living off my 14-acre farm, but only 5 acres of that is under cultivation and my dad can't work. He's had a double rupture.

"The draft board felt my family could live off the farm, but we haven't any mule -no tractor, no nothing. They won't starve if I go into the Army -I have enough money in the bank to taker care of that - but they can't live off that farm. The draft board apparently felt my folks could a make a go of it off the income from my gas station in Murfreesboro, well, I get $40 a month from that. I own the building and I lease it to a fellow for $480 a year. This thing has sorta taken me be surprise. I feel, in a sense, that I've been lucky to get this far, but I'd like to finish the season. It wouldn't mean a lot to the Army and it would mean a heck of a lot to me, and my teammates.

INTENDS TO CONSULT A LAWYER

"I called the team office from Pittsburgh and told the clerk there to forward the letter to me in Washington, so I ought to know what's what by the weekend. I haven't asked for reclassification. After I see the letter from my draft board and consult a lawyer, I'll know what to do."

Sutton's only information on the subject of himself and the draft thus far is an Associated Press dispatch from his hometown in Murfreesboro, Arkansas saying he is slated to report to Fort Bragg in North Carolina August 21st with other selectees.

Should he decide to leave the Minutemen as scheduled he will likely play his final game Sunday (yesterday) in Washington as the club is off Monday, travelling to St Louis for a series with the Pioneers. Should he decided to leave the Minutemen as scheduled light-hitting backup infielder Charlie Reed will likely be the choice to replace him at the hot corner as the Minutemen will still be without Art Spencer, who can easily handle third, for at least another week.

The 4th overall draft pick out of Arkadelphia (AR) High School in 1935, Sutton made his big league debut with Boston as a 21 year old in 1938. He he had a career best 26 homeruns last season while batting .268.

OTHER DRAFT BOARD NEWS

O'REILLY PASSES PHYSICAL

Washington Eagles second baseman Karl O'Reilly has passed his preliminary physical with flying colors. The 26 year old, who is batting .275 in his second full season as an Eagles starter, is expected to be classified 1-A but likely will not be called until after the season is completed at the end of September.

How tough has the crunch for players become due to calls from the draft board? Baseball has not had it too bad yet but the New York Football Stars have been hit so hard that the club has taken to advertising in local papers that they are looking for married players who are anxious to stay active in the game. The Stars have already contributed six of last season's regulars to Uncle Sam's Army, and it is expected a similar number will be called by the time the season starts in mid-September so the hope is they can find some married players, who are much less likely to be called on for military duty, to fill the gaping holes in their roster.

QUICK HITS

• With 2 hits in Wednesday's win over the Gothams, the Chiefs Jim Hampton is the 2nd player this season--joining Dave Trowbridge--to join the 2500 hit club. There are now 31 players in history who have achieved that milestone. And there are 2 more players knocking on that door: Frank Vance (2484) and Al Wheeler (2457).
• Speaking of Wheeler: after a bit of a slow start to the season, Wheeler has 9 home runs in July and August, which puts him just 9 home runs shy of 400.
• Wins in last 17 games for the big four in the Fed: Detroit 14, Pittsburgh 13, Boston 8, Chiefs 6. The 6-11 stretch for the Chiefs includes 0-5 against Detroit.
• The Chiefs received their annual message from Tom Aiello about wanting to be the starting catcher. Uh, Tom? You are hitting .224/.283/.306. Looking at Aiello's career, he's generated -31.9 BattingRuns over 14 seasons. He's had just 1 season with a total greater than 0 (in 1934, when he hit .310/.359/.454 in 96 games). The only thing that has kept him around for 14 seasons is is defense.
• First bad week in nearly 2 months for the Cougars as the team goes 2-4 and the lead drops to 5.5 games. Even worse, Billy Hunter suffers another knee injury. The bright young second baseman tore his PCL, and will not only miss the rest of the season, but likely next year's Opening Day as well.
• Cougars lost back to back games for the first time this month as Brooklyn beat both Parker and Papenfus on the weekend. Chicago has only lost 2 in a row, and not more than that at any point since June 3, three times: June 28-29, July 5-6 and last weekend. Interesting perhaps that all 3 times it was the Brooklyn Kings that were the Cougars opponents. The Kings have 3 more games with Chicago - at Kings County in late September.
• 7-1 week for the Cannons. A little too late for Cincinnati but nice to see. Of course it is overshadowed by another awful pitching injury. This one to Deuce Barrell and ending his season. Seems like more casualties on the Cannons mound than the Eastern front right now.
• A team of Brooklyn Kings rookie pros will play a series of exhibition games at Fort Hamilton immediately after the conclusion of the minor league season in mid-September.
• Sounds like the nickname 'The Arkansas Artilleryman' will take on a much more literal meaning for Boston infielder Mack Sutton. His local draft board says the 24 year old will have to leave the Minutemen to report to Fort Bragg by the end of the week but word is Sutton, with the help of Boston management, is furiously working to defer the third baseman's army commitment for 2 months as he is a key piece in the Minutemens pennant hopes.
• Things are going well in Uncle Sam's Army for Fred McCormick. The former Toronto Wolves Whitney Award winning slugger got a promotion and a raise as he now collects a corporal's pay.
• Even minus McCormick ,Wolves fans are still supporting the team in this disappointing year. They hope to still attract north of 1.25 million paying fans for 1941. Small ticket price change may help the fight waning attendance in September. Somehow the math in my mind does not work for a team with a -6 run differential to be 14 games under .500.

• FDR and Churchill, in a historic conference at sea, have agreed on eight peace aims that they intend to apply "after the final destruction of Nazi tyranny." A Nazi press release calls the meeting a 'propaganda bluff" adding that the German communique also outlines great German victories in the western Ukraine.
• A day later a defiant Berlin challenges Roosevelt and Churchill saying "If you want to disarm us, come on over here and take our guns away - if you dare."
• Josef Stalin officially accepted the offer of President Roosevelt and Prime Minister Churchill for assistance to Russia and agreed to expedite plans for a Russo-British-American conference in Moscow.
• As tensions with the United States heat up in the Pacific, Japan appears to be preparing for war with a number of recent developments out of the Far East including approval of a Japanese mobilization act designed to shift the nation economically and financially to full war footing.
• New strains on relations with Japan after that country refused to allow the American liner President Coolidge to stop at a Japanese port and take aboard approximately 100 United States citizens desiring to return to their homeland. This development keeps those Americans as virtual hostages.
• Despite so many signs indicating otherwise, President Roosevelt assured the nation on Saturday that the United States is not nearer to actual involvement in the war than before this week's conference with Churchill on the Atlantic Ocean.
• Nazi forces have made advances in Russia and the Ukraine, including circling Odessa with it's fall expected momentarily.
• 7 American fliers were among 22 dead following the crash of an R.A.F. plane in a flying accident over Great Britain. Few details were released but the American airmen were part of the Royal Air Force ferry command, the organization in charge of ferrying bombers across the Atlantic. Later in the week 12 more Americans would perish in a second crash in Britain.
  
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August 25, 1941
 

AUGUST 25, 1941

COUGARS CLOSING IN ON CONTINENTAL CROWN

What a difference a weekend can make! On Thursday the Chicago Cougars seemed to be finally showing a weakness. They had lost five of their last 6 games and their lead on second place Brooklyn was down to 4 games after the Kings won 4 of their last five. Brooklyn seemed perfectly positioned to continue their charge with weekend games coming up against second division dwellers Cleveland and Philadelphia while the Cougars would have to contend with Cincinnati and Toronto. Instead, things could not have gone worse for Brooklyn's faint pennant hopes and once again the Cougars seemed to reaffirm that there will be no stopping them this season.

Chicago quickly got back on track with a 1-0 win over Cincinnati Friday that required 12 innings to complete. Pete Papenfus did not get the decision but was outstanding and in a close game everyone knew the Cougars would just have to prevail: they are 10-4 in extra innings this season and 22-9 in one run contests, both figures the best in either association.

The monkey of their first 3 game losing streak since they dropped 4 in a row in mid-May now off their backs, Chicago thumped Cincinnati 6-1 the next day and then beat up Toronto pitching in both ends of a Sunday twin-bill with the Wolves. Meanwhile the Brooklyn Kings were allowing the CA's worst offense to score 7 runs in successive games as Cleveland silenced the Kings County faithful both Friday and Saturday. The 6th place Philadelphia Sailors arrived Sunday and they too took care of business, beating Brooklyn 5-3 for the Kings 3rd straight loss and suddenly the gap was back to 7.5 games. There is still over a month remaining in the season but every day it is looking more and more like the CA race is over and the Cougars are merely toying with the rest of the Continental like a cat with a mouse. Get just a little bit of confidence and the Cougars quickly smack you back into place.

DON'T COUNT BOSTON OUT OF FED RACE JUST YET

Four wins in their last five games including an impressive 7-5 victory over Detroit yesterday has the Boston Minutemen just a game back of the front-running Dynamos in the Federal Association with two more games between the two coming up today and tomorrow at Thompson Field.

Yesterday, Boston built up a big lead as Charlie Wheeler (8-12, 3.88) had another bad day on the hill for Detroit. It was 7-1 Boston after six innings but Detroit rallied and nearly made a game of it thanks to 9th inning homeruns off the bats of Sal Pestilli and John Wicklund. It was a tough week for Detroit as they dropped two of three to Philadelphia, both by a single run, prior to welcoming the Minutemen to the Motor City but the really bad news came in the extra innings loss Friday. Sergio Gonzales, making his return after missing over a month with shoulder soreness, was pitching very well until the 7th inning when he was forced to leave the game with a sore elbow. The news could not have been any worse as the club learned over the weekend Gonzales' season is over and he will need surgery on his right arm.

ON AGAIN, OFF AGAIN, MACK SUTTON GETS NEW DRAFT STATUS

The Murfreesboro, Arkansas Selective Service board has been denied a new appeal for deferment, it was reported by the Associated Press. Sutton was slated to be inducted at Fort Bragg, N.C. last week, but his appeal for a second 60-day extension - until October 14- held up induction. He has appealed the board's decision and the Board of Appeals would hear the case later this week. As a result he remains in the Boston Minutemen lineup, at least for the time being.

FOOTBALL KINGS DOWN 26 MEN, WITH MORE TO LEAVE

The Brooklyn Football Kings just began practicing and their coach is already casting about for headache powders. The Kings can barely run a camp as they had just 31 players available all week thanks to damage down to their gridiron machine by the draft. Among the players that Selective Service pulled away from the Kings are vets Harry James, Russel Hitzeman and Dennis Cash along with a pair of former AIAA All-Americans in ex-Cumberland quarterback Tom Knox and former Oklahoma City State standout Arnie Bond. In all, a total of twenty-three Kings have been drafted with 3 others working in defense jobs and seven rookies on the verge of being called. Meanwhile the club also has to contend with six players currently performing with all-star teams as they attempt to whip the team into shape with their first game less then three weeks away - September 9th at Kings County against the Chicago Wildcats.

SEMI-PRO EVENT REVEALS DRAFT HELPS BASEBALL

Baseball, which has loaned some of it's talent to the armed forces of the United States, will be paid back ten-fold, says scouts attending the seventh annual semi-pro tournament. Rube Carter, the long-time birddog for the Kings and Chiefs and now working for Bluegrass State, is convinced he has seen half a dozen definite prospects on the three Army and five industrial teams the Nation's defense program helped bring to the yearly sandlot derby for the first time.

"Many of the newcomers have definite futures in baseball and are bound to catch on with a college team at some point after their time in the army is done," explained Carter. "Some of these guys likely would never have gotten the chance except for the present international situation."


Montreal Saints fans learned this morning something they had long expected: The local nine is out of pennant contention and for the 20th year in a row there will be no October baseball played at Parc Cartier. The fact that the Saints were the first FABL squad to be officially out of playoff contention for the 1941 season makes it an even tougher pill to swallow, even if this looks like a matter of days before Cleveland and the Philadelphia Sailors get the same notice. Rumors saying manager Dick Pozza days are counted in Montreal in order to reverse the trend of multiple losing seasons in a row. Pozza maybe released from the organization as soon as season ends or perhaps even before.

Other than perhaps a change in the bench boss, the word in Montreal locker room remains "Do not panic yet, still focus on the long term plan!"

With the expanded roster coming in a week, few prospects will have the chance to show their skills in the last month to get an invite at the next spring training. Part of this group, we can foresee AAA C Galloway, CF Kaye, SP Mayse, SP Stewart, RP Parker. Promoting few players, will also give a chance to lower level team's players to graduate to an upper level and see if they are ready for the next steps, in this group high ranked prospect SP Pat Weakley and Wally Reif, which according to OSA pipeline may have a chance at the majors next season.

Final note about CF Bill Greene who is now become the starting CF in the lineup (.327, 6 HR, 34 RBIs, 149 OPS+ in 66 GS). After getting the rookie of the month nomination in July, now getting the player of the week award and patrolling the CF position almost everyday. The Saints may have finally found the starting CF since the trade of Pablo Reyes few seasons ago.

QUICK HITS

• SP Sergio Gonzales returns from 5 weeks on the DL and pitches a hell of a game going 7IP giving up 5 hits and just 1 run. Sadly he only managed to face 1 batter in the top of the 8th before throwing his last pitch of the season. He's out with bone spurs and will have surgery. Gonzales was 9-2 with a 2.72 ERA on the season which was injury riddled to say the least. He joins key bullpen RP Jack Richardson on the sidelines for the remainder of the season.
• Injuries to the pitching staff have been difficult for the Dynamos this season. A decision on who will replace Gonzales has not been made but P Ed Whetzel’s 1 week experiment in the pen has been scrapped and he will return to the rotation.
• still on the injury front it has been learned that Pittsburgh's 25 year old fireballer Doc Wiseman suffered a career ender. He was having a pretty intriguing season, with a 1.95 ERA and 28 K’s in 27.2 IP for the Miners this year.
• And the New York Stars slide continues with 4 losses in their last 6 games, plus news that 43 year old Dave Trowbridge (.326,7,74) sprained his knee and will likely miss the next 3 weeks.
• Boston trims a game off the Detroit lead with a win in the opening game of their series with the Dynamos in Detroit. They still have two games left at Thompson Field before they head to New York for a quick 2 game set against the Gothams. They will then get a travel day and welcome in the Miners for 3 games in 2 days. Attendance has been up 30% and the club finally eclipsed 1 million fans through the turnstiles. The Minutemen have been a nice diversion from the War that threatens to commit more Americans into the conflict, daily.
• Walt Messer having that long predicted breakout season for the Gothams. POW in FA and now at .323-22-79 for the season.
• Weirdest Players of the Week? Has to be Joe Brown. The Cougar stopper struck out 6 in 8 scoreless innings out of the pen, recording a win in three of the Cougars five on the week. Doesn't quite scream Player of the Week worthy, and Bill Greene (.8-18, 2 2B, 2 3B, HR, 5 RBI, 5 R, 3 BB, SB) or even Harry Barrell (13-24, 2 3B, 3 RBI, 6 R) would have been better choices.
• A disappointing 2-4 week in a disappointing season for the Cannons. Half expecting Cincinnati council to request the club be returned to Baltimore after such a poor showing in a campaign that had pennant expectations when it began. At least no injuries this week and Moxie Pidgeon hit 2 homers to get to 15. Might just get to 20 for the 6th consecutive season and 11th overall.
• The St Louis Pioneers have won 5 straight games including a 3 game sweep of the Pittsburgh Miners. It has been another trying season for the Pioneers and the first division appears unlikely but they are closing ground on the 6th place Philadelphia Keystones.
  
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• In a five hour roundup of the entire working class area surrounding the site of the ancient bastille, German-controlled authorities in Paris arrested 6,000 Jews.
• Moscow Radio in a dispatch from Switzerland purported to cite indications that Adolf Hitler's 'mental condition' has deteriorated since the first German setback on the Russian front. The dispatch claimed that Hitler had been forced to leave the Russian front and was now at Berchtesgaden, where doctors have decided that he must not be told any 'bad news.'
• The Nazis are having success on the Eastern Front this week, taking over most of the Ukraine and destroyed much of Russia's main army.
• The United States is considering prohibiting Japanese from leaving the country, in retaliation to similar action by Tokio last week in refusing to allow Americans to leave the Far East.
• Churchill has given a pledge that if the United States becomes involved in war with Japan as a result of Japanese aggression Britain would automatically declare war on Japan.
• American-built Tomahawk fighter planes successfully chased off a German twin-engine bomber over Iceland, forcing it to abort before any bombs were dropped on the American/British naval base on the island nation.
• Selective Service draft rules have been modified leaving those over the age of 28 now exempt from the draft. This new measure also permits those currently in the Army or Navy over that age to request a discharge.
• A 16 day strike at a shipbuilding company in New Jersey has ended but only after President Roosevelt signed an executive order directing the Navy to take over the plant and complete construction on two cruisers, six destroyers, three tankers and two freighters. 16,000 workers walked off the job on August 6th.
  
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