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August 21, 1944
AUGUST 21, 1944 BARRELL KEEPS ROLLING Bobby Barrell is clearly playing at a level others can only dream about. The Philadelphia Keystones outfielder was named Federal Association player of the week for the fourth time in the last five weeks. Over that stretch Barrell has hit .428 (65-for-152) with 16 homers and 47 rbi's. His 39 homeruns lead both Associations by 17 over the next highest total-which is the 22 belonging to Red Johnson. Interestingly, third in homers is a tie between Washington's Sig Stofer and Continental Associaiton leader Chuck Adams of Cincinnati. Each slugger has socked 16 homers this season, which coincidentally is the same amount Barrell has hit in the past five weeks alone. With 39 homers, Barrell has hit more longballs than 3 teams this season -the Sailors, Cleveland and Montreal. The RBI dominance is much the same as The Georgia Jolter is already at 129 in that category, which is exactly 50 more than CA leader Adams has and 55 more than the second highest total in the Fed, which belongs to Whit Williams of the Pittsburgh Miners. Barrell's big 5-week run has also vaulted him to the top of the Fed batting race and a triple crown looks very much to be a possibility. Barrell is batting .355, giving him a slim lead over Washington's Don Miller at .351. As for the Keystones, they stumbled against Detroit this week in dropping 3 of four to the Dynamos -a team that continues to surprise- but still finished 5-3 on the week and gained a half game on the second place Pittsburgh Miners. Detroit is 8.5 back -miles ahead of where many expected they would end up- but did themselves no favours with a 6-game losing streak that continued early in the week and included 4 straight losses in Washington before rebounding with 5 consecutive wins over Philadelphia and Boston to end the week. *** CANNONS & WOLVES OVERTAKE COUGARS *** You have to go back to April to find the last time the Chicago Cougars did not finish a week in first place in the Continental Association (although there was one week they still lead in GB but were less than a percentage point behind Toronto) but that changed this week as the Cougars followed up their first winning week in nearly two months with a disappointing 2-6 showing over the past 7 days. Meanwhile Toronto went 7-1 and Cincinnati posted a 6-2 week to put the pair of them atop the Continental with identical 67-48 records and a game and a half lead on the suddenly third place Cougars. The Wolves ended last week by dropping both ends of a twin bill at home to the Cougars, but Toronto clawed back when Bob Walls spun a 4-0 shutout of Chicago Monday and Jimmy Gibbs and Billy Crosby combined to stop the struggling Chicago offense in a 2-1 Toronto win Tuesday. That was followed by 3 wins in 4 games against Montreal before a doubleheader sweep of Brooklyn yesterday. The Cougars limped out of Toronto and off to Cleveland, where they salvaged a split of 4 games with the Foresters -which doesn't sound like much but is an improvement as Cleveland has had Chicago's number all season. On Sunday the Philadelphia Sailors, another team that has given Chicago fits this campaign, took both ends of a doubleheader to prolong the Chicago agony that began shortly before the all-star break. How bad has it been for the Cougars? Here is the record of each CA team before and after Chicago's slide began with a doubleheader loss to the Stars on June 25th. Code:
The other big news as far as Cannons fans are concerned, and could be terrible news for the rest of the Continental Association, is that Al Wheeler finally broke out of what feels like a two year slumber with his lumber. The 36 year old 5-time Whitney Award winner and last hitter to claim the Triple Crown -doubled his Cincinnati total with 2 homers last week to go along with 8 rbi's and a .433 batting average which raised his season total to .229. If Wheeler can keep going it may make the Cannons unstoppable. Cincinnati has allowed the fewest runs against in either association and after scoring 50 last week the Cannons now top the CA in runs with 501 and their run differential of +106 is the best in the sport. 300 FOR MOXIE Few players with more than 2000 career games played have travelled as much as 37 year old Moxie Pidgeon has over his career but Pidgeon has accomplished something only 4 other players in FABL history have done. The 6-time all-star and 4-time World Champion is now a member of the 300 home run club joining only Max Morris, Rankin Kellogg, Al Wheeler and Bobby Barrell in that exlusive group. Pidgeon has hit 10 homers so far this season in his first year in Pittsburgh -his 6th FABL team- after previous stops in Cleveland, Washington, Cincinnati and with both New York teams. His milestone 300th came yesterday at Fitzpatrick Park off Danny Hern in a 6-1 Miners win over visiting St Louis. It was the first time in 10 at bats that he had ever homered off of Hern and despite being counted out after an awful year in Cincinnati last season, the outfielder says he has more in mind. "I was swinging for the fences and the pitch looked like a giant grapefruit," Pidgeon said. "This is another check off my bucket list. I'll now be setting my sights on the next milestone." That next milestone will be his 2,500th career hit as for his career Pidgeon has hit .311 with 2,495 hits, 300 Homers, 1,374 RBI's and scored 1,232 runs. Pidgeon is also the only FABL player to hit at least 20 homers in a season for five different teams. DRAFT PREVIEW PART 5 - WAY TOO EARLY LOOK AT TOP PROSPECTS FOR THE 1946 DRAFT Projecting a draft class a year and a half away, especially when it is barely half full at the time is about as close to just random guesswork as one can get. For example in August of 1942 we thought there were some elite pitchers to dominate the 1944 class. Our top three in the mock at that time were Lee Ahlstrom, Jack Entringer and Carl Fritz. No mention of actual number one Roy Schaub or Eli Panneton -who went 4th and is now a big league phenom with the New York Stars. The truth is those two, and many others from the '44 class were on no one's radar at that time. Not even the most meticulous scout had heard of Panneton as he was pitching amateur ball in western Canada while Schaub was coming off a very strong 11-2 sophomore season at his Philadelphia high school, but at the time OSA called his ceiling that of a spot starter or a long reliever. In fact the only two players that were on that "Way too Early" mock draft and were selected in the first round were outfielder Ben Thompson (11th Keystones) and shortstop Dave McCraw (13th Pioneers). Now we did fare an awful lot better last August when we did our actual 1944 mock draft six months in advance of draft fay and at that time the Mock did correctly place Schaub and catcher Joe Robinson 1-2 on our list. In all we nailed 7 of the 16 first rounders plus 3 others from our list were the top 3 picks of round two. Considering 7 others selected in round one all were late additions and did not appear in the draft pool until just prior to the January draft, the OSA mock did very well - identifying 10 of the first 12 correctly when omitting the late additions. The whole point of the above was to illustrate just how tough it is to project players 18 months before their draft. But that won't stop us from trying so here is the Way Too Early Mock First Round of the 1946 FABL Draft. Code:
1946 WAY TOO EARLY MOCK FIRST ROUND DRAFT
The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 8/20/1944
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August 28, 1944
AUGUST 28, 1944 6 GAME STREAK GIVES WOLVES CONTINENTAL LEAD The Toronto Wolves have strung together some impressive winning streaks this season. They had a 10-game run in mid-May and another ten gamer sandwiched around the All-Star Game but the current stretch of 6 consecutive wins including a pair in Cincinnati might be the most important streak of the year for the Wolves as it has helped Toronto build it's largest lead of the season with just five weeks remaining in the campaign. The wins could not have come at a more perfect time for the Wolves, who had just lost a pair in Brooklyn to fall a game back of the Queen City nine. A 6-3 win Wednesday in which Bob Walls kept the red-hot Cannons bats in check with a 6-3 win forced a deadlock atop the Continental Association table and a day later Toronto -harkening memories of late season heroics against the defending champs a year ago- won 3-2 thanks to an 8th inning rbi single off the bat of Clarence Howerton to make a winner out of Wolves reliever Billy Crosby. That got the wheels turning in Toronto and the Wolves followed with a 4-game sweep of the slumping Philadelphia Sailors that included an extra-innings win and a 1-0 2-hit shutout from Chuck Wirtz. The Cannons now sit 2.5 games back of Toronto, as do the Chicago Cougars -who went 4-2 last week including 3 straight wins to end the week in Montreal and are certainly not out of the race despite a dreadful second half of the season. Little changed this week in the Federal Association unless you count Bobby Barrell not winning the Fed player of the week as change. Barrell still had solid week (.316,1,4) but unlike in 4 of the previous 5 weeks it was not award worthy and his Philadelphia Keystones surrendered a half a game back to the surging Pittsburgh Miners who, after taking 3 of 4 from reeling Boston, are now 7 games off the Philadelphians pace. The Detroit Dynamos continue to hang around thanks to winning 3 of 4 in each of their last 3 series (vs Philadelphia, Boston and Chicago) but at 8.5 games back the clock is approaching midnight for the league's Cinderella team this season.
1945 DRAFT PREVIEW A LOOK BACK AT THE 1934 DRAFT 1934 marked a turning point in the FABL universe. With the feeder system now behind us it marked the dawn of a new era, with the AIAA going from 40 teams to approximately 200 schools and the high school league changing from it's small 64 team loop to literally thousands of schools. It marked a change in scouting as well as the death of feeder league games meant no more expanded or defensive stats and the scouting reports became the primary source of assessing talent. Despite the many changes, one thing remained the same -the demand for pitchers at the top of the draft. Each of the top three choices in '34 were hurlers and, at least so far none have a winning record as a big leaguer and only one has won more than 65 major league games. So suffice to say in hindsight there were better options for each of those three picks. The good news is unlike in 1933 when 12 of the first 16 picks were hurlers, this year that number dipped to a more reasonable five. Gus Goulding, who has had a long career and was taken second overall, leads the way in pitcher victories from this class but it is becoming very clear that the best arm in this draft belongs to Harry Parker -and he was not selected until the 7th round. Before we take a look at each of the first round selections made in 1934 here is a look back at a pair of draft lists. John Spears had just been promoted to Scouting Director in Brooklyn, replacing long-time Kings head man Rube Carter. He provides us with the Kings list for that draft as well as the OSA mock draft list, both of which are below. And now a recap of the first round selections. 1- BOBO WHITE Pitcher: Washington Eagles- It would be easy to say this is just another bad choice made by an organization that has made a lot of poor draft picks, but it is hard to imagine any other team picking much differently here. At the time the scouting report on White said he had the potential of an ace and he was the top pitcher on the OSA Mock Draft as well as John Spears had him number one and I am sure many other Scouting Directors felt the same. White, and teammate Gus Goulding were the two darlings of the draft, a pair of aces coming out of St Blane and it was hard to question the choices at the time. Give time, we now know better and Harry Parker, who lasted until the 7th round when the Chicago Cougars selected him, is proving to be the far better choice. But here is how things looked for White and Parker shortly before that December draft day in 1934. Injuries played a factor for White but really that was not until later as his first major injury -a torn labrum- did not occur until September of 1939. He struggled with his control and was below average pitching in AAA in 1936 as a 22 year old and had nearly 3 full seasons in Washington before that first major arm problem occurred -although he did miss his last couple of starts in 1938 with a shoulder strain. The Eagles were not a good team at that point -then again when were they a good team- but White was a well below average pitcher in going 40-54 for the Eagles. At the start of 1941 his stock had fallen so far that Detroit was able to land him in exchange for only a 6th round draft pick. A year ago he had a pair of pretty good outings for the Dynamos and maybe at 29 he was finally going to show what OSA thought was there all along. Like everything else with White things did not work out and Selective Service called his name and he is now in the Navy. So we might have some lingering doubts that perhaps it was just the wrong organization at the wrong time, bad luck with injuries and timing that caused White not to shine but then again perhaps the reality of the situation is so much simpler. Maybe he was vastly overrated based on playing for a decent college team and was never that good to begin with, but good enough to fool the OSA and many scouts. 2- GUS GOULDING Pitcher: Baltimore Cannons- "Future multiple Allen Award winner!" That was the tagline on the OSA scouting report on Gus Goulding three months before the 1934 draft. Goulding or St Blane teammate Bobo White was the talk. Who do you like better. It seemed likely the duo would go 1-2 in the draft or at least both in the top five. White went first to Washington followed by Goulding to Baltimore. It was a similar situation for each. Expected to be the pitching saviour of a bad organization. In Goulding's case maybe he was the replacement the Cannons -who were still early in a stretch of ball that might have been the worst decade a FABL organization has ever endured- needed for Rabbit Day, who they sent two New York a year earlier as the Baltimore crash began. Day was and is a multiple Allen Award winner. Goulding most certainly is not although he does own a WCS ring and one of the best clutch outings we have ever seen with his brilliant 10-inning complete game 3-1 win over the New York Stars in Game Seven of the 1942 WCS. Goulding is, like many others from his draft class, now in the military but he is on to his third big league organization in the Chicago Chiefs. He teased Baltimore fans by going 8-0 when he was first called up as a 23 year old in 1936. While he was an average pitcher and plenty durable the next 3 seasons with the Cannons, he also went just 38-59 and led the CA in losses three years in a row including a tough to watch 12-23 season in 1937. The team was bad so Goulding can't shoulder all the blame but there were also rumours of clubhouse tension between him and several others -primarily fellow young pitching ace Deuce Barrell over a family matter. When the Cannons moved to Cincinnati, Goulding moved as well, but to New York in a trade that helped turn the franchise's fortunes around because it netted Jack Flint and two first round draft picks -one of which would be flipped to bring Moxie Pidgeon and Larry Brown to the Queen City. So in a roundabout way Goulding did help the Cannons revival. And while not consistent, nor an Allen Award winner, Goulding was still a pretty solid pick especially when compared to his old teammate Bobo White. 3- DEL BURNS Pitcher: Detroit Dynamos- Somehow this pick is actually working out as Burns was an all-star this year and is finally enjoying success in Washington. At the time OSA called Burns "an emergency starter" and John Spears had him as the 33rd best pitcher available in the draft class -nestled right in between Sam Hodge and Russ Peeples. Yet the Dynamos must have seen something when they selected him third overall, right? That something was his high school numbers as a senior - 11-0, 0.81 era, 13.5 K/9, 1.4 BB/9 and the fact they were good enough to earn him a spot on the very first High School All-American team. It was quite a collection of pitchers - so good that Jack Goff and George Garrison were relegated to honourable mention status as the 5 chosen were underclassmen Pete Papenfus, Deuce Barrell, Wally Doyle and seniors Burns and Johnny Slaney. Whatever it was that motivated the Dynamos, it proved right but took a long time and two trades before Burns could show he was the real deal. So sometimes the numbers don't lie. And maybe they can judge a player's future success better than a scout with a stopwatch and a notepad. 4- CHARLIE ARTUSO Shortstop: Toronto Wolves- OSA called Artuso, at that point an 18 year old high school infielder from Lebanon, TN., an "above average big leaguer" and both OSA and John Spears had Artuso as the top infielder available and in their top five. A decade later there is no reason at all to questions Toronto's choice as Artuso is a 2-time All-Star and one of the many strong defensive shortstops in the Continental Association. 5- BENNIE GRIFFITH Outfielder: Chicago Chiefs- A cornerstone player. That is what OSA said about Griffith and John Spears was in agreement as both the scouting service and Spears had the youngster from small college All Hallows ranked #3 on their draft boards. Injuries might have been a factor as they cost him some time early - a full calendar year with elbow troubles in 1937 and hamstring problems a year later. Other than 1936 when he started 117 games and hit .300, Griffith never really received a big league opportunity. Partly his own doing as he was hitting just .225 before the 1937 injury and has not approached .300 as a big leaguer since that 1936 campaign. He is now in Detroit after being a waiver claim from the Sailors this season and likely only in the big leagues still because of the war. 6- ADAM MULLINS Catcher: Montreal Saints- The big debate of 1934, aside from the two St Blane arms, was behind the plate. Which of the two catchers with Tennessee roots did you prefer? There was Woody Stone, born in Illinois but playing his high school ball in Dunlap, TN., and selected to the first ever High School All-American team. Then there was the college kid from Memphis. Adam Mullins was a first team AIAA All-American that season for Eastern Oklahoma. OSA felt he would eventually play a "key role on contender" and he certainly did, winning the 1944 Whitney Award as Continental Association MVP and helping the Cincinnati Cannons to a WCS win. The Cannons paid a huge price in prospects just three seasons earlier to land Mullins, after a near deal that would have sent him to Detroit fell through. A 7-time All-Star, but now in the Navy- Mullins has certainly lived up to expectations. 7- LEW SEALS Outfielder: Pittsburgh Miners- Much like the debate over catchers Mullins and Stone, and pitchers White and Goulding there were a pair of outfielders that OSA really liked. Bennie Griffith was just a little higher on both the OSA list and the John Spears board but both were in agreement that Seals would develop into a "potential regular in a key role." He broke in with a very good Pittsburgh team in 1937 and played in two World Championship Series for the Miners but after a 20 homerun season in 1940 and just a few months before his 27th birthday he was dealt to the New York Stars in a 1-for-1 deal for pitcher George Phillips. The move likely was very much a reaction to the Miners WCS loss- their third in 4 seasons. After a solid 1941 season in New York, Seals and the Stars were dominant in a run to the 1942 CA pennant but the war would cost the outfielder a chance at a third WCS appearance as at the end of August he was drafted and elected to join the Coast Guard. 8- WOODY STONE Catcher: Philadelphia Sailors- Stone is forver linked with Adam Mullins because of this draft. OSA had the catchers ranked 1-2 overall on their final mock draft with Stone slightly ahead. Spears loved them both but saw it the other way with Mullins #2 overall behind Bobo White (oops) and Stone came in at #5 on the Brooklyn Kings rookie Scouting Director's draft board. Since then Stone has been slightly overshadowed by Mullins but is still a 4-time all-star and the Philadelphia Sailors are certainly not disappointed with their selection. Mullins and Stone have something else in common now as well, with both being in the Navy at the moment. 9- GEORGE M BROOKS Pitcher: Philaelphia Keystones- OSA called Brooks a "top of rotation pitcher" at the time but the scouting service had him 23rd on it's draft board and John Spears agreed, putting Brooks 20th and fourth among pitchers. FABL GM's love their arms so you just knew Brooks would be a first round selection and the Keystones did not disappoint, selecting the former Georgia Baptist righthander 9th. Maybe it was memories of another Georgia Baptist star pitcher - Tom Barrell- that helped in their decision but regardless it has proved to be a pretty solid pick. Brooks is not an ace by any stretch of the imagination, but he did win 15 games last season and seems to have found a home in the middle of the Keystones rotation, pitching for a first division ballclub. 10- LOU BARKER Pitcher: New York Stars- Barker was atually thought of higher than Brooks by both OSA and Spears. The scouting service calling him a "potential anchor." He is in the Coast Guard now so that is probably as close as Barker and anchor are ever going to come in the same sentence. He had some shoulder troubles in 1938 but nothing bad enough that it required surgery and by that point he had pretty much proven to the Stars that selecting him was a reach. He joined the war effort following the 1942 season but had been out of the big leagues for 3 seasons by then. Maybe he gets back to the majors after the war but that is likely doubtful considering the influx of talent that will arrive. If not, the final FABL line on Barker is 2-10 with a 5.72 career era in 26 appearances with the Stars and Baltimore. 11- BOB DONOGHUE Outfield/First base: Boston Minutemen- Donoghue went exactly where OSA projected the first team All-American from Iowa A&M should land, 11th in the mock drafted and called an "above average big leaguer." He showed plenty of power as a college star and that power translated to the pros with Donoghue belting a Federal Association leading 34 in 1939 and 24 more then following season. Unfortunately, injuries, which started in 1935 and never seemed to leave him, have proven very costly and perhaps have aged him very quickly. Donoghue has not been hurt this season, but he has not performed, batting just .182 with no homeruns in 23 games for Boston and was sent to AAA for a spell. Had he stayed healthy, Bob Donoghue might well have been one of the best sluggers in the game but now, at age 31, he is looking more like merely a spare part. 12- CARLOS MONTES Outfielder: Chicago Cougars- Montes has become a very good big league centerfielder but unfortunately, like so many others, has seen his career interrupted by the war, joining the Navy in the fall of 1942 just months after playing in his first All-Star game. John Spears had Montes 8th on his pre-draft list while OSA, noting Montes would develop into a solid starter in centerfield, listed him at #11 in the mock. The war will rob him of his prime years but Carlos Montes still might give Pablo Reyes and Sandy Lovelle a run for the best Cuban born player of all-time. 13- ART CASCONE Outfielder: St Louis Pioneers- Cascone was one of the first to join the war effort, enlisting in the Marine Corp just weeks after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Prior to that he was coming up just a little short on OSA's scouting billing that labelled the former Bigsby College star as a "solid second division starter." Cascone spent just one season in the minors before earning a starting job in the St Louis outfield but by 1940 he was in a back up role and spent much of '41 in AAA Oakland. OSA thought he was a borderline first round selection -placing him 16th but John Spears had his concerns and felt mid-second round was a better spot for Cascone. Hard to question most of the names Spears had ahead of Cascone among outfielders. They were Bennie Griffith, Lew Seals, Carlos Montes, Fred Galloway, Dan Rogers, Heine Binnings, Earl West, Bob Donoghue and Ruben Sanchez. 14- DAN ROGERS Outfielder: Brooklyn Kings- OSA made a big mistake hear and so do John Spears as he readily admitted. "Has above average power and is a reliable hitter," was how OSA described the Canton, Ohio high schooler. It turned out that the man known as "Handsome Dan" was not above average at anything except apparently looks. Rogers debuted in the OSA top prospect list at #51 and had a tremendous start at Class C. Upon promotion to the B level he struggled and his OSA ranking quickly dropped to close to #500. He would play just 10 games for Brooklyn, spend a year mostly sitting on the bench after the Cougars used a rule five pick on him in 1943 and had a brief stint with the Gothams before be recenly claimed on waivers by Detroit. In all, Rogers has played in 103 FABL games and has a .183 batting average. Spears and OSA both had him as a first round candidates, but Spears notes that the Kings had their eye on Bob Donoghue all along. "When he went two picks ahead of us to Boston, we felt at the time that Rogers would be a nice consolation prize but it clearly did not work out," explained Spears. 15- JIM HENSLEY Shortstop: Baltimore Cannons- A great choice here for the Cannons. Say what you will about how bad a team they were in the 1930s, but Baltimore did draft well even though the focus might have been too much on pitching at the time. The 1934 draft was exceptionally strong for the Baltimore nine: Gus Goulding and Jim Hensley were the two first rounders. Fred Galloway and Bob Griffith -both terrific outfielders- arrived in the second and third. Frank Covarrubias- who is finally finding success with the Sailors after underachieving for the Cannons and Gothams was a 4th round pick and the trade of him brought Billy Dalton -a key piece of the 43 WCS winning team- to Cincinnati. Charley McCullough, an all-star second baseman who has spent the past 3 years in the Navy- was taken in the 8th round. 16- JOE NICHOLS Second base: Boston Minutemen- Nichols was pegged as a future "second division starter" by OSA. Both the scouting service and John Spears had the Golden Gate University infielder as a back half of the first round pick. He was a top 100 prospect during his time in the minors and proved to be a solid defender. Nichols also hit .278 in 1936, which would turn out to be his only season as an everyday player for the Minutemen. What went wrong is easy to determine, probably as easy as falling off a roof, which was exactly what Nichols did while working on a friends roof in January of 1938. The injuries were severe, perhaps even life threatening as he suffered a concussion and what turned out to be fractured back which caused him to miss the entire 1938 season. That he could actually return to the game at all was a surprise, so it is little wonder that he has been a minor leaguer for the most part since the injury. SUMMARY - It seems like the FABL General Managers did, for the most part, a pretty solid job with the 1934 draft class. Of course there are players that developed late such as the previously mentioned Harry Parker but the first rounders that busted, really did so only because of injury. Only Del Burns at #3 by Detroit seemed a reach at the time but even then his stats certainly warranted the selection and he has proven to be pretty solid. In hindsight Bobo White, Lou Barker and Dan Rogers are just awful picks but for the others that did not pan out it was injury that can be blamed. As for surprises, aside from Parker we have really just 14th round by pick (By Brooklyn) Jimmy Gibbs out of the pitchers. Position players taken late that have enjoyed success include 8th rounders Frank Davis (Pittsburgh) and Ken Vance (Cleveland), 10th rounder Bill Freeman (Gothams) and best of all is 12th rounder Jake Hughes, selected by Montreal. PRO COACHES SAY GRID RACE WIDE OPEN The majority of professional football coaches would pick the Boston Americans if you held a gun to their head and forced them to choose a champion this season, but the reality is nearly all coaches are in agreement this race will be wide open. The Americans, led by quarterback Del Thomas and his favourite targets in Craig Martins and Johnny Littlejohn, may well be the team to beat but even now just a few weeks before the season is set to start there is uncertainty about who will and will not be playing as Selective Service continues to dip into the ranks of the American Football Association. The Boston trio are all back which makes the Americans and their T formation quite possibly the team to beat. Boston, as you might recall, ran roughshod through the AFA last season with a league best 9-1 record before being upset by Chicago at home in the title game a year after the Americans turned the same trick on the Wildcats in the Windy City. Chicago looks like the team to chase in the West once again but the Detroit Maroons may give the Wildcats a run for their money. The key in the Motor City is to get the ball in the hands of the league's most explosive end Stan Vaught more often. Vaught led the league in catches -as he always seems to do- last season but Detroit was far less productive with the combination of Rich Coleman and Marc Orlosky throwing him the ball instead of Dewey Burnett, who missed last season due to the war and is not expected back this year either. About the only thing the AFA can be certain of is there will be 10 teams playing -up from 8 a year ago as Washington returns and is joined by the expansion Cincinnati Tigers- and attendance should be high with season tickets selling a record pace around the league. MIGHTY MO SAYS TAKE A PAGE FROM BRITS FOR GRID GALA MIDDLEWEIGHT TITLE BOUT SAID TO BE HUGE MORALE BOOST Representative Max Morris, possibly the most avid sports enthusiast in Congress, believes the armed forces are about to give the Rome State-Annapolis Maritime football classic back to the people, taking a tip in morale-building from the British. Government restrictions have required the spectacle to be staged the last two war years at either Rome, Ga. or Annapolis strictly for home consumption, but Morris said today this year's game almost assuredly will be held in a major Eastern city with everybody officially welcome. "I have been talking with some of the service officials and it looks pretty certain the game will be presented in all its prewar glory this fall," said Morris, Pennsylvania representative who's former occupation was blasting baseballs. His guess for the locale is either New York or Philadelphia, the former because its transportation system could handle the usual crowd of 70,000 to 80,000 best, the later because of the rich tradition of playing the game at Sailors Memorial Stadium. "The British are going all out for sports as a moral builder, despite the proximity to the Luftwaffe and robot bombs," Morris said. "Why they have scheduled 65 major sports events over there including the first World Title Boxing fight since before the war. A lot of their big events could draw as many as 125,000 people. Our Government realizes that if the British feel the need for public sports events so keenly, we certainly ought to do the same thing when we're pratically out of danger here." Morris has at least two other arguements that the big December football game needs to be in a major stadium. "At a game like that they should be able to sell millions of dollars worth of War Bonds," he declared. "Then, too, both war schools are getting pretty low on funds and a real game would give 'em a chance to make some without coming to Congress for additional money." LIVERPOOL FIGHT CARD TO BE ONE FOR THE AGES The World Middleweight Title fight set for Liverpool England next month may go down in history as one of the best boxing cards ever assembled. Not only will it feature the long awaited meeting between world champion Archie Rees and former champ Jorge Cuellar and it will be the first World Title Fight in any division since the attack on Pearl Harbor. Now comes word that the Army has confirmed the evening also will feature exhibitions involving World Heavyweight Champion Hector Sawyer and a pair of young fighters who might be best described as the future of the Welterweight Division. Sawyer,49-3-1 as a pro and World Champion since knocking out German Jochen Schrotter in 1940, has agreed to face Englishman Justin Bellairs in an exhibition match. The 31 year old Sawyer will not be putting his heavyweight belt on the line but should have little trouble with Bellairs, a London-born heavyweight who is 15-8-5 as a pro and currently a member of the Royal Air Force. Sawyer, known as The Cajun Crusher, is in the US Army and has not fought professionally since retaining his title with a 9th round TKO of Mark Dyer in 1940 but has been involved in numerous military fundraising exhibitions. The card will also feature two of the best young welterweights in the world. Danny Rutledge is a 20 year old from Louisville, KY. and the pride of the Army. He will face Mac Erickson, a St Paul, MN. born 24 year old and the best fighter the Navy has to offer. They will go at it for up to 15 rounds in what is being billed as the Allied European Theatre Welterweight Championship fight. While records are not kept it is reported that neither fighter has lost a bout - said to number over 25 for each- during their time in the service. *** Veteran Johnson Comes up Short on Scorecard *** In fight action from this week, Veteran heavyweight Ray Johnson suffered his third straight defeat and it appears to be close to the end of the line for the 38 year old Minneapolis native. Johnson lost an 8-round split decision to Tennessee Ray Clark in a bout fought at the Music Hall in Cincinnati last week. At one point in his career Johnson was 13-2 and looked perhaps to be on his way towards a title opportunity but that was over a decade ago. Now, after being declared 4-F by the Army the 38 year old Johnson continues to tour the midwest in search of opponents but has four losses and a draw in his last six outings and really is to the point where he should hang up the gloves. Johnson is now 19-20-4 as a professional. The 29 year old Clark is not considered to be anything more than a card filler under normal circumstances but made his return to the ring after a 3 year absence. He has won his last five bouts and is 9-6-1 for his career. It was the first professional fight that was not a military exhibition to be held in Cincinnati this year. The card also featured an 8-round bout for the Ohio Youth Amateur championship in which 17 year old Cincinnati native Barry Scott claimed the crown for 1944 with an unanimous decision over Max Maxwell of Columbus. Scott is 16-0 as an amateur and off to join the Army next month but says he plans to fight as a professional after the war. L.A. PAPERS BLASTING BENTLEY FOR WASPS FOR CHARITY GRID CUT The Los Angeles papers are blasting Homer Bentley because the Washington Wasps received a fat guarantee out of last weekends charity game with the March Field grid forces. The West Coast dailies felt Bentley, the Waps owner, was taking advantage of the situation by demanding such a large cut from what was billed as a military fundraiser. The Wasps won 7-3 but all in attendance felt it was not the team's finest hour. The Army Flyers, in tip top physical trim, had the better of everything except the final score in a game played before 50,000 fans in Los Angeles. The Flyers outplayed the Wasps for three periods as an unimpressive Washington eleven was making it's return to pro ball after a one year sabatical from the AFA. The game was 3-0 until a rare March Field mistake led to an interception that set up the only Washington score on the day. The Wasps will hope for a better effort this Thursday when they will join the Brooklyn Kings, who had been training in Texas, for the first ever professional football game played in Utah. The contest, to kickoff at 8:30pm Mountain war time is expected to be a sellout at the 16,000 seat Provo Stadium, which normally acts as host to the Provo Tech Lions AIAA contests. The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 8/27/1944
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September 4, 1944
SEPTEMBER 4, 1944 WILD MONTH LOOMS IN CONTINENTAL No one expected this a couple of months ago but it certainly feels like the Federal Association and Continental Association switched places. In late June one would have thought the Fed would go down to the wire with 4-teams within 3 games of first place when calendar switched to July. Meanwhile in the CA the Chicago Cougars were enjoying a 7 game lead on the second place Toronto Wolves and 13.5 on the defending champion Cincinnati Cannons, wo sat in 4th place and seemed to be in complete control of the race. But now, with 4 weeks remaining in the regular season it is the CA that looks like it will go down to the wire while the Federal race appears all but decided. Top spot in the Continental is shard by the Cannons and Wolves with the Cougars still clinging to life despite a 21-25 mark since the all-star break at only a game and a half back. There will likely be plenty of lead changes the rest of the way, as there were just over a week ago when the Wolves swept a pair from the Cannons to take over top spot. Toronto gave their 2.5 game lead back this week as an 8-game winning streak gave way to 4-straight losses over the weekend including a 3-game sweep at that hands of Philadelphia that saw the Sailors tame the Wolves by outscoring them 19-5 over the weekend. The Sailors rebound came after they limped out of Cincinnati with 3-straight losses and helped the Cannons, who split a 4 game set in Cleveland on the weekend, to pull even. Not a lot has gone right for the Cougars lately and it appeared more of the same when they started a short week that saw them only play 4 times with a pair of 1-run defeats. Things came together yesterday as for the second Sunday in a row the Cougars swept a twin bill from the Montreal Saints, destroying the Saints by a combined score of 16-0 with Art White and Harry Parker each tossing shutouts. The big positive for the Cougars was White's whitewashing of the Saints. That is his third straight win, and second shutout in that stretch, after two months of terrible struggles that, perhaps more than any other player, epitomizes the Cougars mid-season collapse. White was 10-0 with a 1.89 era in late June but then suffered through a 3-8 stretch before finally regaining his groove. It may well be the schedule makers who decide the fate of the CA Pennant. The final stretch certainly favours the Cougars as 15 of their final 24 games are in Chicago. The Wolves and Cannons each have 25 left to play but both will only have 6 games at home the rest of the way. Cincinnati and Toronto play each other 8 teams down the stretch and will also each visit Chicago for 3 games so there is plenty left to decide in the CA. *** BARRELL CONTINUES TO LEAD KEYSTONES *** The Federal Association has had a pretty good tradition of tight September battles in recent years but the Philadelphia Keystones -and Bobby Barrell in particular- are very close to making the final full month of the season fairly meaningless. Barrell (.358,41,138) just won his third straight Fed batter of the month award and is running away with the homerun and rbi lead while also bidding to become the Federal Associations first triple crown winner since his old teammate Rankin Kellogg turned the trick in 1933. Watching Barrell chase the batting title -something he has never won before- and try to reach the 50 homerun mark and 160 rbi total for the second time in his career has been the 'race' in the Fed. Strange things can happen -and one needs look no further than the Chicago Cougars recent stretch for an example- but with a 7 game lead on second place Pittsburgh and 7.5 on the surprising Detroit Dynamos the Keystones should feel safe in starting to print World Championship Series tickets, something that has not happened in 11 years. It has been another tough season for the Saints as they sit in the cellar of the Continental Association but the club has announced that three players they feel are a big part of the future in Montreal will all come up from AAA Minneapolis and make their big league debuts in the coming days. The youngest of the three, and the most highly touted is 21 year old righthander Bert Cupid. The Buckeye Bullet, as the Ohio native is known as, has consistently be a top twenty-five prospect according to OSA since the Saints selected him 4th overall out high school in 1941. He has been impressive with the Lumberjacks this season, with an 12-7 record and 3.49 ERA and now will have a chance to prove he can throw in the FABL. Depending on the performance he makes, that can set the way to be part of the pitching squad next season. Plus, Cupid just been named the Century League Pitcher of the month in August. Joining Cupid on the train east will be second sacker Eddie Barkley, who learned the news of his first big league promotion just 2 days before his 26th birthday. Barkley came to the Saints organization in an April deal that sent Jimmy Mayse to the Motor City. A former 2nd round pick from Detroit, Barkley has had a good season in Minneapolis with 9HRs, 44 RBIs and .278 BA. He will have the chance to prove he can play second base all on a regular basis next year. The rumors saying, he is getting the chance because of the injury Gordie Perkins got last week, but this is just rumors. Most people are saying that both would have got the promotion anyway. The final one is certainly the most recognizable name to Saints supporters. Outfielder/first baseman Hank Eason, the Montreal native kid and son of former Saints star Hal Eason, will get his first big league at bat in September with the same franchise than his dad did. Hal Eason had made the trip to Montreal to see the first steps in FABL of son Hank and he was seen walking yesterday walking around Parc Cartier with a proud father smile in his face. Eason has been patrolling leftfield in Minneapolis all season and went through the Montreal minors league system since he has been drafted 10th overall in 1941. Many believe the promotion is more a marketing event to bring a boost in the attendance for the last month of season, but still a chance for another young kid to show his skills. No-Hitter In Evansville Saints 21 year old prospect Andy Lyon threw a no-hitter in A ball last week. It came against Davenport and was the first no-hitter by an Evansville pitcher since Bill Dodson threw one in 1919. Lyon had struggled early in the season at the AA level but since the demotion to the Class A Heartland League the 1941 7th round selection has been outstanding- going 4-0 with a 1.13 era and is drawing some attention from OSA and their prospect rankings. ODDS AND ENDS- When Hank Eason makes his big league debut he will become just the 8th Montreal born player to appear in a FABL game, joining Pete Casstevens, Bob Johnston Jr. (both of whom have former Saints for fathers), Abel Man, Henry Lucas, Dick Boyer, Jim Darrin and Patrick Jones. Boyer is the only other native Montrealer to ever play for the Saints. The former infielder suited up for 75 games with the club between 1928-30. However there have been three other Quebec born players to suit up for the local nine. Henri Veron, from Hebertville, played 259 games for the Saints from 1927-31. Felix Pickett was a pitcher in the 1890s who was born in Longueuil and played 11 games for Montreal and John Timmons, a Crabtree, QC, native played 239 FABL games in the 1890s including 1 for the Saints. Eason is also one of just three Quebec-born player to be drafted by the Saints, following Laval's George Scott (5th rd 1926) and proceeding Quebec City born Henri Gallagher (22nd rd, 1942). Word is Montreal middleweight Adrian Petrie will be on the big military fight card in Liverpool next month with the World Middleweight title on the line. Petrie is currently a machine gunner with the Royal Montreal Regiment and was part of the First Army Headquarters Defense Company that landed in France in July. Before the war the 22 year old was a rising star on the Canadian boxing scene and was a perfect 6-0 record including 4 knockouts before joining the war effort. He will fight in one of the preliminary bouts on the September 16 event schedule, which will include the first World Title Fight in any division since 1941.
SHOWBOATS SHOWING OFF WITH SURPRISE SHOT AT PRO CAREER While so much has been written about the many baseball careers that were interrupted due to the war effort, the absence of so many professional ballplayers has created an opportunity for others whose dreams of being pro athletes were likely hanging by a thread. At least until opportunity knocked liked it did for four youngsters making a name for themselves this season in Louisiana. The New Orleans Showboats, a AA affiliate of the Philadelphia Keystones, have been one of the better outfits in the Dixie League and claimed 4 league pennants over the past decade but had not won one since 1940. That might change this year as the Showboats lead second place Knoxville by 3 games with 3 weeks remaining in the season and you need to look no farther than the Showboats starting rotation for the reason why. What is amazing is aside from Al Moore (15-10, 3.55), none of the five starters were ever drafted or played big time college ball. Desperate to fill holes created by losses to the war efffort the Keystones organization held an open minor league tryout in March of 1943. The only requirement was your military status had to be 4-F. Hundreds of would-be ballplayers came out and the Keystones signed several of them but four in particular have enjoyed incredible success this year. They are 22 year olds Randy Burks (14-9, 3.01) and Bob Armstrong (14-11, 2.71) along with 23 year olds Pat Wheeler (12-4, 3.13) and Charlie Wentz (11-9, 3.53). The quartet have combined for 10 shutouts and Burks secured his place in baseball history with a no-hitter - the first by a New Orleans pitcher since 1899. The four all have two things in common. One is all were declared 4-F by Selective Service and thus eligible to attend that open tryout the Keystones held nearly two years ago. And two, none of the four had ever been close to being professional ballplayers until that tryout. Burks is a tall righthander who hails from Litchfield, MN., and looked pretty good pitching in Class B and C last year after earning a spot with the organization. This year he was made a starter at the AA level and has ran with it, winning 14 games including that June no-hitter against Atlanta. Armstrong is a St Louis boy who loved the Pioneers and idolized Sam Sheppard as a youth, and does a terrific impression of Sheppard's delivery on the mound. Like Burks, he has blossomed this season and won 14 games. Pat Wheeler was more of a tennis player in high school growing up in Brooklyn but he found himself along with the others in Class C to begin last season. It wasn't a bad year split between B and C but was interrupted by an elbow injury that cost him 6 weeks so Wheeler was somewhat surprised when the contract offer came in the mail for this season and mentioned AA. Clearly the Keystones made the right call as Wheeler is a dominant 12-4 on the year. Finally we have 23 year old Charlie Wentz. The Waynesboro, PA. native won 16 games last season -by far the most successful pro debut of the 4- and even claimed a pitcher of the month award in Class B. He has not missed a beat this season with an 11-9 record that includes 3 complete game shutouts. All four now have big league goals but are realistic that the odds are very long, especially will all indications the war is coming to an end and well over 1,000 former pro ballplayers will be back and looking for work. OSA is not sold on any of them having much of a pro career so they may all be out of the game entirely a year from now. For the time being however, all four of them are simply making the most of a horrific world situation that has turned into the opportunity of a lifetime for each of them. A much better effort in their second exhibition contest was displayed by the Washington Wasps. Taking on the Brooklyn Kings in Utah just before both clubs return east in preparation for the 1944 American Football Association season, the Wasps came up with an inspired 14-7 victory over the Brooklyn eleven. A less than expected crowd of 12,000 was on hand to witness the first ever professional football game played in Utah. The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 9/03/1944
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September 4, 1944 - Part 2 -Local Updates
SEPTEMBER 4, 1944 SPECIAL LABOR DAY ISSUE WITH FOCUS ON THE LOCAL DAILY PAPERS TALES FROM THE WOLVES DEN: Club ready for key stretch run - On this Labour Day with the WWII in Europe progressing but not with the rapidity all had hoped let's take a look at the remainder of the schedule for your Toronto Wolves. At 75-54 they are in a dead heat with Cincinnati for the CA title. The Wolves have had a season far above this writers initial expectations in the spring. Manager Bob Call is to be commended for his handling of the team throughout this 1944 season. His new unorthodox handling of the SP, where during the first two months the starter was pulled at first signs of being tired, came under questioning, at times criticism from the traditional experts, fans were also heard to be questioning the soundness of this approach in Dominion Stadium. Call has always said that the purpose of this handling was to insure that the starting staff would be strong in September. Lately the skipper has said "Over my 30+ years being in and around organized baseball I have seen too many times when starters struggled towards the end of season. I always thought that this was because they have no gas left in the tank due to be overused in the early months of the season. Early season moves to my relief corps was to save some of the gas for this time of the year." We all will see if Bob's theory is correct, through August it has proved to be a gem, as he started lengthening out starters innings through June, July, August. Now on to the schedule, the Wolves have only six games remaining in Toronto with 19 away dates to close out the season. Toronto has been good on the road posting a 35-23 record thus far in 1944 with a 40-31 home record. With a strange twist of fate Cincinnati's record is exactly the same as Toronto's, Cannons also only have six home dates remaining on their schedule. If being at home means anything in September then the favourites in the CA would have to be the Chicago Cougars, who looked to be a lead pipe cinch until the calendar turned to July. Cougars play 15 of 24 at Cougars Park in September, they are only 1 1/2 games behind the leaders entering Labour Day. At Cleveland 4 September doubleheader: Probable Starters- Bernie Johnson, Jim Laurita Season record against the Foresters 14-6. I expect the Wolves to sweep this twin bill, the final games against the Foresters for the year, after both the public, private criticism of the team's play being swept by the Sailors. The train trip back to Toronto should be an enjoyable ride. Brett's predicted record after this series 77-54. Home to Cincinnati 7, 9, 10, 10 September: Probable Starters- Chuck Wirtz, Bob Walls, Jimmy Gibbs, Johnson Season record versus the Cannons 7-7 This is the beginning of 8 games in 10 days against the Cannons. Important is not a strong enough word to describe what these two series mean in the grand scheme of things to the Wolves. There are rumours circulating around the clubhouse that Call is thinking of skipping the Wirtz start to substitute Tommy Anderson. If that transpires it would be Anderson's first major league start. Wirtz has been showing signs of wearing down after an exceptional performance through June, July, most of August. This would just be another unorthodox move by Call, who has proved to have no fear of the unconventional in his handling of pitchers. I predict the Wolves will win this series 3-1. Wolves predicted record after this series 80-55 Home to Philadelphia 12, 13 September: Probable Starters- Laurita, Wirtz Season record against the Sailors 13-7 Let's keep the ballclub rolling as I predict a two game sweep for the Wolves for the fans to close out their home regular season schedule, partially to avenge the losses in Philadelphia at the beginning of this month. Brett's predicted record after this series 82-55 At Cincinnati 15, 16, 17, 17 September: Probable Starters- Walls, Gibbs, Laurita, Johnson As this begins a grueling, season closing 17-game road trip for the Wolves I expect that both the competitors in this series will still being looking over their shoulder's at the Chicago nine and will split this series. Predicted record after this series 84-57 At Brooklyn 20, 21, 22 September: Probable Starters- Wirtz, Walls, Gibbs Season record against the Kings 11-8 Toronto heads into New York City for 6 games in 5 days. I see the Wolves winning this series 2-1 Toronto's predicted record after this series 86-58 At New York Stars 23, 24, 24 September: Probables- Laurita, Johnson, Anderson Season record opposing NYS 6-13 If Anderson does not make the start against the Cannons earlier in the month expect his first major league start to be against the Stars. The New York squad has owned the Wolves this season, in a big pressure moment like this I think that the Wolves will gain a minor measure of retribution taking two of three. Wolves predicted record after this series 88-59 At Chicago 25, 26, 27 September: Probables- Wirtz, Walls, Gibbs Season record with Chicago 10-9 This is a tough turnaround after a doubleheader in the Big Apple on Sunday. Brett expects the travel to catch up to the team on this leg of the trip, Chicago to win two of three to even the season series between the two clubs. Predicted record after this series 89-61 At Montreal 28, 29, 30 September 1 October: Probables- Laurita, Johnson, Wirtz, Walls Season series with Saints 14-4 As much as the Stars have had the Wolves' number Toronto has feasted on Montreal in 1944. The hope is that either these games are very consequential or that the Wolves are preparing for a World Series opponent but the squad will close the season strong winning three of four. Final predicted record after this series 92-62 In the starting lineup you can expects the regular fielders to get very little time off during these last four weeks. Although everyone has bumps and bruises from the six month schedule ordeal it is time to step up to the plate at many different levels. Will Brett be correct in his 92-62 prediction for the Wolves, will 92 be enough victories to sit atop the CA? There will certainly be surprises, disappoints for teams but it will be an exciting end to 1944, this will give the baseball fans something with which to escape the daily drudgery of sacrifice, extended work hours, on-going war news. St. Louis starting pitcher Buddy Long is having the best season of his career and he’s frustrated. Winning twenty games in a season should be special but all Long could think about after his 20th victory of the 1944 season was 1943. “If I had pitched this well last season we would have won the Fed,” said the dejected veteran. “We may have won the whole thing!” Long didn’t pitch horrible in 1943 but he lost 16 games and led the Fed in that category for the third time in the last four seasons. Long came to the Pioneers in the spring of 1938 as a key piece in the deal that sent Fred McCormick to Toronto so there were lofty shoes to fill. He went straight into the big league rotation as the 26th best prospect in the game and did well his first two seasons winning 33 games including 19 in 1939 with a respectable 3.34 ERA. From there he was supposed to become elite but the opposite happened. Over the next four years he won just 41 games and lost 72 even though his ERA never went above 4.26. The fans turned against him and the Pioneers front office lost confidence in him to the point where he started the 1941 season in AAA Oakland. St. Louis even tried to trade him several times over the four year span but no one would pay the price they were asking and based off of Long’s performance during that four year span everyone in the league thought they were crazy with their demands. “It’s been a rough go for Buddy the last few years,” explained St. Louis GM Herb DeSpain. “He wants the team to win, he doesn’t care about his own stats...he wants a championship!” 1944 has been a career year for Long. He’s finally turned into the pitcher everyone thought he would be when the trade was made. How good has Long been this year? He leads the Fed in most major pitching stats and if that’s not enough for you then think about this...Buddy Long has more quality starts than he has unintentional walks(24:22)! So what’s the problem you ask? Why is Buddy Long such a Debbie Downer if he’s now one of the best pitchers in the FABL? Well it all came one year too late. You see in 1943 the Pioneers climbed out of the Fed basement and made a run at the Pennant only to come up six games short of the Boston Minutemen for the title. Pioneers legend Sam Sheppard revived his career and the team brought in “Old” Joe Shaffner mid season to make a run. “Those two guys pitched their asses off last year!” Long admired. “No one thought we would be in the race but this year was different. Everyone thought we’d have a shot this year!” As it turned out, 1943 may have been their best chance to win it all. In 1944 “Old” Joe Shaffner looks, well, old! And Sam Sheppard has looked more like the aging star forced to the bullpen than the rejuvenated All-Star that he was last year. Long started the season 18 games under .500 for his career. He now sits just five games under .500 as of Labor Day 1944. With maybe six more starts left he has the chance to even up his record and head into an offseason where he’s the returning ace of an uncertain staff. The Pioneers are bringing up three prospects from Oakland to get some starts with the big club the final month of the season. One thing is for sure, Buddy Long will not be starting 1945 in Oakland. CANNONS NEED ONE MORE BIG PUSH Well, we have certainly been here before. It's Labor Day and the Cincinnati Cannons are in the thick of the Continental Association flag race. The pressure might be a little less this time around thanks in part to the WCS win celebrated after a thrilling seventh game victory over Boston 11 months ago, but also it feels like the Cannons are playing with house money considering their two-time Allan Award winning ace Deuce Barrell -the game seven hero a year ago- missed the entire season with an arm injury and in late June the Cannons were 17.5 games out of first place and focusing primarily on next season. But a 49-21 run can quickly turn a clubs fortunes around and now with four weeks remaining in the season a second straight trip to the WCS is quite possible. The nemisis will be a familiar one, or two actually. Cincinnati had a tough time with the Toronto Wolves last September and there was plenty of worry the club might just squander the 7.5 game lead they had on Labor Day one year ago. Losing 7 of 8 to the Wolves that month turned out to not be fatal because the cushion had been built through hard work earlier in the season. This time around there are once again 8 September dates with Toronto but there is no such cushion as the two clubs are in a dead heat atop the CA. And don't count out the Chicago Cougars. This writer, and many others, all but handed the Cougars this year's crown when they opened the season with 50 wins in their first 68 games and had a 10 game bulge on second place Toronto until the wheels feel off in July and August. But the Cougars are just a game and a half back and, unlike Toronto and the Cannons who each play 19 of their last 25 games on the road, Chicago will be home for 15 of it's 24 remaining contests. There have been plenty of battles between these three since the Cannons moved to Cincinnati for the 1940 season. Cincinnati nearly pulled off a miracle worst to first run in '40 but faded late and ended up in third place - 4 games back of the front-running Wolves and 3 behind the Cougars. Chicago won the flag the following year in a down season in which the Cannons still landed in the first division, but 15 games off the pace. 1942 saw the New York Stars run away with things leaving the Cannons and Cougars to duke it out for second place and a year ago they were once more 1-2-3 with the Cannons going to their first World Championship Series since the franchise accomplished the feat as the Baltimore Clippers way back in 1914. So here we go again. One month to go but zero margin for error this time as the Cannons bid to become the first CA club to repeat as pennant winners since Brooklyn won 3 straight from 1936-38. This has been a most unusual season and by rights with the number of injuries and the awful start to the season the club endured they should not even be in the conversation when it comes to pennant talk. But here we are and there is little doubt management decided to show confidence in Ad Doria's boys by going all-in with big name acquisitions like Tom Bird, Rabbit Day and the legendary but lately very inconsistent slugger Al Wheeler. This is now a veteran team. Perhaps the oldest in the league but the Cannons are getting production from the likes of the three ex-Chicago Chiefs along with Sam Brown, Tom Barrell, Jake Smith, Butch Smith, Chris Clarke, Tony White, and Jack Cleaves. In all there are 18 players on the Cannons active roster right now that are on the wrong side of thirty but the Cannons hope they can play like they are in their prime for one more month and turn a season that started out as a nightmare into another dream year. *** MONARCH CAGE CREW HEADING WEST *** Queen City University cagers will spend the start of November in San Francisco as the Monarchs basketball team has been invited to take part in the prestigious West Coast Classic, which is one of the bigger season opening college basketball tournaments around. The Monarchs are coming off a 17-12 season that followed a pair of 16 win campaigns as they continue to dream of an invite for the season-ending National Tournament. That is something Queen City has not been a part of since 1925. A pair of seniors in forward Preacher Hynes and guard Michael Peraz will be counted on to lead the team this season with freshman Daniel Reel -out of nearby Lee's Creek being a much anticipated addition. Reel, who is a 6'3" guard, had hoped to see double-duty this season and play as an end for the Monarchs football team but the school has opted not to field a team again this season due to player shortages and travel concerns. The Monarchs last fielded a football squad in 1942 but do hope to return to the gridiron for the 1945 campaign. Our neighbors down in Lexington apparently also earned an invite to one of the big tip-off tourneys. The Central Kentucky Tigers are reportedly accepted in the Jack Easton Tip-off Classic -the annual big Boston event named after the founder of the sport. AROUND THE LEAGUE: ROOKIE DEBUTS September is a big time for everyone, not just the contenders. A lot of teams that may not be in the flag race use the start of the month and the expanded roster size to take a look at some of their top prospects. Even the contenders often rely on that hotshot prospect to perhaps deliver a key inning on the mound or a timely hit to keep the pennant push going. This year is no different despite the fact that a number of the top prospects are scattered across Europe or the Pacific. Here is a look at the players who have been promoted and set to make their big league debut. There could be others coming but here are the ones we are aware of now. BOSTON- no rookie call-ups as of press time BROOKLYN- no rookie call-ups as of press time CHIEFS- He was up with Cincinnati earlier in the season but the Chiefs will give 22 year old Frank Sears his first taste of the Federal Association. Sears was acquired in the deal that sent Tom Bird and Rabbit Day to the Cannons. COUGARS- The Cougars have called up a number of reinforcements from AAA Milwaukee including 5 may make their big league debut this month. They are catcher Gene Lee, infielders Steve Jones and Danny Richardson along with outfielders Leo Davis and Huuck Hanes. CINCINNATI- The Cannons have dealt away all their prospects so will have no newcomers for the final few weeks of the season, unless you count 32 year old waiver pick-up Don Homer as a prospect. CLEVELAND- no rookie call-ups as of press time DETROIT- Detroit promoted pitcher Dick Reaume to make his big league debut at age 29. Also called up for the first time were a pair of 25 year olds in catcher Herb Hartman and SS/OF Eddie Kincaid. MONTREAL- Excitement in Montreal with former Saints star Hal Eason in town to watch the big league debut of his son Hank, a first round pick in 1941. The Saints also promoted 25 year old second baseman Eddie Barkley and top prospect Bert Cupid (#22 on OSA list) to make their debuts. NY STARS- no rookie call-ups as of press time NY GOTHAMS- 24 year old outfielder Simon McFadden was promoted a couple of weeks ago and went 2-for-4 in his big league debut against Philadelphia. He will be joined this week by several players as New York World Telegraph scribe William 'Red' Wedge points out with this excerpt from his recent column. "Johnny Massey will make his major league debut in game 2 of Monday's Labor Day doubleheader. Massey has made a long slow climb to the big leagues since being drafted in the 5th round of the 1936 draft by the Gothams. Catching Massey will be Cliff Leiby, who will also be making his first big league appearance. Leiby was selected in the 14th round of the 1937 draft by New York. While a decent bat Leiby has struggled with the glove which has slowed his progress through the minors. Also added to the major league roster for the first time is Bucky Palmer, a reliever who has had success at each rung of the minor league ladder. The final newcomer is Cy Howard, another piece of the Rusty Petrick deal, along with Jim Lonardo and Bunny Hufford to appear for the Gothams this season. His solid bat a defensive flexibilty give him a chance to stick with the big club in the future. And finally, Eddie Ziehl is back. Manager Ziehl's son and namesake spent most of the campaign at AAA Toledo, but will get to spend another September in the big city." KEYSTONES- Hardly a prospect but an injury to Walt Potter prompted the Keystones to promote 28 year old catcher Charlie Gagnon, who went 0-for-10 in his first two weeks as a big leaguer. SAILORS- 24 year old lefthander Art Hull made his big league debut a couple of weeks ago PITTSBURGH- promoted 25 year old pitcher Whitey Reynolds after an 11-11, 4.45 season at AAA St Paul. ST LOUIS- called up three pitchers including two ranked in the top 100 prospects. Those two are Lazaro DeLeon (#50) and Ben Fiskers (#73) along with 26 year old Herb Armstrong. TORONTO- The Wolves are promoting pitcher Tommy Anderson from AAA Buffalo after a 13-7, 3.15 season for the Nickels. The 25 year old was a second round pick out of Chesapeake State in 1940 and is expected to debut in a pressure-packed situation -getting his first big league start against Cincinnati Wednesday. WASHINGTON- no rookie call-ups as of press time |
September 11, 1944
SEPTEMBER 11, 1944 WOLVES MAUL CANNONS - TAKE CA LEAD The Toronto Wolves September dominance of the Cincinnati Cannons continued with the Wolves taking 3 out of 4 games in a key weekend series to pull two games ahead in the Continental Association race with another big rematch coming this weekend in the Queen City. Toronto is 10-2 over the past two Septembers against the Cannons after winning 7 of 8 meetings between the two rivals last season. The September dominance stretches much further back than just the past 13 months. Since the Cannons moved from Baltimore to Cincinnati prior to the 1940 season the Wolves are 22-9 in September meetings between the two. The crazy thing is when the two teams meet in any other month except September the Cannons hold a 41-34 advantage. Only in baseball can such a vast disparity exist. The two clubs entered the 4 game weekend set at Dominion Stadium tied for top spot and the Cannons took a one-day lead when veteran Tom Barrell improved to 8-7 on the season by spinning a 4-hit 4-0 shutout victory over Toronto in what was the big league debut of Wolves rookie righthander Tidewater Tommy Anderson. It was vintage Barrell and he also homered -the 9th of his career and first since 1941 to aide his own cause. That would be it for the celebrating in the visitors clubhouse on this weekend as, after an off-day, Toronto veteran Bob Walls went one better than Barrell, tossing a 3-hit shutout to beat Chris Clarke and the Cannons 2-0 and even the race. A Sunday twinbill went all Toronto's way with a 4-3 win in the opener followed by a convincing 5-0 shutout thanks to Bernie Johnson's 17th win, tying him for the CA lead in that category. The handicappers now give the Wolves a 72% chance of raising the champion's flag just a couple of months after they were 10 games back of the Chicago Cougars and rookie skipper Bob Call brazenly declared there was no way Toronto would raise the white flag on the season. As for the Cougars, the spiral continued with a 1-5 week that drops them 4.5 games off the pace. They are not out of it yet -Chicago has 3 games remaining against both the teams they are chasing and all 6 will be at home- but it certainly feels like their incredible 50-18 start to the season is about to be wasted. *** MINERS DIGGING OUT OF HOLE *** The Pittsburgh Miners entered the week with the tough task of trying to make up 7 games on the front-running Philadelphia Keystones in the Federal Association race. They started off nicely with a Monday doubleheader sweep of their Pennsylvania rival that included a 3-hit shutout effort from Don Miller. The Keystones, after a 3-day post Labor Day break, then went to Boston and dropped two of three to the Minutemen. Pittsburgh, meanwhile had a date with Washington - a team that has outplayed the two Pennsylvania nines since the all-star break- and it was clearly a case of bad timing for the Miners who dropped 3-of-4 to the resurgent Stockdales. The result is the Miners are now 5.5 games back and still in the mix but likely must go 3-0 in a very unusual week that sees them playing 3 times against Philadelphia- but no one else- over the next seven days. A Pittsburgh sweep and the Keystones lead is down to just 2.5 games with two weeks remaining. Good news for the Miners perhaps as Bobby Barrell -the clear cut Federal Association Whitney Award winner - crashed down to earth this week with his worst weekly performance in ages. Barrell went just 4-for-20 without an extra base hit or an rbi and saw Washington's Mel Carrol pass him in the batting average race which, if the trend continues, will cost Barrell the triple crown. TALES FROM THE WOLVES DEN With a 4-2 record over the week Wolves open up a two-game lead in the CA.
SAWYER WILL BE BETTER SCRAPPER AFTER WAR, VET TRAINER SAYS "Hector Sawyer will be a better boxer than ever when he's mustered out of the Army and he's got at least five more years of first-class boxing in him." That's the opinion of Steven MacInotosh, veteran trainer when asked for his thoughts on the big fight card across the pond next week. "Sure Hector has picked up a bit of weight, but his camp can get that off him easily. Hector did always eat a lot and I guess that Army chow has been putting on the poundage. That seems to be common and most boxers I have seen will be coming out of the service with too much weight." When pressed about the layoff so many fighters have had, McIntosh says that won't hurt. If anything, the Boston boxing guru thinks it will help him. "Hector was always one of the cleanest living boys, and with the rest he is getting now from active boxing, he should have one of the longest fighting careers of record. Might even hang on to the belt for another half dozen years." MacIntosh, a powerful fighter in his younger days and now a crafty handler, does not believe a word of it when the suggestion a long layoff will make it difficult for the boys coming out of the service regaining their skills. "Most have been fighting exhibitions all along and that puts a lot less strain on the body than a big-time 10 or 15 round pro tilt. So, most might be better now than they were going in. A long layoff will likely be a factor in the Middleweight title fight that headlines Saturday's military card in Liverpool. Champ Arhcie Rees has not fought professionally in 3 years but has been plenty busy in the ring fighting various British forces cards. He should be raring to go and have a big night, especially with the very partisan crowd behind him. "No doubt Rees will be on top of his game, and he is a great fighter to begin with. I can't see any way he loses as Cuellar is going to be rusty and maybe even a little intimidated by that crowd," predicts MacIntosh. MacIntosh doubts the title fight will go the distance and expects Archie Rees (33-4-1) to retain his World Middleweight belt in the fight against former champion Jorge Cuellar. The Spanish fighter owns a 42-1-2 career record but has not fought anywhere, even exhibitions, since annoucing his retirement over 4 years ago. The fight will be staged before an expected crowd of 20,000 soldiers and sailors Saturday in Liverpool, England. Baltimore is clearly making a statement it can support a big league grid team. The city, which lost the baseball Cannons to Cincinnati nearly 5 years ago, was not supporting it's diamond team but the question is whether it was a lack of interest in pro sports or just a fanbase that gave up on one of the worst decades of baseball ever displayed. Only the nearly as inept Washington Eagles were drawing less than the Cannons did through much of their final decade in the Crab City but Banner Field was packed for a grid exhibition this week involving the Washington Wasps. Nearly 38,000 showed up in the rain to watch a meaningless warm-up tilt between the Wasps and Pittsburgh Paladins and everywhere you went in the stadium city officials were crowing this would be an everyday occurance should Baltimore get an AFA team of his own. Even Wasps magnate Homer Bentley, a Baltimore native, was selling all that the city would have to offer the American Football Association. Bentley said the region was more than big enough for a rival club nearby and hopes to see it happen one day. It won't be in the near future likely as Baltimore missed it's chance and was beaten out by Cincinnati once more last spring when the AFA opted to go with the Queen City as it's new expansion team. Going forward one has to think California is on the mind of AFA boss Jack Kristich so Baltimore may be left on the sidelines yet again with Los Angeles and the San Francisco area moving to the top of Kristich's wish list. Of course there is always the possibility one of the much talked about rival leagues comes together and the city of Baltimore gets back into the pro sports business. But for one day at least, Baltimore proved it will support a big league team. *** RIVALS COMING FOR THE AFA *** It is generally agreed that, once it is possible to breathe slowly and deeply in this war-torn world, one of our biggest and most prosperous sports will be professional football. Promoters and magnates of the American Football Association are not alone in this belief. Somewhat to their irritation, other persons throughout the land are preparing to bake themselves a pie to slice. There may be some merry warfare and considerable rannygazoo before the pro game really settles down.One league, which will be in operation this Autumn, already has got into the hair of the AFA. That is the West Coast League while will operate clubs from Los Angeles as far north as Seattle. The AFA is very steamed because the West Coast magnates are attempting to sign players who are under contract to AFA clubs for the upcoming season. It will be interesting to see how this unfolds. So far, the rupture does not constitute all-out football war and perhaps these two leagues will yet learn to love each other. Maybe considering they are on opposite sides of the country they might just be forced to work together next season. 1945 is when the rival loop claiming it will have coast to coast representation expects to operate, putting it smack dab in the middle of many of the same cities that the AFA and the new boys from the coast operate in. There will be opposition close enough to trip over that is battling to steal away players from the established league. Particularily concerning to Jack Krisitch is if the new league has money enough behind it and the will to build its own stadia. The weak spot in the AFA setup is the dependence of the clubs upon the FABL schedules as their home grounds as, with the lone exception of the New York Football Stars who still use the Bigsby Oval, their home grounds are big league baseball parks. This, of course, is responsible for the curiously ragged start to the AFA each season. This year, for example there is nothing like a clean break until October 9, when the baseball season except the World Championship Series, will be over. The home openings will spread over a month apart depending upon the team and the availability of its venue. A rival league, independent with its own home grounds, could get an awful jump each season on a loop with a program like that. *** FOOTBALL SERIOUS BUSINESS WITH VENGEFUL ROME STATE *** The Army's military academy is out to prove it's place in the sun, rain, snow or anything else the elements might offer. Whatever may happen later the Centurions are away from the early training barrier at high speed. Football is a serious business in Rome, GA. this fall and Rome State has a lot to prove. The Army eleven was an awful squad a year ago, posting a 1-8 record with their lone win coming over a bad Conwell College squad. The season included terribly lob-sided losses to Henry Hudson, Penn Catholic and Pierpont, but worst of all was the 31-3 beating the Centurions took at the end of November from their Navy rivals at Annapolis Maritime - the third straight loss to the Navigators. Of course, you can excuse the lackluster effort of last season as the school had a much important focus a year ago. The war is still going to be front and center in the minds of all at the campus this time around, but the feeling is football will take a much higher spot on the priority lists now that our boys have reached the Nazi homeland and are hopefully well into the fourth quarter of the fight with Hitler. Annapolis Maritime had a drop-off a year ago as well, but nothing as drastic as the one felt at the Rome campus. The Navigators were 9-0 in 1941 and probably were as deserving of the National Title that year as the voted winner Travis College (10-1) was. Like Rome State and the rest of the nation, the Navigators had other priorities in '42 and last season -posting a 6-3 record in each of them. But now that the feeling the war is finally coming to an end the naval training school -like those at Rome State- are looking for big things this season. COLLEGE SEASON HEATS UP NEXT WEEK While the college football season technically began on September 2nd the first contests involving major AIAA schools will be played next weekend. The highlight will undoubtedly be the game in Michigan between Detroit City College and Iowa Pre-Flight. They met two years ago with the Knights pulling out a hard fought 30-21 victory. Last season the aviators had some real success against Great Lakes Alliance squads -tying Western Iowa and beating Central Ohio but it was otherwise a long year for the base as they finished 1-8-1. Other games of note coming up this weekend include Lincoln taking on College of Cairo, Indiana A&M playing Fort Knox and Lawrence State opening against Wichita Baptist. The Second Air Force was involved in the only game this week, marking the second week in a row that has happened. They opened the season with a 44-3 thumping of Southern Nebraska and followed that up Saturday with an equally easy 40-3 victory over Mountainview State. COLLEGE FOOTBALL SCOREBOARD SATURDAY'S RESULTS Second Air Force 40 Mountainview State 3 GRID KINGS HARD HIT BY SELECTIVE SERVICE A total of 49 players who participated in the American Football Association last season will not be available to take part this time around thanks to the war. Those 49 all have left to join one branch of the service or another and that does not include the many college stars including first round selection quarterbacks Mike O'Rourke out of St Blane and Pat Chappell from St Magnus who are also now hurling grenades instead of footballs. Despite knowing he was not available the league's newest entry, the Cincinnati Tigers, selected the Christian Trophy winning O'Rourke with the first pick in the AFA draft while Chappell, who excelled in three sports at St Blane and was an All-American in basketball, was chosen fourth by the Pittsburgh Paladins. The Brooklyn Football Kings were the hardest hit, losing 14 players from last years club including a pair of key contributors in lineman Eddie Downer and back Tom Aldrich. The defending AFA champion Chicago Wildcats lost 8 players but none would be considered key pieces of their title team. The AFA regular season opens next week. CONN SAYS TIGERS READY FOR AFA LID LIFTER Jack Conn says he is pleasantly surprised with what he has seen in camp so far and is looking forward to his pro football coaching debut. The 42 year old head coach of the Cincinnati Tigers says while other teams might have more talent than his first year American Football Association club, none will outwork them. We will find out firsthand in a couple of weeks as the Tigers open their season in Cleveland on September 24 against the combined Cleveland/St Louis entry. Conn may be new to the pro game but has plenty of college experience both as a player and as a coach and in two sports. He excelled on the gridiron and the diamond at Little Rock High School back in the old feeder league days before going on to play both sports at Frankford State. The Cleveland Foresters even drafted him as a baseball pitcher and he did sign a couple of minor league contracts but never actually pitched as a pro. Instead he went back to Frankford State as an assistant coach and after moving on to a couple of other institutions he finally earned a head coaching job with the Bronx Tech footballers in 1938 - a position he vacated in March when the Tigers came calling. The interesting thing, it has recently been revealed, is the AFA originally had no plans to put a team in the Queen City. In fact the word is the club was going to play out of New York as a third team in that city but was unable to secure a lease to play in either Dyckman or Gothams Stadium so -fearing a public relations nightmare- the AFA never revealed that story and simply announced that Cincinnati would be the site of the newest franchise. A spokesman for Jack Kristich said the AFA President had no comment on the matter and was looking forward to watching the Tigers new franchise take flight. Regardless if the Queen City was the first choice or not, there was a lot of excitement around these parts when word broke that the Tigers had selected Christian Trophy winning quarterback Mike O'Rourke out of St Blane first overall in the AFA draft. The excitement was quickly tempered when fans realized that O'Rourke -like so many other graduating college grid stars- was committed to the war effort and would not be a Tiger this season. Instead it appears the passing duties will fall mostly to Gus Knox, who split last season between Brooklyn and Boston. He was primarily a kick returner once he joined the Americans after throwing passes in four early season games for the Kings. In all Knox completed 16 of 28 attempts for 137 passing yards while in Brooklyn. BIG SPORTS WEEK AHEAD Despite what is going on in the world right now - and even that is looking very positive based on what the papers are saying about our success in Europe and the Pacific- this is a great week to be a sports fan. Maybe one of the fullest in Figment history. Two outstanding pennant impacting series this week when Toronto tangles with Cincinnati for four games on the weekend with possibly the CA flag in the balance while in the Fed it is 3 big games between the Miners and Keystones. You also can't count the Chicago Cougars and Detroit Dynamos fully out of their respective pennant chases. The Cougars get 5 games with Brooklyn and could gain ground if the Cannons and Wolves split. Just 3 games with the Gothams this week on a short schedule for Detroit but if they and the Miners both sweep it could be very much a 3-team race with 2 weeks to play in the Fed. Add in a slate of 9 college games to get the AIAA season moving including what should be a great matchup in Michigan between Detroit City College and Iowa Pre-Flight and the start of the AFA season as well. To top it all off across the pond we have the first World Title boxing match in 4 years as Middleweight champ Archie Rees attempts to defend his belt against former champ Jorge Cuellar in the long-overdue first meeting between the two. And an undercard that will see World Heavyweight champ Hector Sawyer fight as well two youngsters who may be the future of Welterweight division in Private Danny Rutledge and Seaman Mac Erickson. Yup, a great week to be a sports fan. The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 9/10/1944
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September 18, 1944
SEPTEMBER 18, 1944 KEYSTONES CLOSE IN ON FEDERAL FLAG CA RACE GOING DOWN TO THE WIRE The Philadelphia Keystones closed in on their first Federal Association pennant since 1933 and the fourth in team history with a big week in which they swept three games from the Pittsburgh Miners to increase their lead atop the Fed to 8.5 games with two weeks remaining in the season. The champagne corks can not be popped quite yet -as the Keystones magic number is 5- but one expects the bubbly is on ice and the only thing colder might be the bats and arms of the Pittsburgh Nine, which has lost it's last six straight and was outscored 36-10 during that stretch. The Miners had hopes of striking gold when they began the week, despite losing 3 straight in Washington to finish off the previous weekend. A short week with just 3 games on the docket, all against Philadelphia beginning with the opener at Fitzpatrick Park on Wednesday. Pittsburgh needed a sweep as that would put the Miners within 2.5 games of their Pennsylvania rival but things went wrong right from the get-go. A 4-run second inning and a 6-0 lead after 6 frames was more than enough to make a winner out of Jonah Brown -a former rule five pick from Cleveland- and the Keystones prevailed 7-1 in the series opener while the 33 year old Brown, who entered the season with just 3 career FABL wins, ran his record to 10-6 on the season. The two teams then had two days off to make their way to Philadelphia's Broad Street Park for two more games that were 'must-win' contests for the visitors. Someone must have forgot to inform the Miners of the magnitude of this weekend as they never led at anytime with Bobby Barrell's 43rd homer, a 3-run shot in the 3rd- helping stake the Keystones to a 7-0 lead and that made for an easy afternoon for Philadelphia starter Pepper Tuttle in an 8-2 win. Only the weather could slow Tuttle (13-11) as he was lifted in the 7th inning because of a 46 minute rain delay. The Miners were likely hoping for rain, or some sort of divine intervention, Sunday with Red Ross on the mound for the Philadelphians. Ross did allow 2-runs, including rookie infielder George Darnell's second career homer, but only two other Pittsburgh hits as Ross took sole possession of the FABL victory lead with his 22nd win of the season in a 6-2 Philadelphia triumph that all but officially closed the pennant race in the Fed. *** NOTHING DECIDED IN THE CONTINENTAL *** With two weeks to play there is little to separate the Cincinnati Cannons and the Toronto Wolves. Both are 44-33 at home on the year. Both are 37-27 on the road so they own identical 81-60 records with 13 games remaining for each -all on the road. They are also dead even head-to-head at 11 victories apiece after Toronto took 3 of 4 from the visiting Cannons two weeks ago and Queen City gang evened the score by winning 3 of 4 at Tice Memorial Stadium this past weekend. The weekend set was nearly a mirror image of what transpired in Toronto a week before. The visitors took the series opener only to see the homeside roar back with three straight victories. In this case it was Toronto clinging to a 5-4 victory Friday with reliever Billy Crosby getting a game-ending fly ball out from Cannons pinch-hitter Don Homer with the tying run on third base and the winning run on second. It was the 49th appearance this season and the 18th save in what has been a very solid campaign from the 34 year old Toronto reliever. The two Saturday games were also very similar. A week ago the Wolves won 2-0 on a great outing from Bob Walls. This week it was Butch Smith who came up big, running his record to 17-9 and lowering his CA-leading ERA to 2.19 with a 3-hit shutout in a 1-0 Cannons victory. A week ago Toronto took both ends of the Sunday doubleheader with a 1-run victory followed by a much easier time in a 5-0 nightcap win. This time was the same only the roles reversed as the Cannons took the opener 2-1 in a 12-inning marathon that had plenty of heartbreak for Toronto fans. First when a wild-pitch in the bottom of the ninth inning from rookie Tommy Anderson cost him his first big league victory and allowed Sam Brown to sprint home with the Cannons first run and then in the bottom of the 12th when Bob McRae issued a bases-loaded walk to Denny Andrews to give the Cannons the victory. To compound Toronto's troubles ace Bernie Johnson had to leave the game in the second inning with what is being described as a mild abdominal strain. Johnson's (17-11, 2.51) status is uncertain for his next scheduled start. The second game of yesterday's doubleheader was all Cincinnati as Chuck Adams smacked his CA-leading 21st homerun and Tom Barrell beat Toronto with a complete game for the second time in two weeks to run his record to 9-8 on the year in an 8-1 Canons rout. Barrell gave up 7 earned runs to Cleveland in 6 innings to start the week sandwiched in between a pair of starts and a 1-inning relief appearance against the Wolves in which he has not allowed an earned run over a span of 19 innings. Looking ahead the Chicago Cougars are still very much a factor in this wide-open CA race. The Cougars are 4 games back but it is looking very much like the CA pennant could be heavily influenced by Chicago. Both of the co-leaders must visit the Windy City for 3 games starting with the Cannons on the upcoming weekend and the Wolves starting a week from today. The odds-makers now give Cincinnati the best shot at the crown, to the tune of 58% compared to a 39% shot for Toronto. This despite the fact the teams play identical opponents, all on the road, in Brooklyn, Chicago, Montreal and New York over the next two weeks. Like everything else about this season there is little to differentiate in the upcoming slate for the Cannons and Wolves. TALES FROM THE WOLVES DEN Weekly Round-up.
They just won't quit. The Cincinnati Cannons have been counted out of the race so many times this season but here they are with 13 games remaining and in a dead heat with the Toronto Wolves for top spot in the Continental Association. It is hard to believe anyone in Cincinnati outside of skipper Ad Doria and the 24 men in the Cannons clubhouse believed this team could win a second straight pennant. Heck, I bet even Doria himself had is doubts. If not when his ace and two-time running Allen Award winner Deuce Barrell blew out his elbow in the early days of spring camp perhaps when the calendar said late June and the Cannons were buried 17.5 games behind the first place Chicago Cougars and spent some time even below the lowly Cleveland Foresters on the CA table. Not then, well what about a week ago when the Cannons went into Toronto and were once again bitten by the Wolves -a team that has had their number every September. But now, after that September demon of a dog was crushed with three straight wins over the weekend at Tice Memorial we are just two good weeks away from another chance to witness October baseball. Can it happen? Most certainly it could but nothing has come easy for the Cannons this season so it will likely take some big performances. From the likes of long-time Cannons like Butch Smith (17-9, 2.19) who has been oh so good down the stretch and might just take over as the caretaker of the Allen Award until Deuce can come back and claim it again next year. From emerging stars like Chuck Adams (.298,21,99) who leads the loop in homers and rbi's and still two months shy of his 28th birthday appears to be just hitting his prime. From newcomers like Tom Bird (.315,4,19) who joined the club in a controversial deadline deal and has proved to be every bit the equal of Adam Mullins, the reigning CA Whitney Award winner but currently employed by the US Navy. Then there is Tom Barrell (9-8, 3.22), a mere shadow of his former self when he was winning his 3 straight Allens close to a decade ago, but even with just two pitches and far less velocity than he possessed in his prime Deuce's uncle still proved he could be an ace from time to time when it is really needed. Back to back complete game wins over the Wolves in which he allowed just a single run, and even that one was unearned. Sure he had a rough outing in between against Cleveland but when it mattered most Barrell answered the call just as future Hall of Famer Rabbit Day did in going 4-1 since coming over from the Chicago Chiefs with Bird. The question is 'Does this veteran group have two more weeks left in the tank?' *** TIGERS TAKE FIELD IN CLEVELAND SUNDAY *** The much-awaited debut of the American Football Association's newest franchise will come this Sunday when the Cincinnati Tigers head to Forester Field to play the combined Cleveland Finches-St Louis Ramblers entry. The Ramblers paired up with the Philadelphia Frigates a year ago when the loop shrank to 8 teams (the Washington Wasps also took the year off) but with Philadelphia feeling they won't have any player issues and the Finches worried it was decided that the Ramblers would pair with the Finches this time around. That, of course, was what opened the door to Cincinnati as, with the Wasps returning, the league did not want an odd number of teams.It was a very clandestine process that brought the Tigers to life, even more so than a lot of the cloak and dagger stuff that seemed to go on when the Cannons fled Baltimore for the Queen City. One of the most interesting things with the Tigers was the fact that the club owner had not been officially revealed until earlier this week when Edward K. Chiles spoke publicly and confirmed he was indeed the front-man and majority stakeholder in the Tigers franchise. Up until that point all of the contact regarding the club had gone through head coach Jack Conn until finally it is reported Conn told Chiles that he had bigger things to worry about and wanted to concentrate on coaching, and leave the administrative duties to Chiles and his associates. Chiles is in business with Cannons owner John E. Tice as their families co-founded the Tice & Chiles Soap Company which makes the reported row between the Tigers and Cannons over the rent for the use of Tice Memorial Stadium even more difficult to comprehend. Surely, there must be something more to this than presently meets the eye but neither Chiles nor Tice have had much to say on the matter. Everyone in an electric Cougar stadium could hear those four words shouted by Whitney hopeful Leo Mitchell round the bases on a beautiful June evening as the respected veteran leader capped off a 4-hit game with a 10th inning walk-off blast off Danny Clark. That improved the Cougars to 46-17 on the season, keeping their lead over the Wolves at 10. Everything was going right, as debates started going around the league whether this Cougar team, playing +.700 ball at the time, would etch its name as the greatest team of all time, and experts thought the 1944 edition of the Cougars would have the pennant locked up by July. Unfortunately for the Cougar faithful, those four words seem to be their undoing... Fast forward to September 18th, and the wheels have completely fallen off, as the Cougars went just 31-47 and trail both the Wolves and Cannons by 4 games. With just 13 games left to be played, they still technically have a chance to claim the pennant, but Cougar fans have heard enough. "'This is our year?' Give me a break..." one Cougar fan complained about the words they have heard far too often across the past few seasons. "Every year these guys get our hopes up, and every year they let us down. And there's always those darn excuses..." "Last year it was 'what if Harry Parker' stayed healthy?" "Before that, 'what if Peter the Heater' wasn't over seas" "Even in the pennant winning season, all anyone talked about were how bad they were in one run games" "And when they finished a game back of the Wolves, it was 'what if Milt Fritz stayed healthy'" "Well let me tell you what. What if you bozos [expletive] won some [expletive] games! Huh? What about that! There is no excuse this year..." It seems many Cougars fans share this same sentiment; "Every year we hear all about this 'talent' they seem to accumulate, but doesn't talent win championships! All these so-called 'stars' we get and for what? A shiny participation trophy? Give me a break... What good are John Lawson, Jim Lonardo, Dick Walker, Hank Barnett, Cliff Moss, Art White, and Billy Riley if we don't get any wins? That Riley clown is 1-6 with an ERA over 4! Ace my [expletive]..." This old fan wasn't finished; "And don't get me started on all these former Cougars having success elsewhere. Del Burns and Dan Everett are outperforming ever one of our pitchers, Lonardo found the fountain of youth with the Gothams, and even Jonah Brown and Jim Baggett are off having All-Star years in the Fed! And what did we get for these guys? Absolutely nothing... Oh wait, that's actually the return for Johnny McDowell! You know, the All-Star Miner third basemen. What a joke our front office is" "The worst part is, nothing is going to change. These gullible Chicagoans will continue to spend their hard earned money on tickets and concessions to support a team that doesn't care about winning. They only have home games left and still lap the field in attendance. And as long as ownership keeps lining their pockets with dough, it won't matter if they ever win another series. We need to clean house; completely." That fan is correct about one thing; no team is within 2,000 fans per game with the Cougars, and they're one of only three teams to sell more then 10,000 tickets a game. Since 1930, the Cougars have never sold less one million tickets, with the 2,215,186 tickets from last season the most ever in a single season for a Continental Association team. Despite all the melancholy from the fans, team owner Ben Hunter has full confidence in the staff and players. "I get why Cougar fans are mad; we have a historic past and that causes fans to expect championships every year. We haven't finished below .500 since 1936. You know who else can say that? Nobody." Since the World Championship Series was founded in 1893, the Cougars have never gone longer then the current 12 year championship drought, which is far more then the Cougar faithful can tolerate. "Loyal Cougar fans know that these past seasons are not up to standard. But nothing will change until [Ben] Hunter is gone. And at 82. Well, you can paint that picture yourself. That penny-pincher won't be missed..." Despite all the attacks he's received from his fans, the Cougar GM can relate to their concerns. "Trust me. I am not satisfied with anything other then a title. As a Chicagoan I grew up watching this same team. I remember watching John Dibblee, Calvin Kidd, Gil Hice, Jack Long, and Bill Mendine as a kid. This is my team. There is nothing I want more then to add pennants to the Cougars impressive totals. I have firmly committed to putting a winning team out year-in and year-out. And don't expect that to change. The Cougars will win a title before they slip below .500. I guarantee it." Unfortunately for him, a lot of Cougars fans aren't yet convinced. "I've heard a lot of talk. I'll believe it when I see it..." The Keystones won each game in a split series, one game in Pittsburgh and two at Broad Street Park, to take an 8-1/2-game lead in the Fed: Wednesday, 9/13: Keystones 7, Pittsburgh 1 -- Hank McKay and Harry Shumate had 2-out, 2-run singles in a 4-run 2nd inning rally to help Jonah Brown on his way to his 10th win of the year (10-6, 2.61). Saturday, 9/16: Keystones 8, Pittsburgh 2 -- The Keys had two big innings early -- a 4-run 3rd with Bobby Barrell's 43rd home run, a 3-run opposite-field shot, and a 3-run 4th, which included a solo homer from Marshall Strickland. Pepper Tuttle picked up his 13th win of the year (13-11, 2.97). Sunday, 9/17: Keystones 6, Pittsburgh 2 -- Red Ross went the entire way, allowing one earned run and three hits, to capture his 22nd win of the season. Another early big inning, this one a 4-run 3rd to break a 1-1 tie, helped key the win for Philadelphia. Bobby Barrell added another 2 RBI to his coffers to give him 145 for the year and the suddenly hot Marshall Strickland tripled home a run in that fateful third. The lead is now 8.5 games on the second place Miners and the Keystones magic number to clinch is down to 5. To add to the excitement Barrell is also back in the batting lead in the Fed at .352, leading Washington's Mel Carrol by 3 points. Barrell comfortably leads in home runs over New York's Red Johnson, 43-30, and by a country mile in RBI over St. Louis's Al Walker and Pittsburgh's Whit Williams, 145-84. With two weeks left in the regular season, Barrell leads the Fed in the three glamor categories, as well as runs (107), hits (197) and total bases (361). Brotherly Bits
The future of the Montreal Saints has been on display the past couple of weeks as Bert Cupid and Hank Eason both made their big league debuts. Cupid, a 21 year old hard-throwing righthander who was selected 4th overall in the 1941 draft and is considered one of the best pitching prospects around, had an impressive showing in his first start. The Buckeye Bullet went the distance in a 5-1 victory over the Brooklyn Kings while scattering just 8 hits, fanning 5 and not allowing an earned run. While he did not get the decision in his second outing last Friday, the youngster was equally as impressive tossing 8 shutout innings in a game the Saints would eventually win 2-0 in in the tenth. Meanwhile Hank Eason, the son of former Saints star Hal, made his big league debut in the same outfield his dad patrolled so successfully two decades ago. The 25 year old Montreal native was also a first round selection in 1941, going 6 picks after the Saints called Cupid's name. The two-time All-American from Huntington State made his big league debut 3 days prior to Cupid and was equally successfully after a 3-for-4 day at the plate that included his first big league rbi and run scored. His first at bat was a second inning single off of New York Stars rookie Larry Gregory and when the week ended he owned a .267 batting average after 4 games in the big leagues. There is much more in the way of young talent on the way to Montreal. Much of it was sidetracked by a call from the Army or Navy but one who is still playing and expected to be given a shot at making the Saints next season is 22 year old third baseman Luke Weaver. Another first round pick, the Miami native was selected 9th overall last January out of American Atlantic University and has fast-tracked through the system this year, starting in Class B and ending last week with a promotion to AAA Minneapolis. He had 8 hits, including 5 for extra bases, and hit .320 in his first week with the Lumberjacks. Shortstop Gordie Perkins is another top prospect in Minneapolis and a former first round selection (#3 in 1941). Perkins likely would have spent September in Montreal had he not suffered a season ending broken kneecap just over a month ago. Saints brass feels the future looks bright on the left side with Weaver and Perkins knocking on the door and Eason patrolling left field. OSA agrees in ranking both of the AAA infielders in the top 25 prospects and Weaver as the number one third base prospect. DYNAMOS CELEBRATE MINOR LEAGUE SUCCESS A disappointing last couple of weeks put an end to any hopes the Detroit Dynamos had of a miracle pennant this season but there are plenty of positives for the organization. The big league club has improved it's position and stands a very strong chance of finishing in the first division after a pair of 7th place finishes...and that comes despite the fact that former Dynamos star Red Johnson is swatting big flies in the Big Apple and the great Sal Pestilli is working with planes in the Army Air Corps. The excitement stretches down to the lowest level of the minor league chain with the Dynamos Class C affiliate in Biloxi winning it's first ever Gulf Coast League title. That loop has been dominated by the Gulfport Sailors who have won 9 of the 16 titles since 1929 but the Sailors had to settle for second place this time around. Biloxi was boosted by the July addition of first overall selection Roy Schaub (5-3, 3.08) who was part of what might be the best haul ever recorded by a team in a single FABL draft. The Dynamos spread their 4 first round picks throughout the system with Edwin Hackberry, who is rated the top prospect in the game by OSA, going to Class B Chattanooga although the 18 year old might have been slightly overmatched after hitting just .200 in the Southeastern loop. 17 year old middle infielder Stan Kleminski (.358,3,30) had an outstanding half a season with the Class A Terre Haute Brewers while Carl Porter started in Terre Haute but was quickly moved up to AA Akron and went 4-6 with a 4.82 era for the Wheels. AAA Newark did not get one of the first rounders but that didn't stop the Aces from holding down top spot in the Union League with a week remaining in the season. The Aces (74-59) hold a 2 game lead over both the Rochester Rooks and the Syracuse Excelsiors who are both 72-61. The Aces have won 9 of their last 10 games to take the lead in the closely contested race, but will play their last 7 games all on the road. The first 4 of those games will be in Rochester against the 2nd place Rooks and whoever wins that series could very well find themselves in the driver seat. Newark finishes the season against the last place Richmond Rebels (57-76) while Rochester will go to 6th place Louisville (63-70) to wrap up their campaign. Syracuse will also be on the road for its last 7 games traveling to 5th place Jersey City (65-68) for 4 games and 4th place Charleston (69-64) for the last 3. While 5 games out, the Charleston Blue Legs still have a mathematical chance to win the Union league.
REES DEFENDS WORLD MIDDLEWEIGHT CROWN To the delight of more than 20,000 screaming soldiers and sailors Britain's Archie Rees successfully defended his World Middleweight title with a 13th round technical knockout of Spaniard Jorge Cuellar in a historic boxing match. The fight, held in Liverpool, England, was the first world title bout since before the attack on Pearl Harbor and the audience was almost entirely comprised of servicemen, many of them recovering from injuries sustained in the June raid on the European continent. Cuellar, who had not fought even an exhibition in the past four years was expected to be the rustier of the two fighters but he took the bout to the champ early -easily winning the first round and was hardly touched until Rees connected with a smashing cross just before the bell. Round two saw The Tadcaster Thunderbolt become a little more active but it also clearly belonged to Cuellar and the third round was close to even. The bout turned in round four when Cuellar made a mistake, loading up for a huge shot but Rees avoided it perfectly and countered with a tremendous hook to send the Spaniard to the canvas for the first of three times on the evening. From that moment on Cuellar and Rees were both different boxers. The champ took complete control and it appeared to be just a matter of time before he would end the fight. Cuellar was knocked down again in the 11th but deserves credit for holding out as long as he did until the end came in the 13th round when Rees landed a solid combination to drop Cuellar. Once more he beat the count but looked dazed and the champ went in for the kill, reigning a series of blows on a new defenseless opponent until the referee stepped in at 2:13 of the round to stop the bout. Judges had Rees easily ahead on all 3 cards as he improved his record to 34-4-1. Cuellar, who was defeated for just the second time in his career on this night is expected to retire for a second time with a 42-2-2 career mark. The title fight capped a great evening of fisticuffs which also included The Cajun Crusher, Sgt. Hector Sawyer scoring an unanimous decision over Justin Bellairs. It was clear very early that the World Heavyweight Champion could have knocked out the RAF officer anytime he liked but he let up just enough to allow the two combatants to put on a show. The other big fight on the card had far more animosity than the Sawyer-Bellairs tilt. Billed as the Allied Welterweight Championship it was a ferocious battle between two of the best young fighters in any division. In the end the Army got the bragging rights over the Navy as Pvt. Danny Rutledge knocked out Seaman Mac Erickson in the 12th round of what many in attendance say is sure to be a preview of a future title fight at some point for the currently vacant World Welterweight crown. Rutledge, a Louisville native, is all of just 20 years old but already displayed the poise in the ring of a seasoned veteran and may one day be considered one of the best welterweights of all-time. Erickson is also still technically an amateur, having joined the navy right after the attack on Pearl Harbor -just a month before his planned pro debut. The 24 year old St. Paul, MN. native had nothing to be ashamed of following his effort on this evening and is expected to have a very successful pro career once the war is over. VAUGHT LEADS MAROONS TO VICTORY IN GRID OPENER Stan Vaught was his usual efficient self in leading the hometown Detroit Maroons to a convincing 35-7 victory over a war-depleted Brooklyn Kings squad in the opener of the 1944 American Football Association schedule. Vaught, who has been the game's most dominant pass-catcher since his debut in 1936 caught 9 passes including the 400th of his illustrious career, while scoring a pair of touchdowns to lead Detroit to the win. Brooklyn kept it close for more than three quarters but a 52 yard pass play from Detroit quarterback Rich Coleman to Vaught with 9:23 remaining in the fourth quarter extended the Maroons lead to 21-7. The Maroons would tack on two late scores including a 10 yard fumble return for a score by Coleman to seal the victory. Detroit will face a much stiffer test next week as the Maroons host the defending champion Chicago Wildcats in one of three games on the slate. A quick start is imperative for the Maroons who have a very unusual schedule this season with their opening 5 games at home before finishing the slate with 5 straight road contests. Brooklyn will not play again until October 8th when they visit Pittsburgh. The Kings won just two games a year ago and things could be even worse this time around after losing 15 players from last years roster to the war effort including the latest -and biggest- loss in the form of back Bulldog Stein who was a key rusher, receiver and return man for the Brooklyn grid squad a year ago. Stein just received word of his induction a week before the scheduled opener. Code:
Detroit 35 Brooklyn 7 UPCOMING GAMES SUNDAY SEPT 24 Cincinnati at Clev/St Louis Chicago at Detroit TUESDAY SEPT 26 Philadelphia at Washington The new college football season picked up pace over the weekend with a number of contests. A lot of lobsided matches this week in games primarily featuring military teams against small college schools but we did see three Great Lakes Alliance elevens in action including Detroit City College, which finished second to Minnesota Tech in the big midwest loop a year ago. The Knights had a close call but came away with a 23-21 victory over Iowa Pre-Flight in their opener. It was a much easier time for the other two GLA squads as Lincoln blanked College of Cairo 48-0 while Indiana A&M smashed Fort Knox 47-0. Among next week's wide selection of games is the eagerly anticipated season debut of Wisconsin Catholic. No one expects a repeat of their surprising 9-0 and National Championship winning campaign of 1943, but it will be interesting to see how this years version of the Cavaliers stack up when they face Detroit City College in their opener Saturday. Minnesota Tech, which was also 9-0 a year ago and won the GLA while finishing second in the polls to Wisconsin State, also opens next week, with a game against the team that came up just short against Detroit City on Saturday when the Lakers face Iowa Pre-Flight. WEEKEND COLLEGE FOOTBALL RESULTS Lawrence State 42 Wichita Baptist 3 South Valley State 51 Amarillo Field 14 Frankford State 19 Trescott College 3 Coast Guard 34 Norman 3 Great Lakes Navy 64 Fort Sheridan 0 Lincoln 48 College of Cairo 0 Indiana A&M 47 Fort Knox 0 Detroit City College 23 Iowa Pre-Flight 21 Second Air Force 90 Snake River State 27 The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 9/17/1944
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September 25, 1944 - Final week of the season awaits
SEPTEMBER 25, 1944 KEYSTONES WIN FED FLAG, CANNONS CONTROL CA As the FABL season enters its final week the Philadelphia Keystones clinched their first Federal Association Pennant since 1933 while the Cincinnati Cannons are closing in on a second consecutive Continental Association crown. If the Cannons, who lead Toronto by two games with 7 left to play, can hold on it will mark the first time the Cannons and Keystones have ever met in the 52 year history of the World Championship Series. The Keystones clinched the Federal Association title Saturday despite losing their last 4 games including 3 straight in Detroit. The Dynamos moved into a second place tie with Pittsburgh after the Miners faint pennant dreams came to an end Saturday when they fell in St Louis. The only drama remaining in the Fed is whether or not Keystones slugger Bobby Barrell will win the triple crown. The 34 year old outfielder has long since clinched the homerun title for the third time in his career and his 4th season leading the Fed in rbi's but the batting average lead -something that has eluded Barrell so far in his storied career remains in doubt. Barrell is hitting .349 after a 7-for-25 week to hold a narrow margin on a pair of Washington Eagles in Mel Carrol (.347) and Don Miller (.346). There is still plenty of drama in the Continental Association although the Cincinnati Cannons have opened a 2-game lead on Toronto after the Queen City nine went 4-2 last week while the Wolves could manage just 2 victories in their 6 game sojourn into the New York area. The Cannons swept a 3-game series in Montreal before stumbling a little in Chicago by taking just one of three over the weekend in the Windy City. Cincinnati's 3 'old-timers' in Rabbit Day, Jim Crawford and Tom Barrell all came up big with solid starts while another veteran in outfielder Al Wheeler smashed three homeruns last week. The Wolves had a tough time in Brooklyn, getting swept by the Kings before rebounding with two wins in three games against the New York Stars. Toronto will now have to hope the Kings can play spoiler again this week as Cincinnati finishes with 4 at Kings County after starting the week in New York with 3 against the Stars. Toronto has little margin for error as they begin with 3 in Chicago before making the long-trek to Montreal for a season ending 4-game set with their Canadian rivals. UPDATED DRAFT LOTTEY ODDS Based on the current winning percentages of each team here is how the draft lottery odds shape up for each Association. The Continental Association will have the odd picks and a total of 13 balls will go in the lottery with the first one out claiming the top spot in the draft. The two teams with the biggest improvement over their victory total from a year ago receive 3 entries in the draft, the next two receive two and the 3 with the least improvement (or biggest decline from last season) get one opportunity. The pennant winner automatically picks last in the group. The Federal Association will have a similar draw for the even picks and this order will apply to both the first and second round. Beginning with round three the draft is based upon order of finish this season alternating by league. Code:
PROJECTED BASED ON CURRENT STANDINGSEach came up with a big complete game victory last week as the Cannons inched closer to what all consider impossible just 3 short months ago. On the morning of June 25th the Cannons were 27-34 and a whooping 19.5 games back of the then first place Chicago Cougars. Now, despite losing 2 of three in the Windy City over the weekend the Cannons are one strong week away from their second straight Continental Association pennant and possibly the biggest turnaround in FABL history. On that Sunday morning a month ago the Cannons swept a doubleheader in Cleveland and that started the club on a 58-28 run. ***TIGERS ERA IS HERE *** Just think. Five years ago we had no big time professional sports. Sure we had the AAA Cincinnati Steamers and yes they were a powerhouse in the late 1920s but it was still minor league ball. And of course we have the Queen City University football and basketball teams to support, although the grid side has been grounded by the war for the second straight season. But nothing in the way of big time sports entertainment in the Queen City. That changed in 1940 when the Cannons arrived from Baltimore and have enjoyed immense success but yesterday another chapter in Cincinnati sports began with the first game for the AFA's Tigers. In Cleveland no less and it is always fun to beat our Ohio rivals which the Tigers did in their opener, claiming a 21-0 victory over the combined Finches/St Louis Ramblers team. TALES FROM THE WOLVES DEN Wolves Weekly Round-up
NEWARK CELEBRATES UNION LEAGUE FLAG The Union League's Newark Aces took 3 out of 4 games in the pivotal 4 game series against the Rochester Rooks and came away with the Union League title for the 4th time in the last 7 seasons. The games against Rochester were extremely hard fought and tight affairs. Game #1 - 1B Red Evan's leadoff 10th inning double proved to be the difference maker and he came across to score on pinch hitter Hank Cook's RBI-single. (I'm trying to piece this together as best I can because the game logs for the minors don't really work, at least on my file). Newark 5, Rochester 4 (10 innings). Game #2 - Rochester came back with a key win 6-5 on a good game from SP Dan Clemons. The Rooks took it too 17 game winner Art Keeter (17-6) with 6 runs over the first 6 innings. The Rooks hung on as the Aces tried to come back from a 6-2 deficit but couldn't push across the tying run. Rochester 6, Newark 5 Game #3 - This was the pivotal game as the teams still stood just 2 games apart in the standings. A couple of 8th inning doubles by the Aces Gordon Cross and Vic Moritz provided the final cushion in the 6-5 win for Newark. Just out of college SP Pete Brown picked up his 4th AAA win (4-4) in 5.1 IP and Ned Brown (no relation) picked up a leaky save in the 9th giving up 2 unearned runs. Newark 6, Rochester 5 Game #4 - Just as it appeared that Rochester would split the series and send the season into the final few games to decide the winner, Newark showed some offensive fire. Scoring 6 runs in the 9th inning the Aces erased a 6-2 Rooks lead and took the 4th game 8-6 and thus clinched the Union League title in the process. Newark 8, Rochester 6 Newark still had a final series with Richmond to close out the season but the title was sealed up with the final win over Rochester. MAROONS THUMP DEFENDING AFA CHAMPS A big win for the Detroit Maroons as they knocked off their biggest rival and the defending AFA champion Chicago Wildcats in convincing fashion yesterday, posting a lob-sided 31-0 victory at the Detroit City College stadium in what can only be described as a very sloppy game. Sloppy especially by Wildcats quarterback Gus Brown, who just had an awful debut to his season in completing just 4 of 13 passes to his Wildcat teammates but throwing 5 into the arms of Detroit defenders including one that Gene Brousard returned 39 yards for a Maroons major that put Detroit up by 21 just 13 minutes into the game. It is not like Rich Coleman had a big game for Detroit either as the Maroons quarterback completed just 3 of 17 passes but was only intercepted once on the day. One of Coleman's tosses was a 13 yard score to end Stan Vaught, who had a very quiet afternoon of his own with just 3 catches for 38 yards. It was on the ground where the Maroons, who improved to 2-0 with the victory, dominated as Detroit gained 253 yards rushing -led by 99 from Joe Scharfenberg- which was more than double the 122 the Wildcats ran for. All is certainly not lost for the Chicago eleven as the Wildcats dropped their early season meeting in Detroit last year as well but rebounded to win their third straight division crown. The game was shifted to the Knights campus because the Dynamos were using Thompson Field to beat the Philadelphia Keystones 3-1. The only other game on the Sunday docket took place in Cleveland as the expansion Cincinnati Tigers were winners in the first game in franchise history, blanking the combined Cleveland-St Louis squad by a 21-0 score. The difference in this one was turnovers as the homeside turned the ball over 8 times including two that led directly to Cincinnati touchdowns. Vern Prindiville returned an interception 87 yards for the Tigers first-ever touchdown early in the first quarter and Dan Tamburro rambled 17 yards with a fourth quarter fumble return that completed the scoring. There will be a game tomorrow night as the Philadelphia Frigates head to Washington to face the Wasps. As mentioned last week, Washington Eagles owner William Stockdale had the game pushed back from yesterday to give Columbia Stadium workers a few extra days to finish some minor renovations on the park after the FABL Eagles completed their home slate for the season last Sunday. Code:
Cincinnati 21 Cleveland/St Louis 0 Detroit 31 Chicago 0 UPCOMING GAMES TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 26 Philadelphia at Washington SUNDAY OCTOBER 1 Pittsburgh at Detroit THE STORY BEHIND THE BIRTH OF THE CINCINNATI TIGERS The American Football Association's decision to expand to Cincinnati certainly caught many off guard when it was announced in late April. Most had anticipated the likilyhood of a new team after the Washington Wasps announced plans to return following a one year absence and the St Louis Ramblers told the league they still needed help to field a team. The Cleveland Finches also were feeling a roster crunch due to the Manpower Commission so it was decided they would team with the Ramblers this year after Philadelphia said it could go it alone but that left the league with 9 teams and an odd number was not an ideal situation at all. So the Cincinnati Tigers were born. All of that is old news, of course, but the story of how the Tigers came to be -instead of New York- has only just now be revealed. New York you say?? Most thought the battle for the expansion slot was between Cincinnati and Baltimore and it was, but only after the idea of another New York squad was shot down. The initial expansion request was for a second AFA team for the Big Apple and the man looking to put that team in New York was none other than Daniel Prescott. The owner of FABL's Brooklyn Kings was keen to get in on pro football but found himself blocked when John J. Kristich, President of the AFA, under pressure from New York (Football) Stars owner Erasmus Scott, denied the request on the grounds of not favoring club owners with interests in other professional sports. It is rumored this was a straw horse and the reason was simply Scott's refusal to countenance direct competition beyond the already existing Brooklyn (Football) Kings despite the city of New York possessing not just one, but two potential venues for Prescott's prospective entry. A scramble of sorts ensued with Prescott approaching John E. Tice about working together to own a team, potentially in Cincinnati (virgin territory for the AFA) but with both men aware that a confrontation with Kristich's already stated position on dual-sport owners, a third partner was brought in as the "front man" for the team: Tice's business partner Edward K. Chiles, whose family co-founded the Tice & Chiles Soap Company. With Chiles the majority owner, and both Prescott and Tice signing on for minority shares, the AFA League Office approved a franchise for the group which began play in 1944 as the Cincinnati Tigers, with home games played at Tice's namesake stadium. Cincinnati was also very attractive to Kristich for another reason. With New York out of the picture it came down to Baltimore and Cincinnati but the Queen City made the most sense because it could slot much more easily in to the AFA's Western Division, which at the time was down to just four teams. DEFENDING NATIONAL CHAMPS FALL EARLY WITH LOSS TO DCC It took very little time for the Wisconsin Catholic Cavaliers to come back down to earth. In their season opener, last year's surprise National Champions were humbled by Detroit City College to the tune of a 40-6 thumping. The win improves Detroit City College to 2-0 on the season and was one of the highlights of the first busy week in collegiate grid action. Minnesota Tech, which was perfect last year but finished second behind Wisconsin Catholic in the polls, also started the season on the wrong foot with the Lakers falling 44-13 to Iowa Pre-Flight. The other big game of note on Saturday was played in Los Angeles as the Coastal California Dolphins edged CCLA 33-30. The victory extended the Dolphins winning streak over the Coyotes to 4 games but CCLA will get another chance in late November as the reduced field in the West Coast Conference once again has the two Los Angeles rivals playing each other twice this season. WEEKEND RESULTS Detroit City College 40 Wisconsin Catholic 6 Coastal California 33 CC Los Angeles 30 Indiana A&M 34 Lincoln 28 Iowa Pre-Flight 44 Minnesota Tech 13 Central Kentucky 9 Mississippi A&M 7 Pittsburgh State 46 Huntington State 17 Great Lakes Navy 20 Whitney College 20 Brunswick 20 St. Pancras 10 Carolina Poly 44 Petersburg 7 Daniel Boone College 20 Arkansas A&T 17 Frankford State 23 Trescott College 7 Northern California 13 Golden Gate University 9 Coastal State 37 Charleston (IL) 0 Coast Guard 27 Miller College 13 Mountainview State 43 Wichita Baptist 7 Western Florida 30 Mayport NAS 7 Boulder State 37 Fort Warren 0 Snake River State 24 Idaho Marines 7 College of Waco 24 Lubbock Field 7 Flagstaff State 31 South Valley State 13 Charleston Tech 23 Elizabethton State (TN) 0 St. Magnus 37 Asbury 0 Eastern Oklahoma 56 Canyon A&M 3 Golden Gate University Pre-Flight 27 College of San Diego 16 Randolph Field 43 Abilene Field 0 Red River State 37 Galveston Field 0 Second Air Force 71 Whitman 0 Columbia Military Academy 19 Edgemoor 0 Darnell State 45 Bryan Field 3 Lawrence State 7 Amarillo Methodist 7 Payne State 65 Travis-Fort Worth 3 Scranton State 17 Penn Catholic 13 Eastern State 23 Hampden-Sydney 0 Cowpens State 3 North Carolina Tech 0 Rainier College 54 Willamette Valley State 3 Alameda Coast Guard 14 Fleet City 0 FIELDS ARE SET FOR THE MAJOR PRE-SEASON COLLEGE HOOPS TOURNAMENTS The fields are finalized for the four major early-season college basketball tournaments and the major focus for the opening weekend in November will be on the Windy City as the Preseason AIAA Chicago Showcase has put together an outstanding field. The key attraction of the 4-team event will be Rainier College -winners of the last two AIAA National Championship Tournaments and a school that went 31-3 a year ago. Western Iowa, considered to be the team to beat this season in the Great Lakes Alliance after posting a 26-7 record last year while reaching the National quarterfinals, will also be there. The field also includes St Patrick's and Golden Gate. The Boston-based Shamrocks had a rare losing season a year ago (14-15) but made the National semi-finals just 4 years ago appear to be on the way up while the Grizzlies are likely in way over their heads as a 17-12 independent school out of the west coast. Here are the full fields for each of the four major season opening tournaments, which tip-off in early November. PRESEASON AIAA CHICAGO SHOWCASE: Chicago Golden Gate Grizzlies Rainier College Majestics St Patrick's Shamrocks Western Iowa Canaries BIGSBY FESTIVAL: New York City Alabama Baptist Panthers Boston State Pirates Brandywine Patriots Capital(MS) University Catamounts Oklahoma Bible College Dusters Pittsburgh State Finches Richmond State Colonials Wichita Baptist Warriors JACK EASTON TIP-OFF CLASSIC : Boston Central Kentucky Tigers Great Plains State Buffaloes Indiana A&M Reapers Iowa A&M Bulls North Carolina Tech Techsters St Gordius Centurions St Martin's College Crusaders Troy State(NY) Tailors WEST COAST CLASSIC: San Francisco Armstrong Aces Coastal California Dolphins Coastal State Eagles Queen City Monarchs Sadler Bluecoats Smithfield College Bulldogs South Valley State Roadrunners Strub College Sycamores The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 9/24/1944
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October 2, 1944 - Regular season ends
OCTOBER 2, 1944 CANNONS CLINCH CONTINENTAL CROWN In what may go down as the greatest turnarounds in FABL history the Cincinnati Cannons clinched their second straight Continental Association pennant on Thursday with a 1-0 shutout victory over the Brooklyn Kings. The final margin over second place Toronto would be 4 games with the third place Chicago Cougars finishing 5 off the pace. It was an outcome that few in the Queen City -or anywhere else in baseball- would have dreamed possible back on the morning of June 25 when the Cannons sat 19.5 games behind the Cougars after an amazing 50-18 start for the Chicago nine. While some early day records are spotty, it is believed that no FABL club has ever overcome such a deficit to rebound and win a pennant. The turnaround came in a whirlwind summer that saw the Cannons as sellers in June, sending third baseman Billy Dalton to the Boston Minutemen, become buyers at the end of July when they added future Hall of Famer Rabbit Day and veteran catcher Tom Bird from the Chicago Chiefs just a couple of weeks after also bringing Al Wheeler in from the Windy City. All three would play key roles down the stretch as the Cannons fielded a roster heavily dominated by players over the age of thirty. One of the biggest surprises and another key cog in the second half tear was Tom Barrell. The 36 year old former 3-time Allen Award winner was considered almost washed up and was 3-6 in late June after being brought in by the Cannons merely to help eat some innings up after the March injury that cost his nephew, and two-time Allen Award winner, Deuce Barell the entire season. When the Cannons got hot so did Tom, finding the form that nearly a decade ago made him one of the most feared pitchers in the game. Barrell went 8-2 in the second half and punctuated his impact with a pair of dominant wins over the Wolves and one over the Cougars down the stretch before capping his season with a 3-hit shutout of Brooklyn on Saturday. For the Toronto Wolves it was nearly as impressive a run but ultimately fell just a little short as the Wolves offense was not quite up to the task of keeping pace with the Cannons. Toronto's 42-34 post all-star game mark allowed them to overcome a 10-game deficit behind the Cougars, who were on a record-setting pace in late June but followed a 50-18 start with 35-51 finish. There is nothing to explain the turnaround. No key injury. It just happened. Everyone who was so good early in the season -to the point where there was talk of the Cougars posting perhaps the highest win total the Continental had ever seen- suddenly balanced out. The breaks stopped coming and the losses mounted up. How do you explain it? The same way you explain why the Cannons struggled so much in the first half of the season before everything came together in the second half. You don't. You simply say 'That's baseball.' There is no rational explanation beyond that. TRIPLE CROWN FOR BOBBY BARRELL Bobby Barrell became just the fourth different player to win the Triple Crown in the Federal Association after doing so by the narrowest margins. The homerun crown and rbi lead where never in doubt but it went down to the final game of the season for the Philadelphia Keystones star to edge out Washington's Mel Carrol by .00014 to claim the first batting crown of his 14 year career. Barrell joins fellow Keystones Fred Roby (1894) and Rankin Kellogg (3-times 1927,1931,1933) and the legendary Max Morris (also 3-times 1921,1922,1925) as the only players to lead the Federal Association in batting average, homeruns and rbi's in the same season. It has been done just twice in the Continental Association: by Al Wheeler of Brooklyn in 1935 and Fred McCormick with Toronto four years later. KEYSTONES, CANNONS TO MEET FOR THE FIRST TIME For the first time since the birth of the World Championship Series in 1893 the Philadelphia Keystones will meet the Cincinnati Cannons. The Cannons have been based in the Queen City only five years now after their transfer from Baltimore but the two franchises have never met in a game. Philadelphia has appeared in the WCS just 3 times, beating Brooklyn in 1927 and the Chicago Cougars in 1933 sandwiched around suffering a sweep at the hands of the New York Stars in 1932. The Cannons will play in their 6th WCS with wins in five of them including last year when Cincinnati topped Boston in a thrilling seven game series. The franchise was based in Baltimore and known as the Clippers for their other WCS wins which came in 1907 over Pittsburgh, 1908 over Detroit and 1914 over Washington. The lone Series loss for the franchise was in 1913 when they fell to the Washington Eagles. The Keystones franchise has a rich history stretching back to the very dawn of the sport. In fact the club, known as the Centennials at the time, can lay claim to the very first major league baseball title when they prevailed in the first season of what was then called the Century League way back in 1876. Century League pennants would come again in 1880 and 1882 and the club, now using it's present day 'Keystones' moniker, also won the very first Federal Association title. That was in 1892 and predates the World Championship Series by a single year. The Cannons franchise also can lay claim to debuting with a title when the Baltimore Clippers won in the first of what would only be two seasons the Peerless League was around, back in 1890, two years prior to joining FABL and the newly formed Continental Association. All this time later the two will finally appear on the same field for the first time Wednesday when the Series opens in Cincinnati. EXPERIENCE FAVORS CANNONS If we are going by World Championship Series experience alone this one will be no contest. The Cannons have 7 pitchers with a combined 185 1/3 innings of post-season work and a 15-8 career WCS record led by Rabbit Day (6-3 in 10 starts). Cincinnati position players have a combined 98 games of WCS experience with 10 of them having appeared in at least one WCS game. So 17 of the 24 players on the Cannons post-season roster have played in a WCS before and they own 27 WCS rings. What aboutPhiladelphia you ask? That list is very short. One. Only Bobby Barrell has appeared in a WCS game with Barrell winning a WCS (and an MVP award in the '33 Series). Barrell has played in 11 series games and made the most of them with 3 homers and a .488 batting average. WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY: WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES PREDICTIONS Brett Bing, Toronto Mail & Empire: Cincinnati in 5. Cannons have been a juggernaut since June. Fast Freddie Farhat, Detroit World: Too much Bobby Barrell spells doom for Cincinnati. Bobby B will carry the Keystones to a 5 game series win as the most dominate player in baseball. Ernie Herr, Cincinnati Post: I know that the last team to repeat as WCS champs was nearly two decades ago when the New York Stars won three straight from 1924-26 but I feel the Cannons are set to win again this year. Bobby Barrell is the kind of player who could win a WCS all by himself but the Cannons are playing their best stretch of baseball since coming to the Queen City and they are on a roll. Cincinnati in six games. Archie Irwin, Chicago Daily News: I'm going Philly in 7. This is Bobby Barrell's year, he'll find a way to win. Percy Sutherland, Chicago Herald-Examiner: I think the experience will serve the Cannons well, and I too say the Cannons in 6. As for the regular season four of the eight columnists who submitted predictions correctly called the Philadelphia Keystones as the Federal Association champ. The four were Jiggs McGee, John Brinker of the NY Daily Mirror, Doc Shaw of the Boston Globe and Johnny Bologna of the Philadelphia Inquistor. None of those four correctly called Detroit for second in the Fed, nor did any of the four get Cincinnati correct as the Continental champs. In fact, the only writer who called the Cannons correctly was Artie Mortimer of the New York Daily Mirror. Mortimer had the Keystones third on his Fed list behind the Chiefs and Boston. WCS HERE WE COME - AGAIN! Big Roster Decisions Loom for Manager Ad Doria The dream second half became a reality for the Cincinnati Cannons as the local nine punched it's ticket for a second straight trip to the World Championship Series. A 17-12 September/October record put the cherry on top of an outstanding second half with the results of their efforts being a date with the Philadelphia Keystones and triple crown winner Bobby Barrell. A familiar name of course to Cannons fans as he is the uncle of injured Cannons ace Deuce Barrell and the younger brother of current Cannons hurler Tom Barrell. Tom is also the subject of what is likely great internal debate in the office of Cannons skipper Ad Doria right now as Doria and Hall of Fame pitching coach Big George Johnson are faced with a difficult decision. Do they give the ball to Two-pitch Tommy or Rabbit Day for game three in Philadelphia? Butch Smith (19-10, 2.19) goes in the opener. Of tht there is no doubt and it is a near certainty that Chris Clarke (12-10, 2.44) gets the ball in game two. That duo played a key role in last year's series and will be heavily counted upon again this time around. But game three is the one that will be the subject of debate. Tom Barrell (11-8, 2.92) has had an outtanding second half and won some very big games down the stretch. Day (18-10, 3.35 overall and 6-2, 2.46 with Cannons) was a very key piece down the stretch after coming over with Tom Bird in the deal with the Chiefs at the deadline. Both own 3 Allen Awards. Both have pitched in and won WCS games. Day is 6-3 with a 3.36 WCS era while Barrell is 4-2, 3.86. It will be a tough choice for Doria to make but he does have a couple of days to decide. The other big decision needs to be made immediately and revolves around another of the many veteran players on the Cannons roster. Jack Cleaves is nursing a sore knee, something that first bothered him in May and flared up again a month later. It is not bad enough to need a trip to the injured list but it is a nagging injury that may hang around for a week. Doria has already said that Tony White will get the start at second base for at least the first two games but the question is does Cleaves make the active roster or is it better to carry light-hitting Billy Winfrey for his glove. Doria has not made his choice known yet but it is expected Cleaves will get the nod as despite the nagging knee the 37 year old says he can certainly pinch-hit now and hopes to be back to full health by game four. CANNON FODDER- A decade from now when there is a great chance that Dick Blaszak is hammering Federal Association pitching and Frank Sears is a dependable rotation piece with the Chicago Chiefs, fans should remember the pennant clinching day in Brooklyn last week. It was, or rather likely will be a heavy price to pay but without the deal that send long-awaited superprospect Blaszak and fellow 22 year old Sears to the Windy City for Tom Bird and Rabbit Day there likely would have been no repeat in Cincinnati. TALES FROM THE WOLVES DEN Wolves Weekly Roundup:
This column will now take a day off then perform a post mortem on the Wolves season. Brett's preseason prediction of 80 victories being a successful year was exceeded but to be so close yet so far away leaves the Wolves fans with a sour taste in their mouths. The New York Stars win just enough to pull in 1 game up of Brooklyn for 5th place. All in all not bad for not expecting to crack 65 wins this season. Management is now looking at the clubs future, plotting which prospects can be traded for better picks in the coming draft and who will be prime time for the '46-'47 seasons. The front office is extremely happy with the firing of the biggest of "Jerrys", Jerry "Cant" Kant. We should have known he was a German plant plotting to take down the team by the name alone. The promotion of long time bench coach Ken Tannen to manager was the right call all along and the second half of the season showed vast improvements Art White had a valiant effort this week, throwing 389 pitches and a pair of complete games, but he lost all three starts. In 26.1 innings he didn't strike out a single hitter and allowed 28 hits, 12 runs (11 earned), and 10 walks. CA Pitcher of the Month Harry Parker did his best to earn the Allen Award, going a perfect 5-0 with a 0.72 ERA (476 ERA+) and WHIP with 4 walks and 31 strikeouts. A season removed from a torn flexor tendon in his elbow, Parker finished the season 16-10 in 250.1 innings pitched with a 2.19 ERA (156 ERA+), 0.99 WHIP, 44 walks, and 128 strikeouts. The Cougar ace led the FABL in WHIP and FIP (2.56) while falling a few percentage points short of the ERA lead. He also led the CA in WAR (6.7), strikeouts, and K/BB (2.9). *** HAS LYONS ROARED FOR THE LAST TIME *** No official retirement yet, but this might be the end of Dick Lyons. The now 44-year-old finished slow, going 7-10 with a 3.35 ERA (102 ERA+) and 1.24 WHIP in 155.2 innings pitched. After four months with a sub 2.50 ERA to start the season, Lyons hit a rough patch in August and went 0-3 in September with a 9.35 ERA (37 ERA+) and 1.73 WHIP with 6 walks and 2 strikeouts. If 1944 is the end of the line for Lyons, he will finish with a 235-186 FABL record through 3,939.1 innings pitched. The 5-Time All Star and 1938 Allen Winner owns a respectable 3.80 ERA (107 ERA+) and 1.36 WHIP with 840 walks and 967 strikeouts while being worth 67.3 wins above replacement. Most impressively, however, may be that his only career injury was a cold back in 1930 that cost him a single day. ***IT'S FOOTBALL SEASON *** With a disappointing second half for both Chicago ballclubs the attention can be fully focused on the gridiron. The defending AFA champion Wildcats stumbled in their opener in Detroit a little over a week ago but that is not a big concern as the Cats have come up on the short-end of early season meetings with the Motor City Eleven on numerous occasions and all worked out well in the end. What is a concern is Gus Brown and his 5 interceptions in the opener. The normally reliable Brown completed just 4 passes to Chicago receivers compared to the 5 that fell into enemy hands prompting more than one person in the press box to question if perhaps the reason Brown is not in the Army is because he code be color-blind. "Certainly don't want him tossing hand grenades with that sort of accuracy," cracked another. The next game for the Wildcats will be a chance for Chicago to get some revenge on the Queen City as the Wildcats face the expansion Cincinnati Tigers in an all-feline battle on Sunday. The Tigers beat the combined Cleveland-St Louis side 21-0 in their debut. Speaking of Whitney, the College Engineers got off to a nice start with a 26-7 win over Wisconsin Catholic. The Cavaliers are now 0-2 after an opening loss to Detroit City College and are clearly nothing like the National Champion squad they were last year after a perfect 9-0 season. Next up for the Engineers is a showdown in Springfield with their Great Lakes Alliance rivals from Lincoln College.
DRAFT LOTTERY CHANCES Here are the unofficial results (pending league verification) of the entries each club will have for the 1945 Draft Lottery. The Continental Association will pick first this year meaning the best chances of landing the number one overall selection will go to the Cleveland Foresters and the New York Stars. Code:
PROJECTED BASED ON CURRENT STANDINGSMAROONS CONTINUE HOT AFA START The Detroit Maroons are making the most of an early start to the 1944 AFA season. While two of the league's 10 teams have yet to play their season opener the Maroons have already played 3 games and won all three in very convincing fashion with the latest being a 28-0 blanking of Pittsburgh at Detroit City College Field on Sunday. The Maroons, who will move to their usual Thompson Field location next Sunday now that the Detroit Dynamos are done with the place for the season, have a very unusual schedule this season with each of their first 5 games being in the Motor City before they head out on the road for the entire second half of the season. Yesterday's contest featured the usual strong game from Stan Vaught. The Detroit end, making up for a less involved performance a week ago in a win over Chicago, caught 6 passes for 103 yards including a 44 yard touchdown grab while also contributing on defense with 5 tackles and an interception to pace the Maroons. The Detroit ground game made plenty of noise with 227 yards rushing led by 81 from Dave Bickner and 44 from Joe Scharfenberg. In contrast, the visiting Paladins managed just 39 yards on the ground with former Christian Trophy winning back Billy Bockhorst leading the way with only 15 yards on 12 carries. Bockhorst also threw for 108 yards but was picked off 4 times. The other game this week was played last Tuesday in Washington with the visiting Philadelphia Frigates easily winning by a 42-13 score in the return for both teams. The Wasps took last season off because of player shortages due to the war while the Frigates were just half a team a season ago as they fielded a combined outfit partnering with the St Louis Ramblers. Greg LePage led the way for the winners with a pair of touchdowns, one on a 14 yard run from scrimmage and the other on a 94-yard return of the game's opening kick-off. Code:
Philadelphia 42 Washington 13 Detroit 28 Pittsburgh 0 UPCOMING GAMES SUNDAY OCTOBER 8 Brooklyn at Pittsburgh Clev/StL at Detroit Chicago at Cincinnati New York at Washington Boston at Philadelphia Code:
SERVICE ACADEMIES BOTH OFF TO BIG START Rome State and Annapolis Maritime wasted no time in making a statement that their 1944 entries will be much improved upon last seasons squads. The Centurions suffered through an awful 1-8 campaign last season but vowed that the focus would be much more on the sport this time around. With the war seemingly in it's final quarter, the Rome State grid eleven are much more focused on the sport and it showed in a dominating 54-3 victory over a very solid North Carolina Tech team that was coming off an impressive 8-2 campaign and a top ten ranking a year ago. The Techsters simply had no answer for the pounding Rome State ground game in which a pair of sophomores came up with astounding efforts in their college debuts. Gus Thompson is a 19 year old Californian who plays halfback and ran for 142 yards and 2 touchdowns in the opener. Fullback Chet Donelson just turned 20 and the South Carolina native also topped the 100 yard mark on the day and found the end zone twice himself feeding a steady diet of punishing inside runs that the Techsters defense could not digest. Annapolis Maritime also had rout in it's opener, blanking North Carolina Pre-Flight 51-0. The Navigators lack a single dominating offensive star but have a deep balanced attack that easily handled the Pre-Flight eleven. In other action St Blane got off to a strong start with a 47-7 win over Patsy O'Callaghan's Pittsburgh State Finches. A last second field goal lifted Grafton past St Patrick's 13-10. The Pride of Parma, Ohio led the way as quarterback Jimmy Rhodes and his Central Ohio teammates were too much for Daniel Boone College in a 31-7 Aviators win. Minnesota Tech got back on track after a loss last week to Iowa Pre-Flight as the Lakers rebounded with a 63-6 drubbing of College of Omaha. Defending National Champion Wisconsin Catholic dropped to 0-2 with a 26-7 loss to Whitney College. COLLEGE WEEKEND SCOREBOARD Rome State 54 North Carolina Tech 3 Annapolis Maritime 51 North Carolina Pre-Flight 0 St. Blane 47 Pittsburgh State 7 Grafton 13 St. Patrick's 10 Central Ohio 31 Daniel Boone College 7 Great Lakes Navy 38 Lincoln 20 Detroit City College 20 Indiana A&M 7 St. Magnus 13 Wisconsin State 0 Carolina Poly 21 Pierpont 20 Whitney College 26 Wisconsin Catholic 7 Minnesota Tech 63 College of Omaha 6 Mississippi A&M 27 Western Florida 7 Noble Jones College 24 Cowpens State 7 Bayou State 21 Alabama Baptist 21 Alabama A&T 21 Opelika State 20 Georgia Baptist 51 Coastal State 0 Cumberland 24 Central Kentucky 10 Northern California 13 CC Los Angeles 7 Maryland State 27 Hampden-Sydney 3 Iowa A&M 44 College of St. Peter (MN) 0 Mile High State 24 Lawrence State 7 Eastern Oklahoma 16 Arkansas A&T 6 Conwell College 7 Meade 6 Kit Carson University 14 Alameda Coast Guard 10 Lubbock Field 38 Amarillo Field 13 Ellery 19 Miller College 10 Alexandria 24 Salisbury Christian 21 Mountainview State 31 South Valley State 3 Henry Hudson 34 West Corners (NY) 10 Brunswick 21 Frankford State 10 Lambert College 23 Bryant-Bowman 0 Columbia Military Academy 14 Georgia Pre-Flight 3 Iowa Pre-Flight 50 Olathe Navy 7 St. Ignatius 38 Scranton State 0 Northern Mississippi 27 Jackson Field 0 Norman Naval Air Station 28 Oklahoma City State 3 Charleston Tech 16 Eastern State 13 Liberty College 34 Trescott College 10 Randolph Field 33 Red River State 7 Petersburg 30 Richmond Field 27 Second Air Force 24 Boulder State 14 Coastal California 27 College of San Diego 0 Texas Gulf Coast 37 Travis-Fort Worth 9 Travis College 31 Killeen State 0 Darnell State 21 College of Waco 13 Amarillo Methodist 41 South Plains Field 0 Provo Tech 23 Snake River State 7 Hancock & Pitt 17 Penn Catholic 16 Rainier College 53 Whitman 0 Huntington State 47 Lakeview (OH) 6 Eastern Kansas 17 Topeka State 14 Richmond State 37 Fort Monroe 0 George Fox 7 Coast Guard 7 Fleet City 24 Golden Gate University Pre-Flight 10 Lincoln Field 37 Fort Warren 16 WEST COAST PRO LOOP MAKES DEBUT Looks like the football magnates in California trying to usurp the American Football Association are off to a decent start, although attendance was perhaps less than expected. A pair of California teams in the San Francisco Football Sailors and San Jose Mustangs hooked up in the debut of the West Coast Pro loop. According to Buddy Leach of the San Jose News the fans that did attend loved the game, although it was no where near as wide-open as they had hoped a pro grid contest might be. The issue was that San Jose Stadium, which has room for over 9,000 onlookers, was only about a third full. Leach penned that "the brand of football served was good, bad and indifferent. But on the whole it wasn't at all bad to look at, especially in view of the fact that both teams were playing as units for the first time. Neither club looked organized but it takes time to set up an offense and it must be remembered that the gents in this league haven't a great deal of time in which to practice." Leach's last comment is in reference to the fact that all players on both teams are working full-time jobs during the day and practicing at night. I am not sure if Jack Kristich needs to give this loop even a second thought, at least not until the AFA boys decided to spread their wings and expand to the Pacific coast. *** BOON SAYS ONLY AFA WILL BE LEFT STANDING *** Carl Boon may not be front and center in the pro game these days as he answers to the Navy as a Lt-Commander instead of the Chicago Wildcats but the coaching legend still finds time to follow the game closely and he predicts that despite plans for post-war operations by several new pro circuits and the start of the west coast league, the American Football Association will be the only major play-for-pay loop "for seasons to come." The West Coast Football League kicked off this past weekend and the United States Pro Football League as well as at least one other as of yet unnamed loop have announced organization plans within recent months but Boon, the legendary Chicago coach who joined the Navy, decalred the new organizations "will have to suffer growing pains just as we did for many years." Although admitting there was room for another "high class" league, Boon asserted American Football Association teams will be "three deep" in every positon after the war. "Now, just how is any rival, starting from scratch, going to match such a setup?" he argued. "It's impossible. That's why it's going to be a long haul for any new league, with a lot of heartaches along the way." BOXING ROUND-UP A pair of Heavyweight pugilists clashed at the Philadelphia Armory on Saturday with Ron Wilson scoring a unanimous decision over Mike Davis. Wilson, a Binghamton, NY native who was released from the Army last spring improves to 16-8-1 for his career while Davis, who calls Stockton, CA home drops to 15-13-1. It was the first pro bout for each of them since 1941 although Wilson had fought on a number of service cards over the past three years. The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 10/01/1944
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October 2, 1944: Part 2 - More WCS predictions.
WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES PREVIEW PART TWO October 2, 1944 The Keystones have spent most of the second half comfortably in front and the keys to the series will be twofold: whether the "Wheez Kids" from Cincinnati can carry their impressive combat skills from the Continental pennant race into the World's Championship Series and whether the starting pitching for the Keystones can hold up with their foursome of 23-game winner Red Ross, George Brooks, Pepper Tuttle, and Jim Whiteley. Manager John Heydon is in his first year as Keystones skipper enters his first WCS and while that might be a disadvantage to Cannons head-man Ad Doria, but the 66-year-old Heydon has won league titles at three minor league levels (Union League, Eastern Association, and Great Western League). Heydon has kept his rotation order close to the vest, as well as whether the rotation will be a 3-man loop or a 4-man loop. The smart money is on Ross to make the Game 1 start and options for the Game 2 start are either Brooks or Tuttle. Whiteley and his middling performance for long stretches this year (5.66 ERA in August, 5.96 ERA in September before a good tune-up on the last day of the season) might be the odd-man out if Heydon elects to have a 3-man rotation. Of course, what can be said about the great Bobby Barrell that has not already been said. A lot of ink has been spilled about his historic season. It has been a year of milestones (350th home run, 2,500th hit, 1,500th RBI) and a ninth All-Star appearance, with a regular season culminating in the first Triple Crown since former teammate and Keystones legend Rankin Kellogg won it the last time the Keystones made the Series. Could it be an omen? Those Keystones in 1933 won it in seven games where a guy named Ross won Game 7. In that Series, Barrell won the MVP. Maybe nostalgia has gotten the better of me. Maybe the boys fighting in Europe and in the Pacific has gotten me all misty. But, this sportswriter has our boys winning the Series in seven games where a guy named Ross will pitch them to victory and Barrell will win himself a second MVP. History will repeat itself." The series is a Tough one to pick so I have to go with my gut and that says Philly in 7. This might be where the Cannons end up missing Deuce and Carroll. The Cannons had a magical second half, but Bobby's been magical all season and I think the Keystones - albeit barely - prevail in this one. |
October 6, 1944: WCS Games 1 & 2
OCTOBER 6, 1944 : WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES GAMES 1 & 2 KEYSTONES EARN SPLIT ON ROAD A visiting team always wants to escape with at least one victory on the road in the first two games of a World Championship Series and the Philadelphia Keystones accomplished just that with a thrilling 3-2 win over the Cincinnati Cannons in the series opener. The second game had far less drama as Rabbit Day shutdown the Keystones while the heart of the Cincinnati batting order in Tom Bird, Al Wheeler and Chuck Adams combined to drive in 6 runs in an 8-0 romp for the Cannons. The best of seven series now shifts to Broad Street Park for the next 3 games. The Series opener was a real pitching duel between Red Ross of the Keystones, who went 23-8 during the season and Cincinnati's Butch Smith (19-10). Thru the first 5 innings the score was 1-0 for the visitors and that run only came about because of a miscue by Cannons second baseman Tony White . It came in the second inning when Chet McCormick hit a two-out double that was followed by what should have been an inning ending ground out to White. The normally sure-handed infielder, who was only in the game because Jack Cleaves is nursing a knee injury, made an errant throw to first base allowing McCormick to plate the games first run. The Keystones would double their lead in the sixth inning when Cannons starter Smith had his only bad frame. Chuck Hood hit a lead-off single and after Harry Shumate drew a walk Hood would score on a 1-out single off the bat of Marshall Strickland. A 5-4-3 doubleplay ball from McCormick would prevent it from becoming a bigger inning. The Cannons offense had struggled up to that point. Bob Griffith and Tom Bird had singled in the first but after that the only other baserunner the Cannons had through five was a Sam Brown single. That changed in the sixth inning and it was Cincinnati hurler Butch Smith who got things going with a lead-off single. Smith would move to third on a Griffith double and then Sam Brown, still with no one out, singled to score Smith and put runners on the corners. A Tom Bird single tied the game and moved Brown to third that sent the Keystones bullpen into high gear. An Al Wheeler fly ball looked like it would be deep enough to allow Brown to tag and score the go-ahead run but Bobby Barrell proved he is the likely choice for the Fed Whitney Award for much more than just his bat - tossing a bullet from left field to nail Brown at the plate and keep the game tied at 2. The winning run would come in the 8th inning as a walk followed by singles off the bat of Marshall Strickland and McCormick loaded the bases for Philadelphia. The Cannons stayed with Butch Smith on the mound and he proceeded to hit Tim Humphrey with a pitch which brought in what would prove to be the game winning run in a 3-2 Philadelphia victory. The second game saw Rabbit Day as a surprise starter for the Cannons and the future Hall of Famer put in a vintage Rabbit Day circa 1936 performance, tossing a complete game 4-hitter which was aided by the Cannons power bats in an 8-0 romp. To keep the 1936 theme going Al Wheeler homered for the Cannons while Tom Bird had 2 more hits -following a 3-hit effort in the opener- and drove in a pair of runs. Chuck Adams also drove in a pair of runs and hit two doubles to help the Cannons salvage a win at home before the series shifts to Philadelphia for the next three games. KEYSTONES KWOTEBOOK Heydon: “We did what we came do to. We earned a split. Now, we just have to win our home games.” Barrell: “It would have been great to come home up 2-0, but we'll take the one game, shake off the last one and come back harder on Saturday [for Game 3].” Brooks on his Game 2 start (4 IP, 6 H, 6 ER, 4 BB, 2 K): “I was feeling good warming up, but I lost a good feel on my breaking stuff in the 3rd and walked too many guys. They were sitting on my fastball and cuffed me around in the 4th. And, I don't want to talk about the 5th.”
ANOTHER NEW PLAY FOR PAY GRID LOOP FORMS SCRIBE PERCY SUTHERLAND KEY ORGANIZER Just days after former Chicago Wildcats legendary coach Carl Boon stated that no other pro league could compete with the American Football Association comes news of yet another loop in its formative stage and the architect is right in Boon's old stomping grounds. Percy Sutherland, the well-respected and well-connected sports editor of the Chicago Herald-Examiner and President of the Chicago Sportswriters Guild, let it slip yesterday that he has been in contact with a number of prominent businessmen from across the country and the group is very close to finalizing plans for a pro grid loop of its own, which he hopes will begin play next September. That bring to three the total number of competitors for the AFA, which previously had a monopoly on big-time professional football. The West Coast League began play last weekend and the United States Football League, headed by Pittsburgh businessman Roland Payne has repeatedly said it will start operating next fall but few details beyond the location of potential teams have been unveiled. The AFA had not taken either loop too seriously because the western league is strictly a coastal operation and far from present AFA territory, while so little in the way of concrete information has been made public by Payne's league that Jack Kristich has been quoted as saying Payne's plan is nothing more than a "pipe dream." This new one headed by Sutherland is quite different and will undoubtedly be taken seriously by the AFA. Sutherland has the connections and presumably the blessing and support of a powerful newspaper in the Herald-Examiner. He is just the type of man who might well be able to get 8 to 12 magnates, likely with big purses but also the big personalities that often accompany such business accumulated wealth, to all row in the same direction. Yes, I expect Jack Kristich and the AFA owners are a little wary about this perspective league. No panic yet of course as it is still in the planning stages but one well worth keeping an eye on. COLLEGE FOOTBALL SCENE CLOGGED WIH BIG GAMES With a tang of Fall in the air, football whips into it's glory this weekend with games all over the map. Among the highlights this Saturday in the east will include Rome State looking to build on a big win last week with a contest against the Ellery Bruins in Rhode Island while over in Boston St Patrick's while host Dickson. To the south we turn and see Georgia Baptist tussles with North Carolina Tech while Alabama Baptist renews it's rivalry with Alabama A&T and Red River State meets Bayou State. Out in the Middle West, the Great Lakes Alliance slate swings in to full gear with perhaps the biggest game of all this weekend with Minnesota Tech meeting Detroit City College in a matchup of the top two teams in the GLA last season. Plus conference action heats up in the GLA with Central Ohio playing Western Iowa while Lincoln takes on Whitney College. Out on the Pacific Coast, Coastal California and Northern California play the first part of a home-and-home series. And both are rated strong with the winner in the cat bird's seat for a berth in the East-West Classic. The Week That Was Current events from the period of 10/02/1944 thru 10/05/1944
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October 9,1944- WCS games 3 & 4 recap
OCTOBER 9, 1944 SERIES IS A BEST OF THREE AFTER CANNONS AGAIN PULL EVEN Pitching was the story in Philadelphia as the hometown Keystones and visiting Cincinnati Cannons traded terrific pitching performances in splitting games three and four of the World Championship Series. A series that if you set aside the Cannons 8-0 outburst in Game Two has seen just 11 runs scored in the other three games and the teams look very evenly matched. The Series is down to a best-of-three now with a pivotal 5th game set for this afternoon at Broad Street Park before the two sides return to the Queen City for a sixth and, if necessary, decisive seventh game. The third game saw 29 year old Pepper Tuttle make his World Championship Series debut in what would finish as a 3-1 victory for the Keystones. It was far from perfect as Tuttle had to contend with at least one Cincinnati baserunner in each of his 7 innings of work but he did not surrender an extra-base hit and continuously battled his way out of trouble to take a 3-0 lead into the seventh inning. Chris Clarke pitched much the same type of game for the visiting Cannons but the difference was he could not stop the Keystones from stringing some extra base hits together. The Keystones struck for two runs in the third inning to open the scoring. Chuck Hood hit a 1-out triple and trotted home on a Harry Shumate base hit. Up to the plate stepped Bobby Barrell and the best player in either association this season delivered with a double to plate Shumate with what would turn out to be the game winning winning run. Philadelphia would add a run in the bottom of the 6th on a John Busby rbi single. That hit would have plated two had the Cannons Bob Griffith thrown a cannonshot to Tom Bird to gun down Tim Humphrey at the plate. Cincinnati finally broke the goose-egg with a run in the seventh after Tuttle walked himself into a jam. Charlie Ross hit a one-out single and after Tuttle missed on full count offerings to both Jack Cleaves and Griffith the bases were loaded. Sam Brown delivered a sacrifice fly to cut the deficit to 3-1 but in what just might prove to be the biggest at bat of the series Tuttle fanned Tom Bird with runners on the corners to get out of the jam. Herman Patterson would take over and pitch a scoreless 8th and 9th to preserve the win for the Keystones. As good a pitching performance as we saw in game three it was nothing compared to the effort from Butch Smith and Red Ross in the fourth game. The two had already hooked up in a pretty solid pitching matchup in the series opener. That one was won 3-2 by the Keystones but Smith and the Cannons would get their revenge in the fourth game. Smith would keep the Keystones off the scoreboard in twirling a 2-0 complete-game shutout while allowing 6 Philadelphia hits. Ross in many ways was even better, surrendering just 4 hits to the Cannons but the big blow was a 2-run homer by Denny Andrews in the fourth inning. Smith gave the Keystones several chances to score but always managed to slither out of danger. In the bottom of the fourth the Keystones missed an opportunity to respond immediately after the Andews homerun when they failed to score despite two singles and a Cannons error. John Busby getting caught stealing after reaching on a lead-off error proved especially costly. In the 7th Smith surrendered two walks to start the inning but retired the next three batters to keep Philadelphia off the scoresheet. The Keystones had a huge opportunity in the 8th when, with two out Harry Shumate singled and moved to second on a Bobby Barrell walk. Marshall Strickland hit a sharp single and pinch-runner Bobby McHenry -in for Shumate- rounded third and raced home but a perfect throw from Sam Brown nailed McHenry at the plate for the final out of the inning. TALES FROM THE WOLVES DEN Wolves Season Final Report Cards: After a second consecutive season of finishing second to Cincinnati despite the loss of players and other privations cause by the war it is time for Brett's evaluation of the 1944 Wolves. Every team in the FABL have been decimated by WWII, and the biggest question facing all teams while listening to the Cannons, Keystones battle for the championship is "Will this senseless destruction, loss of life finally be over before the 1945 season begins in the spring?" Recent comments by Churchill have replaced the euphoria of quick end after the D-Day landings with a sense that the fighting will drag on past Christmas into 1945. With no definite end in sight management in Toronto has said they will be approaching the off-season by evaluating only the players they currently have under contract and not dealing with "what ifs" of players returning from either or both theatres of the global conflict. Brett's grades and short synopsis of the 1944 team: MANAGER Bob Call- A: Call was brought in from Buffalo after the sudden departure of Charlie Reed although some thought the team should be looking for a skipper with more major league pedigree. Call's deft, some call it revolutionary, handling of the pitching staff may have been the reason the Wolves were in a pennant chase until the last two weeks of the season. Although the pitching did let the teams down somewhat in the closing stretch Brett feels that the major reason for the late season collapse was more from a sudden lack of hitting combined with sloppy performance in the field. Had it not been for a couple of fielding miscues at critical junctures of games fans may be watching a different CA representative in the World Series. CATCHERS C- Clarence Howerton- B+: One of the few bats that improved down the final chase for the CA title. Finishing with a .259/.335/.344 slash line was probably more than Call expected from Howerton. His major contribution was his handling of the pitchers, his commitment to Call's strategy plus gunning down nearly two-thirds of would-be base stealers. Can this 35 year old coax another season of close to 120 games behind the plate from Father Time? C- Walter Loera- C: Loera proved to be an adequate in the role of providing rest days for Howerton. The question is whether or not he take his game to another level to be considered for a starting role in the future? At 25 he has time to improve his game. INFIELDERS 1B- Walter Pack- C: Second half of the season was mirror image of the first, Pack's bat never produced the desired or expect results in 1944. Fans are still hoping to see Fred McCormick at the first sack during 1945 if he has not lost his former prowess. Most fans believe Fred could improve on .263/.334/.403 82 RBI without any difficulty once he sheds the war rust. 1B- Al Jensen- A: Provided at a level, .333/.374/.415, far higher than could be hoped for by this 37 year old. Fans were heard to be calling for his bat during Pack's all to frequent dry spells at the plate. 2B- Hal Wood- C: Offensively Wood's bat deserves to be in an the everyday lineup, .300/.75/.396, somewhere in the infield. But can the team withstand another season with 27 errors at 2b? Woods was the only regular to hit .300. 2B/3B- Joe Bell- B-: Cooled off significantly in the second half but still provided more than adequate numbers in a backup role. Bell has made Frank Huddleston an after thought in the Wolves plans going forward post war. 2B- Wayne Henderson- A: This 30 year old was called up from Buffalo as an injury replacement in August. In a small sample size of fifty-one plate appearances he showed a bat, .333/.397/.490 that will get consideration from Call and his staff. 3B- Ockie Holliday- C-: Holliday, like Pack, never contributed offensively at an expected level. Many observers think that the Wolves would be a more effective team with Wood at the hot corner. Ockie's starting job may be on the line when the team comes together in the spring. SS- Charlie Artuso- B+: If his bat continues even at his modest .256/.331/.377 rate he will in the lineup as a regular due to his vacuum cleaner like glove on the left side of the infield. OUTFIELDERS LF- Juan Pomales- C: Pomales was in the starting lineup 135 times, second only to Stickles 138 starts, like Artuso provided outstanding defense but .267/.333/.364 67 RBI is not enough from this slot. This has been Pomales' worst offensive season hopefully he returns to normal numbers in 1945. CF- Chink Stickles- A: More of the same from Stickles finishing at .279/.364/.400. If he could improve his stealing success rate Call could unleash more of running game in 1945. RF- Gus Hull- A-: .283/.365/.423 gives the nod in right to Hull going forward but he to dropped off dramatically during the season ending 17-game road trip. His fielding work, long a concern, was average in RF so his glove is not hurting the team. The other outfielders Reginald Westfall, Ed Marshall, Larry Vestal will enter 1945 in limbo on thin ice. Expect to see competition in the Wolves spring training as the team looks for at least one more bat with some pop. One HR every third game is not enough, 13th in the league. STARTING PITCHERS Bernie Johnson- A-: Bernie fell off late season after being pulled in the second inning of a road start. Although the team maintained he was fine after the rib injury the nagging question is "Was he?". A winter of recovery time should put him ready to repeat in 1945. Bob Walls- A: Led the staff in wins, 18, innings pitched, 261 1/3, Walls provided an above average arm in 1944. Jimmy Gibbs- B-: Although not as dominate as in his rookie season Gibbs avoided the sophomore jinx. A few less BB along with more Ks would be a nice gift from Santa at Christmas. Jim Laurita- B: Laurita did improve his control over the second half. He still led the team in BB, 103, but also Ks, 102, a 1:1 ratio is not ideal but Call figures Laurita will be more effective in 1945 now he has spent a season at the top level. Chick Wirtz- A: This almost forgotten hurler proved to be a key cog in the rotation beginning in July. Finishing the season at 13-11, 2.64 is deceiving as he got a staff low run support. Wolves only gave Wirtz 2.7 run per game to work with, almost criminal. BULLPEN Billy Crosby B+: If anyone suffered with Call's pitching management it may have been Crosby. It began to look like the end of season could not come fast enough in September. Roscoe Zeiler- B-: Wasn't used as much in the second half, as a two-way player Roscoe gives much needed flexibility to the Wolves. Phil English- B: Gives Call the much needed lefty in the pen. Bob McRae- B-: Another victim of the Call pitching strategy? In conclusion, the Wolves probably exceeded league expectations in 1944 but to be so close yet so far is too recent a memory for Wolves fan. The team will be competitive, needs a few good breaks to reach the mountain top. Will management be actively pursuing pieces to take the team to CA pennant? A PERFECT SUNDAY - Look how far we have come. Five years ago the city of Cincinnati could only dream of one major league sports team and now we have two. Not just two teams, but two teams enjoying terrific success as both the Cannons and Tigers did yesterday. In Philadelphia, our defending champion Cannons were pulling even in their goal of winning a second straight World Championship Series - a feat not accomplished since the New York Stars won 3 in a row in the mid-twenties. Butch Smith threw a 6-hit gem and Denny Andrews socked a 2-run homer for all the offense we needed in a 2-0 win over the hometown Philadelphia Keystones evening the series at 2 wins apiece and meaning there will be at least one more baseball game at Tice Memorial this week. While that was going on in the City of Brotherly Love, back home more than 34,000 jubilant fans were jammed into Tice Stadium and loving the result as the Cincinnati Tigers - the American Football Association's newest entry- were upseting the defending league champion Chicago Wildcats 20-17. Improbable as it sounds, the Tigers were 2-0 and sitting atop the AFA's Western Division with a team filled with players as new to the AFA as the Queen City is itself. We have of course never had a pro football team to cheer. Even in the late twenties when the sport was booming with dozens of teams. Cleveland, Akron, Columbus..even Dayton alll had AFA teams at one point. But never Cincinnati until two weeks ago when the Tigers went into Cleveland and won the very first game in franchise history. And now their second. Truth be told we did not deserve to win yesterday over the Wildcats. Chicago was undisciplined, took foolish penalties and turned the ball over at the most inopportune times but give Tigers rookie coach Jack Conn credit as his team stayed composed and took advantage of the chances they were given. Perhaps it was payback, justice of sorts for all of those years we were overlooked as a big league city. We had the AAA Steamers for a long stretch but that was purely minor league. Then John Tice righted a wrong that was done to the city way back in 1892 when William Whitney and FABL overlooked us. The Cannons were the best in the sport last year and the orchestrated the largest comeback in FABL history this summer. The Series is a best of three and we are just days away from perhaps celebrating our second big league title. It may or may not happen as the Keystones are clearly a very good ballclub as well. We know better than to think the Tigers will still be at the top of the pile come December and the end of the football season. But for now Cincinnati, a city exceeded in size by 16 others in this country and barely noticeable when compared with the likes of Chicago and Philadelphia, is at the top of the sports world. Enjoy it will we can.
DEFENDING CHAMPS FALL TO 0-2 WITH LOSS TO EXPANSION TIGERS The American Football Association's newest team is sitting atop the Western Division after the Cincinnati Tigers improved to 2-0 with a 20-17 victory over the defending league champion Chicago Wildcats. The Tigers, who won their franchise debut in Cleveland two weeks ago against the combined Finches/St Louis Ramblers club, came up big in the first AFA game ever played at Tice Memorial. It was a big weekend all around for the city of Cincinnati and a crowd of 34,410 came out to support the new club although most were as focused on listening for updates from the World Championship Series game in Philadelphia where their Cannons were pulling even with the Philadelphia Keystones as they were in following the game unfolding in front of them. As for the grid action, the Tigers took advantage of their breaks as the Wildcats led in nearly every statisical category except the one that mattered most. Chicago had more total yards, more first downs, more time of possession but undisciplined play led to a lot more penalties for the Wildcats -to the tune of 96 yards more- and that, along with two Gus Brown interceptions at the most inopportune times made the difference. A 7-minute stretch that began late in the first quarter really summed up what went wrong for the Wildcats. Chicago took two personal foul penalities -gifting the Tigers 29 yards- and extending a drive that finished with a Jack Christensen 1 yard touchdown run to tie the game at 7. Less than 2 minutes late the Tigers had the ball again as Gus Brown, who threw 5 interceptions in Chicago's opening loss to Detroit, was picked off by Fred Fykes giving Cincinnati excellent field position. Larry Rothstein ran for a 7 yard touchdown 5 plays later to give the Tigers a lead they would never surrender. *** EAST CHAMPS ALSO FALL *** In other action from a busy Sunday that saw all 10 AFA teams in action for the first time this season the reigning Eastern Division champs also came up short. Greg LePage ran for a 138 yards and the 3 touchdowns, while also forcing a fumble and making an interception on defense to lead the Philadelphia Frigates to a 35-20 win over the Boston Americans. Detroit lost for the first time this season as Tim Schepis threw two touchdown passes to lead the combined Cleveland/St Louis entry to a 16-14 victory over the Maroons. Jerry McElheny ran for 128 yards and two touchdowns to pace the New York Football Stars to a 31-0 win over Washington while Billy Bockhorst led Pittsburgh past Brooklyn 13-7. The young quarterback - a former Christian Award winner from Noble Jones College- threw for 198 yards and the game winning touchdown while adding 43 yards on the ground. Code:
Pittsburgh 13 Brooklyn 7 Clev/StLouis 16 Detroit 14 Cincinnati 20 Chicago 17 New York 31 Washington 0 Philadelphia 35 Boston 20 UPCOMING GAMES Sunday October 15 Boston at Washington Cincinnati at Pittsburgh New York at Brooklyn Clev/StLouis at Chicago Code:
MINNESOTA TECH BLANKS DETROIT CITY COLLEGE They did not meet last year and because of that many in Michigan felt Detroit City College was denied a chance to win the Great Lakes Alliance title but there is no doubt this season that the Minnesota Tech Lakers are the better of the two teams after the Lakers went into the Motor City and shutout Detroit City College 14-0 in a busy weekend of college football. The Lakers, 5-0 in GLA play last year and 9-0 overall, had a beef of their own a year ago when fellow unbeaten Wisconsin Catholic was awarded the National Title. The Cavaliers continued their freelfall this season with a third straight loss, falling to in-state rival Wisconsin State 17-6. Rome State had another strong game as the Centurions surpassed their victory total of all of last season by improving to 2-0 with a convincing 47-3 win over Ellery. Annapolis Maritime also won, as the sailors kept pace with the army thanks to a 38-10 win over Liberty College in Philadelphia. St Blane is also 2-0 following the Fighting Saints 41-0 blasting of Baton Rogue State. WEEKEND COLLEGE FOOTBALL RESULTS Minnesota Tech 14 Detroit City College 0 Rome State 47 Ellery 3 Annapolis Maritime 38 Liberty College 10 St. Blane 41 Baton Rouge State 0 Central Ohio 58 Western Iowa 0 Red River State 14 Bayou State 10 Cumberland 14 Mississippi A&M 0 Wisconsin State 17 Wisconsin Catholic 6 George Fox 21 Brunswick 6 Pierpont 41 Grafton 6 Georgia Baptist 10 North Carolina Tech 3 Great Lakes Navy 20 St. Magnus 19 Lincoln 65 Whitney College 10 Dickson 35 Commonwealth Catholic 26 Coastal California 21 Northern California 0 St. Pancras 21 Henry Hudson 17 Darnell State 27 Oklahoma City State 6 Eastern Oklahoma 52 College of Waco 13 Mile High State 37 Provo Tech 20 Noble Jones College 52 Charleston (IL) 3 Richmond State 23 Hampden-Sydney 7 Alabama Baptist 45 Alabama A&T 0 Amarillo Field 28 Lubbock Field 14 Arkansas A&T 10 Amarillo Methodist 9 Opelika State 55 Fort Benning 13 Frankford State 16 Hancock & Pitt 0 Coastal State 27 Charleston Tech 24 Coast Guard 37 Western Massachusetts 7 Lambert College 21 College of St. Peter (MN) 0 Western Florida 36 Jacksonville Naval Air Station 7 Mountainview State 45 Fort Warren 6 Conwell College 14 St. Patrick's 10 Second Air Force 24 Iowa Pre-Flight 0 Iowa A&M 53 Crete (NE) 3 Eastern Virginia 30 Bigsby College 17 March Field 38 Fleet City 0 Central Kentucky 10 St. Ignatius 7 Northern Mississippi 10 Reuben College 0 Daniel Boone College 47 Eastern Kansas 0 Carolina Poly 58 North Carolina Pre-Flight 0 Pittsburgh State 23 Pollock 17 Randolph Field 17 Travis College 6 Empire State 23 Irondequoit 10 CC Los Angeles 35 San Diego Navy 7 Columbia Military Academy 17 Miami State 7 Texas Gulf Coast 27 Killeen State 6 Payne State 38 Lawrence State 0 Penn Catholic 24 Sampson NTS 24 Huntington State 14 Eastern State 10 Petersburg 31 Alexandria 13 Cowpens State 13 Maryland State 7 Rainier College 48 Willamette Valley State 23 South Valley State 42 Canyon A&M 30 Alameda Coast Guard 24 Golden Gate University 14 CATCHING UP WITH JOE HAMPTON Another season of college basketball is not that far away and Joe Hampton, like most college cagers, is anxiously anticipating the opening tip-off. The 21 year old says he has no regrets about walking away from the game of baseball, one you could say he was born to play, in order to attend college and play basketball for Western Iowa. Most expected Hampton to be a second generation major leaguer, perhaps even in the big leagues as early as this past summer. The son of former Chicago Chiefs outfielder Jim Hampton - a two-time allstar who played in over 2,000 big league games- was by all accounts a prodigy of sorts in the sport as a multi-sport prep star at Chicago's St. Francis de Sales High. FABL clubs heavily scouted the tall lean righthanded pitcher who was so proficient at hurling a baseball that he was named to the High School All-American team as a senior. The St Louis Pioneers thought so much of Hampton that they used a fifth round pick in the 1941 draft on him and OSA had him ranked comfortably within the top 100 prospects list. He looked very good in his slightly over a year as a minor league pitcher and had he continued on that path might have been a late season call-up by the Pioneers last month. That is, unless he had joined the war effort like so many others. Hampton readily admits the war was a small factor in his decision to atend college. "I actually wanted to join, wanted to be in the Air Corps," Hampton explained recently. "Thing is you needed college to fly. I would not say that was the deciding factor though." When pressed Hampton said he simply wanted to follow his own path. "Baseball was always about my father. Don't get me wrong. He helped me a lot and I am lucky to have him around but it always felt like I was Jim Hampton's kid, and never just plain Joe. On the hardwood it's different." Out from his famous fathers shadow, Joe Hampton has floursihed on the court. A starter each of his first two seasons with Western Iowa, the junior guard will be counted on to play a big role for the Canaries this season. The team is on the shortlist of clubs considered National Championship contenders and there is some talk of Hampton potentially earning All-American status. And with all of the chatter about a possible big time basketball league after the war, Joe Hampton might just make it to the major leagues after all but in a sport where he can make his mark and not have to escape his fathers shadow. BOXING RESULTS A pair of boxing matches Saturday evening but neither involved highly touted fighters. Gil Hillard, a 26 year old heavyweight originally from Phoenix, Az improved his record to 10-9-1 with an 8th round knockout of Jesse Nelson. Nelson, 28 year old Birmingham, Alabama native, is now 1-10 as a pro. The other bout, a middleweight tussle, saw New York City native Dave Mason win his first fight as a pro. Mason, who was recently discharged from the Army, had lost twice before joining the Army in 1941 to put his career mark at 1-2. His first career bout was a split decision loss to a very young at the time Nathan Sears in 1934. Sears would get a title shot just prior to the war but was knocked out by current champ Archie Rees in that 1941 fight. The 34 year Mason won on Saturday in Scranton, PA. with a 7th round knockout of Danny Blue, (2-5), a 25 year from Erie, Pa. The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 10/08/1944
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October 12, 1944 : WCS Games 5 & 6 Recap
OCTOBER 12, 1944 SERIES GOING TO A SEVENTH GAME For the fourth consecutive season the World Championship Series will go the distance as the Philadelphia Keystones and Cincinnati Cannons require a seventh game to determine a winner. The practice of alternating wins continued with the Keystones rallying for a 6-5 win at home in the fifth game before Cincinnati tied up the series for the third time with an 8-3 win at home yesterday. If the trend of trading victories continues it bodes well for the Keystones this afternoon despite the fact that they are the road team. Butch Smith and Red Ross are expected to hook up on the mound for the third time this series. Ross and the Keystones took the series opener 3-2 but Smith evened the score with a 2-0 complete game 6-hit shutout win in Game Four. There will likely be just one lineup change as the Cannons will replace Jack Cleaves at second base with Charlie Ross (no relation to Red). Ross started 3 games of the series as Cleaves has been bothered by a sprained knee and he aggravated his back in game six so will not start in today's game but says he will be available to pinch-hit. ***NOT RABBIT'S DAY *** The fifth game was a rematch of Rabbit Day vs George M Brooks on the mound and it looked like we were headed for a similar result to the 8-0 victory the Cannons came up with when those two shared the spotlight in game two. Cincinnati bats erupted for 5 runs in the top of the first including a pair of two-run homers off the bats of Chuck Adams and Jim Hensley. Rabbit Day was outstanding in game two but the same could not be said about the 40-year old future Hall of Famer on this afternoon as the Keystones immediately responded with 3 runs of their own in the home half of the first. Brooks settled down in the second but would be lifted for regular season starter turned WCS reliever Jim Whitely in the third. Whitely and Herman Patterson would shut the Cannons down the rest of the way and not allow any more Cincinnati runs. Harry Shumate would double in a run in the 5th inning to cut Day's lead to just one run. The top of the sixth gave Cincinnati a huge opportunity as they had the bases loaded with just one out but Charlie Ross hit into a fielders choice that nailed the runner at the plate and then the Cannons, inexplicably, let Day hit for himself instead of going to the bench for a pinch-hitter. Day grounded out to end the threat and the Keystones remained just 1 run behind. That would change in the bottom of the 6th as Tim Humphrey delivered a 2-run single off of Day and the Keystones had fought back from that early 5-0 deficit to take a 6-5 lead, a score that would stand up. ***BARRELL GETS JOB DONE FOR CANNONS *** Cannons manager Ad Doria decided to give the ball to Tom Barrell for his first start of the series in Game Six. Barrell has plenty of big game experience but that was a long time ago for the 3-time Allen Award winner. Barrell did have a terrific comeback season when acquired from Pittsburgh in April to help plug the hole left in the Cannons pitching staff with the spring season ending injury to his nephew Deuce Barrell. Tom was far from dominant on this day but held the Keystones to 3 runs on 10 hits over his seven innings of work and that was enough to force a 7th game with the Cannons claiming a 8-3 victory. Cincinnati made it easy for Barrell in building a 7-0 lead through 5 innings as Keystones starter Pepper Tuttle, who was so good in a Game three win, did not have his best stuff on this afternoon. The Cannons scored a run in the first inning on an Al Wheeler rbi single, added two more in the third on a bases loadded double off the bat of Jim Hensley, a run in the fourth on a Tom Bird double followed by Chuck Adams' run scoring single and then chased Tuttle with 3 more runs in the 5th. The Keystones would finally get on the scoreboard in the sixth inning and added two more in the seventh before Don Adams took over from Barrell to close out the victory for the Cannons and set the stage for Game Seven. The big bats in the sixth game belonged to Sam Brown and Charlie Enslow. Brown, who went 3-for-5 with 2 rbi's and 2 runs scored, is quietly enjoying an excellent series for the Cannons while Enslow had a 4-for-4 day for Philadelphia. *** GAME SEVEN HISTORY **** This will be the 16th time in it's 52 year history that the World Championship Series has gone the distance. Never before have we seen four straight years result in the need for a 7th game and this will be just the second time a team has played in a game seven in two consecutive seasons with the Cannons, who won game seven on the road in Boston last year, joining the 1929-30 Philadelphia Sailors. Game Sevens have given us the full range of results. Blowouts like in 1934 when the Cleveland Foresters erased a 3 games to one deficit with a dominating 18-3 victory over the New York Gothams or terrific pitching duels as was the case in the famous Johnston & Johnson affair when Bob Johnston and the Montreal Saints outdueled George Johnson and the Boston Minutemen 1-0 in the decisive game of the 1915 series. Cannons current pitchers Rabbit Day and Tom Barrell hooked up in a wild 7th game in 1938 when Day's Chicago Chiefs beat Barrell and the Brooklyn Kings by an 11-10 score. It will be the fourth game seven for the Cannons organization having beaten Boston a year ago and they were 2-0 in game sevens while based in Baltimore winning in 1906 and 1914. The Keystones are also unbeaten in game sevens but have only played one as a franchise. That was in 1933 when Bobby Barrell hit a 2-run homer to help them double the Chicago Cougars 4-2 and win their most recent WCS title. Code:
The teams have alternated wins, with Philadelphia taking the odd games and Cincinnati getting the even games. Cincinnati has outscored the Keystones, 26-15, in the first six games, but somehow, someway, the series is tied and going to a seventh game where both aces are going to be on the mound. It has been an amazing season and it is a privilege to watch the Keystones play in the season's last game of the year, regardless of the outcome. You have to feel good for Tom Barrell. It has been great to watch him scratch and claw his way to an 11-8 record this season but to see him come up big in a potential elimination game in the World Championship Series was just a pleasure to watch. Barrell is nothing like the pitcher he once was. Long gone is the 98 mph fastball he used to throw past batters on his way to three straight Allen Awards -and 3 straight pennants- in Brooklyn. Shoulder troubles have also robbed him of that impressive hook that he once had as well. Down to just a fastball that only occasionally approaches the mid-ninties and a merely average slider he relies on his experience and an ability to pinpoint his offerings. Hitters know what's coming and know it is not above average stuff but Barrell puts it where they can't get good contact and it has served him well. My best memories of the Cannons this season will revolve around Barrell. Considered washed up in Pittsburgh, he came up with two outstanding starts against the Toronto Wolves in September that might well have been the differnce to give the Cannons the pennant. Add in a pair of 3-hit complete game wins over the Cougars and then finally in his old stomping grounds of Kings County to finish off the season and Barrell has gone 9-2 since the Cannons turnaround began in late July. He will certainly not be in contention for a 4th Allen Award but Tom Barrell might just be the Cincinnati Cannons most valuable player this year. Stepping into his nephews shoes and helping to solidify a rotation that was reeling with the loss of Deuce and Vic Carroll. No decision has been made on his plans for next season but that win yesterday in game six of the World Championship Series -the 5th Series win of Barrell's career- might just be a fitting end to a stellar career.
SAWYER, HOME, DECLARES ARMY IS RICH IN RING PROSPECTS Heavyweight champion Hector Sawyer, back from the European and African war theaters, expects some good fistic talent to emerge from the armed services. The champ, who fought around a dozen exhibitions including on the undercard of last month's World Middleweight Title bout in Liverpool, England, said he ran into some "real tough boys" as he toured England, Scotland, Ireland, Africa and Italy. More than 200,000 GIs saw the shows "for free." Staff Sgt. Sawyer arrived in New York by plane yesterday and was to depart today for his permanent base in Camp Sibert, Alabama. The champion, while in Italy, took several artillery shots at the German Gothic Line, pulling lanyards on big guns manned by the 92nd Division. Captain Fed Maly, the former sports editor of the San Antonio Express who co-ordinated the Sawyer tour, said the champion was the only one who "slept right on" when the group went through half a dozen straight nights of robot bombing while in London. "The only time he appeared bothered," Maly said, "was when our wide, glass-enclosed bus went roaring down some of those narrow, equipment-filled roads." Sawyer, who is now 30, says he will be ready to defend his title when the war ends. "Lots of fellows have been good heavyweights at 35 or 36," he said, "so I guess I'll be all right for a while. The Army is treating me right, letting me fight like this and keep close to the game. But there's goin' to be lots of good boys come out of that Army- yes, sir, lots of 'em." BOXING RESULTS Tuesday night in Detroit saw Saginaw Jack Nixon score an unanimous decision over Hunter Smith in a Heavyweight bout. Nixon, a 35 year old from Saginaw, MI., is now 6-4 as a pro while Smith, who hails from Lansing and is reported to be 41 years old, falls to 4-9-2. With those two being a highlighted bout it is clear the state of Michigan, and the sport of boxing as a whole needs the war to be over and the many great fighters presently in the service to return to the sport full-time. The Week That Was Current events from the period of 10/09/1944 thru 10/11/1944
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October 13, 1944: WCS Game 7
OCTOBER 13, 1944 TWICE AS NICE CANNONS WIN SECOND STRAIGHT WCS For the second year in a row the Cincinnati Cannons prevailed in Game Seven to win the World Championship Series. The Cannons beat the Philadelphia Keystones 5-3 at Tice Memorial Stadium yesterday to win a thrilling back-and-forth seven game series. Cincinnati, which topped Boston in a series that also went the distance a year ago, becomes the first team ever to win a seventh game in two consecutive seasons and the first back-to-back World Championship Series winner since the New York Stars won three in a row from 1924-26. Cannons first baseman Chuck Adams, who led the series with 2 homers and 7 rbi's, was named the Most Valuable Player of the Series and it was Adams 2-run homer in the 6th inning that gave the Cannons the lead for good in the deciding game. The Series itself was a tight one with each team alternating victories until the Cannons -who had never had the lead in Series wins- broke the trend with victories at home in games six and seven. The deciding contest had the makings of a pitching duel that would rival game four when Butch Smith of Cincinnati and the Keystones Red Ross met on the Broad Street Park mound. That one ended 2-0 in favour of Smith and the Cannons after Ross and his Keystone mates took the series opener 3-2 in the first meeting between the two aces. Philadelphia struck quickly in this one as Chuck Hood delivered a 1-out single in the top of the first and moved to second when Harry Shumate worked Smith for a free pass. Next up was Bobby Barrell, and the likely Federal Association Whitney Award winner, continued his solid series with an rbi single. The inning could have been bigger, and had it been the series outcome might have been quite different, but Al Wheeler gunned down Shumate at third base when the veteran was trying to advance an extra 90 feet on Barrell's single. The Keystones had another chance to increase their lead in the third inning when they had runners on the corners with 2-out for Barrell but the slugger flew out to end the inning. Cincinnati's first real chance to score came in the fifth when the Cannons had runners on second and third with one out but Ross fanned Johnny Porter, who was pinch-hitting for Bernie Griffith, and then induced a Sam Brown ground out to escape the frame unscathed and keep the score 1-0 Keystones. An inning later that would change as Tom Bird -who along with Rabbit Day was an expensive mid-season pick-up for the Cannons from the Chicago Chiefs- led off with a single and the next pitch from Ross was deposited 371 feet away from homeplate in the rightfield bleachers when Adams ripped his second homer of the series. The Cannons then broke the game open in the 7th inning with 3 more runs to increase their lead to 5-1. It all happened with 2-out as Brown and Bird hit back to back singles and Ross -pitching perhaps a little too carefully to Adams- walked the Cannons slugger to load the bases. Next up was Al Wheeler -another midseason pickup, but a much less expensive one from the Chiefs- who hit a 2-run single and then Denny Andrews ended Ross' day with a rbi hit of his own. Trailing 5-1 entering the 8th inning the Keystones had no quit, as Barrell tried to ignite the comeback with a one out double. He would score on Marshall Strickland's 2-out single to cut the deficit to 5-2 and Charlie Enslow would rip a double to plate Strickland. However, Enslow got a little too greedy and was thrown out trying to advance to third base as Strickland crossed the plate. Adams alertly cut-off the throw and nailed Enslow, who committed a cardinal sin of making the final out of an inning at third base and dashing any Philadelphia comeback hopes. It was the second time in the game aggressive baserunning cost the Keystones and in both cases it was the arm of Wheeler in leftfield that helped make the difference. Butch Smith retired the first two Keystones in the ninth and then after walking John Busby, Smith forced Chuck Hood to ground into a series ending force-out setting off a wild celebration of the home fans at Tice Memorial. A TALE OF TWO SEASONS - An incredible finish to an improbable season and the Cincinnati Cannons are once more on top of the baseball world. Say what you will about watered down play because so many of the great stars are off serving their country but this World Championship Series victory, like the one the Cannons celebrated a year ago is still the real deal and with 4 straight years of the World Championship Series going the full seven games, baseball has never enjoyed a more competitive run. In many ways this title is even sweeter than the victory tasted a year ago when the Ticemen won it all in Boston. To start with this deciding game win came on home soil, in front of screaming Cincinnati fans. An even bigger factor is this entire season was just so unexpected. Not that last years pennant and series win was easy but this time around it came in a season that the fans, and management it seemed, had almost written off in early June. Much has already been written about how the Cannons were 19.5 games out of first place on June 24th and without their ace and two-time Allen Award winning pitcher Deuce Barrell. Plus just 3 weeks away from losing arguably their second best pitcher in Vic Carroll for the duration. Denny Andrews was also hurt and when the team dealt Billy Dalton -picked up less than a year before to help secure the 1943 flag- it seemed clear management was focused on 1945. But then something totally unexpected happened. The Cannons got hot, finishing June with 5 straight wins including 3 over the first place Cougars, who were reeling, and suddenly the deficit was 14.5. By the all-star break it was 10 and even with Vic Carroll's injury there was still some optimism, but that optimism was focused on staying in the first division, not a second pennant. A week later the Chicago Chiefs decided they had seen enough of Al Wheeler's inconsistent play and the Cannons -in the right place at the right time- landed the Wonder Wheel for the bargain basement price of a 7th round draft pick. Wheeler was awful in Chicago, make no mistake about that, but while nowhere near the form that won him 5 Whitney Awards in his career he was much better as a Cannon, belting 11 homers and hitting .256 in 68 games down the stretch. Around about that time another key piece from the Cannons current General Manager's old pennant winners in Brooklyn started to assert himself as well. Tom Barrell was inserted in the rotation when Carroll went down. Up until that point acquiring Barrell for a seemingly equally washed up Moxie Pidgeon was looking like an awful deal for the Cincinnati crew. Pidgeon had rediscovered his hitting stroke in Pittsburgh but when Barrell went into the Cannons rotation something clicked with him as well. In all he would go 9-2 in the second half of the season including his win in game six of the WCS. The Cannons kept winning and the Cougars kept losing. Suddenly on July 31st - the trade deadline- Cincinnati was only 3.5 games back, tied for the third with the Philadelphia Sailors and trailing both Chicago and Toronto. The Cannons braintrust, sensing an opportunity, pulled the trigger on a major deal in adding all-star catcher Tom Bird and future Hall of Fame pitcher Rabbit Day from the Chiefs. The price was costly and included the Cannons prize prospect in outfielder Dick Blaszak. But with the Polish Hammer somewhere in the Pacific with the Marines, and the Cannons making a charge, they traded the previously untouchable Blaszak and the result would prove to be worth it...no matter what future greatness might be ahead for Blaszak. As the calender turned to September the Cannons were neck and neck with the Toronto Wolves in a fight for first place. The Cougars were trying to stay relevant as well but in the end it came down to a rematch of last year's battle with Toronto. Day would go 6-2 as a Cannon, Bird would hit .324 with 5 homers. Despite their heroics the Cannons found themselves 3 games back of Toronto on September 15th after a heartbreaking 5-4 loss that afternoon at Tice Memorial. Then the magic struck again. Butch Smith threw a 3-hit shutout to win 1-0 over the Wolves. Then Andrews drew a bases-loaded walk in the 12th inning to beat the Wolves in the opener of a Sunday twinbill with Tom Barrell -going the distance to beat Toronto for the second time in a little over a week- won the nightcap 8-1 and the Cannons were tied for top spot. They would finish out the season with 9 wins in their final 13 games including two more complete game 3-hitters from Barrell and would claim their second straight pennant by the same 4 game margin over Toronto that they enjoyed at the end of the 1943 campaign. Despite a game one loss in the series you just had a feeling these Cannons would win it all again. They did not do anything the easy way this season and the WCS was no exception. Trailing 3 games to two when they returned once more to Tice Memorial, Ad Doria gave the ball to Tom Barrell. And like he has done the past 3 months, Barrell defied the expectations of many, and pitched well enough to win his first WCS game since 1938 -two years after he won his third and almost assuredly final Allen Award. Game seven belonged to another Barrell a year ago, but all Deuce could do is cheer from the dugout - dressed in full uniform as he was all series despite not having thrown a pitch all year and perhaps not even being cleared to pick up a ball when spring training starts in the spring. But he was there, shouting encouragement as Butch Smith stepped into the ace role and handled it well enough to replace Deuce as the game seven pitching hero. Who knows. Smith might even take over for his fallen teammate as the Allen Award winner when the votes are tabulated next month. Chuck Adams had a big series, including a 2-run homer in the 6th inning of the deciding game that put the Cannons in the lead for good. Adams was the Series MVP and perhaps should add a Whitney Award to his trophy haul in the coming weeks. Adams, a little less than a month shy of his 28th birthday, is one of the younger players in this veteran clubhouse. Age might be a concern in the very near future for the Cannons as they are an old team without many good young prospects left in the cupboard. But that doesn't matter right now. Nothing else mattered in the loud, jubilant clubhouse with beer and champagne flowing freely in celebration of a second straight series. Living in the moment was all that was on the mind of the Cannons vets as they reflected on becoming the first FABL club to repeat as World Championship since 1926. Well, all execpt for Adams. Cigar in one hand, bottle in the other. He was dancing around the clubhouse telling anyone who would listen they were going to do it all again next year. Improbable perhaps. But it appears these Cannons are used to defying the odds.
The Week That Was Current events from 10/12/1944
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October 16, 1944: The off-season begins
OCTOBER 16, 1944 THE END OF DAY COUGARS LAWSON ALSO ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT Rabbit Day's return to the Cannons organization was a short one but his contribution will be long remembered in Cincinnati as the club has announced that they will honour Day by retiring his number. Day, who spent the first 7 years of his career with the Cannons when they were based in Baltimore, has announced he is retiring from the game. His numbers speak for themselves: 4 World Championship rings with 3 different organizations. 3 Allen Awards. 321 career victories and he led or tied for the league lead in wins 6 times in his 18 year career and led his loop in strikeouts 9 times. No pitcher who threw a big league baseball after 1921 has more wins that Day amassed and he is 8th all-time in career victories and 6th in strikeouts. The next stop for Day is without a doubt Baseball's Hall of Fame. John Lawson also officially announced he is retiring at the age of 39 although that was anticipated two years ago when he left for the war effort. A veteran of 2,225 big league games split nearly equally between the New York Stars and Chicago Cougars, he was an 8-time all-star and a 3-time Whitney Award winner. Lawson is one of just 11 players in FABL history to record at least 3,000 career hits. There were several other big names that also announced the end of their careers including William Jones, who went 195-147 over his career primarily with the Philadelphia Sailors. Frank Crawford (142-104) was a 25 game winner and an Allan Award recepient for Detroit in 1939. Dave Rankin (154-228) was a much better pitcher than his record indicates as he was stuck on some bad teams for much of his career. Toronto lost both Larry Vestal and Ron Coles although neither contributed a lot in recent years and Lyman Weigel (91-83) has stepped down at the age of 40, pitching most recently for the New York Stars. '44 SEASON JUST ENDED BUT ALREADY PLENTY OF QUESTIONS FOR '45 The smell of champagne has not yet been fully cleaned out of the home clubhouse at Tice Memorial Stadium but already a myriad of questions await the 16 ballclubs that make up the Federally Aligned Baseball Leagues. The biggest one by far is nothing new. It is the same question that has plagued General Managers and team magnates since the attack on Pearl Harbor. Who will leave this winter? For each of the past three seasons baseball teams, both big league and those in the minors, have seen stars plucked away and rosters almost picked clean in some cases as Selective Service comes calling for athletes in the prime of their sporting careers. There finally is an end in sight, as by all accounts the boys are taking the fight both to the Nazis and the Japanese but it is looking like there is still much more work to be done. As a result, it seems unlikely that some, or perhaps none at all, of the pro ball players who have spent the last 1-3 years in the service will be back for the '45 campaign. In fact, as more manpower is required to finish off the job in Europe, the manpower board is ramping up it's call for able-bodied young men and that likely means another large exodus of ballplayers is to come this winter. The tough part for the club admininstrators, although perhaps they are getting used to it now, is they have no idea who or how many more they will lose this winter. That is by far the biggest question for the year ahead but by no means the only one. There is a long list of things that are on the minds of baseball followers. Here in a special edition of Ten Things I Think with Jiggs McGee is a special column with focus on some of the many questions we have about the 1945 season. 1- Will the Dynamos trade Sal Pestilli? There is still plenty of smoke coming out of Detroit about a potential deal and some have linked the Chicago Cougars as a possible suitor. It seemed impossible to think Detroit would part with the 5-time all-star and Whitney Award winning centerfielder but then again everyone thought there was no way Red Johnson would be traded either. Johnson is in New York with the Gothams and Pestilli remains Dynamos property, with the fact that he is presently employed by the air corps making a trade just a little bit more difficult to arrange. 2- Are the Dynamos for real? Everyone thought it was just a matter of time before Red and Sal led Detroit to a pennant. Three straight second place finishes and then a very solid run in'41 when they finished third but only 4 games out seemed to reaffirm that line of thinking. However, the roof caved in -or more precisely the pitching collapsed- and the Dynamos were awful in '42 and '43. So bad they dealt Red Johnson and began to tear down the club. Six outstanding draft picks were added prior to the 1944 season and the Dynamos -even without Red and Sal and with very little in the way of expectations- rose from the ashes to a second place finish this season. There is no question the long-term future in Detroit is bright because of their draft last January but was this past summer just a fluke or are the Dynamos serious contenders again in '45? 3- Where does Bobby Barrell go from here? At age 33 he had one of the greatest offensive seasons in recent memory and a triple crown performance perhaps as dominant as anything Max Morris has ever posted. Is this the final great season of Barrell's amazing career or is just the beginning of another chapter that sees him dominate like he did before that terrible gunshot wound suffered all those years ago? He is a lock to win his third Whitney Award and may lead the Keystones right back to the WCS next season. 4- A shorter term question. We know Barrell is the Fed Whitney Award winner and it better be unanimous or some reporter will need to provide a urine sample. But what of the other three major individual awards. Did Red Ross do enough to win the Fed Whitney or is there support from Walt Wells, Buddy Long or perhaps even Jim Lonardo? The CA picture could not be more muddy -either on the mound or at the plate. Leo Mitchell won the batting title and had a big year but will voters look to the Cougars collapse and what Chuck Adams did in Cincinnati -leading his loop in homers and rbis- to pick a winner. There was no twenty-game winner in the CA this season so the Allen race is also wide open. 5- The big question in Cincinnati is how many Cannons players qualify for FDR's Social Security Act? They are not quite that old but close. Rabbit Day was expected to retire a year ago but came back as a 40 year old and had a great season. Does he try to stick around one more year and win another dozen or so games to move into the top five all-time in victories and make a run at a 5th WCS title? What about Tom Barrell? His career seemed to be about done when the Cannons added him from Pittsburgh but he ended up being the second half MVP for the team with an 8-2 finish and a win in the WCS. Is that a great way for Tom to go out on top after being just a spare part the past two years in Pittsburgh? 6- Deuce Barrell's future is huge question mark as well. The 27-year old missed the entire season with elbow troubles after winning back to back Allen Awards. He was in the dugout cheering on his mates for the WCS win but also received word he is not likely to be ready for spring training and even his availability on Opening Day next year is in question. And when he does return, will he be the pitcher he was before the injury. One positive is the Cougars Harry Parker missed much of the '43 season with a similar elbow issue and Parker is an Allen Award candidate this time around. 7- While on the topic of Parker's Chicago Cougars club we have to wonder how the collapse will affect them going forward. The Cougars were on a record setting pace in the first half of the season, posting a 50-18 mark (.735) as of late June. But then the wheels fell off, well more than that they crashed and burned with no simple explanation. They just couldn't win anymore and went 35-51 down the stretch including a 10-25 skid that coincided with the Cannons and Wolves rise. Many had them pegged to win the Continental crown this past season and -barring intervention by Selective Service- much the same cast will return so they should be a team to fear in 1945 as well. The question is does that awful second half weigh the team down next season, especially if they happen to get off to a slow start. 8- What to make of the Pioneers? St Louis was a team that had an outstanding second half to the 1943 season and seemed poised to return to the ranks of the contenders in the Federal Association. Instead the Pioneers crashed to the bottom of the Fed, following up an 84 win season with a year in which they lost 87 times. Was it just a one step back type situation and the Pioneers are poised to move forward or are they doomed to remain a second division club in a very competitive Fed loop? 9- Will Cleveland and Montreal ever contend in the Continental? Aside from 1930 when they Saints finished tied for second just two games back, Montreal has not been a serious threat in the CA since the early 1920s. Cleveland used to be good -so good in fact they won two pennants and had 3 straight 90+ win seasons from 1934-36 but they have been 7th or 8th each of the past 5 seasons and there is little too be excited about until top pitching prospects Hiram Steinberg and Richie Hughes return from the war. Their talented young shortstop Jim Adams Jr. missed the final month of the season with an injury. His recovery is essential for the Foresters to eventually become relevant in the CA again. 10- Who wins the draft lottery? This draft class is already exceptionally deep at the top and that is before the final 64 players get added to the class. However, I am not sure there is a clearcut number one at this point with outfielders Bob Riggins and Paul Williams along with infielders Dan Finch and Harry McCue all grading out as potential all-stars according to OSA. So first pick might not be as vital this year as in some past seasons but a top five lottery pick can go a long ways towards securing a potential cornerstone player for a team. The lottery gives everybody except for Cincinnati and the Philadelphia Keystones a shot at one of those top picks. Well, technically the Cannons have a chance as they own Boston's first rounder but it will be intriguing to see how the lottery balls land prior to the January draft date. The Keystones fell short in Game 7 and lost the Series, giving way to a Cincinnati Cannons team with lots of offense and solid veteran pitching. In the end, if you look at the statistics, it should not have been that close. Cincinnati had a 31-18 edge in runs scored during the series, but the series turned on just a few key moments. Two of those moments occurred in Game 7 and it made a big difference. The first moment came in the first inning, with runners on first and second, Bobby Barrell lined a single to left field, which scored Chuck Hood, but Harry Shumate was thrown out going from first to third on the base hit. The run held up until the home sixth, when Series MVP Chuck Adams hit a two-run homer to right to give Cincinnati a lead it would not relinquish. The second moment came in the eighth. With two out and one run already in, Charlie Enslow smashed an opposite field double down the left field line, scoring Marshall Strickland, but Enslow got greedy and was thrown out at third to end the inning with Philadelphia trailing, 5-3. That would be the best opportunity for the Keystones the rest of the way. The Series ended with the tying run at the plate, Harry Shumate on deck, and Bobby Barrell in the hole, but Chuck Hood grounded into a fielders choice to officially coronate the Cincinnati Cannons as champions. Aggressive base running was a staple of this Keystones team. The Keystones led the league in stolen bases with 79 and the team speed made up for the relative lack of thump in the lineup once you looked past Bobby Barrell. But, while they lived by the sword, in Game 7, they died by it. Keystones manager John Heydon left Red Ross in face the the top of the order for the fourth time. Heydon said, "Ross had 23 wins this year and another one in this Series. He is our best pitcher and he deserved a chance to figure it out." Harry Shumate led the way with a .423 average, Bobby Barrell hit .308, but they only hit one home run apiece, occurring in the same inning of a blowout Game 6 loss. They could not string enough hits together. The starting rotation was beleaguered during the series. Heydon's decision to go with a three-man rotation may not have been the best strategy, especially when the fourth starter-turned-bullpen arm Jim Whiteley pitched 6-1/3 scoreless innings and former starter-turned-stopper Herman Patterson threw 7-2/3 shutout innings and finished each of the Keystones three victories. The Keystones will have all winter to replay these last seven games. In this reporter's opinion, they may be back sooner than later and they may hoist the trophy the next time they get to the play for the championship. The war has sapped the team of a lot of the young talent in the organization and the veterans have taken them far, but the future for 1945 and beyond is still bright and when the youngsters return from the war -- whenever that is -- it might give the team a shot of enthusiasm and hope for the years that follow. Philadelphia Keystones Manager John Heydon retires after championship near-miss - Heydon surprised everyone the day after the Game 7 loss, as the 66-year-old decided to retire after one season with the cross-town Keystones after a 6-1/2-year stint with the Sailors. Heydon was brought on to take a team that averaged 83 wins a year for the last couple of seasons to the next level. He did just that, but after a 91-win 1944 season and three more in a heartbreaking WCS loss, The press assembled to cover the final day of lockers being cleaned out and players saying their goodbyes until the Spring (or maybe longer, depending on the ongoing war). Heydon was asked about his sudden decision to retire despite signing a 2-year contract last offseason. "I had every intention of getting one more shot at this thing." Heydon had won at three previous minor league stops, but never won the brass ring, getting as close as second-place finishes with the Sailors behind the Brooklyn Kings juggernaut in 1936 and '37 before winning the pennant this year. At 66, he was not too old to manager another year. The reason was a lot more personal and makes you realize that baseball is just a game, a welcome diversion from the happenings of the outside world. "My son John, Jr., was battling the Nazis in northern France and we recently received the news of his passing. We were told he fought valiantly, taking on enemy fire while others in his company were able to find cover and, in the ensuing firefight, successfully moved forward toward the German border. I have to tend to matters at home. The Keystones are in great hands. It has been my pleasure to manage this team for these fans, who really supported us all year." Heydon follows a Keystones tradition of managers retiring after pennant wins, albeit under very different circumstances. Columbus Tuck retired after the 1933 season when the Keystones won the Fed and went on to win the WCS. Len Cooper did the same after the 1927 Keystones victory in the WCS. Heydon could not complete the feat and we will never know if the 1945 Keystones would have given Heydon the chance to go out the same way. But, Heydon said it all with his last words to the press: "Some things are just bigger than baseball." Speculation has begun on Heydon's replacement. Top candidates are long-time minor league lieutenant Al Wavra, who has been in the organization since 1930 and has won five league titles, though the most recent win was in 1939. He is currently the manager at AAA Louisville. There is also a groundswell of support for current bench coach, and Keystones legend, Carl Ames to take over the reins. Ames retired in 1941 and has spent the last three years as bench coach. TALES FROM THE WOLVES DEN The Toronto Wolves had Ron Coles, Larry Vestal call it a career. Coles just returned from after missing 15 months with shoulder surgery. Call had Coles arm in the pen for the stretch run after a short rehab assignment in Buffalo. Coles himself admitted " I just don't have what it takes anymore. Time to move on." Coles spent just over 12 years in the FABL about half as a starter before moving to the 'pen in Detroit and Toronto. Ron was a member of two championship teams, 1936 with the Chiefs again in 1940 with Toronto. Larry Vestal also had a 12 year career in the FABL, coming to Toronto in a December 1935 trade with Washington. Was a three time All-Star 1936, 1937, 1941 compiling a slash line of .288/.366/.425 in 6157 plate appearances. He was a key cog in the Wolves 1940 championship team. Vestal's bat lost some of its quickness beginning in '42 so much so that the last two seasons have been spent as an occasional starter. Always a fan favourite Vestal will be missed both by the fans and for his demeanor in the clubhouse. Vestal, it is rumoured, has been offered a job in the organization. JERSEY RETIREMENT FITTING TRIBUTE FOR DAY He only won 6 of his amazing 321 career FABL victories as a Cincinnati Cannon but the organization's announcement that Day's #23 will be retired by the club is a very deserving recognition. Day was a Cannons legend long before the club moved from Baltimore to Cincinnati and won 129 games and 2 Whitney Awards in his first tour with the franchise. In all he pitched for three organizations and won a WCS title with each of them, finishing his career with a Cannons title and will be forever remembered in Cincinnati for his amazing 4-hit shutout win in Game Two of the seies. Rabbit Day is a certain Hall of Famer and now will join Thomas Watkins and Powell Slocum as the only players to have their numbers retired by the organization. *** CANNONS JOIN SELECT GROUP *** Don't expect the Cannons brass to rest on their laurels next season. To a man everyone in the front office is offering the same thought "The job is not done." The job in question is to make history and join the 1924-26 New York Stars as the only teams to win 3 consecutive World Championship Series. Amazingly no one else has ever done. In fact the Cannons are now in a pretty exclusive group of teams that won 2 in a row. Only 8 teams have managed to win back to back WCS titles and the Cannons are just the third team to do it since 1908. They are: 1895-96 New York Gothams 1899-1900 Chicago Cougars 1903-04 Boston Minutemen 1905-06 New York Stars 1907-08 Baltimore Clippers 1918-19 Detroit Dynamos 1924-26 New York Stars (3 in a row) 1943-44 Cincinnati Cannons Three in a row will be very difficult as both the Chicago Cougars and Toronto Wolves are expected to be very good once again and the Philadelphia Sailors might also be a factor. Aside from Day, the Cannons do expect to have the exact same cast intact and the pitching staff will hopefully get a huge lift in a healthy Deuce Barrell and Vic Carroll. After the miracle turnaround this season I think it is unwise to say anything is beyond the Cannons grasp. *** CALL ME A HOMER BUT ADAMS GETS MY VOTE *** There is a lot of hot air blowing out of the Windy City about how Leo Mitchell deserves the Whitney Award this season. I don't buy it. Mitchell had a great year and won the batting title but I would place both Marcel Boismenu of the Sailors and our own Chuck Adams ahead of him. True that Mitchell was one of the few Cougars that did not completely collapse during their disasterous second half but Adams carried the Cannons offense for much of July and always seemed to deliver the key hit when needed in big games this season. His CA leading 23 homers and being the only player in baseball not named Barrell to drive in 100 runs gets him my votre. The pitching award was a tough call but again I am going with the hometown hero and taking Butch Smith but ever so slightly over Harry Parker of the Cougars. He won't get much support but I could easily make a case -and have previously in this column- that Tom Barrell was the Cannons MVP and as such I am putting him third on my Allan Award ballot. *** DOSE OF REALITY FOR TIGERS *** After a completely unexpected 2-0 start the Cincinnati Tigers ran into a hot quarterback in Billy Bockhorst. The hero of the 1942 college football season for National Champion Noble Jones College had a rough rookie season but looked dominant in leading the Pittsburgh Paladins past the Tigers in AFA action yesterday. We knew there would be growing pains for infant franchise and should just be happy they started with a couple of wins as the next 3 weeks will be exceptionally tough with trips to Detroit, Chicago and Boston on the agenda and even when they return home again on November 12 it will be for their second meeting with the Maroons. *** AVIATORS FLYING HIGH *** There is growing support for The Pride of Parma to win the Christian Trophy this season. He will have some stiff competition on Rome State running machine Gus Thompson, but Central Ohio quarterback Jimmy Rhodes is the key reason a 2-6-1 Aviators grid squad a year ago is off to a 3-0 start this season after impressive wins over Great Lakes Alliance foes Western Iowa and Wisconsin State. Next up is a Great Lakes Naval Base team that is 4-0-1. With vets retiring and more kids moving up it could be an interesting offseason for the New York Gothams. And now with the return of a lot of players just a season away teams may start maneuvering to avoid too much of a logjam. A busy winter? We'll see. The Gothams are open for business. Our goal is to position ourselves for the return of the military guys. Picks and players available. Will take back military players, prospects or vets in areas of need. (SP, CF, 3B)
BOCKHORST LVING UP TO POTENTIAL It may have taken a little while but the Pittsburgh Paladins are starting to see the payoff of drafting Billy Bockhorst first overall two years ago. Fresh off a Christian Trophy winning season in which he lead Noble Jones College to an undefeated campaign and a national title, Bockhorst was expected to be an immediate star in the AFA and lead the Pittsburgh eleven to success. They did improve a year ago with the rookie Bockhorst at the helm - going from a 1-9-1 year before he arrived to a 4-6 record last year. Bockhorst had his moments but was very inconsistent and had some awful outings as well inlcuding three starts when he threw 5 interceptions in each of them. Passing was never his strong suit in college and Bockhorst could always be counted on to do more with his legs than his arm but that might just be changing. He has looked every bit the pro quarterback in leading the Paladins to a solid start and was a dual threat in their 17-10 win over Cincinnati yesterday. It was a game in which the true impact of Bockhorst skills was felt as the second year pro had a rare double-century: passing for 122 yards while rushing for 102 in the victory. Oh, and he also added a 25 yard field goal and kicked a pair of extra points so perhaps Bockhorst is actually a triple threat. The victory moves the Paladins into a second place tie with the expansion Tigers at 2-1, a half game back of the Detroit Maroons, who were idle this week. Elsewhere, it has not been a good start to the season for either of the two participants in last year's championship game. There are likely signs of worry in Boston as the Americans fell for the second straight week and are 0-2. Bunky O'Neill's bunch looked uninspired in absorbing a 39-14 pasting from the Washington Wasps. The champion Chicago Wildcats were in the same boat entering the game but fans in the Windy City are finally breathing a little easier as the Wildcats ended their two game losing streak with a win in their home debut, pounding the combined Cleveland-St Louis entry 44-7. The New York Football Stars and Brooklyn Kings traditionally play some very low-scoring affairs and Sunday was no different as Jerry McElheny's 1 yard run in the second quarter accounted for all the scoring in a 7-0 Stars victory. Code:
Washington 39 Boston 14 Pittsburgh 17 Cincinnati 10 New York 7 Brooklyn 0 Chicago 44 Clev/StL 7 UPCOMING GAMES SUNDAY OCTOBER 22 Washington at Philadelphia Clev/StL at New York Brooklyn at Boston Cincinnati at Detroit Code:
SERVICE ELEVENS CONTINUE HOT STREAK Rome State and Annapolis Maritime continued their winning ways with each recording a convincing victory again this week. The Centurions received another big game from halfback Gus Thompson and fullback Chet Donelson as they hammered Pittsburgh State 53-0 to improve to 3-0 on the season. The Navigators are also 3-0 after they beat Carolina Poly by a 23-13 count. Both schools jumped out to the front of what is still a fairly long list of potential National Champions. That list includes St Blane as the Fighting Saints blanked Grafton 20-0 to up their record to 3-0. The three big teams from the Deep South Conference are also all 3-0 after Noble Jones College, Georgia Baptist and Cumberland all won on Saturday. In the Middle West there may be a new team to watch beyond Minnesota Tech and Detroit City College. That would be Central Ohio as the Aviators are a perfect 3-0 with a 25-7 win over Wisconsin State on Saturday. Quarterback Jimmy Rhodes is throwing his hat in the ring of potential Christian Trophy candidates with another outstanding game that saw him throw a pair of touchdown passes and make two interceptions while on the defensive side of the ball. WEEKEND RESULTS Rome State 53 Pittsburgh State 0 St. Blane 20 Grafton 0 Central Ohio 25 Wisconsin State 7 Liberty College 14 Frankford State 10 Annapolis Maritime 23 Carolina Poly 13 Detroit City College 42 St. Magnus 3 Minnesota Tech 38 Daniel Boone College 20 George Fox 17 Henry Hudson 0 Noble Jones College 38 Central Kentucky 7 Georgia Baptist 34 Opelika State 0 Great Lakes Navy 61 Bliss College 0 St. Patrick's 17 Penn Catholic 0 Lincoln 40 Western Iowa 6 Indiana A&M 43 College of Omaha 0 Whitney College 31 Iowa Pre-Flight 31 Iowa A&M 51 Lawrence State 0 Pierpont 13 Richmond State 0 Cumberland 48 Western Florida 0 Travis College 31 Oklahoma City State 20 Bayou State 16 Darnell State 14 Red River State 14 Baton Rouge State 6 Maryland State 9 Huntington State 7 Payne State 55 College of Waco 13 Commonwealth Catholic 38 Elmhurst College 9 Mountainview State 27 Mile High State 7 Alabama Baptist 59 Reuben College 0 Canyon A&M 28 Amarillo Field 21 Northern California 24 College of San Diego 3 Coast Guard 16 Troy State (NY) 7 Brunswick 10 Empire State 6 Boulder State 24 Provo Tech 14 Lambert College 21 Wichita Baptist 3 Lubbock Field 27 Beaumont Hospital 3 Wisconsin Catholic 30 Chesterton 10 St. Ignatius 21 Eastern Kansas 3 Northern Mississippi 40 Arkansas A&T-Monticello 0 Arkansas A&T 14 Norman Naval Air Station 14 North Carolina Tech 20 Cherry Point Marines 0 Eastern State 30 North Carolina Pre-Flight 0 Charleston Tech 13 Salisbury Christian 0 Edgemoor 17 Charleston (IL) 13 Randolph Field 37 Texas Gulf Coast 0 Hampden-Sydney 17 Petersburg 14 Second Air Force 58 South Valley State 0 Coastal California 40 Golden Gate University Pre-Flight 6 Eastern Virginia 28 St. Pancras 21 Conwell College 27 Bigsby College 13 CC Los Angeles 27 Golden Gate University 0 Cache Valley 31 Idaho Marines 10 Cowpens State 23 Alexandria 0 Rainier College 34 Whitman 0 Fort Warren 27 Snake River State 21 Alameda Coast Guard 16 March Field 14 TALENT NO WORRY TO NEW GRID LOOP The promoter of the new United States Football League say he is not worried about any lack of player talent for the 10 teams with plans to start next fall. Roland D. Payne, the Pittsburgh-based organizer of the proposed circuit, said that replies from questionnaires sent to some 1,500 members of most college and service teams in the country "indicate there'll be plenty of material available." "We are operating in competition with, not opposition, to the American Football Association and we believe there's enough room for one than one major league," Payne said. BOXING RESULTS Middleweight fighter John Johnson ran his record as a pro to 14-2 with a 7th round TKO of Dan Hartley in a fight in Los Angeles on October 15. It was the 29 year old St Louis native's first pro bout since July of 1941 but the second time he had a lengthy layoff. Johnson made his debut as a 19 year old in 1934 and won his first six bouts but dropped out of the boxing scene and did not resurface again until late 1938. He had some potential in his early days and may well be a pugilist to watch but certainly not a serious contender for the middleweight crown. The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 10/15/1944
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October 23, 1944: Awards handed out
OCTOBER 23, 1944 NO DOUBT ABOUT IT. BARRELL BEST IN FED FABL HANDS OUT ANNUAL FALL HARDWARE It comes as no surprise that Bobby Barrell, star outfielder for the Philadelphia Keystones, was named at the top of every ballot in polling for the Federal Association Whitney Award. The 34 year old, who won two previous Whitney's in 1934 and 1936, had a dominant season in winning the triple crown after a season which saw The Georgia Jolter bat .347 with 46 homers and 152 rbi's. Red Johnson of the New York Gothams, the Whitney winner in 1940 and 1941 while with Detroit, finished a distant second. While the Fed Whitney was a clear-cut choice, there was plenty of competition for the award in the Continental Association. Four players received first place votes including league batting champ Leo Mitchell of the Chicago Cougars who led the way with 7 first place selections, but Mitchell did not win the award. He finished second behind Marion Boismenu of the Philadelphia Sailors, narrowly outpointing Mitchell 154-150 to give the 31 year old first baseman the first Whitney win of his career. Chuck Adams of the Cincinnati Cannons, with 3, and the Cougars Skipper Schneider, with 1, also received first place votes. The Continental Association Allen Award was nearly unanimous with Butch Smith of the Cannons being named first on 15 of the 16 ballots. The lone remaining vote went to Harry Parker of the Cougars. It is the first Allen Award for the 33 year old 4-time all-star but the third year in a row it has gone to a Cannons hurler with the injured Deuce Barrell winning the two previous CA Allen's prior to Smith. Red Ross of the Philadelphia Keystones, who led the majors with 23 wins this season, was named the Allen Award winner in the Federal Association. It is the first Allen for the 33 year old Brooklyn native, and quite a turn around for a pitcher who was waived by the Detroit Dynamos just 4 years ago. Ross received 10 first place votes with St Louis Pioneers veteran Buddy Long garnering 5 and the remaining vote went to Walt Wells of Boston. MAGNATES CLAIM FABL HEADED FOR FINANCIAL CRISIS A sharp drop-off in attendance for the 1944 season is being blamed for a financial squeeze being felt by many clubs as teams around the league take stock of their 1945 prospects. It is clear that attendance declined sharply last season from record-setting levels in 1943 -levels that were propped up partially but not entirely by free and heavily discounted ducats distributed to soldiers and essential service workers. As the war heads into what appears to be its final stretches some club owners are worried they will not be able to afford the contracts required to sign the returning stars. One Continental Association magnate complained "Revenue this season was less then the profit alone I made the past three seasons." Some teams are already looking like they will have to tighten their belts and no longer be able to afford the luxury of having veteran depth players participating in the minor leagues while earning big league money. New York Stars magnate Al Mielke, who claims his club was in dire financial straits just half a dozen years ago before digging out of it, feels it is even worse this time around. " Unless I get rid a pile of players in the bigs, plus basically my entire AAA team, I'm not going to make payroll," lamented Mielke. "The problem is the majority of my team is making what super star players made just a couple seasons ago." His New York counterpart agrees with Gothams owner Leland Winthrop adding "My budget is also taking a huge hit. Mainly because the attendance correction brought us way below what we've seen." Not every team feels that way. John E. Tice of the World Champion Cincinnati Cannons admits his revenue is down and payroll is up but says he expected and prepared for it. "We added a lot of high-priced veteran talent to help us win the past two years," explains Tice, "so we knew costs were going up in Cincinnati but we prepared for it. The sharp attendance drop did catch us off-guard but we are confident we can weather the storm with smart decision-making and are comfortable with our long-term fiscal plan going forward." A prominent General Manager of a Federal Association club blames some of the owners for causing their own troubles. "We had this discussion a few seasons ago. Some (teams) love stashing veterans in AAA and AA. That costs money." FABL President Sam Belton weighed in and felt the blame for the current cash crunch being experienced by a number of teams can be attributed to a few factors, with much of it being the fault of the owners themselves:
There are worries in some circles that things will only get worse. Chicago Cougars owner Ben Hunter paints a very bleak picture. Hunter's club has been one of the richest in FABL over the past decade but he feels that "even if teams aren't having issues now, with salaries going up the way they are, every team is going to be bleeding money." KEYSTONES ADD CREEL FROM DETROIT In what appears primarily as a cost-cutting move, the Detroit Dynamos have sent 29 year old middle infielder Jack Creel to the Philadelphia Keystones in exchange for 23 year old righthander Roy Montgomery. Creel, who shared the starting shortstop duties at Thompson Field last season with Hank Grant, hit .280 this season and was due for a big raise. The Dynamos are, according to club owner Powell Thompson, needing to tighten their belt and as a result Creel, who was acquired from Cleveland in the rule five draft a year ago, was deemed expandable. OSA considers Creel, who was selected 12th overall by the Foresters out of Ferguson University in 1936, an above-average big league shortstop but aside from 1941 -when he hit just .223 in 143 games- Creel has never been an everyday player. In return the Dynamos receiver Montgomery, a young inexpensive pitcher who went 0-5, 7.76 in his big league debut with the Keystones last season. A fifth round selection in 1939, Montgomery has a deep 5-pitch arsenal and keeps the ball on the ground but OSA sees his big league ceiling as that of a spot-starter at best. JIGGS MCGEE'S TAKE- Detroit did this deal for one reason only. Money. "Penny-pinching Powell" wants salary reduced and so the deal was consumated. A nice addition for the defending Federal Association champs as Creel will be likely be given every opportunity to wrestle the starting shortstop job away from light-hitting Tim Humphrey, who batted just .208 this past season. The Keystones have a lot of talented young pitching that will return once the war is over and when that happens it is doubtful that Montgomery would have ever fit into their future plans. WOLVES HOT STOVE Let's will kick off the off season with a look at prospects in the Wolves future. The minor system at first glance seems to be strong with five players in the top 100 giving the Wolves the fifth ranked system in the FABL. First glances can be deceiving as only one, Jim Carter (23), is available at the present time. The others Jerry York (4), John Fast (8), Harry Phillips (38), Adam Grayson (79) are all currently serving in the armed forces. The question is then two-fold; 1) When will York, Fast, Phillips, Grayson finally come available to restart their careers in the organization? 2) Has the time spent in the service affected their skills in a major way, so much so that they will never reach the FABL? Here is a quick look at the top five prospects currently in the organization with their FABL ranking in brackets: 1- Jim Carter (23): A first round selection in 1943 Carter has moved consistently up through the organization spending the past season in Buffalo where he posted a 12-7, 3.48 record. There was some discussion about adding him to the expanded roster in September but it was decided that this 22 year old's time would be best spent in AAA as his chances of being thrown into the pressure cooker of a pennant race were at best remote. Scouts are high on his future, expect Carter in the big league camp during Spring Training. 2- Cal Yeager (157): This 18 year old catcher, Wolves first selection in 1944, has had a good introduction to professional baseball in Tuscaloosa .345/.398/.448 in 36 games at C level. Yeager is still a long way from coming north of the border, scouts are high on his potential expect to see him in a Wolves uniform when he matures towards the end of the decade. 3- Fred Miles (191): A second round pick in 1943 at 19 he has already spent two season at Tuscaloosa. His bat has struggled even at this level although his glove work, at many different positions, will make him a valuable asset if he proves he can hit even at .230 level. Scouting jury is still out on Miles, 1945 will be a pivotal year, he must show he has at least some value along with a move up at least one level. Three years at C is at least one too many, along with the possibility of players returning from the war, if it ever ends. 4- Bob Evans (201): A seventh round selection in 1942 Evans has fought control, long ball issues at both Vancouver, Tuscaloosa. Scouts see him as no more than an organizational piece at present, which is not a ringing endorsement for the future. At 21 the future is now for Evans. 5- Tommy Anderson (240): Brett was surprised to see this September callup ranked so low on the prospect listing. A 1940 draftee Anderson has put up consistent if not spectacular numbers on his climb through the minor leagues. Free passes were a big issue in his 24 FABL innings pitched in September. Scouts recognize his talents with control always being his major issue. Wolves hope Art Nichols can fix his control issues in the spring. Fans have probably noticed that the team has a strong suit in pitching. Much of the hot stove discussion this winter in Toronto will be whether the team should trade one of their young pitchers to acquire on impact bat to close the gap on Cincinnati, Chicago. This discussion will be sandwiched between the other two major topics: 1- Will, and if so when, the war finally be over allowing the return of McCormick, Hancock, Garrison to name only a few. 2-If the fighting drags on how many players will be off to the fighting during this winter? Next edition of the Hot Stove we will do an analysis of the Wolves organization team by team. It was a busy weekend in Detroit as the Dynamos reorganized the structure a bit. Detroit promoted several pitching coaches up the organization to replace the retiring AAA pitching coach Jackie Austin. Moving up to AAA will be former AA PC Johnny Ambler. Moving up from class B to class AA will be pitching coach Andy Holton. Class C PC Red Robbins has been promoted to class B Chattanooga. Detroit manager Dick York was given a 2-year extension so he will be on board through the 1947 season. York was seen as instrumental in putting together an 82-72 season good for 2nd place in the FA with the lack of talent he truly had to work with. Also extended was Pitching Charlie Head, Hitting coach Jim Webb and 1B Coach Frank Roberson. Asst GM Mike Walton left the team after his contract was not renewed in a budget cost cutting decision. GM Martin has stated that for the 1945 season the club will not have an asst GM to save money but that he would look into hiring someone potentially for the 1946 season. The payroll is also down $65,000 with another $15,000 to be lopped off Monday with the trade of Jake Creel. We are still overall over budget no thanks to the negative cash position decided upon by miserly owner Powell “we hope he dies soon” Thompson. Still the Dynamos feel they are in decent shape and will be moving on some other pieces one way or another. The only holdover on the minor league salary guys is SP Chuck “Superstar” Murphy who the General Manager has a soft spot for (although he didn’t make the team out of spring training last season). If Detroit finds a rule 5 guy we like he might get released, but for now he will be given a chance to make the big league roster coming out of the spring for the '45 season. With last years rule 5 duo in P’s David Volpe and Bob Clark likely opening the season in Newark to get a lot of innings in. He has a great shot to make the club.
McELHENY SHINES FOR GRID STARS Jerry McElheny ran for 108 yards and a pair of touchdowns to lift the New York Football Stars past the combined Cleveland/StLouis entry 28-0 in weekend American Football Association action. At 3-0, the Stars are the only team remaining in the AFA yet to lose or tie a game this season. An injury depleted Philadelphia Frigates squad had to settle for a 7-7 tie with the visiting Washington Wasps but it was a disappointing result for the Frigates (2-0-1) who created much of their own problems on the afternoon. The first two Philadelphia drives of the game resulted in turnovers including a Bob Allen fumble that was returned 50 years by the Wasps Ted Eacker to the Frigates 4 yard like. Two plays later Jim Honigman ran in for the games opening score. The Frigates did manage to tie things up on a Greg LePage one yard plunge in the second quarter but that would be the end of the scoring despite the fact Philadelphia had two late field goal attempts. They were admittedly long - a 37 yard attempt and a 48 yard try- but Bob Allen missed them both forcing the Frigates to settle for the draw. Fans of the Detroit Maroons said good bye to their team with a 30-0 thumping of the expansion Cincinnati Tigers. The 4-1 Maroons played each of their first five games at home and now will spend the rest of the season on the road. Stan Vaught, as is often the case, was the star of the show at Thompson Field with the Detroit end counting a touchdown reception among his 6 catches for 126 yards on the day. On the other side of the ball Vaught also made a big impression with 3 tackles, an interception and a forced fumble. The Tigers started the season by winning their first two games but their record is now even at 2-2. Elsewhere, Chicago held off Pittsburgh 10-7 as Gus Brown had a little better day after a rough start to the season. Brown completed 9 of 16 pass attempts for 123 yards including a 14 yards scoring strike to Mike Tedeo ealy in the fourth quarter but was also intercepted 3 times. Finally in Boston Del Thomas threw for 224 yards and a touchdown while fellow Boston back Tom Griggs tossed a pair of fourth quarter scoring strikes to Johnny Littlejohn to lead the Americans past Brooklyn 27-7. Code:
Washington 7 Philadelphia 7 New York 28 Clev/StL 0 Boston 27 Brooklyn 7 Chicago 10 Pittsburgh 7 Detroit 30 Cincinnati 0 UPCOMING GAMES SUNDAY OCTOBER 29 Philadelphia at New York Cleve/StL at Boston Cincinnati at Chicago Washington at Brooklyn Detroit at Pittsburgh Code:
AVIATORS FLY PAST GREAT LAKES NAVY If you were not taking the Central Ohio Aviators seriously as a National Title contender the events on Saturday certainly went a long ways toward changing your mind after Aviators handed Great Lakes Navy it's first loss of the season. It was not just a loss. It was complete domination on both sides of the ball as Central Ohio won by a 38-3 count. That Aviators are now 4-0 on the season heading into a big Great Lakes Alliance showdown next weekend with Minnesota Tech. The defending conference champion Lakers are 3-1 this year including a 14-0 shutout win over Detroit City College a week ago. Annapolis Maritime beat Georgia Baptist 30-19 in a game that featured a pair of previously unbeaten teams. It was a tough day for the Deep South as Cumberland also lost, falling 20-3 to conference rival Alabama Baptist. That leaves 1942 National Champion Noble Jones as the only remaining unbeaten and untied Deep South squad. The Colonels improved to 4-0 with a 52-0 romp over Daniel Field. Rome State and St Blane also remain very much in the title picture as each improved to 4-0 with victories this weekend. The Centurions pounded the Coast Guard eleven 48-6 while the Fighting Saints had little trouble in a 44-6 win over Wisconsin State. The list of unbeaten, untied major schools is down to 10: Rainier College is 5-0 while Central Ohio, Rome State, St Blane, Annapolis Maritime, Columbia Military Academy, Iowa A&M, Eastern Oklahoma, Payne State and Noble Jones College all sit at 4-0. WEEKEND RESULTS Rome State 48 Coast Guard 6 Annapolis Maritime 30 Georgia Baptist 19 St. Blane 44 Wisconsin State 6 Central Ohio 38 Great Lakes Navy 3 Alabama Baptist 20 Cumberland 3 Noble Jones College 52 Daniel Field 0 Lincoln 45 Pittsburgh State 20 St. Magnus 17 Indiana A&M 6 Iowa A&M 20 Daniel Boone College 7 Lawrence State 21 College of Omaha 10 Rainier College 38 Coastal California 17 St. Patrick's 28 Ellery 13 Central Kentucky 34 Alexandria 0 St. Ignatius 21 Maryland State 3 Bayou State 26 Northern Mississippi 21 Whitney College 41 Western Iowa 11 Red River State 27 Texas Gulf Coast 10 Baton Rouge State 14 Opelika State 14 Payne State 38 Mississippi A&M 21 Columbia Military Academy 14 Coastal State 3 Bigsby College 24 Commonwealth Catholic 23 Miami State 19 Fort Pierce 10 College of San Diego 22 Alameda Coast Guard 22 Salisbury Christian 24 Charleston (IL) 21 Boulder State 17 Mountainview State 13 Brunswick 30 Sampson NTS 6 College of St. Peter (MN) 14 Lambert College 14 Northern California 31 Fleet City 10 Kit Carson University 19 Cache Valley 17 Norman Naval Air Station 28 Amarillo Field 0 Oklahoma City State 54 Eastern Kansas 0 Eastern Oklahoma 30 Mile High State 12 Liberty College 31 Empire State 14 CC Los Angeles 34 Golden Gate University Pre-Flight 7 Second Air Force 44 Travis-Fort Worth 0 College of Waco 13 Killeen State 3 Conwell College 10 St. Pancras 10 Arkansas A&T 14 Travis College 12 Amarillo Methodist 14 Darnell State 10 Provo Tech 23 Snake River State 7 Penn Catholic 16 Trescott College 10 Charleston Tech 10 Cowpens State 0 Huntington State 71 Pollock 9 Richmond State 41 Richmond Field 7 Iowa Pre-Flight 51 Fort Warren 0 Wisconsin Catholic 19 Lincoln Field 10 Lubbock Field 24 South Plains Field 7 March Field 24 El Toro Marines 0 Randolph Field 40 Camp Polk 3 MIXED NEWS ON PROPOSED NEW GRID LEAGUES There is both positive and negative news surrounding new play for pay football leagues. The first one, which is aiming to to start next year, assuming the war has ended by that time, is the brainchild of Percy Sutherland.. Few details are available but Sutherland says plans are progressing well for his as of yet unnamed loop. So well in fact that the Chicago Herald-Examiner Sports Editor wrote in a recent column that the New York entry in his league has already signed several former college stars to head the club when they get out of the Army. The news is less positive surrounding the west coast league as two teams are reported to have dropped out already, just weeks after starting the season. Attendance apparently has been far less than expected in some of the western cities. 1944-45 COLLEGIATE CAGE PREVIEW The new AIAA basketball season is just around the corner and many are predicting the championship will have to go through Carolina. The question is which school as South Atlantic Conference rivals North Carolina Tech and Carolina Poly are two of the names that immediately roll of the tongue when collegiate coaches are asked to name the team to beat for the upcoming season. The SAC is actually quite deep this year with Chesapeake State and Mobile Maritime highly touted as well but it is the two North Carolina schools that cause the biggest stir. Carolina Poly, the Durham based school, had a disappointing 21-10 season a year ago but may have the best player in the nation in senior forward Terry Flowers along with a sweet-shooting senior guard by the name of Drew Morris. That duo will be heavily counted on to carry the Cardinals a long ways this season. But they will first have to get past the Techsters. North Carolina Tech is just 3 seasons removed from a trip to the National semi-finals and went 22-8 a year ago. They lack a dominant player but come at you with an 8-deep roster that can wear down opponents of the Raleigh school. Many feel the Great Lakes Alliance and West Coast Athletic Association, which have dominated in recent years along with the now-defunct Northeast Conference, will each take a step back with only Western Iowa and CC Los Angeles as potential title contenders from those two loops. Others to watch include Liberty College and St Patrick's -former members of the Northeast Conference now playing as independents- and some feel St Blane and Annapolis Maritime, a pair of football powers who have not enjoyed a lot of success on the hardwood, are poised to rise. Among the names to watch aside from Carolina Poly's Flowers, potential Player of the Year candidates include Larry Yim of CCLA, Coastal California's Morgan Melcher, Ohio Poly's Jack Simmons and a pair of juniors in David Bobo of Garden State and Western Iowa's Joe Hampton -the former pro baseball player. BOXING RESULTS One heavyweight fight this week with Eric Lawrence winning an unanimous decision over Terry Hart in a fight in New York. Lawrence, a 28 year old Jersey City, NJ native, improves to 8-5-1 with the victory over the Arkansas born Hart, who drops to 11-11-2. The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 10/22/1944
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October 30, 1944
OCTOBER 30, 1944 FABL PUTS CAP ON DRAFTEE SIGNING BONUSES Faced with what some club magnates are calling a growing financial crisis in the sport, FABL made a drastic decision to freeze signing bonuses paid out to rookie draft picks for at least the 1945 season. In the past clubs were free to negotiate a deal with their draft choices which resulted in bonuses in excess of $20,000 paid out to many of the top draft picks. Just last July the Pittsburgh Miners shelled out $30,000 to convince 5th overall draft pick Jim Flowers to sign with the organization while the Detroit Dynamos paid in excess of $87,000 to their four first round selections. That will be a thing of the past, at least for this year as with several teams -including Detroit prominently featured in that group- crying financial ruin FABL President Sam Belton issued a decree this week putting an end to those large bonus deals. Players also had the luxury in the past of turning down the deal and attending college instead, with them once again becoming draft eligible following their college junior or senior seasons. Instead under the new system players will receive a strict 'slot bonus' based upon their draft position and if they refuse to sign will not be eligible for future drafts, meaning that all players will be forced to sign or risk no future in the sport. Obviously this edict has not gone over well with many young players. Few are willing to speak publicly about it but privately players are speaking of the 'red influence' on the game and how this reeks of communism. One that did go public with his thoughts is Otis Porter of Grange College. The 20 year old well spoken college junior is nicknamed "Professor" by college teammates and is clearly upset about the rule. "I feel the game is heading in the wrong direction as to how it treats the young players," articulated Porter. "Not that long ago there was a system where a set number of players could choose their own destination. That was taken away but at least talented high schoolers could be fairly compensated for agreeing to forfeit their college eligibility to take a chance at playing pro ball. That is gone now as well. It does not impact myself as much as the high school boys since I have my education at Grange College to fall back on should the game not work out for me. Others won't be so lucky. "Football does it right. They won't touch high school kids. Not until they get their college education. Baseball has tempted many a teen with a few dollars and a big league dream. Now the dollars are going, leaving just the dream which unfortunately for so many fails to materialize and then they are doomed to a few years in the minor leagues before they are tossed aside and left to scratch and claw in order to make a living the rest of their lives without the benefit of a college education." Porter stopped short of saying there should be discussions among the draftees of an open revolt, but did feel it sets a terrible precedent for baseball and worries what might be next. "Unfortunately there is little that can be done. Baseball is now holding a gun to a kid's head saying either sign now and forget about college or give up on your dream of a pro career. Not many college juniors, let alone 18 year old high school boys are equipped to stand up to FABL, so we likely are left to only hope the big leaguers will see the faults in this plan and step up to the plate to protect the next generation of players." ***MAGNATES SAY CHANGE NECESSARY *** Most club owners refused to comment on the new draft protocol but Powell Thompson was an exception. The Detroit Dynamos magnate explained that the change, while not something the owners took lightly, was "necessary" for the survival of the league. "Attendance is down sharply as Americans focus on what hopefully is the home stretch of the war," explained Thompson. "We barely have the money to pay our existing players anymore, and when you add in just how much our league has generated for the various Relief Funds something had to break. We want to continue to do our part for our boys overseas so it was either stop the contributions of essential supplies and things like sporting equipment for our fighting men or find another area we can make adjustments to help balance the books." Thompson refused to comment on rumours that he, like each of the other 15 FABL owners, have each taken out hundreds of thousands of dollars in personal salary and bonuses from their club's during the past four years - suddenly 'realizing' he was late for an engagement immediately upon receipt of that particular line of questioning. Whether the change is a one or two year stopgap measure to keep FABL clubs afloat during the final years of the war, or a permanent change remains to be seen. FABL President Sam Belton is adament this is a one year change only and is necessary because of the financial impact the war has had on the sport. However, for Otis Porter and the rest of the upcoming 1945 draft class it will have a lifetime impact. WILL THE EAGLES EVER SOAR AGAIN...OR WILL THEY FLY AWAY ENTIRELY It may be hard to believe but 1945 will mark the twentieth anniversary since a 24 year old catcher by the name of T.R. Goins and a Hall of Fame hurler on his last legs named Big George Johnson led the Washington Eagles to the Federal Association pennant. It was a special time for baseball in nation's capital and the last of 3 pennants -and the 1923 World Championship- in a span of four years. The Eagles opened the 1910's with a similar run, claiming 3 Fed flags and a WCS win between 1910-14 but it was the 1922-25 timeframe that is remembered as the glory days of District baseball. Goins was a rookie, a first overall draft pick, for the second title and Johnson joined at the tail end of his career from Boston for the 1925 win as well. Then there was Harry Horn -a two time 20 game winner in his mid-twenties who never duplicated that early success. Mel Wenz won 20 games as a 31 year old in '25 and then blew out his arm the following spring and never made it back to the big leagues. Only Dick Dennis, like Horn in his mid-twenties for the pennant wins, would have future success with the Eagles among the talented core of moundsmen these pennant winner possessed. Goins, of course, became a legend, a sure-bet for the Hall of Fame one day, but there were others who rose to the occasion during the championship run. Most never amounted to much after 1925 though. First baseman George Clark hit .338 for the '24 club and .366 a year later but never approached such lofty heights again. Second sacker Jim Carreon had a career year in '23 as a 26 year old but quickly went downhill from there. None are perhaps more indicitive of what went wrong in Washington that Glenn Morrison. Morrison joined the Eagles as a 22 year old in 1922 and by 1924 was an everyday player and one of the best hitters in the league. He hit .340 that season and .352 for the pennant winning '25 club. 1926 was even better for Morrision, wheo he batted a career best .360 and led the Fed with 36 stolen bases. He was nearly as good in '27 despite missing 5 weeks with hamstring troubles. The hamstring would flare up again the following season and despite hitting .326 in 58 games the Eagles inexplicably released him in August of that year. Portland of the Great Western League swooped in quickly and signed him before a FABL rival even had time to talk to Morrision and he spent the next decade with the Green Sox instead of the Eagles. That was one of the many bad personnel decisions that seemed to doom the franchise to mediocrity over the ensuing two decades. There were plenty of bad draft picks, bad trades and just plain bad baseball the past twenty years. Fans nearly abandoned the team in the early 1930s when they gifted Cleveland a World Championship by dealing a 32 year old Goins -who even then was still the best catcher in baseball- for Karl Johnson, Ben Richardson and a first round draft pick that turned out to be Tommy Trott. Who knows what old Elmer Marshall had on Eagles owner William Stockdale but it must have been something big when just a couple years after the Goins trade the Foresters conned the Eagles out of Mel Carrol -less than a year removed from his historic .409 season- in a multi-player deal that saw the Stockdale side add Mel Hancok Jr and Sergio Gonzales. A very short time later Hancock and Moxie Pidgeon would go to New York and a year after that came a WCS for the Stars. So at least you can say the Eagles could help develop championship teams...just too bad it was for other organizations. There have been a number of very good, and some great ballplayers in Washington but the club itself has been awful. Yes, bad luck has played a role but bad decisions seem to be a hallmark of a franchise that has gone through two owners, at least half a dozen General Managers and once went a year and a half without a manager. George Mark retired at the end of the 1930 season and did not get replaced until May of 1932 when Jim Cathey took the job. With the growing demand for big league ball on the west coast, or in Houston, Milwaukee and a few other locations it seems the writing is on the wall. Sure we have a still fairly new ballpark in the half dozen year old Columbia Stadium but it may become the sole domain of the grid Wasps. Let's face it. If the Eagles do not get stable leadership and give the fans a reason to support this team it seems just a matter of time before we, like Baltimore before us, lose our ballclub. And if it does go, you can bet it will be an awful long time before FABL gives the Mid-Atlantic another shot. CAN CANNONS MAKE IT THREE IN A ROW? Despite it being less than three weeks since they won their second straight World Championship Series, the feeling in the Cincinnati Cannons front office is there is still much work to be done. Cannons brass won't come out and say it publicly but it is clear they have their sights set on duplicating the 1924-26 New York Stars, who are the only team in FABL history to win three straight World Championship Series. There is a lot of competition of course, but the Cannons have a veteran team with everyone coming back except for the retired Rabbit Day. Everyone coming back is of course assuming that Selective Service will not take a big bite out of the core of this club. One thing in their favour in that regard is age. Most of Cincinnati's core group is over 30 and thus less likely to get the draft call. If the core does survive and Deuce Barrell can be anything like the pitcher he was before the devastating elbow injury of last March and it will be hard to bet against the Cannons. ***MOST UNDERRATED PLAYER IN THE GAME **** If there is a player who garners less respect for what he contributes to his ballclub than Cannons shortstop Jim Hensley I ask you to point him out to me. Hensley has led the Continental Association in something called WAR - no, not what Hitler is waging in Europe but rather one of those crazy newfangled stats devised by Percy Sutherland's professorish nephew. Hensley is one of the best defenisve shortstops in the game and has been for the past 5 seasons. He is not a great hitter but certainly more than average for a player at his position. Despite this defensive dominance he failed to make the all-star team this year. At least he did get a few low top-ten votes in the Whitney balloting but Hensley, along with first baseman Chuck Adams - who was snubbed by the Whitney voters and finished 4th despite leading the loop in homers and rbi's- both have an axe to grind for motivation next year. ***AVIATORS GRID SQUAD FLYING HIGH *** Great to see Central Ohio continuing to roll in AIAA grid action. At 5-0 this has been an incredible turn around even if the Aviators don't win another game when you consider they were a 2-win squad a year ago. Beating Minnesota Tech puts them in a nice position to earn their first East-West Classic appearance in over two decades but that berth will likely come down to their annual Thanksgiving week showdown with Detroit City College. The pro Tigers might have lost three straight but it was not for lack of effort. They had a strong game in Chicago against the defending champs yesterday but came up on the short-end of a 14-9 count. One play really doomed the Tigers as after Chicago drove 80 yards for a score to go up 7-3, Tigers quarterback Mark Clauss was intercepted two plays later and the Wildcats went down and scored again. The Cincinnati offense needs some help but their defense has been very good this season for an expansion team.
PALADINS CHANGE-UP CATCHES DETROIT OFF GUARD When Pittsburgh and Detroit met earlier in the season the Paladins were shutout primarily because of their inability to get the running game going against the Maroons defense. The solution on Sunday called for a little chicanery and the Paladins earned a convincing 26-7 victory as a result. The Pittsburgh plan centered around Billy Bockhorst but involved using his legs rather than his arm. Bockhorst had been coming into his own as a second year quarterback but on this day the Christian Trophy winning back was used primarily as a rusher against Detroit while Syl Tyma handled the majority of the passing chores. The result was a 116 yard rushing day for Bockhorst, that included a 77 yard touchdown scamper, while Tyma and regular ball carrier Dan McLeland added another 82 yards on the ground. Bockhorst did see some aerial action as he completed 3 passes for 41 yards including a touchdown score while Tyma also counted two touchdowns among his 20 throwing attempts. The victory moves the Pittsburgh eleven to 3-2, and just a half game back of the Western Division leading Maroons, who are 4-2 on the year but play exclusively on the road the rest of the way. Chicago is also 3-2 after the defending champs held off a game Cincinnati Tigers squad 14-9. Gus Brown threw for 152 yards for the winners. Elsewhere, Boston used a dual passing attack as Del Thomas and Tom Griggs combined for 386 yards passing and 4 touchdowns to lead the Americans to a 33-13 win at Minutemen Stadium over the visiting combined Cleveland-St Louis ballclub. John Faulkner ran for 139 yards to lead Brooklyn to it's first win of the season as the Football Kings knocked off Washington 14-10 while in New York the visiting Philadelphia Frigates won the battle for top spot in the Eastern Division, downing the Stars 27-10 before over 52,000 fans at the Bigsby Oval. Looking ahead to next Sunday the big game will be the always entertaining Detroit-Chicago tilt. The two rivals met in the Motor City earlier this season with the Maroons coasting to a 31-0 victory. Code:
Philadelphia 27 New York 10 Boston 33 Clev/StL 13 Chicago 14 Cincinnati 9 Brooklyn 14 Washington 10 Pittsburgh 26 Detroit 7 UPCOMING GAMES SUNDAY NOVEMBER 5 Pittsburgh at Clev/StLouis Cincinnati at Boston Philadelphia at Brooklyn Detroit at Chicago Washington at New York Code:
ANNAPOLIS MARITIME FALLS TO PIERPONT Dreams of a perfect season are over for Annapolis Maritime after the Navigators were upset 16-14 by Pierpont with a late field goal proving the different. The loss likely ends the Naval Academy's hopes for a National Championship as their record drops to 4-1 and there are still six teams with a perfect record on the season. Those six include Central Ohio, which ran it's record to 5-0 with a 41-3 drubbling of Great Lakes Alliance rival Minnesota Tech. Rome State is also 5-0 after smashing Carolina Poly 50-7 as is fellow independent St Blane although the Fighting Saints barely escaped with a 31-29 win over Lincoln. Noble Jones College, which won the National Title two years ago, is also very much in the mix after the Colonels downed Bayou State 21-7 in Deep South Conference play. Rounding out the unbeaten, untied teams are Eastern Oklahoma, which narrowly topped Payne State 27-24 Saturday and Rainer College, which downed Northern California 23-14. Here is a look at the results and remaining games for the 7 teams who have yet to lose or tie. There is always a chance Annapolis Maritime or a team like Alabama Baptist (4-0-1) could sneak in and claim the national title but it will take losses from most, if not all, of these seven schools listed below. WEEKEND RESULTS Rome State 50 Carolina Poly 7 St. Blane 31 Lincoln 29 Central Ohio 41 Minnesota Tech 3 Pierpont 16 Annapolis Maritime 14 Commonwealth Catholic 28 St. Pancras 17 Frankford State 21 Conwell College 17 Henry Hudson 13 Empire State 9 Ellery 17 Grafton 10 Detroit City College 16 Whitney College 0 Wisconsin State 24 Great Lakes Navy 21 Indiana A&M 60 Western Iowa 0 Noble Jones College 21 Bayou State 7 Western Florida 24 Maryland State 20 Alabama Baptist 17 Central Kentucky 9 Georgia Baptist 37 Georgia Pre-Flight 0 Travis College 14 Red River State 3 Baton Rouge State 31 Texas Gulf Coast 7 Rainier College 23 Northern California 14 Huntington State 14 Liberty College 9 Coastal California 28 Golden Gate University 0 Cumberland 16 Coastal State 7 St. Ignatius 42 Dearborn State 14 Cowpens State 17 Miami State 16 Charleston Coast Guard 10 Columbia Military Academy 7 Canyon A&M 21 College of Waco 10 CC Los Angeles 20 Alameda Coast Guard 10 South Plains Field 23 Amarillo Field 20 Mississippi A&M 19 Arkansas A&T 14 Mile High State 36 Cache Valley 3 Lambert College 31 Crete (NE) 17 Iowa A&M 41 Eastern Kansas 3 Lubbock Field 24 Fort Bliss 0 Daniel Boone College 41 College of Omaha 23 Elmhurst College 20 Bigsby College 10 Charleston Tech 20 Richmond State 9 Oklahoma City State 31 Amarillo Methodist 3 Eastern Oklahoma 27 Payne State 24 Pittsburgh State 31 Chatham Field 13 Randolph Field 44 Morris Field 7 Darnell State 47 Travis-Fort Worth 0 Provo Tech 28 Kit Carson University 16 Eastern State 34 Alexandria 7 George Fox 24 Irondequoit 0 Lincoln Field 31 Fort Warren 23 Coast Guard 17 St. Patrick's 7 Edmonton Field 24 Snake River State 3 Iowa Pre-Flight 44 Wisconsin Catholic 7 March Field 23 Golden Gate University Pre-Flight 0 Second Air Force 30 Norman Naval Air Station 14 ST BLANE TOPS TWIFB GRID POLL The official final National Rankings for college football are done by a poll of various reporters and newspaper outlets and is only released at seasons end. However, as part of our increasing coverage of sports beyond baseball, TWIFB will provide weekly college football rankings each season with the first poll being released in late October each year. Here is the first TWIFB top ten rankings for 1944. Code:
ST PATRICK'S WINS PRESEASON AIAA TOURNEY The St Patrick's Shamrocks first games as an independent after decades in the now disbanded Northeast Conference went just fine, thank you. The Shamrocks won the AIAA Preseason Showcase in Chicago with wins over a pair of top flight cage teams. Not a bad start for a team that missed the national tournament just 7 months ago. The Preseason showcase was a tournament of upsets as the two co-favourites in the 4-team field both lost in the opening round. In their opener the Shamrocks knocked off Western Iowa 37-34. The Shamrocks were led by 11 points from Jeremiah Fink and 10 from David Shane as they pulled off what can be considered an upset as the Canaries reached the quarterfinals of last spring's AIAA championship event. The other semi-final game was an even bigger upset as Golden Gate downed two-time defending AIAA National Champion Rainier College 49-40. Dan Brito, a junior guard, was the leader for the Grizzlies with a 13 point effort to top all scorers. Brito had a big game in the finals as well but his 16 points were not enough to stop St Patrick's as the Shamrocks pulled out a 58-53 victory with junior forward Tony Davis pacing the New England school with 13 points while Fink, a sophomore forward, chipped in with 10. Rainier College got back on track in the consolation game as they downed the Canaries 63-58. CAROLINA POLY BEST AT BIGSBY GARDENS EVENT The other opening weekend tournament saw Carolina Poly come away with the title from the Tournament of Champions event at New York City's Bigsby Gardens. The Cardinals beat St Blane 47-32 in their opener Saturday before topping Garden State 69-56 in yesterday's championship game. Garden State had earlier beaten Detroit City College 66-48. BIG GAMBLING MENACE TO COLLEGIATE SPORT, DICK KEEGAN FEARS Dick Keegan, the long-time basketball coach at Detroit City College, sees gamblers as the termites who are about to fell the castle of intercollegiate athletics, but denied today that he had said games were thrown at the Bigsby Garden. "I said there had been two known cases of college boys throwing basketball games in Eastern tournaments," Keegan explained when asked if he had received a telegram from Garden officials asking for names of the offending players. "I am not striking at the Bigsby Garden event organizers or any other promoter," the loquacious coach maintained. "The point I'm making is that these big time betting boys are going to get to basketball and football players and ruin so-called amateur collegiate sports. "Nothing the Bigsby Garden or any other promoter at any facility can do will stop the gamblers. Only the college presidents can stop it by appointing an absolute czar such as baseball has with Sam Belton or pro football with Jack Krisitch. But gambling is rampant in the Garden and every other auditorium where big games are held," Keegan added. "It they aren't there, why did a spectator run out and embrace a Rainier College player on the floor of the Bigsby Garden last spring with the assertion that a goal the boy had scored saved the man $15,000?" Keegan declared that gamblers had laid 8-point odds on Rainier College against Annapolis Maritime and the last minute field goal had reduced the margin to 7 points. "That's why the man was jubilant" Keegan related. The amount of money bet on collegiate football and basketball would 'stagger the imagination' if the total were known, Keegan asserted. "If big betting isn't stamped out, there's going to be an awful stink one of these fine days," he added. "Eventually the shady dealers will bribe a college boy and it will make the rankest kind of scandal." BOXING RESULTS Canton, Ohio born middleweight Owen Shepherd continued the promising start to his career with his 6th straight victory, a 4th round knock out of Ken Alexander on Thursday night. The 23 year ol Shepherd lost two of his first four fights as a 19 year old but has looked very good since then. The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 10/29/1944
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November 6, 1944 - Selective Service comes calling again
NOVEMBER 6, 1944 MITCHELL LEADS LATEST PARADE OF PLAYERS INTO WAR Continental Association batting champ Leo Mitchell of the Chicago Cougars headlines a long list of big leaguers who are joining the war effort in the coming weeks. The 31 year old outfielder, who hit .357 to win his second straight CA batting crown, will join the Army this week. Mitchell is one of 22 players who either enlisted or were drafted this week in a list that also includes Bernie Johnson, who won 17 games for the Toronto Wolves, 15-game winner Jimmy Mayse of the Detroit Dynamos, 14 game winner Bill Ross from Montreal, outfielder Hal Burres of Cleveland along with infielders Tom Landowski of Brooklyn, Tim Humphrey of the Philadelphia Keystones and Toronto's Hal Wood. Not all players have requested cushy desk jobs or plan to be part of touring Army and Navy ballteams. Chris Clarke, who went 12-10 this past season for the World Champion Cincinnati Cannons is one who will potentially end up in the line of fire. The 32 year old lefthander is requesting duty on convey escort in a destroyer and will be deployed in the Atlantic. While Nazi U-boat activity is winding down it is still far from a safe posting for the veteran pitcher. Here is the complete list of the lastest players to join the war effort. Code:
KEYSTONES NAME SCHMIDT NEW SKIPPER The Federal Association champion Philadelphia Keystones filled their vacant managerial position with a familiar face as the club named ex-New York Stars bench boss Otto Schmidt as their new skipper. The 65 year old Schmidt replaces John Heydon, who stepped down after just a single season at the helm with the Keystones following 7 years with the cross-town Sailors due to the death of son while fighting in France. Schmidt has enjoyed great success as a manager at multiple levels. After a brief pro career with the Brooklyn Kings he coached high school ball in Brooklyn during the feeder era and led his club to the playoffs three teams. He then spent 4 seasons in the Pittsburgh Miners organization and was their third base coach during their 1937 pennant winning season. In 1939 he signed with the Stars as their manager and promptly led them to a World Championship that fall and a second Continental Association pennant 3 years later. There were rumours of a rift with some of the Stars players and his German heritage at the heart of the war did him no favours either and Schmidt was dismissed by the Stars following that 1942 pennant. He has an impressive 359-257 career record as a manager and will be under pressure to repeat in Philadelphia as the Keystones are expected to be one of the favourites to claim the 1945 Fed crown. The Keystones conducted an extensive interview process before deciding on Otto Schmidt as their new manager. Bench coach and former Keystones star Carl Ames was considered, as well as minor league managers within the organization, Al Wavra and Bill Memory. But, in the end, the Keystones decided to look outside the organization and go for experience to helm a team expected to contend in 1945. Otto Schmidt became the 22nd manager in Keystones franchise history (and the 8th manager in the human GM era). There was a lot of thought given to Schmidt, the native of Germany, and whether Keystones fans and the city of Philadelphia would accept a German in these times. The Pennsylvania Dutch who hail from Eastern and Central Pennsylvania are, in fact, of German descent. Schmidt has been in the U.S. since the turn of the century, which predates both the Kaiser Wilhelm and Hitler's reigns, so there is no chance of Nazi sympathy. Schmidt was a first baseman in the Kings organization around the turn of the century, finding action in five games in the 1902 season as a defensive replacement but never stepping to bat. He settled in Brooklyn and eventually led a local high school in the late '20s and early '30s. From there, he joined the professional managerial ranks in 1935 in the Miners organization before taking over as manager of the Stars in 1939. Schmidt had four winning seasons in his four years in New York, winning it all in year one and capturing the Continental Association pennant in his swan song in 1942. Owner Edward Meachum is hoping for similar success. "We are a team that is ready to win now and with Otto, he has proven he can win early and often. We do not have time to break in a novice. The fans and I will not have the patience for that." STOCKDALE MUST FIGHT TO SAVE NIGHT BASEBALL Word is circulating that William Stockdale will have to put up a mighty fight at the meetings of FABL clubs in New York in early December to carry on with a virtually season-long night schedule at home next year. Opponents of "owl" ball are pointing out that the stretch of after-dark games in Washington last summer drew on average only about 6,000 fans a game and there was only a marginal increase in the attendance from daytime mid-week contests. Those who are against night ball -and five Federal Association clubs are believed ready to fight any extensive schedules of lamplight play- would hope restrict the Eagles to not more than 21 night games at Columbia Stadium next year. Night baseball was very popular in Washington two years ago, but that was when the Eagles were making headway. The crowds fell off heavily this season after the slow start but did pick up when the club showed signs of life late in the season.
PENNSYLVANIA CLUBS MAKING NOISE IN AFA The last time the city of Philadelphia finished first in pay for play football was way back in 1924 when the Philadelphia Hornets went 12-2 to lead the American Football Association standings. Even though the Hornets led the loop with 12 victories and the custom had always been to award the title to the team with the most wins, that was not the case in 1924. The AFA instead declared the 9-0 Toledo Tigers were the champions that season leaving fans in Philadelphia outraged. The current Philadelphia entry -the Frigates- are looking to perhaps right that wrong and final bring a grid crown to the City of Brotherly Love. The Frigates remain the only unbeatan team in the AFA as they hit the midway point of the season following a 24-7 victory over Brooklyn that lifted the Frigates season mark to 4-0-1. Not bad for a club that could not even manage to field a full team last season and had to partner up with what remained of the St Louis Ramblers to even have enough players to compete. The Frigates have been so much more than merely just competitive this season and could go a long ways towards clinching their first Eastern Division title with a key matchup against the second place New York Football Stars at Sailors Memorial Stadium next Sunday. The two clubs squared off in the Big Apple a week ago and the visiting Frigates won in convincing fashion, posting a 27-10 victory. Back in the New York area yesterday to face the Kings in Brooklyn, the Frigates were led by quarterback Bob Allen, who threw for one score, ran for another and interecepted two Kings passes in the 24-7 win. The Stars kept pace as their star halfback Jerry McElheny had a big day. The AFA's leading rusher ran for 130 yards and two touchdowns to help send more than 50,000 fans at the Bigsby Oval home happy with a 27-10 win over the visiting Washington Wasps. The Boston Americans string of two straight Eastern Division titles seems to be all but over after the Americans were shocked 14-0 by expansion Cincinnati. Former Bronx Tech head coach Jack Conn has the young and inexperienced Tigers eleven playing like seasoned veterans as they have leveled their record at 3-3 in a season when some obersvers felt they would be lucky to win two games all year long. The news in Boston has been far worse with Americans a dreadful 2-3 after going 18-3 over the previous two years. *** PALADINS SHINE IN WEST *** The Detroit Maroons improved to 5-2 on the season with a hard-fought 10-7 victory over their archrivals from Chicago. The road win gives Detroit a sweep of the Wildcats in their season series and likely ends Chicago's hopes of defending it's AFA title. The Pittsburgh Paladins continue to enjoy surprising success in the Western Division and are just a half game back of Detroit following a lob-sided 49-0 win in Cleveland over the combined Finches/Ramblers club. Dan Langley scored twice, on a 22 yard pass from Billy Bockhorst and on a 30 yard inteception return to lead the Pittsburgh scoring. Bockhorst still struggles with interceptions -he threw 4 of them on this day- but continues to present his case to be considered one of the best players in the game. The second year quarterback threw for 144 yards and two scores while also leading all rushers with 99 yards and a score. Pittsburgh heads home for a rematch with the Cleveland/St Louis team while the Maroons head to Cincinnati next Sunday. Code:
Pittsburgh 49 Clev/StLouis 0 Cincinnati 14 Boston 0 Philadelphia 24 Brooklyn 7 Detroit 10 Chicago 7 New York 27 Washington 10 UPCOMING GAMES SUNDAY NOVEMBER 12 New York at Philadelphia Boston at Brooklyn Clev/StL at Pittsburgh Washington at Chicago Detroit at Cincinnati Code:
ANNAPOLIS MARITIME UPENDS ST BLANE The service academies are 1-2 in the weekly TWIFB college football rankings after Annapolis Maritime upset previously unbeaten St Blane 24-17 in weekend action. The win improves the Navigators record to 5-1 on the year and was big enough to move them from 5th to second in the rankings. St Blane entered the week with our number one ranking but that loss, coupled with Rome State's 64-7 thrashing of Penn Catholic, moved the 6-0 Centurions to the top of the rankings. Central Ohio is 6-0 and ranked third after the Aviators, piloted by another big game from quarterback Jimmy Rhodes, flew past Indiana A&M 45-6. The other upset occurred in the Deep South as Alabama Baptist improved to 5-0-1 with a 24-13 win over Noble Jones College. The Panthers climb up one spot to 5th in the rankings while the Colonenls slide from 3rd to 7th. Code:
WEEKEND RESULTS Rome State 64 Penn Catholic 7 Annapolis Maritime 24 St. Blane 17 Central Ohio 45 Indiana A&M 6 Georgia Baptist 14 Carolina Poly 0 Alabama Baptist 24 Noble Jones College 13 Iowa A&M 28 Oklahoma City State 21 Charleston Tech 24 Alexandria 0 Eastern Oklahoma 16 Norman Naval Air Station 14 Minnesota Tech 38 St. Magnus 10 College of Omaha 21 Western Iowa 16 Pierpont 13 Detroit City College 12 Northern Mississippi 31 Central Kentucky 14 Great Lakes Navy 18 Wisconsin Catholic 3 Daniel Boone College 30 St. Ignatius 27 George Fox 20 Grafton 0 Brunswick 28 Henry Hudson 3 Western Florida 17 Miami State 6 Canyon A&M 10 Lubbock Field 10 Northern California 13 Alameda Coast Guard 5 Darnell State 34 Arkansas A&T 3 Travis College 49 Texas Gulf Coast 0 Bayou State 28 Cumberland 7 Opelika State 30 Charleston (IL) 10 Frankford State 21 Bigsby College 0 Coast Guard 31 Ellery 13 Boulder State 66 South Valley State 0 Provo Tech 17 Mile High State 17 Lambert College 23 Northfield State (MN) 6 Payne State 41 Iowa Pre-Flight 26 Mississippi A&M 43 Jackson Field 6 Lawrence State 37 Olathe Navy 3 Topeka State 3 Eastern Kansas 0 March Field 28 CC Los Angeles 6 Commonwealth Catholic 24 Melville PT Boats 23 Liberty College 17 St. Pancras 10 Petersburg 31 Portsmouth Fleet 13 Whitney College 17 Wisconsin State 3 Randolph Field 50 Travis-Fort Worth 0 North Carolina Tech 28 Columbia Military Academy 0 Coastal California 55 San Diego Navy 0 Amarillo Methodist 38 Chatham Field 0 Red River State 10 College of Waco 0 Cache Valley 40 Idaho Marines 24 Eastern State 13 Maryland State 0 Cowpens State 24 Coastal State 21 Huntington State 20 Conwell College 3 St. Patrick's 23 New London Submarine 17 Second Air Force 57 Amarillo Field 0 HAWAII RIPE FOR PRO FOOTBALL, BIDS FOR POSTWAR FRANCHISE Pro Football hops the ocean! There's a headline that is on its way toward reality says Ralph W. Olson of Honolulu. Olson is president of something labeled as the Honolulu Professional Football Club and he is in the East for a close study of the entire pro football picture. There is no doubt he means business; his bait runs into five figures, cash. The man from the pineapple capital feels he holds a high card in the deal explaining: "Honolulu is one of the greatest potential sports areas in the world. The people of Hawaii are fanatics. Money is plentiful and sports, especially of the pro variety not nearly plentiful enough to satisfy the population." "Crowds of 25,000 are common for high school football games. Professional boxing draws near capacity crowds and we have only a handful of first rate fighters. No matter which league our professional football club becomes affiliated with, we are certain it will be profitable. When we announced formation of the club and the prospect it would become a member of the United States League, many sports fans without any solicitation came in with varying amounts totaling $20,000 to purchase stock. We first planned it as a private venture but after such a spontaneous reception, the directors voted to sell 1,000 shares of common stock at $100 a share. This makes it something of a community enterprise and the sale of the stock is the least of our worries." Olson adds that postwar aviation will make civilian travel to and from the islands a matter of hours and he feels certain "professional football will come to Hawaii as soon as possible after the war and Honolulu will be one of the good drawing cities of the league." Olson is one of the first to come forward identifying himself as a potential owner in the planned United States League, being headed by Pittsburgh businessman Roland Payne. Payne remains certain his new loop will kick-off next fall. Reports are that Olson will also meet in Chicago with Percy Sutherland, who is heading up another currently-unnamed professional football league. LIBERTY COLLEGE CROWNED KING OF THE SOUTH The Liberty College Bells won the King of the South pre-season tournament in Houston this week. The Bells beat College of Waco 51-33 in the opener before topping CC Los Angeles 43-29 in the title game of the 4-team field. Liberty was led by senior guard Ned Nolan's 19 points in the opening game and 7 in the title contest. The event also marked the college debut of freshman Ward Messer. The younger brother of baseball start Walt Messer averaged about 9 minutes a game and while he did not score any points, the big forward did haul in 6 rebounds over the weekend. Liberty College is now an independent after the Northeast Conference folded and is a school that has enjoyed great success. The Bells have made 9 straight post-season tournament appearances and won three National Titles in that span. They reached the semi-finals two years ago and the quarter-finals last season. BOXING RESULTS Heavyweights Larry Higgins and Tom Henry tangled in Providence over the weekend with the hometown boy delighting the crowd with a unanimous decision in their 10-round bout. The 29 year old Higgins improves to 10-4-1 while Henry, who is originally from Fullerton, CA. sees his record dip to 14-17. The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 11/05/1944
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November 13, 1944 - Selective Service strikes again
NOVEMBER 13, 1944 FABL CLUBS DEVASTATED BY LATEST ROUND OF WAR LOSSES That collective gasp you likely heard this morning, no matter where you might reside, was the sound of shock and despair coming from your nearest big league ballclub's front office. To say FABL teams were devastated by the list of 87 players that either enlisted or were drafted in the past two weeks might just be an understatement. Jesse Alvardo, Hank Barnett, Marion Boismenu, Luke Berry, Mel Carrol, Vic Carroll, George Darnell, Jimmy Gibbs, Bob Griffith, Billy Hunter, Jim Kenny, Gil London, Buddy Long and Pepper Tuttle. Those are just a few of the names who leave this week for various bases across the country to begin training for the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, US Army Air Corps and even a couple to the Canadian Armed Forces. Below is a list of the players that have joined the war effort over the past two weeks. Those highlighted in grey have already reported for duty. The remainder will report in the coming days. MARTINEZ NAMED TOP ROOKIE BY CHICAGO WRITERS For the first time in the history of the award the Chicago Sportswriters Guild has selected a player from the Continental Association as FABL's top rookie. Orie Martinez, a 24 year old outfielder with the Brooklyn Kings, was named this year's recipient with New York Gothams pitcher Jim Baggett finishing a distant second. The selection of Martinez ends a 6-year streak of Federal Association newcomers claiming the top honour. The award, with the expcetion of 1938 & 1939, has been presented annual following a poll of select columnists by the Chicago Sportswriters Guild. Martinez, a native of Puerto Rico, was select 5th overall by the Kings in the 1941 FABL draft after an All-American junior season at Miami State. He worked his way quickly through the Kings minor league system, splitting 1943 between AA and AAA. He homered off Montreal's Bill Ross in his big league debut on Opening Day this season and never looked back, batting .285 with 13 homeruns and 74 rbi's. His rookie debut season in Brooklyn was the most impressive that team has seen since Doug Lightbody's 1926 campaign. Code:
PIONEERS SEND CORNETT TO STARS The St Louis Pioneers and New York Stars connected on a two-player deal that sees the two clubs swap pitchers. St Louis sends 28 year old Ed Cornett along with $500 cash to the Stars in exchange for 21 year old Larry Gregory. Cornett, a 1934 3rd round pick, spent a few years in the Pioneers rotation but has been strictly a bullpen piece the last two seasons including 1944 in which he was 1-1 with a 5.25 era in 25 relief appearances. For his career, the righthander is 30-41, 4.71 as a big leaguer. Gregory is a 1941 first round pick who made his big league debut this past season. He is a dual threat, going 5-6 with a 4.12 era on the mound but perhaps the Pioneers will see more value in using him as a corner outfielder. He hit .333 in limited big league at bats last season and might be the replacement for rookie Pershing Christian, who was just drafted into the Army, in the St Louis outfield. JIGGS McGEE's TAKE : Cornett is a leader and perhaps will be back in the rotation with the Stars war-depleted staff but I can't help but feel the New Yorkers gave up on Gregory far too early. Although St Louis has some pitching depth, Gregory has value both as a starting pitcher and as a corner outfielder with OSA projecting him to be a 'mid-rotation starter.' I am not sure the ceiling is quite that high but I do see him as a good fifth starter and if he can contribute with his bat as an outfielder when he is not pitching that is an added bonus. Gregory was inconsistent last year, but did have some very good starts that seemed to hint of him being on the verge of putting it all together on the mound. He has not had a lot of experience in the batters box as a pro but has been very impressive as a hitter at each of his stops through the Stars system. Cornett posted some good numbers in 1943 but in an extremely small sample size. Maybe he finds his groove in New York but nothing in Cornett's past results suggest he will be successful as a starter. As a result my thinking is Cornett is where Gregory is now - minus the offensive contribution- only 7 years older. The move might pay off this season for the Stars, if Cornett can have a big year, but as soon as all the big bats come back from the war effort the feeling is Cornett will be overmatched, and he certainly was his first few seasons in the league. Gregory may not reach his potential, but the feeling in this corner is he is already Cornett's equal or very close to it. *** DAN BARRELL SEES IT DIFFERENTLY **** Despite the consensus from OSA that Gregory can be a mid-rotation starter, the head of the scouting service sees a much different path for the 21 year old. OSA boss Dan Barrell asserts that "Gregory's never going to make it as a pitcher. He needs to be a full-time outfielder, might even be an all-star there one day. And Cornett is actually pretty talented. Gregory was a first round pick (deservedly, though not for his pitching) and Cornett probably needs to just be given a rotation slot and left alone." Barrell sees this as a situation where Cornett might just find his way with a change of scenery and if he is left alone and just given a "real shot in the rotation instead of the bullpen." CANNONS HIT HARD BY SELECTIVE SERVICE A lot of teams woke up to some very bad news this morning after Selective Service ripped through baseball and carved out a lot of talent but it is hard to imagine a team hit much harder than the Cincinnati Cannons. A little over a week ago the Cannons learned that veteran pitcher Chris Clarke was joining the Navy, and not just in some cushy job teaching physical education to recruits. No, Clarke wanted to be a part of the action and will serve on a destroyer in the Atlantic. A destroyer who's role is protecting merchant ships and others from the danger of Nazi U-boat attacks. We wish Clarke, like all of the men overseas, very safe travels. The news got much worse this morning when it was announced that 4 more members of the Cannons World Championship squad were also joining the war effort. All four received draft notices from Selective Service during the season to take their physicals. All passed and each was told yesterday that they will be joining the Army this week. They include all-star centerfielder Bob Griffith, talented young starting pitcher Vic Carroll, infielder Tony White -who shared the second base duties with Jack Cleaves last season- and young reserve infielder Clifton Smtih. Unlike Clarke, each of the four are expected to be stationed in the United States but none will be available for the Cannons bid to become just the second team ever to win 3 straight World Championship Series. *** RIVALS ALSO HIT *** The only good news as the Cannons scramble to find replacements for their departed regulars is that their three big rivals in the Continental Association also lost key pieces. The Chicago Cougars will have to carry on without a big part of their offense as league batting champ Leo Mitchell, veteran third baseman Hank Barnett and the often-injured Billy Hunter are all leaving. The Toronto Wolves will be without pitchers Bernie Johnson and Jimmy Gibbs as well as infielder Hal Wood while the Philadelphia Sailors -like the Cannons a year ago when Adam Mullins got the call- will be without the reigning CA Whitney Award winner following news that Quebec native Marion Boismenu has been called to duty by the Canadian Forces. *** CENTERFIELD IS BIG QUESTION *** All of the losses clearly hurt the Cannons. Losing Clarke and Carroll is a big blow to the pitching staff and is compounded by Rabbit Day's recent retirement announcement. Cincinnati will still be okay on the mound as long as Deuce Barrell can make a full recovery from the elbow injury that cost him all of the 1944 campaign. With a healthy Barrell, along with 1944 Allen Award winner Butch Smith the Cannons still possess arguably the best 1-2 starters in the loop. They will need Tom Barrell, Deuce's uncle, to have another big season and if some combination of Jim Crawford, George DeForest, Jake Smith and Dan Adams get the job done they should be just fine. The infield should be okay as well with Jim Hensley returning at shortstop and vets Jack Cleaves and Charlie Ross an acceptable duo to battle for the second base job. But it is centerfield where there is now a glaring hole. The Cannons have been here before as there were big concerns when Fred Galloway was lost following the 1943 title but Bob Griffith stepped up nicely. Now with Griffith gone, there does not appear to be a solid solution and a trade will likely be sought. The concern is there may not be a lot available and if the Cannons are unsuccessful in making a move to upgrade the position it will come down to three players- each with question marks. 1- 31 year old Rufus Daniels was a starter for a period last season in his first full pro campaign but after a solid start he ended up hitting just .228 and needed a spell in AAA to try and get untracked following an awful July. 2- 31 year old Mel Alvarez was claimed on waivers a year ago to provide organization depth. He is a .267 career hitter in 432 big league games but hit just .211 in a brief stint with the Cannons last season and was not a lot better in AAA Indianapolis. Like Daniels, he should not have a problem handing the defensive chores in centerfield but the bat is a big concern, just as it is with Daniels. 3- 22 year old Karl Berggren. It will be a desperation move if the Cannons need to bring up the 1944 2nd round pick of Boston who came over from the Minutemen in the big Billy Dalton trade. Berggren was a second team All-American at Huntington State last season and hit .270 in a 61 game stint at Class B after signing in July. His defense is sound and the Cannons seem him being a big part of their future but they certainly hope to not have to fast-track him to the big leagues before he at least gets a chance to prove himself at the AA level. Selective Service may not be done either, but the Cannons certainly can't afford to lose much more talent if they want to keep the hope of that third straight World Championship win alive.
FRIGATES ONE STEP CLOSER TO EASTERN CROWN Bob Allen's 10 yard field goal with less than five minutes remaining in the game proved to be the difference as the Philadelphia Frigates remained the American Football Association's only unbeaten team with a hard-fought 16-14 victory over the visiting New York Football Stars. The victory, keyed by a 78-yard rushing day from Greg LePage, improved the Frigates mark to 5-0-1 and increases their lead on the second place Stars (4-2) atop the Eastern Division. Philadelphia has never made it to the AFA championship game since the title contest was introduced in 1933. Hard-fought was also the story at Kings County Stadium in Brooklyn where the visiting Boston Americans kept their faint hopes of a third straight trip to the title tilt alive with a 9-7 win over the Brooklyn Kings. Johnny Littlejohn atoned for missing a third quarter extra point that would have tied the game at 7 by booting the winning field goal - a 24 yarder- with just 1:22 left on the clock. At 3-3 the Americans have a crucial meeting with Philadelphia on the slate for next Sunday. In other action the Western Division leading Detroit Maroons survived a scare in Cincinnati, holding off the expansion Tigers 21-20. Pittsburgh kept pace with another big game from Billy Bockhorst in a 40-0 blanking of the combined Cleveland-St Louis entry. The Paladins quarterback threw for two touchdowns and ran for two others to key the Pittsburgh attack. Bockhorst now leads all quarterbacks in passing yardage and his 493 yards on the ground is forth in the league in rushing. In the other game Sunday, the Chicago Wildcats scored three third-quarter touchdowns to knock off Washington 30-7. Code:
Philadelphia 16 New York 14 Boston 9 Brooklyn 7 Pittsburgh 40 Clev/StL 0 Chicago 30 Washington 7 Detroit 21 Cincinnati 20 UPCOMING GAMES SUNDAY NOVEMBER 19 Philadelphia at Boston Chicago at Pittsburgh Cincinnati at Clev/StL Brooklyn at Washington Detroit at New York Code:
ROME STATE CONQUERS ST BLANE If there was any debate whether Rome State or St Blane was the better team entering the weekend it was clearly removed Saturday when the Centurions handed the Fighting Saints one of their worst losses in school history. St Blane simply could not stop the Rome State backfield sophomore duo of Gist Thompson and Chet Donelson as the Centurions won by a landslide 54-7 count. The victory improves the army training school to 7-0 on the season with only dates with Pierpont and their annual showdown with Annapolis Maritime standing in the way of what could be a first-ever National Championship for Rome State. The Centurions have outscored their opponents by a 370-33 margin so far this season. Annapolis Maritime, which lost to Pierpont two weeks ago and barely slipped past St Blane last week, had an easier time of things on Saturday in blanking Brunswick 27-0. Central Ohio and Iowa A&M both remained perfect as the Aviators improved to 7-0 with a 52-7 thrashing of Pittsburgh State while the Bulls blanked College of Omaha 31-0 to also raise their mark to 7-0. Code:
Rome State 54 St. Blane 7 Annapolis Maritime 27 Brunswick 0 Central Ohio 52 Pittsburgh State 7 Carolina Poly 38 Cowpens State 3 Noble Jones College 36 Western Florida 7 Georgia Baptist 29 Baton Rouge State 0 Alabama Baptist 69 Mississippi A&M 7 Iowa A&M 31 College of Omaha 0 Travis College 10 Eastern Oklahoma 7 Charleston Tech 44 Miami State 7 March Field 27 Rainier College 14 Detroit City College 34 Lincoln 21 St. Ignatius 17 Maryland State 0 Indiana A&M 46 Minnesota Tech 7 Northern Mississippi 24 Opelika State 23 Payne State 69 Killeen State 0 Oklahoma City State 30 Daniel Boone College 14 Great Lakes Navy 47 Morris Field 0 St. Patrick's 33 Empire State 0 Lawrence State 25 Eastern Kansas 3 Richmond State 3 North Carolina Tech 0 Wisconsin State 20 Western Iowa 13 George Fox 13 Ellery 10 Arkansas A&T 10 Red River State 0 Conwell College 21 Liberty College 3 Pierpont 48 Henry Hudson 0 Whitney College 20 St. Magnus 14 CC Los Angeles 10 Northern California 0 Frankford State 34 Elmhurst College 3 Coastal State 21 Alexandria 0 Grafton 10 Coast Guard 10 Boulder State 40 Southern Nebraska 0 Mile High State 40 South Valley State 6 Lambert College 23 Marshall State (MO) 6 Iowa Pre-Flight 33 Bunker Hill Navy 0 Norman Naval Air Station 30 Lubbock Field 0 Randolph Field 33 Maxwell Field 0 Columbia Military Academy 23 Charleston (IL) 0 Meade 13 Bigsby College 10 Darnell State 29 Texas Gulf Coast 14 Amarillo Methodist 14 College of Waco 3 Mountainview State 23 Provo Tech 17 Cache Valley 20 Snake River State 0 Eastern State 23 Petersburg 0 Canyon A&M 24 Abilene Methodist 24 Huntington State 19 Bethlehem College 7 Atlantic City NAS 14 Penn Catholic 9 Manhattan Tech 27 Commonwealth Catholic 24 Alameda Coast Guard 28 Golden Gate University Pre-Flight 10 EPIC GRID CONTEST DUE WHEN SERVICE TEAMS PLAY DEC 2 That Rome State-Annapolis Maritime battle can't come too soon. After what the Centurions did to St Blane in the Bigsby Oval on Saturday the sports world is plainly going to itch until these two juggernauts get together on December 2. The 'itch' doubtless will be most aggravating of all at Rome, GA., where the Centurions have before them the comparative records of both teams that show Rome State smacked St Blane 54-7 whereas the best Annapolis Maritime could do was 24-17 and the Rome State mule kicked the stuffing out of Carolina Poly 50-7 while the best the Navigators could do was a 23-13 margin of victory over the Cardinals. These figures add up in a way that promises to take a lot of the sting out of the fact that for three straight years Annapolis Maritime has battered Rome State hip and thigh -and in other places, too. Rome State looked mighty against St Blane on Saturday. Better, in so many ways, than Annapolis Maritime had. Unlike the Navigators, which opened up against the Saints with a fumble, the Centurions made no slips. It played one of those rare things, an errorless football game. It showed a better pass defense than the Sailors had and a better pass attack -along with much better downfeld blocking. But there is one thing woefully wrong with such a comparsion of the teams. The game was completely different. Annapolis Maritime went up against a St Blane team that hadn't been beaten. Rome State met a Saints club that had been knocked out of the ranks of the undefeated and it's national title dreams were all but dead. Annapolis Maritime played an outfit that reckoned shrewdly and played to win. Rome State met a team that was out to score -with mighty little hope of winning. So the Rome State picture Saturday was nearly too pretty to be true. Annapolis Maritime will enter the early December showdown with at least one loss- having fallen in an upset loss to Pierpont two weeks ago -and the Purple have visions of pulling off another huge surprise win when they face Rome State next Saturday in the Centurions final tune-up before the game that means more than any other to them. They must not take the Navigators lightly, despite what the scores might indicate, as Annapolis Maritime will be playing like this is the most important game of the year just as Rome State will. Both schools have plenty to play for as bragging rights trump even a chance at being the number one team in the nation, and for Rome State there is the added incentive of trying to end three years of futility. EARLY TOURNAMENTS TIP-OFF COLLEGE BASKETBALL SEASON A few of the early tournaments were completed over the previous two weeks but the college basketball season picked up into high gear with five other early-bird events and the start of the regular season. Carolina Poly and St Patrick's -winners of two of the biggest tournaments in the Tournament of Champions and the Preseason AIAA showcase- hold the top two spots in the polls after the opening week. Tournament winners included Alabama Poly in the Bigsby Festival in New York City, North Carolina Tech in Boston's annual Jack Easton Tip-Off Classic, Mississippi A&M in the Windy City Festival, Coastal State in the West Coast Classic and Lexington State in the Heart of Texas Invitational. Code:
AIAA TOP TWENTY FIVE RANKINGSBOXING RESULTS A pair of fights on a New York City card over the weekend. Utica, NY born welterweight Alex Shaffer improved to 8-3 as the 26 year old won an easy decision over Mike Dean while heavyweight Jeff Love (9-16-2) knocked out veteran Paul Copeland in the 7th round of their bout. The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 11/12/1944
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November 20, 1944
NOVEMBER 20, 1944 JAMESON TO PINCH-HIT FOR GOTHAMS The shocking news that Hall of Famer Ed Ziehl will be leaving the New York Gothams dugout after 38 years with the club, including the last 17 as manager has been tempered somewhat by the announcement that another Gothams legend will take over as the skipper until Ziehl returns. Bud Jameson, who spent his entire playing career with the Gothams before retiring last year to become the club's hitting coach, will serve as manager until such time as Ziehl is ready to return. After it was revealed that Ziehl's son and Gothams infielder Eddie Ziehl was joining the Navy, the senior Ziehl announced he too was joining the war effort in any capacity that they would have him. He informed the Gothams and has been told by the club he is welcome back once the war is won. ZIEHL GOOES TO WAR Shocking Announcement out of New York The big news out of Queens is not that the Gothams Eddie Ziehl is joining the military. He's one of millions to be called up. No, the surprise is that his father, Manager Ed Ziehl, is joining him. Not exactly, as the junior Ziehl will be heading to boot camp before shipping overseas. The elder Ziehl is stepping down as team manager to join the war effort at home. In a statement to the press Ziehl explained his shocking decision. "Margaret and I have one son, and if he is being sent to fight in this awful, but necessary war then I would feel derelict as a father not to drop everything and do all I can to help in any way to end it as soon as possible. I will make myself available to Mayor LaGuardia or President Roosevelt to do what I can. I'll sell war bonds, talk to troops or sew uniforms. What I can't do is sit and watch baseball games while Eddie puts his life on the line. Everyone is doing their part, families are sacrificing across the country, now I'm stepping up my efforts." In a separate statement from the team, the organization supported Ziehl for his patriotism and said there would always be a place for him within the Gothams family. 1945 will be the first time since 1906 that Ed Ziehl and his #5 are not in a Gothams uniform. Ziehl has led the team to five pennants and two world titles during his reign as manager. The team will ask Bud Jameson to step in as manager for 1945. Bud will be entering his 20th season in a Gothams uniform. Watch out Hitler, The Lion is coming for you. DAY NAMED COMEBACK PLAYER SPARKS TALK OF A COMEBACK The Toronto Mail & Empire ran an unofficial poll to select a player who resurrected his career to the greatest degree in 1944. The winner was recently retired Rabbit Day who received more than half the ballots cast after helping the Cincinnati Cannons win their second consecutive World Championship. Immediately following the Series' conclusion, Day announced his retirement from the game and his next stop will be the Hall of Fame. He won 321 games in his career including an 18-10 record his final season after there was much talk that he was done the previous winter following his struggles in 1943 while with the Chicago Chiefs. The question now is: "Can the Cannons convince Day to postpone his retirement to return for the 1945 season with all the recent players going off to war?" TWO BALLPLAYERS RETURNING HOME The news is not all bad on the war front for FABL clubs. As the end of the fight -at least in Europe- appears to be now measured in mere months instead of years some of the ballplaying sailors and soldiers will be told their military obligations are over and can return to civilian life and professional baseball. Two such players received word recently that they will be sent home next week. The US Navy has discharged New York Gothams pitcher Harry Carter due to chronic migraines suffered while serving aboard the training vessel USS Wolverine. It is unlikely that the condition will have any impact on Carter's ability to return to the Gothams mound. The 34 year old joined the Navy in the fall of 1942 after the best season of his career that saw Carter post a 16-14 record with a 3.17 era and appear in two WCS games for the championship winning Gothams squad that year. Carter has a career FABL mark of 73-78, spending 5 seasons with the New York Stars before moving to the Gothams prior to the 1940 campaign. Joe York, a minor league infielder in the Detroit Dynamos organization and son of legendary Detroit catcher and current manager Dick York, is expected to be reunited with his family next week. The 25 year old had been serving in the Coast Guard since enlisting the day after the attack on Pearl Harbor. York, who's brother Rick is also a minor leaguer in the Dynamos system and currently in the Navy, last played pro ball at the AAA level in 1941. He was originally a first round pick, 15th overall by the Brooklyn Kings in the 1937 FABL draft. CANNONS WAR TEAM COULD COMPETE WITH ACTUAL ROSTER The Cannons said good-bye to four more players in their organization this week as Selective Service continues it's purge of baseball organizations. None are going to impact the big club much this year although there was an outside chance that 24 year old shortstop Nellie Walters -who split last season between Erie and Indianapolis- might have made the club as a reserve infielder. Also getting their induction papers this week were 20 year old catcher Ed Haynes Jr., a 1943 4th round pick, and a pair of 1944 draftees in 5th round selection shortstop Jim Hall along with second sacker Frank Thiel -an 8th rounder. All the recent losses now beg the question which Cannons team would be better equipped to defend their World Champion Series crown? Their actual projected 1945 starting lineup or one comprised strictly of Cannons players currently aiding in the war effort. Let's take a look. Code:
HECTOR SAWYER TO DEFEND HEAVYWEIGHT CROWN World Heavyweight Boxing Champion Hector Sawyer has reportedly been given the go ahead from the Army to begin training for a return to the ring and will defend his tittle in the new year. Sawyer, who has been in the army since early 1941, has been informed he will be discharged next month. The 30 year old will take on an as of yet unnamed opponent in Boston on February 24. The bout, which will be fought at Denny Arena, is expected to be treated almost as a tune-up for the champ, who has not fought professionally in over 4 years, before a major fight with a top ranked opponent- likely Mark Fountain (18-1-1) takes place in the summer likely at Gothams Stadium in New York. Sawyer is 49-3-1 for his career but like many top fighters has spent the past three years in the army. He won the title with a dramatic 15th round knock out of German strongman Jochen Schrotter in January of 1940 and made just one title defense in December of that year, scoring a 9th round TKO of American Mark Dyer. He was slated to face Allen Watson at the Bigsby Garden December 13, 1941 but that fight was called off due to the attack on Pearl Harbor. Watson would have his boxing career cut short by injuries sustained while serving in the Pacific while Sawyer would eventually join the army and has not fought a professional bout since, although he has participated in countless military exhibitions including on the undercard of the Archie Rees middleweight title fight in England in September. PALADINS TAKE OVER TOP SPOT IN WEST The Pittsburgh Paladins took advantage of fourth quarter turnovers and another strong game from Billy Bockhorst to beat the Chicago Wildcats 20-14 and move in to first place in the American Football Association's Western Division. Bockhorst ran for 126 yards and a touchdown while also throwing for 137 yards and a score to pace the Paladins, who needed a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns to pull out the victory. It was another rough game for Wildcats quarterback Gus Brown, who threw a pair of interceptions in the final 15 minutes, each of which led to Pittsburgh scoring drives. The Paladins are now 6-2 and a half game better than the Detroit Maroons, who saw their record drop to 6-3 with a 31-14 loss to the New York Football Stars. The Stars win, combined with Boston's dramatic fourth quarter comeback against front-running Philadelphia has tightened the Eastern Division race right up with just 3 weeks remaining in the season. The Frigates still lead the way at 5-1-1 but New York and Boston are both very much in the hunt after the Americans scored 21 points in the final 7:08 of the game yesterday to rally for a 28-24 victory and hand Philadelphia it's first loss of the season. Tom Griggs threw for 194 yards and all 4 scores for Boston and appears to have firmly taken over the starting quarterback role from veteran Del Thomas. In other action Washington topped Brooklyn 24-7 behind a 6 catch day from Wasps end Johnny Douglas and an 82-yard interception return for a fourth quarter score from Jerry Turkel while in Cleveland Tim Schepis ran for 131 yards and passed for 102 to help the combined Cleveland-St Louis team double up on Cincinnati 14-7. Code:
Boston 28 Philadelphia 24 Pittsburgh 20 Chicago 14 Clev/StL 14 Cincinnati 7 Washington 24 Brooklyn 7 New York 31 Detroit 14 UPCOMING GAMES SUNDAY NOVEMBER 26 Pittsburgh at Cincinnati Brooklyn at New York Detroit at Clev/StL Washington at Boston Chicago at Philadelphia Code:
NO SURPRISES IN BIG COLLEGIATE GRID MATCHES THIS WEEK Everything went according to script in the second last full weekend of collegiate football action. Rome State remained perfect on the season with another lob-sided win on Saturday -this one by a 47-3 count over Pierpont. Annapolis Maritime also won, improving to 7-1 with a 23-7 win at Whitney College. The Navigators only loss came at the hands of the Pierpont team which looked completely overmatched Saturday vs Rome State. That seems to favour the Centurions in what should be a showdown for the National Title on December 2 at Baltimore's Banner Field when 8-0 Rome State and 7-1 Annapolis Maritime meet in their annual battle for service team supremacy. A Centurions win should assure the Rome State eleven of it's first-ever national crown in any of the 3 major collegiate team sports. A Rome State loss opens the door for a trio of unbeaten teams in Central Ohio, Alabama Baptist and Iowa A&M. The Aviators downed Lincoln 42-13 and now must prepare for their big rivalry game with Detroit City College next weekend. Iowa A&M, like Central Ohio, improved to 8-0 as the Bulls dumped Lambert College 26-7. Alabama Baptist is 7-0-1 following a 34-17 win over Northern Mississippi. St Blane's free-fall continued as the Fighting Saints have fallen out of the top ten after suffering their third straight loss. This one was an upset as St Magnus improved to 4-4 on the year with a 20-17 victory over the Saints. Code:
Rome State 47 Pierpont 3 Annapolis Maritime 23 Whitney College 7 Central Ohio 42 Lincoln 13 Alabama Baptist 34 Northern Mississippi 17 Noble Jones College 36 Opelika State 16 Iowa A&M 26 Lambert College 7 Georgia Baptist 10 Bayou State 7 St. Magnus 20 St. Blane 17 Charleston Tech 27 Petersburg 19 Great Lakes Navy 45 Wisconsin Catholic 0 Henry Hudson 20 Ellery 14 Brunswick 13 Grafton 0 Detroit City College 27 Wisconsin State 0 Minnesota Tech 22 Western Iowa 7 Indiana A&M 34 Pittsburgh State 0 Iowa Pre-Flight 27 Daniel Boone College 14 Central Kentucky 13 Huntington State 13 Oklahoma City State 10 Lawrence State 6 Carolina Poly 30 Columbia Military Academy 0 Frankford State 13 Penn Catholic 3 Liberty College 30 Maryland State 14 George Fox 20 North Carolina Tech 0 Second Air Force 21 Rainier College 10 Coastal California 21 Northern California 3 Arkansas A&T 28 Texas Gulf Coast 10 St. Pancras 10 Empire State 10 Cumberland 13 Conwell College 0 Darnell State 35 Red River State 3 Amarillo Methodist 0 Travis College 0 College of Waco 43 South Valley State 7 Coastal State 24 Baton Rouge State 14 CC Los Angeles 27 College of San Diego 0 Richmond State 16 Alexandria 13 Miami State 10 Charleston (IL) 10 South Plains Field 21 Canyon A&M 20 Mountainview State 24 Boulder State 24 Agricultural (TX) 26 Lubbock Field 14 Bigsby College 17 Manhattan Tech 16 Eastern Kansas 20 Olathe Navy 14 Randolph Field 55 Killeen State 0 March Field 48 San Diego Navy 13 St. Patrick's 34 Melville PT Boats 16 Golden Gate University Pre-Flight 27 Fleet City 24 MONTGOMERY HEADS UP PRO GRID LOOP Lt. Commander Ben Montgomery, a key piece of the famous St Blane backfield and formerly head football coach at Brooklyn State, has a five-year contract to serve as commissioner of the Continental Football Conference, a newly organized professional football league. Percy Sutherland, acting head of the new league, said last night that Montgomery, a veteran of 16 months service in the South Pacific, accepted the contract. Montgomery will assume office as commissioner as soon as he is discharged from the Navy, when headquarters of the league will be established in New York City. Terms of the Montgomery's contract were not disclosed but it was reported that he will received $125,000 for the five-year term. He is expected to preside at his first meeting of the league in New York December 9 and 10. Montgomery was part of the fearsome Fighting Saints backfield of 1924, joining quarterback Casper Wilson, fellow halfback Roger Cass and fullback Frank Oliver on a team that went 10-0 and was later anointed by Thomas Potentas in his review of college gridiron history the national champions of that year. Montgomery, along with Wilson and Oliver, earned Mott's All-American status during that season and all three, along with Cass, would play some professional football before each went into coaching. Sutherland, the highly regarded sports editor of the Chicago Herald-Examiner and frequent TWIFB contributor, disclosed plans for his new loop a couple of months ago and is eyeing a fall 1945 start if the war is over at the point. If not, the target date for the opening kick-off will be delayed until 1946. Little is known about the number of teams or their locations at this point but the league is expected to be planning on taking the American Football Association head on with a team in New York and likely in several other prominent AFA cities. It is believed Sutherland and Montgomery also intend to have teams stretch from coast to coast with both Los Angeles and San Francisco as possible destinations. TORRID RIVALRIES PACK GRID BILL THIS WEEKEND AS ROME STATE, ANNAPOLIS MARITIME IDLE Rome State and Annapolis Maritime hibernate this weekend in preparation for their December 2 clash, but there's plenty of football with unbeaten Central Ohio entertaining Detroit City College in probably the biggest game of the weekend with other key contests including St Blane vs Georgia Baptist along with the always entertaining Los Angeles meeting of Coastal California and CCLA. That high-powered trio of games is listed for Saturday. Thursday's Thanksgiving Day menu is almost as attractive with unpredictable Payne State meeting Arkansas A&T, Daniel Boone College squares off with Lawrence State and Cowpens State faces Columbia Military Academy providing the main courses. ANNAPOLIS MARITIME AND ROME STATE OFF TO STRONG STARTS Perhaps building on the success of each of their football programs this fall the two service academy basketball teams are off to a quick start in AIAA collegiate play. Annapolis Maritime won twice last week to get it's season under way and the Navigators are ranked 6th in the polls. That is not an unusual place for the navy boys as they reached the AIAA tournament championship game last season. The fact that Rome State -the army training school- is also ranked does come as a surprise as the Centurions last made the tournament in 1935 and have never advanced past the first round. Clearly November wins do not guarantee post-season success but the 2-0 start and a berth in the top 25 is a step in the right direction for Coach Harrison Shaw's team. Highly touted Carolina Poly again holds down the top spot and the Cardinals are one of the favourites to win it all this season. The Cardinals are also well on their way to a tremendous recruiting class as Major Belk and Paul Cowans have both committed to the school for next season. Belk is out of Nashville, TN. and rated the best high school guard in the nation while landing Cowans, a 6'7" center ranked in the national top ten, was a huge coup as they Cardinals stole him right out from under North Carolina Tech as he is a Raleigh native. That should add even more fire to what is becoming one of the best rivalries in AIAA cage play. Code:
MONDAY NOVEMBER 13 #17 St Blane 37 Wisconsin State 28 #19 Brooklyn Catholic 54 George Fox 49 #21 Plover College 37 Northern Mississippi 28 TUESDAY NOVEMBER 14 #1 Carolina Poly 69 NW Pennsylvania 36 #4 Liberty College 55 Bethlehem College 28 #7 Chicago Poly 44 Lane State 38 #20 Perry State College 46 Mississippi A&M 45 #23 St Pancras 60 Allentown State 31 #24 CCLA 42 Gates University 31 #25 Rome State 51 Grant(IN) 46 WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 15 #6 Annapolis Maritime 49 George Fox 48 #8 Chesapeake State 36 East Missouri Seminary 29 #14 Alabama Baptist 51 Capital(MS) University 41 #21 Plover College 59 Harrisburg State 33 #22 Springfield State 54 North Central(NE) 43 THURSDAY NOVEMBER 16 #2 St Patrick's 59 Sadler 30 #5 Mobile Maritime 53 Cumberland 33 #7 Chicago Poly 50 Dudley 39 #19 Brooklyn Catholic 59 Cuyahoga University 50 #20 Perry State College 65 Huntington State 41 FRIDAY NOVEMBER 17 #6 Annapolis Maritime 49 Opelika State 38 #12 Bayou State 47 Indiana A&M 38 #16 Charleston Tech 56 Dickson 29 #22 Springfield State 42 Potomac College 41 #25 Rome State 41 Texas Panhandle 30 SATURDAY NOVEMBER 18 #2 St Patrick's 49 Constitution State 35 #13 Central Carolina 46 Brunswick 32 SUNDAY NOVEMBER 19 #4 Liberty College 49 Henry Hudson 30 #16 Charleston Tech 56 Western Montana 33 #17 St Blane 39 Adirondack State 31 #21 Plover College 50 Grange College 37 #22 Springfield State 61 Penn Catholic 32 #23 St Pancras 52 Michigan Lutheran 32 The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 11/19/1944
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November 27, 1944
NOVEMBER 27, 1944 GARRISON RETURNS TO WOLVES After learning that Bernie Johnson and Jimmy Gibbs, who combined to win 29 games last season, had both been drafted into the Army the Toronto Wolves appeared to be in big trouble on the mound this season. However, that changed very quickly when word filtered back to Toronto that pitcher George Garrison has been discharged by the US Navy. The reason for the discharge was a tragic one as Garrison's brother Thomas was killed on Leyte Island in the Philippines on November 1st, prompting the discharge for George on a family hardship to support his recently widowed mother. The Wolves organization in a news release welcomed George Garrison back to the Wolves under trying circumstances. The statement also contains condolences for his family on the loss of his brother Thomas on Leyte Island. Garrison, 27, was an all-star in 1942 when we went 22-10 and finished second to Cincinnati's Deuce Barrell in Allen Award voting that season. The third overall pick in the 1935 draft, Garrison made his big league debut at the age of 20 and has a career record of 64-54. He had been in the Navy since November, 1942. Garrison is one of a number of players who have recently been told they are returning home, some under very harrowing circumstances with perhaps none more chilling than the story of Dick Blaszak. Blaszak, the 1940 first overall selection who was a key piece in the Chicago Chiefs big trade deadline deal last July that sent future Hall of Famers Rabbit Day and Tom Bird to Cincinnati, will be discharged from the US Marine Corps after being wounded during the invasion of Peleliu in the Palau Islands. The 23 year old outfielder suffered a fractured shoulder blade but it could have been so much worse. Luckily for Blaszak the bullet - fired by a Japanese sniper at his head - was deflected by the rifle barrel of the Marine next to him and he was hit by a fragment rather than the entire slug. He will be discharged after recuperating at the Naval Hospital on Guadalcanal and is expected to be available for spring training. *** OWENS RETURNS TO MINERS **** The Pittsburgh Miners received unexpected but very welcome news that 33 year old outfielder Joe Owens will be rejoining them after 3 years in the Navy. The two-time all-star last played in 1941 when he led the Federal Association in on-base percentage. He is a .309 career hitter in nearly 1,200 FABL games - all with Pittsburgh. The Miners also will be getting pitcher Tony 'Pooch' Puccinello back. Pooch was about to be deployed to Europe, ticketed to join the US Seventh Army in France when a pre-deployment physical detected a hernia. Pooch gets a medical discharge after two years in the army. The 28 year old made his big league debut in 1942, going 2-3 with a 3.88 era in 9 appearances. The 1934 sixth round draft pick has an impressive arsenal of 8 pitches. Others that will also be back well in advance of spring traing include:
TALES FROM THE WOLVES DEN Let's take a look at the Wolves' system. This is a constantly changing narrative brought into sharper focus with the recent announcements that some FABL players will be returning before spring training. The Wolves have already benefited greatly with the return of George Garrison who left after the 1942 season to serve in the US Navy. Garrison's return brings home the horrors of war as the reason for his return is that his brother was recently killed-in-action in the Pacific along with the fact his mother was recently widowed. Buffalo Nickels 1944 Record- 64-76 7th place Manager- Ben Anderson Top Prospects- SP Jim Carter (recently into the service), CF Dom Tripp, 1B Tom Peel Buffalo has been used as a holding area for players that are almost, but not quite FABL material with one or two upcoming youngsters. These players could cross Lake Ontario quickly as roster fillers for injuries in Toronto. Discussion in the Toronto front office has led to a debate on how to stock Buffalo. Some older grey beards, Steven Clarke, Frank Kirby, Tommy Newman may see themselves in Chattanooga to start 1945 in backup roles to tutor younger players on their way up the system. Chattanooga Reliables 1944 Record- 63-77 5th place Manager- Art Gadbury Top Prospects- SP Art Curley. RP Bob Currier, OF Jim Waters, OF Billy Kelley , C Randy Hendrix Gadbury's talent for pitching mechanics instruction, developing talent has given the Wolves hope in the future. Many may be at the AAA level in 1945 as they continue their journey toward the FABL. Chattanooga was recently given a boost when recently retired Larry Vestal signed on as hitting instructor. Is this the first move in Vestal's return to the FABL in a managerial role? Davenport Dusters 1944 Record- 55-85 7th place Top Prospects- P Herb Wise, OF Fred Troy, SS Fred Frady Manager- Bob Wallace Davenport is generally the make or break level. Once a player makes it A level, the question is whether going to move up through the system or bounce around the system as a career minor leaguer. Wise started at AA but struggled mightily with control, walking close an average of a man per inning, pitching coach Bob Haynes seemed to straighten out those issues when he returned to A ball. Troy moved quickly through Vancouver to Davenport after being drafted in June. Ability to play any of the out field positions is a an asset. Frady, a late round 1942 pick, has proved to be able to hit at any level along with a good glove. Expect Frady to take the take the next step early in 1945. One thing Dusters fans should watch for is whether or not P Jerry York and/or SS John Fast are released from their military duties. These two are the top two prospects in the Toronto system, they would probably restart their baseball careers with at least a stop in Davenport. Vancouver Mounties 1944 Record- 73-47 1st Manager- Steve Castellinni (promoted from Tuscaloosa after Bob Wallce moved up to Davenport) Top Prospects- P Sam McRae, 1B Sammy Harberts, C Cal Yeager (recently enlisted) Vancouver is the most successful team in the organization. Job here is to give recently drafted college players a grounding in professional baseball or seasoning a high school draftee against better pitching or hitting. Staff roles are difficult here because of the short term relationship with youngsters, spending more than one season in B is usually not a good sign for a player's career. Tuscaloosa Tomcats 1944 Record- 63-57 4th place Manager- Jocko Williams (replaced Castellinni after spending 10 years as pitching coach) Top Prospects- P Al Rhodes, OF Al Parker A clearing house where the initial decision is made on a player. In C ball you must perform, get promoted or face finding a new career choice. If and when players start returning from the global conflict this is the last stop before independent ball or working for a living. C ball is move up or move out, first impressions, right or wrong, often determine a future. TIGERS END ONE TEAM'S TITLE DREAMS. HOW ABOUT TWO? The Cincinnati Tigers have been a great surprise this season. I do not believe anyone would have foreseen the Tigers being tied with the defending American Football Association champion Chicago Wildcats with just one game remaining in the regular season. Sure, it's just 4-5 in what has been an awful season for those once mighty Wildcats -one that included a surprising 20-17 loss to our Tigers in their home debut at Tice Memorial Stadium, but those four victories far exceed most expectations for the Cincinnati eleven this season. The Tigers actually began their existence with 2 straight victories before dropping 5 of the next 6 but a win yesterday over Pittsburgh gives the Tigers a shot at finishing .500, and destroyed the Paladins season in the process. The Tigers scored all 16 of their points in the fourth quarter to crush the Paladins dreams of a trip to the championship game and knocked off the AFA's best player this season in former Noble Jones College Christian Trophy winner Billy Bockhorst. The question is can they dash the hopes of another Pennsylvania eleven? The Tigers are off next week before ending their season with a trip to Philadelphia in a game that might mean everything to the Frigates, who are battling the New York Football Stars for eastern supremacy. A win and a 5-5 season would be quite an accomplishment for Coach Jack Conn's boys. ***Aviators Flying High*** With Queen City University not fielding a football team again this season, many locals have adopted the Central Ohio Aviators as their collegiate grid team to follow and they could not have picked a better year to do so. A big win over their Michigan rivals at Detroit City College Saturday has earned the Aviators a trip west on New Year's Day for the first time since 1921 and while there are a couple of backs at Rome State that might beg to differ, the general consensus in the Middle-West is Aviators signal caller Jack Rhodes is the best player in college football and should be hoisting the Christian Trophy in a couple of weeks time. Not a bad turnaround for a team that went 2-6-1 a year ago. ***Cannons Eye Brown as Solution in Centerfield*** There is talk that the Cincinnati Cannons are considering trying Sam Brown as their centerfielder when spring training opens in March. The 34 year old is a very good defensive corner outfielder but has played just one game in his decade long big league career in center. However, there is growing concern within the organization that none of Rufus Daniels, Don Homer or Mel Alvarez -the only players with centerfield experience on the secondary roster- will be able to hit enough to maintain a starting job next season. The club has plenty of time to explore a trade possibility but solid defensive centerfielders who can also hit are few and far between. The Cannons have two of them of course -in all-stars Fred Galloway and Bob Griffith- but both are involved in the war effort at the moment. The other possibility, and it is a much longer shot than even Brown moving to center, is minor leaguer Karl Berggren. The 22 year old was Boston's second round pick out of Huntington State last January and acquired in the summer deal that sent Billy Dalton to the Minutemen. He showed some decent promise but has just 61 games of pro experience at the Class B level under his belt. Berggren is expected to start the season at AA Erie but a hot start might earn him a quick call-up by the Cannons.
A LOOK AT FABL MANAGER EXPERIENCE With Ed Ziehl's decision to step down from the Gothams manager job to aid in the war effort that makes Brooklyn's Powell Slocum the dean of active managers in terms of current service time in their role. Ziehl had spent the past 17 years as the Gothams skipper but will turn the job over to long-time Gotham star Bud Jameson as he follows his son Eddie into the war effort. Here is a look at the length of time each FABL manager has held his current position. It also includes their current age and historic won-loss record as a FABL manager as well as pennants and WCS victories. Code:
PALADINS FALL IN CINCINNATI Loss To Expansion Tigers Costs Division Crown The Pittsburgh Paladins were caught looking past the Cincinnati Tigers and it likely cost them a chance at their first trip to the American Football Associaiton championship game since 1938. The Paladins surrendered 16 fourth-quarter points to the AFA's newest club and ended up on the wrong end of a 16-7 score at Tice Memorial Stadium. That loss drops Pittsburgh to 6-3 on the season with only a home game next Sunday against Washington remaining on their docket. The Paladins trail Detroit, which completed a 7-3 campaign with a 13-7 win in Cleveland over the combined Finches-Ramblers team yesterday, by half a game. The two clubs split their regular season meetings but the second tie-breaker is believed to be in-division record, which would go to Detroit as the Maroons were 6-2 compared to Pittsburgh's 5-3 mark vs section opponents. In Cincinnati, quarterback Billy Bockhorst continued his breakout season for Pittsburgh as the second year pro ran for a 69 yard touchdown in the first quarter as part of his 142 yard rushing, 135 yard passing day. However, Bockhorst still had his challenges on the day. The Paladins had a chance to increase their lead shortly before half but Bockhorst missed on a 26 yard field goal attempt. The Tigers had a couple of field goal tries of their own in the opening 30 minutes but were unsuccessful on each leaving the score at 7-0 in Pittsburgh's favour at the break. Following a scoreless third stanza, the game turned early in the fourth quarter when Cincinnati's Jack Christensen broke a run for an 80 yard score and less than a minute left Bockhorst made a season-altering mistake, trying to force a throw to Syl Tyma but not accounting for the Tigers Larry Rothstein stepping in the way and intercepting the toss. That give the Tigers the ball at the Cincinnati 38 yard line and Tigers quarterback Gus Knox went to work, leading a quik six play drive that culminated in a 10 yard touchdown toss to Mike Machia to give the Tigers the lead for good. The extra point attempt would be no good but with less than 3 minutes remaining in the game the Tigers tacked on a 36 yard Fred Fykes field goal to extend their lead to 9. A desperation Bockhorst pass attempt with just 2:24 remaining was intercepted by Christensen and that would put an end to the Paladins championship game dreams. In Cleveland, the visiting Detroit Maroons received another big game from the best end in football as Stan Vaught counted a pair of long touchdown grabs among his 7 catches for 122 yards to lead Detroit to a 13-7 win over the combined Cleveland/St Louis squad. The win ended the Maroons season with a 7-3 record and they are set to be returning to the AFA title game after a 3 season absence. Philadelphia continues to lead the way in the East as the Frigates improved to 6-1-1 with a thrilling 27-20 victory at home over Chicago yesterday. It was a dramatic finish as the Wildcats appeared poised to take the lead with just 3 minutes remaining in a tie game and the ball at the Philadelphia 25 yard line but Gus Brown -who has been haunted by interceptions all year- threw another one when Mike Benjamin picked off a pass intended for Freeman Strahlberg at the Philadelphia 5 yard line. The Frigates would cover the ensuing 95 yards in just over 2 minutes, culminating a game winning drive with a 3 yard touchdown run from Greg LePage with just 38 seconds left on the clock to secure the 27-20 victory. New York kept pace with the Frigates and, at 6-2, remain a half game back of the Eastern Division leaders following a 35-0 blasting of the Brooklyn Kings. Jerry McElheny ran for 108 yards and two scores to lead the Stars. New York finishes up with a home and home exchange with Boston the next two weeks while the front-running Frigates have two home games left on the docket- against Brooklyn next week and Cincinnati in the December 10 finale. In Sundays final contest Boston's disappointing season continued with a 20-16 loss to the Washington Wasps, leaving both teams with a .500 record at 4-4. Code:
Cincinnati 16 Pittsburgh 7 New York 35 Brooklyn 0 Detroit 13 Clev/StL 7 Washington 20 Boston 16 Philadelphia 27 Chicago 20 UPCOMING GAMES SUNDAY DECEMBER 3 Boston at New York Chicago at Clev/StL Brooklyn at Philadelphia Washington at Pittsburgh Code:
CENTRAL OHIO FOLLOWS RHODES TO BERTH IN EAST-WEST CLASSIC Led by a dominant season from quarterback Jimmy Rhodes the Central Ohio Aviators completed a perfect season with a 24-14 win over their arch rivals from Detroit City College on Saturday. The victory earns the Aviators the Great Lakes Alliance title and a trip to the East-West Classic for the first time since 1921. The Aviators are also in the running for a National Title which would be a first for the school. Central Ohio will now prepare for the New Year's Day showdown in Santa Ana against Coastal California. The National Title will likely only hang in the balance should Rome State be upset by Annapolis Maritime in Baltimore next Saturday. Code:
Central Ohio 24 Detroit City College 14 Eastern Oklahoma 41 Oklahoma City State 13 St. Blane 24 Georgia Baptist 17 Noble Jones College 30 Coastal State 14 Coastal California 24 CC Los Angeles 14 Payne State 38 Arkansas A&T 10 Lincoln 24 St. Magnus 17 Indiana A&M 41 Whitney College 10 Iowa Pre-Flight 34 Western Iowa 10 Wisconsin State 27 Minnesota Tech 21 Northern Mississippi 45 Mississippi A&M 13 Pierpont 31 Brunswick 10 Henry Hudson 10 Grafton 0 Pittsburgh State 20 Liberty College 10 Northern California 26 Golden Gate University Pre-Flight 0 College of Waco 10 Texas Gulf Coast 10 Central Kentucky 16 Cumberland 10 Amarillo Methodist 10 Red River State 9 George Fox 13 Eastern State 0 Topeka State 13 Lambert College 3 St. Patrick's 37 Commonwealth Catholic 7 Daniel Boone College 14 Lawrence State 7 Boulder State 17 Mile High State 10 Provo Tech 47 Cache Valley 3 Cowpens State 20 Columbia Military Academy 19 Opelika State 38 Miami State 23 Ellery 27 Empire State 7 Frankford State 21 Hancock & Pitt 3 Carolina Poly 28 North Carolina Tech 0 Great Lakes Navy 41 Fort Warren 0 College of Omaha 15 Eastern Kansas 3 Idaho Marines 33 Snake River State 28 TERRIFIC PRESSURE FACTOR IN ROME STATE-ANNAPOLIS MARITIME GAME So much has been said about the upcoming Rome State-Annapolis Maritime football game -and will continue to be said before it actually is played on Saturday- that a word of caution might not be amiss at this point. With the contesting teams rated the best of all in the country, collegiate or service, and hailed as the greatest ever to represent Uncle Sam's schools in any one year, the intense interest in the clash has been further heightened with the decision this year to shift from the restricted confines of Annapolis to the capacious Banner Field at Baltimore. In addition to the change in site from a bandbox holding less than 20,000 to an enclosure where more than 50,000 spectators are assured there is the War Bond tie-in through which will be raised umpty-umpth millions of dollars that otherwise would not have been forthcoming. It all adds to a situation where the cinema publicists are being rivaled, with superlatives a dime a dozen for a clash that promises to be grimly waged, but which may fall far short of being stupendous, colossal or even good from a strictly football standpoint. Why? The answer is pressure. With everybody concerned more thoroughly steamed up than ever before "tremendous" is a mild term for the strain the players will be subjected to and under those conditions anything can happen. ***More Kids Susceptible to Tension-Induced Jitters *** When it is considered that only a few of them are old enough to vote, the magnitude of the burden they will carry -one calculated to faze even hardened veterans of adult years- quite understandably could induce lapses among lads a majority of whom are only 18 or 19, and who work 16 hours a day as compared with your eight. Under the tension that will exist the well-drilled but immature striplings who could be depended upon for precise execution of maneuvers in "just another game" may be excused from tightening-up due to overanxiety that leads to a more than normal number of missed assignments. From yardage lost through penalties incurred, to abortive blocks and just plan fumbles, every one with a potentially distinctive bearing on the outcome, might evolve a series of situations that could turn the game into a rout instead of a contest, with fate decreeing which side is the beneficiary. On the other hand the battle may prove to be just that all the way with victory going to the outfit which proves the most inspired of the two -plus a few breaks in luck- but there is no calling the turn in advance. Rome State's point-a-minute team may end its three-year drought and win as it generally si expected to, despite loyal, die-hard wearers of the blue and the St Blane regulars who, beaten by both, but much worse by the Centurions, favour the Navigators. Past performances, comparative scores and individual statistics -practically everything except the law of averages- have installed the Rome State eleven as favourites. But with most any Rome State-Annapolis Maritime game the compilation of dope represents just so much wasted effort and that goes double for the one coming up Saturday. SOUTH ATLANTIC SCHOOLS CONTINUE TO THRIVE The days of dominance by Middle-west and West Coast schools may just be over as the South Atlantic Conference appears to be the new top dog in college basketball -at least it looks that way based on early indications. Five schools from the SAC are ranked in the top nine afte this week's action including Carolina Poly which remains number one. It used to be that the big three from the West Coast Athletic Association in Rainier College and the two Los Angeles schools (CCLA & Coastal California) along with several school from the Great Lakes Alliance would seem to always be among the top ten. It's still early in the cage season so much could change but right now you have to look all the way down to 16th in order to find a school from either of those two power conferences. That would be City College of Los Angeles at #16. No one at all from the GLA cracks the top twenty-five this week, although Lincoln College did receive some votes, and the only other WCAA school besides the Coyotes to make the list is a very surprising Custer College club. Code:
MONDAY NOVEMBER 20 #8 North Carolina Tech 54 Jersey City Tech 40 #15 Bardney 55 Penobscot State 32 #16 CC Los Angeles 38 Frankford State 35 #18 Bulein 53 Maldon 43 #25 Lubbock State 54 Iowa A&M 47 TUESDAY NOVEMBER 21 #1 Carolina Poly 54 Potomac College 27 #5 Annapolis Maritime 37 #24 Chesapeake State 38 #6 Coastal State 58 Brookland 51 #7 St Blane 58 Ogdensburg 31 #11 St Pancras 56 Cleveland 51 WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 22 #10 Bluegrass State 39 Lane State 32 #12 Piedmont University 52 Wyoming A&I 33 #14 Bardney 41 Idaho A&M 30 THURSDAY NOVEMBER 23 #7 St Blane 46 NW New York State 38 #9 Charleston Tech 56 Central Kentucky 44 #11 St Pancras 44 San Francisco Tech 32 #17 Noble Jones College 66 Meade 55 #20 Mississippi A&M 54 Columbia Military Academy 50 #21 Bigsby College 54 Tinker 38 #22 Custer College 50 Western Montana 27 #24 Chesapeake State 45 Brunswick 44 #25 Lubbock State 42 Berwick 36 FRIDAY NOVEMBER 24 #4 Western Florida 41 Portland Tech 30 #12 Piedmont University 64 Mahoning Valley State 44 Henry Hudson 45 #13 Brooklyn State 37 #14 Bardney 42 Bay State 40 #23 Red River State 49 Poweshiek 33 SATURDAY NOVEMBER 25 #2 St Patrick's 65 Brunswick 38 #7 St Blane 52 North Shore 44 #15 Plover College 57 Iowa A&M 35 SUNDAY NOVEMBER 26 #3 Mobile Maritime 45 Alabama Gulf Coast 36 #10 Bluegrass State 45 Springfield State 39 #13 Brooklyn State 41 St Matthew's College 40 #21 Bigsby College 48 Cesar Rodney 38 The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 11/26/1944
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