October 10, 1949
 

OCTOBER 10, 1949

MILLER SHUTOUT KEEPS CHIEFS ALIVE IN SERIES

Chicago Wins Game Four After Dropping First 3

After falling behind the Cleveland Foresters three games to none in the World Championship Series, the Chicago Chiefs relied on the veteran arm of Al Miller to keep their title hopes alive. The 34-year-old, who had some outstanding starts in postseason play when the Chiefs won a pair of World Titles more than a decade ago, pitched the first shutout of his WCS career by scattering 8 Cleveland hits in going the distance yesterday in a 5-0 victory at Forester Stadium. Miller also used his bat to beat the Foresters, driving in the game's first run with an rbi single.

The victory came after Cleveland had overcome an early 2-0 deficit to rally for a 5-3 victory in the third game. Lorenzo Samuels drove in two runs while Jim Adams Jr. had a pair of hits and scored twice to help the Foresters open 3 games to none lead in the series. Despite the Chiefs extending the series, the Foresters can still wrap it up at home with a victory in game five this afternoon.

Looking to turn the tide of the series after dropping the first two games in Chicago, the Chiefs struck early in game three when Artie D'Alessandro smacked a one-out double off Cleveland starter Ducky Davis in the top of the first inning and then trotted home when Joe Rutherford followed with a 2-run home run.

As was the case in the opening two games, the Chiefs had several more chances to score but failed to do so. They had the bases loaded for Tim Hopkins with two out in the third inning, but Davis induced a ground ball to end the threat. In the fifth there were Chicago runners on first and second with two away, but Rutherford flied out to end the inning. Bob Martin hit into an inning-ending doubleplay in the 6th inning with runners on first and second. The Chiefs finally did add to their run total in the 8th inning when Joe Rutherford single off of Cleveland reliever Walt Hill and scored on a 1-out double off the bat of Pete Casstevens, but it was a case of too little, too late as the Foresters had plated 5 runs in the meantime.

Cleveland had tied the game at 2 in the bottom of the fourth when Chicago starter Charlie Bingham hit Orie Martinez with a pitch and then allowed a single to Jim Adams Jr. followed quickly by a rbi double off the bat of Lorenzo Samuels. Ivey Henley's sacrifice fly plated Adams Jr. before Bingham finally escaped the inning.

Bill Sikorski delivered a key pinch-hit double for the Foresters in the 6th inning, scoring Mark Smith and Eddie Morris and putting Cleveland up 4-2. Samuels, who is having a terrific series, drove in another run with a sacrifice fly to score Adams Jr. after the Cleveland third sacker had delivered a 1-out triple in the bottom of the 7th.

Chicago's final missed opportunity came in the ninth inning when lead-off Bill May walked, and Artie D'Alessandro singled to put the tying run on base with nobody out. Ollie White, who had earned the save in each of the first two victories despite have an adventuresome time doing so, was back at it in game three, getting into trouble before he finally settled down by getting fly ball outs from both Rutherford and Tim Hopkins before fanning Pete Casstevens to complete the 5-3 victory and move the Foresters to within one win of claiming just the second World Championship title in franchise history.
In a pitching rematch of the series opener, it was Adrian Czerwinski on the hill for the Foresters against Al Miller. Things got dicey very quickly for Miller who started the game by allowing back-to-back singles to Sherry Doyal and Ollie Martinez but then set down the heart of the Cleveland order to escape the first frame without any damage.

Meanwhile the Chiefs loaded the bases on Czerwinski with nobody out in the top of the fourth but came up empty. Chicago's luck changed in the fifth when ex-Toronto Wolve Charlie Artuso led off with a triple and scored on a base hit by Miller, as the pitcher made sure to aid his own cause. Bill May double to move Miller to third and the Chiefs hurler came home with the game's second run on a Tim Hopkins ground out.

Both teams had opportunities in the sixth inning but each stranded two men on base. In the 7th, the Chiefs would extend their lead to 3-0 with they had 4-singles. They could have blown the game open, but Tim Hopkins was thrown out at the plate to end the inning. Bill May added insurance in the top of the 8th, ripping a 2-run homer off of Cleveland reliever Dick Lamb to round out the scoring and ensure the Chiefs would live to see at least one more day.

SAWYER’S 62nd WIN A 13 ROUND TKO OVER UPSTART JONES

Lakeside Auditorium, Chicago, Ill. -- One day, when we are all old and gray, and we talk to our grandchildren about the greatest athletes we had ever seen, I am sure we will talk about Max Morris, Rankin Kellogg, Bobby Barrell, Pat Chappell, and Ivory Mitchell. But, right up there with the best of them is Hector Sawyer, who is quite possibly the greatest of them all.

Sawyer has been a living legend over the last couple of years, a hulking hero of epic proportions. His career lives on, as he entered his 66th professional fight, secure in his legacy, but hungering for his next opponent. This opponent is one of more impressive ones. Lewis Jones is an up-and-coming fighter getting his shot after winning 20 of his own fights, while drawing once and losing once.

Jones is from Lexington, Kentucky, and just when you thought The Cajun Crusher ran out of willing combatants, the next generation has appeared. Jones is 24 years old, 11 years Sawyer’s junior, but he is as good a contender as there is in the heavyweight division these days. Entering the fight, many wondered if Jones was rushed into this position because more decorated and more mature prospects caught the Sawyer Flu. Tonight, Jones set out to prove he belonged inside the same ropes as Sawyer.

Seconds after the opening bell, the fighters came together and it was Jones who fired the opening salvo with a left cross, but Sawyer countered Jones’s early aggression with a cross of his own late in the round that got Jones off his game, as the challenger clinched for the rest of the round. Jones had the upper hand early in the second round until he was warned by Referee Laurence Cole, officiating his first title fight, on a rabbit punch.

Both fighters glared at one another, and Jones added an uppercut to Sawyer’s chin before Sawyer landed a right cross to Jones’s head. The force of the blow could be seen, heard, and felt by those in attendance in Chicago. Jones fell to the floor. He did not look steady as he got to his feet after a couple of seconds on the ground, but the message was sent by Sawyer, swiftly and violently.

After some good back-and-forth in the third round, Sawyer went on the offensive halfway through in the fourth round. Sawyer threw and uppercut followed quickly with a right to Jones’s jaw. The right to the jaw drew oohs and aahs from the crowd, but it was the uppercut which did the most lasting damage. The uppercut landed above Jones’s right eye and there was obvious swelling within seconds of the punch.

Jones was at his best in the fifth round, showing the same aggressive posture he did in the opening round. As Jones was scoring with an assortment of punches, none of which damaged the champion, the swelling meant that Jones could walk into Sawyer’s punches. Jones caught a couple of hooks that he might have been able to sidestep.

Before the sixth round, Jones’s corner men were desperately trying to calm the swelling around Jones’s right eye. Sawyer tried to take advantage and aimed high, connecting at will with head shots that brought Jones to the brink. However, to Jones’s credit, he did not lose his feet through the entire three minutes. Sawyer landed a vicious uppercut halfway through Round 7 that caused a cut to open above Jones’s eye, which was the epicenter of his earlier swelling.

All the preamble before the ninth round made this stanza the most unbelievable round in the fight. A hampered Jones began to take the fight once again to Sawyer. His offense stopped Sawyer from rebutting with effective counterpunches. Jones tried to take the wind out of Sawyer with a right to the champion’s ribs. Still feeling the effects of the right, Jones followed with a right to the face and an uppercut to Sawyer’s head. Jones won the round, but Sawyer returned to his corner unbloodied and unbowed.

Sawyer built on his lead in the later rounds, continuing to stick and move, picking his spots and keeping Jones unsure of when and how Sawyer was going to strike. Sawyer was landing blows with impugnity and many in the crowd were astounded the fight was not stopped as early as the seventh round.

In the thirteenth round, Jones had missed badly on a couple of attempts before Sawyer quickly reopened Lewis’s cut. Jones started pawing at his eye, which received Referee Cole’s attention, who motioned to the physician at ringside. There was consultation as a hush descended upon the crowd, followed by the frantic wave of Cole’s arms to call the fight.

After the fight was stopped, Sawyer went over to Jones and complimented him on a good fight. As the years go by, Sawyer has become an ambassador of the sport of boxing. He has started to savor every victory, every moment inside the squared circle. It was clear that Sawyer thought Jones has a great career ahead of him. Jones, in kind, appreciated the gesture, as if somewhat anointed as a future star.

Sawyer (62-3-1) was incredibly precise, connecting on over 73% of his punches. He used the jab effectively to set up the crosses, hooks, and uppercuts. But it was also his jab that effectively ended the fight, as the final punch of the match reopened Jones’s gash on his forehead. Referee Laurence Cole made the hard decision to call the bout, but if Jones were allowed to continue with a bloody gash hampering his eyesight, Sawyer could have done permanent damage to Jones (20-2-1).

The hulking hero left the ring a champion once again. You have to wonder how many more of these bouts he will have, how many more people will be able to tell their grandchildren, “I saw the best there ever was.”

AGE IS JUST A NUMBER FOR LATE BLOOMER REYES

Ed Reyes won the 1949 CA batting title this past season with a 355/406/879 batting slash line. Reyes is not your typical power hitting first sacker, but what the Philadelphia Sailors 36-year-old is, is he's a darn good hitter.

After being drafted by the Chicago Cougars in 1931, he was traded across town by the Cougars to the Chiefs along with 4 other players for 3B Joe Masters. In his first stint with the Chiefs he was traded to the New York Gothams with two other players (Heuser and Dalton) and at 1st round pick, in exchange for a 3rd round pick and P Rabbit Day. The Chiefs won the World Series that year after acquiring Day. In December 1939 after 3 lackluster seasons with the Gothams, he was waived and required by the Chiefs. He toiled for 2 1/2 seasons in his 2nd stint with the Chiefs and was picked up by the Detroit Dynamos (as a back-up behind 1B Red Johnson) until he was released in 1943. The Philadelphia Sailors signed him to a minor league contract and he started his Sailors career at AAA San Francisco in August of 1943. That would be the last time he ever played in a minor league game.

In his first full season with the Sailors he was primarily a pinch hitter appearing in 101 and getting just 114 plate appearances, but he made the most of those plate appearances hitting .387. In 1945 he began with the first of what is now 5 straight CA batting titles averaging a .348 batting average over the course of those 5 straight seasons.

For his Sailors career (6 seasons) he has appeared in 752 games, 2671 PA's, 2433 AB's 849 hits, 127 doubles, 17 triples, 34 home runs, 352 RBI's and scored 339 runs. Despite that success he has only appeared in 2 All-Star games (1948 and 1949) and has played on the two Sailors CA pennant winning teams of 1947 and 1948.

Reyes certainly has made the most of his 2nd- or is it 5th opportunity- when the Sailors took a chance on him with a minor league contract in the ending weeks of the 1943 season. He certainly is one of the best minor league contract signings of the last 25 years. Reyes likely won't earn HOF honors with just 1131 career hits to this point, but he clearly is not finished yet either at age 36.

GRAYS AND BULLS KNOTTED AT TWO IN BIGSBY CUP

The 4th annual Bigsby Cup, emblematic of superiority in the Great Western League, is now a best-of-three affair after the two-time defending champion Oakland Grays and Houston Bulls split the first four games of the series.

Harry Frenette paced Oakland to both of its victory as the Grays dumped Houston 10-1 in the lid lifter in the Bay Area last Wedneday and then Frenette allowed just 1 run in going the distance in a 3-1 Oakland victory in Houston yesterday. In between Frenette's starts the Bulls won a pair of games, taking an 8-4 victory on the road in game two before riding the hot bat of Hal Landrum, who had 3 hits including a homer and drove in 3 runs, to a 5-2 victory in the third game.

There had been some concern the series would have to be postponed or moved out of Houston entirely after a howling hurricane ripped through the city a week ago but damage to Bulls Stadium and the surrounding area was minimal. Game five goes this afternoon in Houston before the two clubs head west for games six and, if necessary, seven.

WINGS WALLOP COWBOYS ON COAST AGAIN

The San Francisco Wings clearly have Kansas City's number, at least on the west coast as the Wings beat the Cowboys in the Golden State for the third consecutive game. This one was at a new stadium as a record-breaking Continental Conference crowd of 55,000 jammed the recently opened Golden Gate Stadium to witness the Wings dominate the second half in a 35-14 victory over Pat Chappell and the Cowboys. San Francisco had previously beaten the Cowboys each of the last three times they hosted them including a 26-10 win in last season's Continental Football Conference championship game.

The Cowboys are just 1-4 all-time in San Francisco but are 3-0 against the defending champs when playing at Packer Park. The two-sides will stage their rematch in Kansas City on October 30 but for now the Wings have the bragging rights with a 5-0-1 record while the Cowboys, winners of the first two CFC titles, are tied with Los Angeles for second place at 4-2.

The game yesterday was even after 30 minutes, deadlocked at 14. The Wings struck first when, after a Chappell pass for Mason Matthews was intercepted deep in Cowboys territory, using 4 running plays the Wings gained 21 yards for the opening score, culminated by a 2-yard run up the middle by Ernest Key. The lead was short-lived as late in the first period it was the Wings Sam Metcalf who threw an interception that Johnny Boyland nearly returned for a score. Boyland was brought down on the San Francisco 9-yard line after a 35-yard return and two plays later Chappell connected with Pat Hill for an 8-yard scoring strike.

Another Metcalf interception, this one returned 51 yards for a score by Doug Kain, put the Cowboys up 14-7 with 3 minutes remaining in the first half but Metcalf redeemed himself quickly, equalizing the game on a 10-play, 60 yard drive that finished with an option pass from back Tom Dreps to Wes Mula with 45 seconds remaining in the second quarter.

The second half was all San Francisco as the Wings scored three more touchdowns including a 21-yard run from Ernest Key less than 4 minutes into the third period. Rich Garner ran for a game high 105 yards while Key added 81 for the Wings. It was an uncharacteristically poor game from Pat Chappell, who completed just 6 of 22 pass attempts for only 77 yards. Coupled with an ineffective rushing attack led by Mason Matthews being held to just 32 yards on 14 carries and you had a recipe for disaster for the Cowboys.

*** Long Boot Saves Day For Lobos ***

After starting the season with losses in two of their first three games, the Los Angeles Lobos have won 3 straight and are now tied with Kansas City for second place. It was a dramatic finish in Buffalo as Stan Spearin was successful on a desperation 50-yard field goal attempt with 1:04 remaining in the game to lift the Lobos to a 23-21 win over the Bulls. Spearin's heroics came less than four minutes after Bulls had pulled ahead 21-20 on a Dave Karaszewski 3-yard touchdown run after the Lobos had fumbled the ball in their own territory.

There was finally something to cheer about at Whitney Park as after two days of watching the Chicago Chiefs come up short in baseball's World Championship Series against Cleveland, the struggling Chicago Comets won their first game of the campaign after starting 0-5. Chicago scored all of its points in the second half to beat the New York Gotham 17-14 after spotting the New Yorkers a 14-0 halftime lead thanks to a pair of touchdown runs from Gothams halfback Nate Tyson. The victory snaps an 11-game losing streak dating back to the middle of last season for the Comets.

RAMBLERS BOWL OVER BOSTON

The St Louis Ramblers are already halfway towards equaling their victory total for all of last year as the Ramblers eleven improved to 3-0 on the season with a dominating 42-7 drubbing of the Boston Americans in New England yesterday.

John Sweat ran for three second quarter touchdowns as a rough Ramblers line had little trouble pushing the pile in a dominant showing from the St Louis squad. Sweat, who split the passing duties with Tom Berryman, threw for 65 yards while running for 40 more as a part of a multi-pronged Ramblers ground attack that wracked up 256 yards on the afternoon. Nick Klausen led the way, galloping for 76 yards while Berryman did much of the heavy lifting, pounding his way for 71 yards on 17 carries.

The Ramblers are the only unbeaten team in the West Division, while both Washington and Philadelphia sport spotless records in the East section. The Wasps blanked the New York Stars 28-0 in an attack led by a pair of Bob Krohn to Monte Harriman touchdown passes. Krohn, the veteran Washington signal-caller, threw for 3 scores and 143 yards on the day. In Philadelphia, halfback Greg LePage ran for 118 yards and a touchdown while Mal Herndon gained 89 yards and carried twice for scores as the Frigates downed winless Cleveland 24-7.

In other action Pittsburgh pounded winless Detroit 28-2 at Fitzpatrick Park while at Cougars Park in Chicago the hometown Wildcats spotted the Los Angeles Tigers a 14-0 lead before exploded for five touchdowns in a 35-14 triumph. Former Wildcats quarterback Dusty Sinclair had a big day against his old squad, passing for 274 yards but it proved to be a wasted effort for the Tigers signal caller.

UPSET SATURDAY AS SIX TOP TEN SCHOOLS LOSE

The weekly collegiate football top ten rankings were decimated in a wild Saturday of grid action that saw more than half of the ten highest ranked schools in the nation lose.

The top of the rankings chart remains unchanged as St Blane, Rome State and Oklahoma City State all improved to 3-0 with victories but beyond that it was a bloodbath as Detroit City College and Noble Jones College each lost for the second time this season, and both dropped out of the top ten as did first-time losers CC Los Angeles and Central Ohio. North Carolina Tech and Northern California also lost but each hung on to spots within the top ten.

On the road in Gary, IN., top ranked St Blane turned loose its fleet of pony backs with a murderous ground attack to slaughter Whitney College 48-3 before the largest crowd in Engineers football history. Fullback Roger Stanton paced the Saints attack with three touchdowns including the opening score before the game was barely a minute old.

After losing just one game in the previous three years combined, the Detroit City College Knights were upset for the second week in a row after being shutout 17-0 by Rome State. The loss drops the Knights, who won the national title a year ago and were ranked only behind St Blane the previous season, out of the top ten and allowed Rome State to retain its number two spot behind the Saints. Oklahoma City State also held strong in the third slot after the Wranglers had an easy time handing Travis College its first loss of the season, 38 to 12.

From there it gets messy as CCLA, Central Ohio and Noble Jones College all lost their spot among the game's ten best. The Coyotes were hammered 56-13 by a talented Redwood University eleven that cracked the top ten for the first time this season. The Aviators were grounded in Los Angeles, taking a 27-7 loss to Coastal California while the Colonels had just an awful time of things in being blanked 37-0 by Central Kentucky.

They were not the only ranked schools to fall as North Carolina Tech and Northern California each were on the shortend of weekend outcomes but did not slide completely out of the rankings. The Techsters were held in check by Columbia Military Academy in absorbing a 7-3 loss with the Miners were beaten 28-7 in Milwaukee by the Wisconsin State Brewers.

Redwood made the largest gain in the top ten as the Mammoths, who were just outside the chart a week ago, vaulted all the way up to #4 after their impressive showing against CCLA. Penn Catholic continued its winning ways with a 31-14 triumph over Golden Gate University to run its record to 4-0 and lay claim to the 6th spot. Baton Rogue State is, along with Cumberland, the only remaining unbeaten school from the Deep South Conference after the Red Devils rode a pair of touchdowns from both Bob Brosius and Frank Waugh to a 44-7 laugher over Louisiana Gulf Coast. The final newcomer this week is Minnesota Tech, after the Lakers led by senior quarterback Amos Byrd sailed past in-state rival St Magnus 34-14.

• Flare ups in a congressional inquiry into the fate of the Navy's role in national defense after Chairman Vinson of the House Armed Services Committee, which is conducting hearings on the Navy-Air Force squabble, charged Pentagon chiefs are bent on destroying naval aviation by progressive budget cuts.
• Argentina is spearheading a campaign in the United Nations to force an immediate atomic armistice between the United States and the Soviet Union. A UN source says Argentina and several other small or medium-sized powers want the General Assembly to call for an armistice to run for a period of years.
• Reports from Prague suggest that thousands of Czech dissidents are being snatched up by police and sent to forced labour camps where they will be forced to mine for uranium and coal.
• The last remnants of Chinese Nationalist defenses in Canton were melting away but the Reds appear focused on the pursuit of the nationalist army rather than quick capture of its capital.
  
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October 13, 1949: Chiefs Complete Amazing Comback to Win World Championship Series
 

OCTOBER 13, 1949 - Special WCS Edition

CHIEFS WIN 4 STRAIGHT TO TAKE SERIES

Just Second Team Ever to Overcome 3-0 Series Deficit

The Chicago Chiefs did what just a week ago was considered unthinkable. After falling behind 3 games to none to the Cleveland Foresters in the World Championship Series, the Chiefs took over and won the next four games to become just the second team in FABL history to overcome a 3-0 series deficit.

The other was the 1911 Toronto Wolves, who dropped the first 3 games of their Series with Detroit before winning four straight: Game 4 3-1 in 11 innings, game 5 3-2 in 10 innings before only needing nine to even the Series with a 4-3 win in the sixth game setting up a relatively easy 5-0 win to complete the improbable comeback.

The 1918 Series between Detroit and the Chicago Cougars also nearly had a comeback from 3-0 as the Dynamos won the first 3 games before the Cougars roared back to win 3 straight. Chicago's comeback would fall short as Detroit recovered to take game seven.

While the 1911 Wolves had an easy time in their game seven, the Chiefs needed a late rally and a walk-off rbi double from Joe Rutherford in the bottom of the 11th inning to claim a 7-6 victory and close the book on an incredible turnaround.

Perhaps it should have been expected from the Chiefs, who also staged a huge comeback in the 1938 WCS -the last time they were world champions- as they rallied from a 3-1 deficit to the Brooklyn Kings before winning three in a row to claim the crown.

GAME 5: CHICAGO 3 CLEVELAND 0

The Chiefs followed up Al Miller's 5-0 shutout in game four with another tremendous pitching effort. This one came from young John Stallings as the 24-year-old continued his coming out party with a 4-hit complete game shutout for his first career WCS victory. John Jackson was nearly as good for the Foresters, allowing just 3 hits in 7 and two-thirds innings of work.

Two of those 3 hits off of Jackson came in the first inning as Jackson allowed a lead-off double to Bill May and then, clearly unnerved, walked Artie D'Alessandro and Joe Rutherford to load the bases with nobody out. Jackson looked like he might just get out of the jam after first Tim Hopkins and then Pete Casstevens hit fly balls that were not deep enough to allow May to tag. However, Dave Krieger followed with a 2-out single that plated both May and D'Alessandro.

Chicago would add an insurance run in the top of the 8th, not that Stallings needed it, when a pair of Cleveland errors lead to an unearned run- scored without a hit in the inning- made the score 3-0.

Up to that point Stallings had allowed just two Cleveland baserunners to reach second base and none any further. That changed in the home half of the 8th frame when miscues from D'Alessandro and Bob Martin combined with a walk to Luke Berry loaded the bases with two-out, but Stallings got Charlie Ross to fly out to end the threat. A 1-2-3 inning from Stallings, which culminated with his 4th strikeout of the game, ended the proceedings.

GAME 6: CHICAGO 7 CLEVELAND 1

The game was much tighter than the final score indicated as the Chiefs put it away with 3 runs in the bottom of the 8th inning in a 6-hit frame that chased Cleveland starter Ducky Davis. The Chiefs opened the scoring in the bottom of the first thanks to an error by Lorenzo Samuels that allowed Bill May to reach base. Artie D'Alessandro singled May to third and he scored on a fielders choice. Cleveland answered quickly in the top of the second when Ivey Henley deposited a Charlie Bingham knuckle ball that did not knuckle into the left field seats.

In the fourth inning the Chiefs took the lead for good when they scored twice thanks to four straight singles off the bats of D'Alessandro, Tim Hopkins, Pete Casstevens and Dave Krieger. A Charlie Artuso rbi single in the home half of the sixth increased the lead to 4-1 and the big 8th inning outburst removed any doubt that there would be a seventh game the following day.

GAME 7: CHICAGO 7 CLEVELAND 6 (11 innings)

For just the second time in FABL history a game seven needed extra innings. The first was 7 years ago when the New York Gothams scored twice in the top of the 10th inning to beat the New York Stars 3-1. That being said we have seen a quite a few series go the distance in recent years. This will be the sixth time this decade the WCS has needed a 7th game but the first since the New York Stars rallied from 3-1 deficit to beat the Washington Eagles in 1946. From 1941-44 a record four straight series went the distance. The Chiefs game seven starter, Al Miller, was the game six winner in 1938 when the Chiefs rallied from a 3 games to one deficit to beat Brooklyn while the Foresters franchise won a laugher by an 18-3 count in game seven after overcoming a 3-1 deficit against the New York Gothams.

This game seven would prove to be a very tense affair that saw the Foresters jump out to a quick 4-0 lead after two innings. That prompted Chicago manager Joe Ward to pull Miller in the second inning and give the ball to Joe Stallings, the game five winner. Stallings was not at the top of his game, but neither was Cleveland's ace Adrian Czerwinski.

Chicago scratched out a run in the third inning and added two more in the bottom of the fourth courtesy of a rbi double from Charlie Artuso followed by Stallings helping with his bat by delivering a rbi single. Meanwhile, Stallings arm was holding Cleveland in check and in the bottom of the seventh Whitney Field erupted when Tim Hopkins doubled in Bill May to tie the game.

The excitement was short-lived as Stallings, clearly tiring, issued a pair of walks sandwiching a strikeout of Paul Porter. Mark Smith then laced a one-out double to score two and suddenly the Foresters were up 6-4 heading into the bottom of the 8th inning.

The story for Chicago has been a comeback from a 3-0 series deficit and they had another comeback in them when Dave Krieger led off with a single and would move to third on a Bob Martin base hit. Artuso would deliver a sacrifice fly to score Kreiger and chase Czerwinski. Walt Hill was greeted by a pinch-hit single off the bat of Hank Stratton that tied the game at 6.

It stayed that way until the bottom of the 11th inning when, after Cleveland had stranded runners on first and second in the top half, Artie D'Alessandro, who would have 9 hits in the series and be named MVP, worked John Jackson, who had come on in the 10th for Cleveland, for a walk. Joe Rutherford then ended the series with a sharp double allowing D'Alessandro to cross the plate with the series winning run.

THE 1949 WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES AT A GLANCE

THREE IN A ROW FOR OAKLAND

Grays Stop Houston in 6 For Bigsby Cup

The Oakland Grays came up with 3 consecutive strong pitching performances to rally from a 2 games to one deficit and claim their third straight Bigsby Cup title. The Grays, who finished first in the Great Western League for the third year in a row, ousted the Houston Bulls in 6 games for the second straight season.

The two clubs split the opening two games of the best-of-seven series in Oakland with the Grays winning a laugher by a 10-1 count in the opener but the Bulls rebounding with an 8-4 win in game two. Despite a hurricane that ripped through Houston just 5 days prior, game three of the series went as scheduled at Bulls Stadium and the hosts won 5-2 behind 3 hits from shortstop Bill Landrum.

Harry Frenette, the game one winner who has been a part of all 3 Grays titles plus won a World Championship Series with the New York Gothams in 1942, followed up a strong showing in the opening game rout with another fine effort in the fourth game. Frenette scattered 7 hits in a complete 3-1 victory that evened the series.

Game Five was an outstanding pitching duel that was scoreless until Oakland catcher Joe Lloyd hit a 2-run double in the top of the 14th inning. It would hold up as the Grays won by that 2-0 score to take a 3 games to two lead in the series. Jack Goff and Bill Douglass combined on 14 shutout innings for the winners. The Grays retuned home and wrapped up the series at Grays Park with Whitey Reynolds going the distance in a 3-1 victory.

NAHC SEASON TO BEGIN TODAY

The North American Hockey Confederation's regular season gets underway this evening with the regular season champions from a year ago -the Boston Bees- entertaining the Detroit Motors in the lone game on the docket. The Bees have plenty to prove this season after finishing with the best regular season record a year ago by an 11-point margin only to be upset in 5 games in the Challenge Cup Finals by the Toronto Dukes. This after Boston, which won five Challenge Cups this decade, was knocked off by the Dukes in the semi-finals the previous season despite finishing ahead of them in the standings.

The two-time defending Cup champion Dukes, who open their season Saturday evening in Chicago, finished with the best preseason record at 5-2-0. Detroit's 21-year-old rookie Lou Barber, who was the first overall selection in the 1948 NAHC draft, led all preseason scorers with 10 points including 5 goals.

The Chicago Packers received some bad news in training camp when they learned that puck-moving defenseman Jesse Santoro will miss at least a month after suffering a knee injury in a preseason game last week. The 23-year-old Worcester, Ma. native is one of the few American-born players in the league and coming off an outstanding sophomore season that earned him a spot as a second team All-Star a year ago. After picking up 23 points his rookie season, Santoro improved to 9-27-36 a year ago. Santoro is not the only Packers player nursing an injury as 3-time McDaniels Award winning center Tommy Burns suffered a dislocated jaw in camp. Burns may not be at 100% but the 29-year-old whose 223 goals this decade are more than any other NAHC player, says he will be in the lineup Saturday to face Toronto.

DESMARAIS RETURNING TO AMERICA

WILL DEFEND MIDDLEWEIGHT CROWN

World Middleweight boxing champion Edouard Desmarais has decided to end his stay in France and will cross the Atlantic in the coming weeks to prepare for his next title defense. The 33-year-old Frenchman last fought in early June, knocking out Adrian Petrie to regain the World Title he had lost to Petrie in a controversial decision in Montreal last October.

The champ quietly boarded a luxury liner and sailed home in August without a word, leaving no indication as to what his future plans might be. Many had speculated that after 46 professional fights, and a 44-2 record, Desmarais may have decided to retire but instead his handlers announced yesterday that Desmarais will face unbeaten Cleveland-born fighter Davis Owens in early December. The bout against the 25-year-old Owens, who sports a perfect 20-0 record, is set for December 10 in Detroit at Thompson Palladium. Desmarais is expected to fly to New York in the next couple of weeks and spend December training at Billy Baker's gym in Philadelphia.

UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS

• Oct 18- Bigsby Garden, New York City - rising middleweights Tommy Campbell (22-2-1) vs Davis Owens (19-0)
• Oct 21- Chesapeake Arena, Baltimore- Welterweight contender Danny Rutledge (17-1) vs Rudy Perry (28-5-1)
• Oct 25- National Auditorium, Washington DC - middleweights Bobby Price (22-4) vs Millard Shelton (25-5)
• Oct 31- London, England - WW contender Danny Julian (25-1-1) vs Charles Hickson (17-1-1) and rising welterweights Archie O'Carry (17-1-1) vs Lewis Kernuish (17-0)
• Nov 12 - Bigsby Garden, New York City - World Welterweight champion Mac Erickson (20-0) defends his title against Mark Fountain (27-4-1)
• Dec 10- Thompson Palladium, Detroit - World Middleweight champion Edouard Desmarais (44-2) defends his title against Davis Owens (20-0).

• After Congress slapped a "rush" tag on President Truman's request for more than $1.3 billion to finance the foreign military aid program Congressional leaders informed the President that Congress will adjourn Saturday unless unexpected complications occur.
• The House Armed Services Committee was told that Russia has a strong tactical air force to support its ground attack, while the US has languished in that area. That from leaders of the Navy who also knocked the Air Force's B-36 bomber, stating the Soviets probably have guided missiles which could find and knock down the high flying B-36s.
• President Truman renewed his opposition to a 58-group Air Force, telling members of the Senate Appropriations Committee that he still wants a 48-group combat air force. The Senate prefers 48 but the House is calling for the Air Force to be increased to 58.
• East Germany, the Soviet Union's newest satellite, pledged to give unswerving loyalty to Russia. That from Otto Grotewohl, in his speech after being unanimously confirmed as the first Communist Prime Minister of the new Soviet zone republic.
  
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October 17, 1949
 

OCTOBER 17, 1949

DUGOUT SHAKEUP AS FIVE FABL TEAMS LOOKING FOR SKIPPERS

The news that Pinky Howard and Hugh Luckey were both allowed to leave their managerial positions comes as a huge surprise to start what is promising to be a busy office for FABL executives. The biggest shock is that Howard was not retained by the Cleveland Foresters after leading the club to the Continental Association pennant and within a game of winning just the second World Championship Series in franchise history. Luckey, not being retained after leading St Louis to back-to-back world titles in 1947 and 1948 also caught observers off guard.

The Boston Minutemen elected not to bring Tom Steffen back for a third year while Washington and Pittsburgh are now searching after the Eagles John Lawrence and Miners Bob Beelman each decided to retire from the sport.

The only official word out of Cleveland is that Howard's contract was not renewed, and he has left the team. Whether that means the Foresters did not attempt to resign him or that Howard's demands for a new deal where more expensive than Cleveland owner Richard Marshall was willing to pay is uncertain. Howard's departure after four seasons comes after he guided the team to a 95-59 season after winning just 60 games the previous year. It is not just the manager as the Foresters parted ways with nearly their entire bench staff.

One early rumour has Howard possibly tabbed for the now-vacant St Louis job as the 55-year-old spent half a dozen years as a player with the Pioneers and was a part of their 1920 World Championship club.

Luckey had been with St Louis since 1934, serving as a bench-coach for 8 years before taking over as the manager in 1942. The Pioneers slumped to 67-87 this season after back to back 90+ win seasons and a pair of WCS victories over the Philadelphia Sailors. The 56-year-old Luckey is 614-618 as a big league manager.

Tom Steffen spent two years as the manager of the Boston Minutemen, but will not be back. Steffen guided the club to back-to-back 5th place finishes and finished with a 151-157 record during that time. It was a part of a wholesale cleaning by Minutemen management which also will be searching for a bench coach, hitting coach and scouting director.

John Lawrence retired at the age of 68 after 9 years running the Washington Eagles bench. He led the Eagles to a pennant in 1946 and had them in the first division for seven consecutive seasons after inheriting a struggling ballclub that had not finished in the top half of the Federal Association in over a decade. He also spent some time as the manager of the Cannons when they were based in Baltimore and owns an 877-931 career record as a bench boss.

Bob Beelman is also 68 and steps down after two seasons as the manager of the rebuilding Pittsburgh Miners. The team endured back to back 64-90 seasons during his tenure.

*** Scouting Director Openings ***

The Miners, Minutemen, Foresters and Pioneers are among the 6 teams searching for a new head of their scouting department as well. The others are the New York Gothams and Philadelphia Sailors. The FABL draft is a little less than 3 months away.


Baseball writers across the country will cast ballots in the coming days to select the names they feel are deserving to be named winners of the three major awards for each association. Often there is a hotly contested debate between a number of potentially worthy candidates and in some instances that will be the case this year but not when deciding upon the top pitcher in each association.

The Continental Allen Award has likely had the difficult to spell name of Adam Czerwinski engraved on it for the past couple of months. Despite some struggles in the tail end of the World Championship Series, the 24-year-old known as "The Mad Professor" had himself an incredible season and is the clear choice for the CA trophy.

Czerwinski won 26 games, a total only surpassed by Tom Barrell and Sam Sheppard in the modern era, this past season and his 2.88 era was just 0.01 behind Toronto's George Garrison for the Continental Association lead. In a turnaround that mirrored the change the Cleveland organization made this season; Czerwinski went from a struggling rookie who posted a 4-11 mark with a 6.04 era a year ago to the best pitcher in his association and his 26-7 record was a major reason the Foresters went from worst to first in 1949. We could talk about other pitchers who performed well this season but there is simply no competition for The Mad Professor when it comes to the Continental Association Allen Award.

The Federal Association Allen race is nearly as cut and dried. Some might point to the tremendous second half that 24-year-old John Stallings had to lead the Chicago Chiefs to the Fed flag. Stallings (20-5, 3.26) went 10-0 with a 2.78 era from mid-July until the end of the season. Numbers that in most years would be good enough to win the Allen Award but not this season thanks to the incredible season from Detroit youngster Carl Potter.

Potter nearly matched Stallings in the second half, with the 23-year-old going 11-4 with a 1.67 era after July 10 and overall, the Philadelphia native posted a 22-8 mark with a 1.97 era. The earned run mark was the third lowest of the modern era, trailing only Lou Ellertson's 1.61 in 1945 and Deuce Barrell's 1.76 in 1942. Potter, who made his big league debut at the age of 18, is already a 4-year veteran and his next FABL victory will be the 80th of his young career.

*** CA Whitney Award A Tough Call ***

Al Tucker had a marvelous season winning a batting title for a struggling St Louis Pioneers club, Edwin Hackberry had a breakout year in Detroit and Tim Hopkins was terrific for the World Champion Chicago Chiefs but the clear choice for the Federal Association Whitney Award has to be Red Johnson. The 32-year-old New York Gothams first baseman already owns three Whitney's but after leading all of FABL in both homers (52) and rbi's (137) to go along with a .304 batting average, Big Timber better clear off a little more space in his trophy case.

The picture is far less clear in the Continental Association where there is no obvious choice. Some might argue for young Brooklyn outfielder Ralph Johnson (.321,27,102), who won both the Whitney and Kellogg Awards as a rookie in 1947. Others might point to either Lorenzo Samuels (.309,26,88) or Jim Adams Jr. (.326,12,88) of the surprising Cleveland Foresters. Maybe a case can be made for Sailors veteran first baseman Ed Reyes (.355,6,63), who just won his 5th straight Continental batting crown. There is no clear-cut choice but our vote, after much debate, goes to Bill Barrett (.300,37,104) of the New York Stars. If he wins it will be Barrett's 5th Whitney Award. Only Max Morris, Bobby Barrell and Al Wheeler have won more.

Finally, we have the Kellogg Award, a newcomer to the parade as the top rookie trophy has only been in existence since 1946. Detroit has had two of the three previous winners in the Fed in Wally Hunter and Edwin Hackberry. We will call it 3 for 4 for the Dynamos with our vote going to Jack Miller (14-11, 3.56) over Washington outfielder Mickey Holloway (.265,15,66). In the Continental Association, the Brooklyn Kings have dominated the Kellogg with 3 straight winners in Leo Hayden, Ralph Johnson and Pat Petty. Kings fans will point to Joe Potts (15-10, 3.56), who had a terrific debut season, but he will finish second on our ballot, sandwiched between a pair of Montreal Saints. Joe Austin (.310,5,62), who led FABL with 53 stolen bases and was second in the CA with 109 runs scored, gets our vote. His teammate Otis O'Keefe (.293,17,97) makes it an exceptionally close raise between the top three.

The office of FABL President Sam Belton will announce the award winners between October 23-25.

MARTIN ANNOUNCES RETIREMENT

It comes as only a mild surprise that Bob Martin announced immediately following his Chicago Chiefs World Championship Series victory that this was his final season of baseball. The 42-year-old leaves as the Chiefs all-time leader in most counting stats and his 3,314 career hits ranks him 8th all-time in big league baseball history.

Martin spent his entire career with the Chiefs, being selected by the club out of high school in 1925 and making his big league debut three years later. He was a three time all-star and a key piece on 3 World Championship teams, delivering two of his 19 career WCS hits in game seven of the victory over Cleveland last week.

Many feared Martin's career might have ended in July of 1948 when he suffered a devastating knee injury that sidelined him for nearly 13 months. Martin wanted to go out on his own terms and battled back from the injury to make his return in late July for the Chiefs pennant run. His desire to return only increased after the Chiefs selected his son Bill from the Chicago Cougars in the rule five draft last December.

Bill spent the entire season with the Chiefs, but as a backup to Pete Casstevens behind the plate appeared in just 31 games. On August 14 in Detroit, Bob and Bill became just the second father-son combo in FABL history ever to be in the starting lineup together, and the first that was not simply a publicity stunt as was the case with the Boston Minutemen in 1904 when manager Lynwood Trease came out of retirement to catch two games being pitched by his son Woody Trease.

Bob Martin led the Federal Association in hits four times and won a batting title with a .351 average in 1932. He finishes with a career batting average of .324 and appeared in 2,477 regular season games: 14th most all-time. Martin should be a lock to one day be enshrined in the baseball Hall of Fame.

• Bob Martin was not the only FABL all-star to announce his retirement. Longtime shortstop George Dawson decided to retire as he was offered a broadcasting job with the Cleveland Foresters. A 15-year veteran and 3-time all-star, Dawson owns a career .297/.345/.379 (102 OPS+) batting line through 1,772 FABL games with the Foresters, Dynamos, Eagles, and Cougars. He accumulated 237 doubles, 187 steals, 912 runs, and 647 RBIs
• Hank Barnett, who won a Whitney Award in 1942 and was named to the all-star team 7-times also called it quits. The 40-year-old infielder played for Montreal, both Chicago teams and Brooklyn over a 19-year career that saw him appear in 2,536 games and amass 2,671 hits - which places him 26th all-time in that category.
• Art Spencer was twice named an all-star during his 16-season career, spent entirely with the Boston Minutemen. Spencer appeared in 1,424 games and was a career .281 hitter.
• 38-year-old righthander Jack Elder, who went 141-173 over a decade and a half with the Gothams and Washington, also retired. Elder was named to the Federal Association all-star team in 1939, the year he won a career high 20 games for the Eagles. Elder lost 20 the same season and would have a second consecutive 20-loss campaign the following year.
• 43-year old outfielder Doc Love played 1301 FABL games with Detroit, Cincinnati and the Cougars while also having a brief stop in the Great Western League with San Diego. He had been out of FABL since 1942 but the Cougars gave him 3 plate appearances in September to end his career as a big leaguer. Love hit .322 in 1937 and was an all-star for the Cougars.
• Ray Ford missed more than 3 years of his prime during the war but still was a 2-time all-star infielder who appeared in 1,246 games for the Cougars. He announces his retirement at the age of 37.
• While in the end there are six teams looking for new managers, word out of Chicago is it was almost seven. Tip Harrison of the Chicago Daily News reports the Cougars waited until the playoffs before giving Max Wilder an third year. Rumors around the Cougars organization is they were hoping Tom Barrell got the axe in Brooklyn.

MAIL & EMPIRE INTERVIEW WITH FRED BARRELL

After the Chicago Chiefs just completed an epic comeback to win the World Series after trailing 3-0 Brett was able to arrange a sit-down interview with Wolves manager Fred Barrell in the team offices. The interview was a wide-ranging talk on many subjects not all related to the Wolves or even baseball.
Here is part of the interview:

Brett Bing (Mail & Empire): With the baseball season just concluded, after a remarkable comeback by Chicago to defeat Cleveland, what are your thoughts about your first year as a manager in the FABL?
Fred Barrell: First let me congratulate the both the Chiefs and Foresters, what a series! The baseball was excellent, it must have been riveting for the fans, the stadiums were filled with fans who treated to a series that will be talked about for years. It is too bad a team has to lose, baseball always has a winner and loser there are no ties.

Although the CA team lost the series it is no reflection on what the team achieved in 1949. Foresters have no reasons to hang their heads. When it comes down to a 161st game in a season is there really loser?

Congratulations to the Chiefs, where the Wolves had a personal interest in Charlie Artuso who has now been a part of two championship teams. Charlie is one of the classiest ballplayers I have ever met both on and off the field. I remember trying to solve his puzzle, with limited success, while behind the plate. I met the real Charlie this spring, easy to manage, he just goes out every day to tend to business without complaint. He would do whatever was required to help the Wolves win a game. He came to me in late June to ask whether he should let it known to the GM that he would be amenable to a trade if the Wolves could get a good return and the trade would be to a contender. I told him that was a tough decision that he would have make because the fans, teammates would miss his presence in Toronto. He went to management in early July, the result seems to have worked out for both sides. Wolves got two young players in Harry Pomeroy, Joe DeMott, Charlie became a member of World Series champ in Chicago.

You may have noticed that I am avoiding your original question. I will answer it now. One word can summarize my thoughts on my first year as Wolves' manager, disappointment. The majority of disappointment is in myself, I have to improve my handling of the team in all facets going into 1950. My staff, all of whom will be returning, did an exceptional job in giving me all the different scenarios available to me on an at bat, inning, game, upcoming week basis. As a 72-82 record says I did not make all the proper moves, I did not put the team in the best position to win in many cases. The fans should know that the ultimate responsibility lies with me, therefore so does the record. If they are looking where to place the blame, it rests solely on my shoulders. The team must and will improve going forward, the pieces are in place I just have to execute properly, look at what the Chiefs and Foresters did this past season.

BB: That is a rather blunt assessment of 1949. How will your managing skills improve going forward?
FRED BARELL: The most important thing I learned is that I have to thinking ahead at all times. Behind the plate I was thinking 2 or 3 pitches ahead to retire the batter. At the plate I thinking about the next offering from the pitcher. As a manager you have to be thinking at least two or three batters, if not 2 or innings ahead to give your team the best chance to win. I also have to work on putting players in best position to succeed, I don't throw or swing at the ball but my job is give the batter or pitcher the best opportunity to accomplish their task at hand. I believe the, led by Frank McCormick, George Garrison, we have the right foundation to bring a title back to Canada, Do we require more pieces? Every team in the league would answer in the affirmative. You can never have too much talent or depth.

BB: Where do you see the needs be for improvement in 1950?
FRED BARELL: Obviously as you have stated many times in your column the team must improve defensively going forward. Being the worst fielding team in the CA is definitely not going to get you a pennant, Giving teams extra outs either due to errors or plays not made is going to be a major focus from spring training on for the Wolves. As a team we cannot throw to wrong the base which just compounds a mistake, Lloyd McGowan, who works with the infielders will be spending countless hours with the players with drills until the right play becomes second nature. The same holds true for Dick Dennis with the outfielders. We will be a better fielding team in 1950. Tightening up in the field will decrease runs against, if the opposition scores less then we can win with fewer runs.

Another area that has to improve is the bullpen. Again a CA worst in 1949 with a combined ERA of 5.26 is unacceptable, the bright spot is it seems that Lou Jayson is fully recovered from elbow surgery. When Lou went down in the spring I thought it would open the door for someone to step through to become a reliable fireman in the late innings. As much as Johnny Franklin worked with the guys in the 'pen no one became a reliable option to hand the ball to a the starter began tire. We have started something new after the All-Star game break that shows promise for the future. Dick and Johnny came to me with an idea of charting every pitch in a tic-tac-toe grid then use a code for the result, CS for called strike, SS for swing strike, F for foul ball, B for ball, H for hit, GO for ground out, FO for fly out. We had a youngster from the front office doing it for all the home games. We refined it a little by starting new sheet for each batter then starting taking the kid with us on the road in September when we saw how much information the summary was giving us every day. I think we have just scratched the surface on what this data can give us going into the new decade.

One more facet of the game the fans can look for improvement is in the Wolves baserunning, I plan to be more daring on the basepaths. Will we run into outs? Of course but overall I think we will put more pressure on the opposition.

BB: What are your plans for the off-season?
FRED BARELL: Baseball in the front office is now 12 months a year. Mr. Millard has requested that I become more involved with the GM on setting the up the system with my scouting background. With Mr. Millard it is not really a request. So I am down at the Wolves office almost daily helping with the review, along with possible Rule 5 Draft targets. I am enjoying the time spent on this task. John's Dukes are opening up their season so Hobie will be asking me to go to games to see his uncle Quinton on the ice. I am also trying to insure that both Les Ledbetter, John Wells go to the Cuban Winter League to further their development. There will definitely be a trip to Cuba in December.

BB: You will keep busy.

This is a portion of the interview Brett may publish more if time permits in the winter.

NAHC SEASON OPENS

The North American Hockey Confederation dropped the puck on its 41st season Wednesday evening. The six-team loop, which made its debut in 1909-10, saw the Toronto Dukes win their second straight Challenge Cup last spring after downing the Boston Bees in five games.

According to a preseason poll of league executives and media members the Bees, who have won 5 Cups in the past 9 years are considered the team to beat this season, followed by Toronto -which won the other 4 titles this decade- and the Chicago Packers. The Packers are the only active NAHC club never to hoist the Challenge Cup.

Top players to watch are Boston's Wilbur Chandler, Chicago's Tommy Burns and Quinton Pollack of the Dukes, who led the NAHC in points last season and was named the winner of McDaniels Trophy as league MVP. That trio will likely compete for the scoring title this season although Burns will miss the opening week of the campaign as he recovers from a dislocated jaw.

The big offseason news was a blockbuster deal made by the Packers to solidify their defense. Chicago acquired former New York Shamrocks captain Bert McColley in hopes the team with what is considered the deepest offense in the league, can match Boston and Toronto on the backend.

NAHC WEEKLY RECAP

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 12

Detroit 0 at Boston 2 - Pierre Melancon turned aside all 28 shots he faced as second period goals from Tommy hart and Mark Dyck accounted for all the scoring in 2-0 Boston victory to open the NAHC campaign. The loss was made tougher for Detroit with news that Louis Rocheleau, last season's NAHC rookie of the year, suffered a back injury and early indications are he is done for the season.

THURSDAY OCTOBER 13

Montreal 0 at Chicago 3 - The Packers got off to a quick start as first period goals from Max Ducharme and Marty Mahoney led the Packers to a 3-0 win at Lakeside Auditorium over visiting Montreal. Jarrett McGlynn had the final Packers tally while Norm Hanson stopped all 18 shots he faced for his 19th career shutout. The Packers scored 3 times despite firing only 14 shots on Vals netminder Tom Brockers in the game. Bert McColley, acquired by Chicago from New York over the summer, had an assist in his Packers debut.

SATURDAY OCTOBER 15

Montreal 2 at New York 3 - Despite being outshot 43-20, the New York Shamrocks edged the Montreal Valiants 3-2. Etienne Tremblay was terrific in the New York net, making 41 saves while veteran Tom Brockers struggled for the second time this season in the Valiants cage. George Collingsworth, a 22-year-old former fourth round pick, opened the scoring for the Shamrocks in the first period of his NAHC debut, Robert Stevens responded for Montreal in the opening minute of the middle frame but by the end of the second stanza the Greenshirts led 3-1 on goals from Jocko Gregg and Tommy Brescia. Pat Coulter cut the New York lead to just one with a little under 5 minutes remaining but that was as close as the Vals could get.

Toronto 2 at Chicago 2 -A rematch of last season's semi-final series saw the Dukes and Packers skate to a 2-2 draw. Doug Zimmerman and last season's scoring leader Quinton Pollack scored for tie visitors while Marty Mahoney -with his second goal in two games- and Derek Gubb replied for Chicago, which played without star Tommy Burns for the second game in a row as Burns continues to recover from a dislocated jaw.

SUNDAY OCTOBER 16

Boston 6 at New York 3 - Garrett Kauffeldt scored twice in the first period to help the Boston Bees double the Shamrocks 6-3 at Bigsby Garden. Wilbur Chandler also scored twice for the winners with singles going to Robert Walker and Jacob Gron. Orval Cabbell, Alfie Dennis and Simon Savard replied for New York. Boston fired 55 shorts on Alex Sorrell in the Shamrocks net, including 28 in a 3-goal third period.

Detroit 2 at Toronto 4 -After raising their second consecutive and record 8th Challenge Cup winning banner to the roof at Dominion Gardens, the Toronto Dukes doubled the visiting Detroit Motors 4-2. The game was knotted at two until midway through the third period when Doug Zimmerman scored the game winner. JC Martel would add an empty-netter in the final minute to seal the victory.
The Toronto Dukes start with a win and a tie. Norm Hansen stood on his head Opening Night at Lakeside Auditorium turning aside 31 of 33 as the Dukes had to settle for a 2-2 tie before 18,440 welcoming back the NAHC for another season. Returning home the team got into a run and gun game Sunday with the Detroit Motors in a contest that saw a total of 72 shots on goal. J.C. Martel iced the game with an empty netter at 19:34 for 4-2 win.

Toronto Dukes Coach Jack Barrell: "We will be working, as usual, on our defensive game before we go into Montreal and New York this week. Gordie Broadway is the only reason we have 3 points. Defensive responsibilities have to come first. Time to eliminate bad habits early before they become a way of life. No more stick checking, taking the man will be the focus in practice."

RECORD SETTING DAY FOR WASPS IN ROUT OF BOSTON

It was a career day for Washington quarterback Bob Krohn and receiver Monte Harriman in the Wasps 63-21 victory over the Boston Americans yesterday. Krohn threw a single game record 7 touchdown passes including 5 to Harriman. Harriman made 7 catches in total for 134 yards and his 30 points scored is the third highest since the AFA began tracking individual stats in 1932. Only Chicago's Lloyd Graybeall (36) in 1934 and Detroit's Stan Vaught (31) in 1942 have ever scored more points in a single AFA game.

The Washington Wasps also set a modern (post 1931) record with their 63 points. The only other AFA team in the modern era to score 60 or more points in a single game was the 1934 Pittsburgh Paladins who blasted Brooklyn 61-0 in a game that season. The 84 combined points for the Wasps and Americans is also a modern record, besting the previous mark of 80 established just two years ago in a 42-38 Boston win over Cleveland. Boston and high scoring games is seemingly a trend as the Americans already had a 73 point game this season (a 42-31 loss to New York) and they were a part of the third highest scoring game in modern AFA history when they beat Detroit 42-37 in 1939.

With the victory the Wasps improve to 4-0 and have a one game lead on the Philadelphia Frigates heading into next Sunday's showdown between the two clubs at Sailors Memorial Stadium in Philadelphia. The Frigates suffered their first loss of the season when they fell 30-24 on the road in Chicago. The Frigates had taken the lead for the first time in the game with just 6:57 remaining when Greg LePage ran for a 30-yard touchdown to make the score 24-21 but Chicago quarterback Ricky McCallister engineered a quick drive that saw him complete 5 passes for 57 yards in less than 3 minutes, ending with a 14-yard scoring strike to put Chicago back in the lead 27-24 and a late field goal by the Wildcats rounded out the scoring.

Chicago is 3-1 with the victory but still looking up at St Louis in the West Division after the Ramblers bounced Cleveland 34-7 for their fourth consecutive victory. Nick Klausen, who leads the AFA in rushing with 354 yards on the season, carried for 83 and 2 touchdowns in the win over the Finches.

Don Penna kicked 4 field goals while Archie Rawlings threw for 246 yards to lead the New York Stars to 19-10 win at home over the Pittsburgh Paladins while in Detroit the winless Maroons tried to stage a fourth period comeback but ultimately fell short in drop a 24-21 decision to the Los Angeles Tigers. Dusty Sinclair had a big game for the winners, passing for 238 yards while also carrying the ball 9 times for 32 yards rushing.

ANOTHER WEST COAST LOSS FOR COWBOYS

The Kansas City Cowboys are now winless in 5 trips to the West Coast and have dropped to third place in the Continental Football Conference after falling to the Los Angeles Lobos 41-28 at Bigsby Stadium Friday evening. The loss is the third straight for the Cowboys and the first time they have ever dropped three consecutive games.

Kansas City, which has not won a game in California since 1947, fell at home to the Lobos two weeks ago and then were thumped on the road last week by the first place San Francisco Wings. The loss to Los Angles allows the Lobos to vault past Kansas City and puts the struggling Cowboys record on the season at 3-3. It does not get any easier for Kansas City but they do get a week off before they entertain the first place Wings at Packer Field on October 30.

The story on Friday was the struggles once more for Cowboys quarterback and two-time CFC most valuable player Pat Chappell. The former St. Magnus three-sport star had a rough time of things up the coast in San Francisco last week but his first half against Los Angeles was the stuff of nightmares.

Chappell's first pass of the game was intercepted, and 2 plays later turned into the Lobos opening score. Two series later he fumbled after a 5-yard scramble and that turnover, on his own 21-yard line, led to a second Lobos score and a 14-0 deficit at the end of the first period. Chappell did rebound with a nice drive to start the second quarter, one that culminated in a 10-yard scoring pass to Pat Hill to chop the Lobos lead in half to 14-7.

The problems continued as each of Chappell's first two passes in the third quarter -both targeted for Tom Manning, were also intercepted and on the second one the Lobos capitalized with a 22-yard Jackie Wendt to Bill Drown touchdown to make the score 21-7 for Los Angeles.

Despite the struggles so far, the Cowboys still had a chance to win the game after Chappell displayed some of his old magic in engineering a pair of quick score drives before the end of the third quarter, each culminating in a touchdown pass, to tie the game at 21.

There was no comeback story for the Cowboys as Los Angeles took over in the final period, pushing the ball across the goal line three times to finish with the 41-28 victory. Bill Drown was the story for LA, running for 79 yards and three touchdowns including a key 51-yard scoring gallop to snap the 21-21 tie. Drown also had 4 catches for 84 yards including that 22-yard touchdown catch early in the second half. Between Drown and Ham Yates, who broke off some big carries and gained 148 yards on the ground in total, the Cowboys defense was overmatched all day. Chappell, despite what is considered an awful day for him, still managed to throw for 299 yards and 4 touchdowns. Perhaps it is just expectations are so high there will be days when the Cowboys - who have been dominant throughout their existence- are merely ordinary.

WINGS ROUT BULLS TO STAY UNBEATEN

Sam Metcalf threw for 179 yards and three touchdowns as the San Francisco Wings avenged the only blemish on their record with a convincing 35-7 victory at Golden Gate Stadium over Buffalo. Like they did three weeks ago in Western New York, the Wings opened up a 21-0 lead at the break but this time, unlike that day when the Bulls scored three majors of their own in the second half to claim a 21-21 draw, there was no comeback story for Buffalo.

After San Francisco used an interception return for a score from Donnie Carney and a blocked punt that Lowell Wagner scooped up and raced 35 yards for a touchdown in the opening half, Metcalf went to work in the third period, sealing the win with an 8-yard scoring toss to Rich Garner and a 7-yarder to Wes Mula. At 6-0-1, the Wings lead the CFC and will look to continue their winning ways with a trip to New York next weekend to face the struggling Gothams.

CRESCENTS DOMINATE GRID GOTHAMS

John Walker scored three first quarter touchdowns in New Orleans to help the hometown Crescents take a quick 21-0 lead and then coast to a 45-7 victory over the visiting New York Gothams. Since winning their season opener in Buffalo, the Gothams have dropped 4 straight games while the Crescents are now 4-3 and tied with Kansas City for third place.

Walker would add another touchdown in the second period, this one on a 64-yard reception from Vince Gallegos. The sophomore New Orleans quarterback also had a big afternoon, heaving 5 scoring throws as part of his 15-for-26, 338 yard passing day. In contrast, Gothams starter Randy Thomas completed just 1 of 11 pass attempts all day and the club finished with just 4 yards through the air.

BATON ROGUE STATE NO MATCH FOR FIGHTING SAINTS

The pride of the South was just another football team Saturday against one of the most destructive forces ever turned loose on the gridiron. Striking with lightning speed and shiftiness and flashing blocking which was reminiscent of the finest seen in the early days of the sport in front of the likes of John Oxendine or Urban Dane, St Blane was a veritable tornado of annihilation in rolling up 27 points against Bayou State in the first fifteen minutes and then it coasted in for a 44-0 victory.

The Red Devils were overwhelmed by the Fighting Saints and their loss, coupled with Cumberland succumbing to Alabama Baptist 24 to 13, means that no team in the south -neither the Deep South Conference nor the South Atlantic section- will go undefeated this campaign.

Rome State, based out of Rome, Ga., is the only hope left standing for Dixie, as the Centurions continued their impressive march with a 43-0 blanking of a game but clearly overmatched Dickson eleven. The Academia Alliance side had no chance the in the game played at Boston's Minuteman Stadium as the cadets unleashed a devastating attack, smashing their way to five touchdowns and a 33-0 lead by half time.

East-West Classic aspirants Central Ohio took a mighty step towards returning to Santa Ana for the first time since 1944 by stopping Minnesota Tech 24-7. Detroit City College may still have something to say about who goes west on New Years Day, but the Knights looked shaky in clinging on to beat St Magnus 7-3 in their section debut. The Great Lakes Alliance has been tie-happy this season and another section match this weekend failed to declare a winner as Western Iowa and Indiana A&M battled to a 20-20 draw. The Canaries have tied all three of their section matches this season and Lincoln College has tied both its contests with the GLA.

As for the other half of the East-West Classic, the West Coast Athletic Association race is looking like it may go to one of the two teams from the north half of California. Redwood kept its perfect season going with the Mammoths second straight section victory, a 38-24 triumph over Rainier College while the Northern California Miners handed the Coastal California Dolphins their first setback of the season. Miners back Tommy Schomer had the biggest play of the weekend to help led the Miners to a 41-14 win over the Dolphins at Sacramento. The senior made a thrilling 102-yard touchdown run late in the third quarter after taking a Dolphins kick-off behind his own goal line. He started back down the middle, picked up fine interference and raced through the whole Coastal California team for a tally that sealed the victory, making the score 28-14 just after the Dolphins had gained some life with a score to cut the Miners lead to 7 points.

CAGE FRIENDLIES TIP OFF THIS WEEK

The fourth season of the Federal Basketball League gets underway tomorrow as each of the 17 clubs will play two weeks of tune-up games before the regular season commences on November 1 with 7 games on opening night. The Brooklyn Red Caps, one of 8 team that joined the FBL a year ago after the demise of the American Basketball Conference, are the defending champions having swept the Detroit Mustangs in 4 games in the league final

The league added the St Louis Steamers to the fold as an expansion club this season, raising the total number of teams in the loop to 17. The Steamers will play their first exhibition game tomorrow when they visit Toronto to meet the Falcons on a busy opening night that has 8 games on the docket including a championship series rematch with Brooklyn travelling to Detroit.

WILL LUTHER GORDON PUT TOGETHER THE BEST SEASON IN COLLEGE CAGE HISTORY?

The collegiate basketball season is still a month away but already excitement is building in the streets of Philadelphia as anticipation mounts for the Liberty College cage campaign. The Bells have been one of the best teams in the AIAA for going on two decades - own 3 AIAA tournament championships and have had a host of star players through the years including All-Americans like Ivory Mitchell, Winfed Dupre and 1947-48 national player of the year Ward Messer, who went on to be the rookie of the year in the FBL last season.

Many considered Messer to likely long be remembered as the greatest player in Liberty College history, but his legacy barely lasted a season with the arrival of a junior college transfer from Brooklyn by the name of Luther Gordon last season. All Gordon did a year ago is set an AIAA record for points with 602, smashing Morgan Melcher's 1943 record at Coastal California, and challenging Messer's single season rebound mark as well in following up Messer to make Liberty College the first school in the 40-year history of the AIAA to produce two different back-to-back winners of the Art Barrette Award as the top basketball player in the nation.

The scary thing is what will the 7-foot-tall Gordon due for an encore? He led the nation with 18.8 points per game and was 6th in the country averaging 8.9 rebounds a contest while leading Liberty College to a 28-4 campaign and within one victory of reaching Bigsby Garden for the National semi-finals. Many observers would not be surprised in Gordon becomes the first player in college basketball history to average more than 20 points a game.

The school has had plenty of success, reaching at least the quarterfinals of the AIAA tournament for 10 consecutive seasons including titles in the spring of 1942 and back to back in 1946 and 1947. With Gordon leading the way and a solid supporting cast featuring seniors Edgar Stillwell and Philadelphia native Scott Basile the Bells have to be considered among the teams to beat, if not the clear-cut favourite to be the class of collegiate basketball next season.

WELTERWEIGHT CHAMP ERICKSON TO FACE FORMER CHAMP WESTLAKE

Mac Erickson, the undefeated World Middleweight Champion, has announced his next title fight will take place November 12 at the mecca of boxing, New York's Bigsby Garden. Erickson, who made his third successful title defense in Baltimore at the end of July with a unanimous decision over Danny Rutledge in a battle between a pair of undefeated fighters, has selected former champ Mark Westlake as his next opponent.

Bigsby Garden has held many title fights in the heavyweight and middleweight divisions, but this will be the first time the welterweight title has been contested on its big stage since before the war. The 28-year-old Erickson, who is a perfect 20-0, should be an overwhelming favourite to retain his crown although the Mississippi-born Westlake does have big fight experience. The 32-year-old briefly held the title after defeating Dennis O'Keefe in Atlanta in the fall of 1946 but five months later he lost the belt with a decision loss to Harold Stephens. Erickson won the belt when he outpointed Stephens in the spring of 1948.

RECENT KEY RESULTS

• On Tuesday in Shelby, Mo., heavyweight Kirby Myers (18-9-1) won a unanimous decision over Canadian heavyweight Daniel Huot (16-5-3)
• Thursday in Cincinnati welterweight Paul Coleman (29-13-1) won a 10-round decision against Michael Livington (20-10-4)

UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS

• Oct 18- Bigsby Garden, New York City - rising middleweights Tommy Campbell (22-2-1) vs Davis Owens (19-0)
• Oct 21- Chesapeake Arena, Baltimore- Welterweight contender Danny Rutledge (17-1) vs Rudy Perry (28-5-1)
• Oct 25- National Auditorium, Washington DC - middleweights Bobby Price (22-4) vs Millard Shelton (25-5)
• Oct 31- London, England - WW contender Danny Julian (25-1-1) vs Charles Hickson (17-1-1) and rising welterweights Archie O'Carry (17-1-1) vs Lewis Kernuish (17-0)
• Nov 12 - Bigsby Garden, New York City - World Welterweight champion Mac Erickson (20-0) defends his title against Mark Westlake (27-4-1)
• Dec 10- Thompson Palladium, Detroit - World Middleweight champion Edouard Desmarais (44-2) defends his title against Davis Owens (20-0).

• The battle continues on just how to spread out the defense budget between the three branches of the United States military. Admiral Nimitz, who directed the Navy's Pacific campaign in WWII, made a strong plea for revival of the $185 million supercarrier project as he appeared before the House Armed Services Committee.
• A Federal jury convicted 11 top-ranking American Communist leaders of conspiring to teach overthrow of the government by force. They 11 each face sentences of up to 10 years in prison.
• The Communist-led Czech government, rounding up thousands more political suspects in a giant police operation, has ordered all Czechs to surrender all privately owned firearms.
• Chinese Communist conquerors walked into Canton, taking control of the former Nationalist capital.
• The Prime Minister of India pledged his country's co-operation with the United States in opposing aggression and threats to freedom anywhere in the world.
• John L Lewis said his soft coal miners would end their 25-day strike and return to work if there was a "bona fide Government seizure and operation of the mines for the account of the people and not of the coal operators."
• 12 crew members died with an American B-50 bomber with a load of live bombs crashed into a wheat field in England and exploded with a roar heard 12 miles away. The plane, designed as the atom bomb carrying version of the B-29 was heading out on a practice mission in the North Sea.
  
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October 24, 1949 Allen and Kellogg Awards
 

OCTOBER 24, 1949

DESMARAIAS AMONG 47 KILLED IN PLANE CRASH IN AZORES

French Constellation On Way to New York Falls in Flames

A Paris to New York Constellation carrying 48 persons crashed in flames against a mountain peak in Azores yesterday. The Air France Line said all aboard perished, including Edouard Desmarais, the French boxer and World Middleweight Champion, along with 11 Americans.

The plane apparently strayed from its course in bad weather and poor visibility and rammed into 3,500-foot Algarvia peak in the northeast section of Sao Miguel Island. It was five minutes away from landing at Santa Maria when its last message was heard. Eight hours later the wreckage was sighted.

Desmarais, who twice held the world middleweight title and was set to defend it in a December bout against Davis Owens, was returning to New York to train after spending the last two months in his native France. With him were his manager and trainer.

Desmarais rose to fame in Europe prior to the war and was considered one of the best European middleweights of all-time. He was a perfect 34-0 and set to face then European champion Archie Rees until World War II intervened. He did not fight for nearly five years and was feared dead during the war but later discovered by liberating Allied forces to have been alive and a member of the French Underground for several years. Once the war ended, he defeated Rees to win the European title in 1945 and would get his first shot at the World Title the following year.

He faced Frank Melanson in the first of three epic bouts between the duo in October of 1946 with the world title on the line but was knocked out in the third round for the first loss of his career and the only time he was ever knocked out in the ring. A year later Desmarais won the famous rematch with Melanson, claiming the title with a 5th round TKO but his reign was short-lived as he lost a very controversial split-decision to Canadian Adrian Petrie in Montreal in his first defense. The American Boxing Federation investigated and while no wrongdoing was found on Petrie's part, the boxing organization did move to suspend two of the judges from working an ABF sanctioned bout in the future.

Granted a rematch by the ABF, Desmarais instead honoured an earlier commitment to stage a rubber match with Frank Melanson. There may not have been a title a stake, but it felt like in an electric Bigsby Garden last January when Desmarais earned a split-decision in a hard-fought 10-rounder. That would prove to be Melanson's last fight as a pro as the former champion, who lost just 3 times in his career but was 1-2 against Desmarais, announced his retirement.

Desmarais, as it would turn out, made just one more professional ring appearance, avenging the controversial loss to Petrie by scoring an 8th round knockout in Philadelphia in June to regain the World Middleweight Title. He enjoyed himself in Philadelphia and New York over the following month and a half before surprisingly boarding a luxury liner and returned to Paris. Many had thought he may well be retiring until the recent announcement of his defense against Davis Owens came two weeks ago. Desmarais was 33 at the time of his death.

CZERWINSKI, POTTER RUNAWAY ALLEN AWARD WINNERS

FABL recognized the top pitchers in the Federal and Continental Associations yesterday with the announcement of the Allen Award winners but there was little suspense in either race. It comes as no shock that Adrian Czerwinski of the Cleveland Foresters and Carl Potter of the Detroit Dynamos were the winners.

Czerwinski was a unanimous choice after a dominant 26-7 season with a 2.88 era that saw the 24-year-old as the biggest catalyst in the dramatic turnaround that saw the Cleveland Foresters transform from basement dwellers to the peak of the Continental Association. The Chicago native had given no indication his breakout season was coming after struggling through a rookie season in 1948 that saw him post a 4-11 record. He becomes the first pitcher to win the Allen Award while a member of the Cleveland Foresters. Veteran New York Stars righthander Vern Hubbard finished a distant second while Czerwinski's Cleveland teammate Ducky Davis was third in the voting.

The 23-year-old Potter becomes the youngest winner since Ed Bowman won the Allen at the same age as rookie in 1942. Potter led FABL with a 1.97 era, posting the third lowest single season era in the modern era, while going 22-8 for the third place Detroit Dynamos. Despite his young age this was his 5th full season of big league baseball and he has already amassed 79 career victories. Potter joins Frank Crawford (1939), Jack Beach (1932) and Roy Calfee (1928, 1929) as Dynamos to be named the top pitcher in the Fed.

The lefthander was named at the top of 15 of the 16 ballots cast. Ed Bowman of the Gothams, the aforementioned 1942 winner, finished second in the balloting but did not garner a first place vote. That final top vote went to Chicago's John Stallings, who placed third overall.

THEFT KING NAMED CONTINENTAL'S TOP ROOKIE

Miller Takes Fed Kellogg Award

There were three terrific candidates vying to lay claim to the Continental Association Kellogg Award, presented to the top newcomer in the loop. Montreal teammates Joe Austin and Otis O'Keefe, along with Brooklyn righthander Joe Potts, each had a pretty good case but, in the end, Austin was the runaway winner. The rookie second baseman had an outstanding debut season for the Saints, hitting .310 while leading FABL in stolen bases with 53 and finishing second in the Continental Association in runs scored with 109.

Austin collected 13 first place votes while his teammate O'Keefe, who finished second, topped two of the ballots. The final first place vote went to Potts, who was bidding to become the fourth consecutive Brooklyn Kings player to win the award. The Kellogg Award, named after legendary Philadelphia Keystones slugger Rankin Kellogg, was established in 1946 and the first three winners -all Kings- were Leo Hayden, Ralph Johnson and Pat Petty.

The Detroit Dynamos have had similar dominance in the Federal Association with current winner Jack Miller (14-11, 3.56) becoming the third Detroit player to win the award after Wally Hunter and Edwin Hackberry were the first two winners. Pittsburgh infielder Irv Clifford broke that trend last season.

The 23-year-old Miller, a 2nd round selection out of Red River State in the 1948 draft, rose quickly to the big leagues and established himself as an integral piece of a strong Detroit starting rotation. He had 14 first place votes with Washington outfielder Mickey Holloway laying claim to the other two.

• Bob Martin's number 44 will be the first number retired by the Chiefs. The club will hold a ceremony honoring Martin on Opening Day 1950. As part of the ceremony, Martin will be the one to unveil the 1949 Championship Banner.
• The Chiefs made a deal with their cross-town rivals, acquiring outfielder Carlos Montes from the Cougars in exchange for 20-year-old minor leaguer Mack Lyons, who just so happens to be the son of former Cougars star hurler Dick Lyons. Dick won 237 games over two decades in the Windy City and was a 5-time all-star along with the 1938 CA Allen Award winner. Mack was a 7th round pick out of high school by the Chiefs in 1947 and went 10-7 4.62 at Class B this past season.
• Leland Kuenster of the Chicago Herald-Examiner on the Fed Allen voting. "Potter had one of the better seasons in recent memory: first in Wins, ERA, Innings, quality starts, FIP, WAR, WPA. If anyone should be an unanimous winner, it's Potter '49. That Stallings received a first place vote, and yet finished in third is also puzzling. That likely means that there were a few ballots where Stallings didn't appear in the top 5. Note that none of this is a complain, just an observation. It's interesting that we do have a variety of voting "styles."
• Kuenster also added some quick analysis "I took 7 pitching categories (Wins, ERA, Innings, QS, Strikeouts, FIP, WAR) and looked at the top 5. You received 5 points for finishing 1st in the category, 1 point for finishing 5th and 0 points for not being in the top 5. Here is how the top 5 Allen vote getters fared. Potter, Bowman, Stallings is in fact a decent order of finish."
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• John Brinker of the New York Daily News says about Potter "Ultimately of course the right guy won. The 1st place vote for Stallings could possibly have been a reflection of the old "Most Valuable" versus "Best" - and because we vote after the WCS, I can't help but wonder if Stallings' performance in the postseason didn't color the vote (even though as a regular season award it shouldn't, and ideally we'd vote before the WCS)
• Brett Bing in Toronto tells us that Wolves management are awaiting to see if highly touted prospects John Wells and Les Ledbetter are assigned to the Cuban Winter League. The Toronto Mail & Empire columist adds that work is still being done on roster with the new philosophy of players being advanced to see if they can handle a higher level(s) probably insures that there will a lot of movement around the Toronto system in 1950.
• Marc T. McNeil from the Montreal Star informs us that Gil London quietly announced his retirement last week after 1090 FABL games with Detroit, Brooklyn and the Saints. The 35-year-old now former shortstop hit .256 in a big league career that included a pair of invitations to the All-Star Game.
• Three of the top ten prospects in the latest OSA rankings are Boston Minutemen. Outfielder Rick Masters, an 18-year-old selected second overall last January, headlines the list at number one. Shortstop Joe Kleman, a 19-year-old who was Boston's first rounder in 1948, is 4th on the list while 21-year-old outfielder Yank Taylor -son of two time Whitney Award winner Tom Taylor- is 8th on the OSA top ten list. Yank was taken 9th overall by the Minutemen in the 1946 draft. if you are wondering where Boston's 1947 first round selection is - no worries as 21-year-old second baseman Marshall Thomas, who was the 6th overall pick that year, sits just outside the top ten at 14 on the scouting service list. The future may be very bright for the Minutemen with 4 of the top 14 and seven of the top 100 prospects.

RASH OF INJURIES STRIKES NAHC EARLY

The injury bug has taken a big bite out of the lineups of several clubs in this young NAHC season. None have felt the pain worse than the Boston Bees who presently have six players battling various ailments with three of them being fairly serious. Detroit has also been hit hard while the Chicago Packers and New York Shamrocks have some worries in net at the moment.

In Boston there may be a left winger shortage with a pair of 23-year-olds both going now. John Bentley suffered a scary cut to his leg with a skate and is likely out until the new year while Alex Gagnon may not return until February due to a torn tendon. Gagnon will be missed as he had 14 goals and 39 points for the Bees a year ago. Defenseman Ralph Citron also suffered what is being described as a "major" injury to his elbow. The good news is Tommy Hart and Wilbur Chandler, Boston's veteran leaders up front, are both close to regaining their health. Each are nursing minor injuries and but neither has not missed a game because of it.

Detroit has had rough go of things with Graham Comeau, who had 43 points last season, suffering a knee injury that will sideline him at least a month. That injury comes just days after last season's NAHC rookie of the year Louis Rocheleau suffered a season ending back injury in the Motors opening game of the campaign.

Chicago is without defenseman Jesse Santoro for at least another month after the young rearguard, who had 9 goals and 30 points last season, injured his knee in the preseason. Now comes word goaltender Norm Hanson is hurt, but the good news is it is just a minor infection, and he is list as day-to-day. Hanson won the Juneau Award as the NAHC's top netminder two years ago. The New York Shamrocks also are contending with a minor injury to their goaltender as Etienne Tremblay has been dealing with some problems with his catching hand.

NAHC DAILY RECAP

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 19

Boston 0 at Chicago 3 : There is always plenty of excitement when the Bees and Packers meet and this one was an entertaining contest that saw the Bees carry the play, but they could not solve Chicago netminder Norm Hanson, who turned aside all 29 Boston shots. Chicago scored once in each period with Ed Delarue, Marty Mahoney and Norm Fraser doing the honours for the Packers.

Detroit 5 at New York 3 : Defenseman Alex Leveille, who had just 5 goals all of last season, scored twice and added an assist to help pace the Motors past New York for their first win of the season. Joe Martin had a 3 point night for the Shamrocks.

Toronto 4 at Montreal 7 : The first night of the season that had all six teams in action concluded with a high scoring affair in Montreal as the hometown Valiants dumped the defending Challenge Cup champions 7-4 behind a 2 goal, 1 assist effort from both Ian Doyle and Adam Sandford.

SATURDAY OCTOBER 22

Montreal 5 at Boston 2 : The Valiants had plenty of offense left over after their win earlier in the week. Once more it was Adam Sandford and Ian Doyle leading the way with a goal and an assist each in a 5-2 Montreal victory as the Valiants evened their record a 2-2.

Toronto 0 at New York 1 : After allowing 7 goals on Wednesday evening, the Dukes defensive play was much better but Toronto could not manage to find the back of the net. Etienne Tremblay, who stopped 39 shots in the Greenshirts cage, was outstanding and Gordie Broadway nearly as good for Toronto. The only goal of the contest came off the stick of Joe Martin -his third of the young season- with just over 6 minutes remaining in the third period.

SUNDAY OCTOBER 23

Boston 2 at Montreal 1 : Conn Cundiff was the hero as the Boston defenseman scored the game winner was allowed to walk into the slot and fire a wrist shot past his former teammate Tom Brockers with less than 7 minutes left in the game to give the Bees the victory. The goal was a dagger to the Vals who just 10 seconds earlier were celebrating Like Deuling's first career NAHC marker, which had tied the game after Robert Walker staked the Bees to a lead in the first period.

Detroit 2 at Chicago 2 : Third period goals from Jeremy MacLean and Jarrett McGlynn allowed the Chicago Packers to salvage a point against Detroit. The Motors had scored twice in a 3 minute span in the second period to take the lead. Hank Walsh and Nick Tardif, each with their first of the season, were the Detroit marksmen.

DUKES STUMBLE ON THE ROAD

Toronto's icemen get a wakeup call during the second week of the NAHC season. The week began with a trip into Montreal to play the Valiants Wednesday night in front of 14,475. For all intents and purposes, the game was over before the 15-minute mark of the opening period. Montreal dominated the play from the opening puck drop putting 3 past Broadway in a span of 4 minutes 24 seconds midway through the opening period starting with a goal by Adam Sanford followed in rapid succession by Wayne Augustin and then Alex Peters just 38 seconds later and before the fans had stopped celebrating Augustin's marker.

Quinton Pollock's power play marker with just over 2 minutes left in the opening frame gave the Dukes a glimmer of hope. Les Carlson narrowed the gap to one, his first of two goals in the game, at 1:05 of the second. Sanford scored his second of the game at 6:46 to make it 4-2 then Carlson again narrowed the gap to one less than 4 minutes later only to have Ian Doyle make 5-3 at 13:30. It was a sloppy period that seemed to push Jack Barrell over the edge.

The coach was very animated behind the bench, often seen in player's ears after they came to the bench after a shift. As bad as Barrell thought his team was playing the Dukes had a chance when Chad Roy made it 5-4 at 13:09 of the third. That dream was crushed a scant 51 seconds later when Doyle again beat Broadway after which Barrell sent Terry Russell into the net. Russell did not have time to get comfortable as Brett Lanceleve put the disc behind him 28 seconds after he came in making it a 7-4 victory for the home squad.

The original plan was head from Montreal into New York to give the players a day off on Thursday in the Big Apple. Barrell changed those plans, instead of hooking on to a train into New York, the Dukes' car hooked on to a CP train going into Union Station in Toronto. The team arrived at the station at about 2 AM then were back on the ice for practice at 10 on Thursday that went until 1 PM. The team was back on the ice at 8 AM Friday before boarding their car on a train headed into New York for a Saturday encounter with the Shamrocks.

The game at Bigsby Gardens was low scoring but highly entertaining game for the 13,013 in attendance. The first two periods were scoreless due in large part to Shamrocks keeper Etienne Tremblay's heroics - turning aside all 32 shots he faced through 40 minutes. That included a 5 minute power play in the first after Mark Theriault was given a 5 minute major, game misconduct after cutting Trevor Parker with a high stick. The red light behind the net was finally lit at with just over 6 minutes remaining when Joe Martin slammed a rebound past Broadway giving the Shamrocks all they needed for a 1-0 victory.

Dukes Coach Jack Barrell: "I hope that the game in Montreal turns out to be our worst effort of the year. We were outplayed in every facet of game, outhit, out hustled to every lose puck. We did not learn the lesson from the Detroit game when we got away with a sloppy game due to good goaltending. Wednesday Gordie had a tough night, not that he got a lot of help. It was so bad we changed plans, came back to Toronto. The players probably were not happy, but I really don't care...this is our living. The practices seemed to pay off. Tremblay stoned us at Bigsby Garden, but that happens. Sometimes you run into a goaltender you cannot throw a grain rice by, it's just part of the game. The game changed after we could not score on Theriault's 5 minute major after he clipped Trevor, who needed 10 stitches to close the cut. We have to show Montreal a much better effort Thursday in front of the home crowd."

RAMBLERS ROLLING ALONG

Blast Los Angeles 49-7 For Fifth Straight Win

One of the more unlikely stories in the American Football Association this season has been the play of the St Louis Ramblers. After going just 6-6 a year ago, the Ramblers are off to a quick 5-0 start and are now the only team with perfect record still standing in the AFA. Their latest win was St. Louis' most one-sided victory of the season as, after a pedestrian first half, the Ramblers exploded for 42 points after the break to down the Los Angeles Tigers 49-7. St Louis has outscored its opponents by an average of 36-7 over the course of their five wins and their 7.0 points allowed per game is a full converted touchdown lower than anyone else in the loop.

The St Louis offensive revolves around the legs of the backfield trio of Nick Klausen, Walt Heinrich and John Sweat. Klauson gained 101 yards against the Tigers and is third in the AFA in rushing while Sweat picked up 79 and Heinrich bulled his way for 59 yards. Each also found the endzone. Sweat actually found it twice - once on a 34-yard run to tie the game at 7 in the second quarter and once more early in the third period when he returned an interception 20 yards for a major. It was one of three Los Angeles passes picked off and returned for scores with all 3 coming in a 38 second span in the third quarter that completely tamed the Tigers.

Washington is no longer unbeaten as the Wasps lost a wild game in Philadelphia, falling 58-28 to the Frigates that leaves both of those clubs tied for the East Division lead at 4-1. The teams combined for 9 touchdowns before the break and the Frigates added 3 more in the second half. Greg LePage had a dominant game for the Frigates, rushing for 3 scores and 153 yards while also returning kickoff 96 yards for a first period score.

Elsewhere the Chicago Wildcats improved to 4-1 with a 35-0 win in New York over the Gothams. Second year quarterback Ricky McCallister led the way for the winners with 3 touchdown passes while throwing for 270 yards. Boston withstood a late challenge from Pittsburgh to beat the Miners 31-26 at Fitzpatrick Park while Cleveland beat winless Detroit 28-6 despite the Maroons Marc Orlosky carrying the ball for 211 yards in the loss.

WINGS REMAIN UNBEATEN WITH WIN IN NEW YORK

The San Francisco Wings continue to be the class of the Continental Football Conference after the defending league champions ran their record to 7-0-1 following a 35-7 triumph of over the Grid Gothams at New York's Dyckman Stadium. Quarterback Sam Metcalf put on another aerial display leading the west coast crew to victory by throwing for 203 yards and 4 touchdowns.

The day started well for the Gothams, who took advantage of a Wings fumbled on the opening kick-off and drove 36 yards in less than a minute to take an early 7-0 lead on a Dave Bradley 27-yard touchdown run. That would prove to be the high point for the hosts as the Wings powerful offense took over.

Next week will be a key test for the San Francisco club as they travel to Kansas City to play the struggling Cowboys who, despite dropping 3 straight games including a 35-14 loss to the Wings in San Francisco, are always a threat. The Cowboys had this week off to regroup for that game.

In other games over the weekend the 2-5-1 Buffalo Bulls rallied with a pair of second half Mark Monday touchdown passes to nip Los Angeles 14-10. That loss for the Lobos, coupled with New Orleans blasting the Chicago Comets 49-21, leaves Los Angeles and the Crescents in a second place tie at 5-3.

GREAT LAKES ALLIANCE RACE WIDE OPEN

It has been a year of parity through collegiate football with only 7 major AIAA schools still sporting perfect records and plenty of uncertainty in many of the big section races. There was little change among the top schools again this week as St Blane, which had the weekend off as the Fighting Saints prepare for Annapolis Maritime next Saturday, remains number one followed by fellow unbeatens Rome State, Oklahoma City State, Redwood, Texas Gulf Coast and Penn Catholic - each of whom ran into little difficulty keeping their unblemished records this weekend.

There are plenty of questions in the south as Baton Rogue and Bayou State are the only two Deep South Conference schools yet to suffer a defeat in section play. Noble Jones College, Georgia Baptist and Cumberland were considered the team to beat in the mighty southern section but each, with the 2-4 Colonels the most obvious example, have had their difficulties. The South Atlantic was supposed to belong to North Carolina Tech, led by their explosive back Jackie Charles who was an All-American a year ago. However, the Techsters are 3-2 overall and trailing Carolina Poly and Columbia Military Academy -which upended Tech 7-3 earlier this season- in the conference race.

Out West it looks like Redwood and Northern California are headed for a showdown to determine who represents the West Coast Athletic Association in Santa Ana on New Years Day but the door is still slightly ajar for either of the two Los Angeles schools in CCLA and Coastal California to sneak in.

The biggest mess might just be the Great Lakes Alliance where Central Ohio was surprised 7-0 by Wisconsin State on Saturday leaving Whitney College (2-0-1) as the unexpected section leaders at the moment. Most anticipated an easy run to Santa Ana for defending national champion Detroit City College but the Knights have had a nightmare of a season. DCC is 2-3 and was surprised 13-3 on its home turf by Minnesota Tech Saturday.

It has been a strange year in the GLA and that goes beyond the Engineers, at 2-0-1 in conference play and coming off a 21-7 victory over winless Lincoln. There are 5 ties in 13 section games thus far and amazingly Western Iowa has seen all four of their section games to date end in a deadlock. There is plenty of time remaining in the campaign, but New Years classic picture is looking very cloudy at this stage of things.

FEDERAL BASKETBALL LEAGUE PREDICTIONS FOR 1949-50 CAMPAIGAN

It's time again for a new season of Fast Break Basketball. Everyone has hopes this will be the year that their team finally makes it to the top. With that in mind, the staff at FBB News got together for the annual FBN Season Preview. The season preview gives our picks for how the divisions will end up as well as our predicted All-League first team.

BAD NEWS FOR PHANTOMS

Mudd to Miss Opening Month

The Philadelphia Phantoms will have to survive the first month of the Federal Basketball League season without the service of forward Irvin Mudd. The 31-year-old suffered a broken wrist in preseason action last week. The former Maryland State Bengal started 59 games for the Phantoms last season, averaging 18.4 points per game and 8.3 boards.


OSA, the official scouting service of the Federal Basketball League, has unveiled its preseason rankings of the top draft eligible collegiate players for the summer 1950 FBL draft. The list, to no surprise, is headed by Liberty College senior center Luther Gordon, who was named winner of the Art Barrette Trophy last season as a junior. The Barette Trophy is presented annually to the collegiate player of the year.

RUTLEDGE VICTORIOUS IN RING RETURN

Danny Rutledge, coming off his first career loss when he was soundly beaten by World Welterweight Champion Mac Erickson in July, made his return to the ring a successful one after the 25-year-old stopped Rudy Perry in the 8th round of their 10 rounder in Baltimore. The fight was at Chesapeake Arena - the same venue Rutledge suffered his defeat to Erickson- because he felt it was important that he prove to himself he could win at that venue. Perry, who beat the count of referee Laurence Cole after being floored with a cross from Rutledge midway through the 8th round, was deemed unable to continue after, in the opinion of Cole, being "out on his feet."

Perry also recently had his title shot against Rutledge, but was knocked out in the 8th round of their bout in Detroit last March.

The other big fight last week took place at Bigsby Garden in New York on Tuesday and featured a pair of rising middleweights in Davis Owens and Tommy Campbell. Owens ran his record to a perfect 20-0 with a unanimous decision over Campbell in their 10-rounder. Much of the shine is off of Campbell's star as the 26-year-old Atlanta native is now 22-3-1 after losing each of his last two bouts. Darwin Thomas was a surprise winner over Campbell in July. Much of the talk from Owens following the win over Campbell was focused on his upcoming title shot against Edouard Desmarais. Of course, that was 4 days prior to the French fighter tragically losing his life in a plane crash over the weekend.

OTHER RECENT KEY RESULTS

• In St Louis on Monday, veteran New York City welterweight Artie Neal (27-8-1) scored a unanimous decision victory over Justin Johnston (25-13-4).
• Tuesday evening in Buffalo, rising heavyweight John Jones remained unbeaten as the 20-year-old Philadelphia native improved to 15-0-1 with a unanimous decision over Michael drake (35-15-3).
• Thursday in Seattle, veteran middleweight Danny Morse -who lost a title shot against Adrian Petrie early this year- knocked out Johnny Williams in the 4th round of their scheduled 10 round bout.
• Also on Thursday the "Topeka Tornado' Heinie Verplanck knocked out Cal Kotterman in the 10th round of their welterweight fight in Phoenix.
• Friday in Holyoke, MA., heavyweight Harvey Winter improved to 20-4 with a unanimous decision win over Jack Jennings.
• Sunday in San Diego, Rip Rogers knocked out Jersey Jerry Miller to improved to 19-3 in a middleweight fight.

UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS

• Oct 25- National Auditorium, Washington DC - middleweights Bobby Price (22-4) vs Millard Shelton (25-5)
• Oct 31- London, England - WW contender Danny Julian (25-1-1) vs Charles Hickson (17-1-1) and rising welterweights Archie O'Carry (17-1-1) vs Lewis Kernuish (17-0)
• Nov 12 - Bigsby Garden, New York City - World Welterweight champion Mac Erickson (20-0) defends his title against Mark Westlake (27-4-1)
• Dec 10- Thompson Palladium, Detroit - World Middleweight champion Edouard Desmarais (44-2) defends his title against Davis Owens (20-0). cancelled

• The Marine Corps commandant told the House Armed Services Committee that the Army is making good headway in an effort to push his corps out of the amphibious warfare business and reduce it to an inconsequential force, despite legislative safeguards provided by Congress.
• Chances of an early settlement in the 3-week-old steel strike dwindled as a plan which the Government hoped would end the deadlock over pensions fell through. The outlook for ending the 5-week-old coal strike appears even more bleak.
• House and Senate conferees agreed on a farm bill mid-week, removing the last obstacle to the adjournment of Congress.
• However, plans for an adjournment ran into an angry dispute between the Senate and Houst, over the approval of a bill containing funds for the $1.314 billion dollar foreign arms program.
• Communist-led rebel forces in Greece, staggered by the government's recent drive on its last strongholds near the Albanian border, announced they have stopped their civil war but won't lay down their arms.
• Reports have reached the State Department that Soviet satellite nations, with Russian backing, are planning a guerrilla campaign against Yugoslavia like the Communist war on Greece.
• Despite heavy protest from Russia, Yugoslavia won a seat in the United Nations Security Council over Soviet-sponsored Czechoslovakia. The action by the 59-nation General Assembly was a rebuff to the Soviet bloc.
  
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October 31, 1949
 

OCTOBER 31, 1949

They are not related but Red Johnson and Ralph Johnson share more than just a last name in common. Each was selected as a Whitney Award winner in 1949 as most valuable player of their respective associations. Both are also now multiple Whitney winners as Red claimed his 4th award after being a unanimous choice as the top player in the Federal Association while Ralph followed up his 1947 double win of both the Continental Association Whitney Award and the Kellogg Award as top rookie by collecting his second Whitney win. Ralph topped the CA ballot by nosing out New York Stars outfielder Bill Barrett, who is also a multiple Whitney winner.

Red Johnson led FABL in homeruns and rbi's this season while posting a .319 batting average to help the New York Gothams to a second place finish in the Federal Association. Johnson, who also won the Whitney in 1940, 1941 and 1946, socked 52 homeruns this season to become just the 5th different player to swat at least 50 in a FABL season. Edwin Hackberry (.309,32,99), Detroit's 23-year-old center fielder, finished a distant second in the balloting. Had Hackberry prevailed it would have been an award's sweep for the Dynamos as Carl Potter was recently named the Allen Award winner and Jack Miller claimed the Kellogg Award for the Federal Association.

Red was originally a Dynamos draft pick, going second overall behind Deuce Barrell in 1935 and he would win a pair of Whitney Awards with Detroit before a blockbuster trade sent him to the Gothams at the 1943 trade deadline. He would win the Whitney again with New York three seasons later and follows it up by now collecting his fourth Whitney.

The fourth Whitney Award victory ties Red Johnson with Bill Barrett of the New York Stars and Hall of Famers Powell Slocum and Ed Ziehl for the fourth most Whitney Award wins. Only Max Morris (8), current Philadelphia Keystones veteran Bobby Barrell (6) and Al Wheeler (5) have won more.

Ralph Johnson led the Continental Association in runs scored and walks while batting .318 with 25 homers and 102 rbi's for the Brooklyn Kings, who finished tied with Toronto for fifth place in the CA. He earned 11 first place votes and a total of 195 points, to finish 22 points ahead of Bill Barrett, who garned 4 first place votes. Third baseman Jim Adams Jr. of the pennant winning Cleveland Foresters earned the final first place nod and finished third overall with 147 points.

Johnson, an Omaha native nicknamed "The Cornhusker Crusher" was the 5th overall selection in the 1945 draft and made his big league debut late in the 1946 season as a September call-up. He earned a full-time job out of camp in 1947 and proceeded to win both the Whitney Award and Kellogg as top rookie that season. He has led the CA in runs scored in each of his three full big league seasons.

DECADE IN REVIEW

The 1940s have come and gone, and through conflict and uncertainty, the Federally Aligned Baseball League has yet again stood the test of time. FABL survived a European War that took away a large chunk of athletes, while the upstart Great West League talked a big game about challenging and competing with the established league, but time and time again, FABL proved to be the premier outlet for the beautiful game of baseball.

So what happened during the 40s if you were a FABL team?

Well, chances are you won a pennant. Good for you! Seven of the eight Fed teams and six of the eight Conti teams came on top at least once. And if you didn't win a pennant? Chances are you took home an Allen or Whitney.

Only one team didn't do any of that, the Montreal Saints, but they're one of the teams best positioned for the 1950s. The cavernous Parc Cartier for once hosted the team who led the league in scoring, and head-to-head struggles against the underachieving Cougars are the only reason the Saints finished 3rd and not 2nd this year. And even they got some sort of award, with Montreal native Joe Austin taking home the Kellogg Award.

With so much parity in FABL, it's hard to quite know what's the best method of success.

Win the most games? You'll win the same amount of pennants as the team that won the least!

Have a 4-time Whitney Winner in Bill Barrett or Bobby Barrell? That's good enough for a two pennants and a title!

In fact, only two teams won multiple titles, the Pioneers and the Cannons, and in both cases, it came in back-to-back seasons. The Cannons were the only team to make the playoffs three times, leading both associations in 1940s pennants, but the ways they did it couldn't be further apart. The Cannons had an impressive eight year run, three 80+ win seasons, three 90+ win pennants, and then two more 80+ win seasons before their drop off. The Pioneers, bottom feeder of 1946, won back-to-back titles, before falling all the way back to 7th in 1949.

So how does one win a highly coveted World Championship Series? Win more games then your competition? Stack your roster with award winners?

No, I think it's all about the right group of players getting hot at the right time. And in a league where seemingly everyone thinks they can end up winning, all you need is a few breaks to go your way, and you can be one of the ten (or in this case, one of the eight) teams lucky enough to etch their name into FABL history.
In honor of the Whitney announcement and the final season of the 1940's, here are the top battrs of the past decade sorted by OPS. (One of those newly created stats that former Herald-Examiner editor Percy Sutherland's nephew was so fond of creating in Whitney College math classes).

The top ten from the 40s and just for good measure here are the top ten hitters using the same criteria for each decade of the 1900s.
Now that the season is over its time to name the league award winners. As usual I have cast my ballot and here is my breakdown of the two Association candidates
First in the CA
1: Ralph Johnson RF Brooklyn Kings (321/427/976 27-102) Johnson is arguably the best all around young player in the CA. He lead the Association in Runs scored with 110, and walks with 108 while blasting 27 home runs along with 29 doubles and 11 triples. He lead the CA in OBS with a 976. Not to mention is he a fine defensive RF.
2:Bill Barrett RF New York Stars (300/397/945 37-104) Barrett lead the FA in HRs and finished 2nd in RBI's to CA runaway leader Maurice Carter. Barrett was the early season leader for the Whitney but I have him coming up just short.
3:Maurice Carter 1B Montreal (300/361/871 28-118) A Montreal player leading the league in RBI's and hitting more than 20 home runs. Hard to do at Parc Centre ballpark so much respect to the emerging 1B for the 2nd Place Saints
4:Ed Reyes 1B Phily (355/406/879 6-63) Reyes won his 5th straight CA batting title and has had a batting average at 350 since 1945.
5:Jim Adams Jr 3B Cleveland (326/391/865 12-88) Led the CA in hits with 189 along with 30 doubles, 10 triples and scored 107 runs.
6:Sal Pestilli CF Chicago (288/343/800 22-89)
7: Joe Austin 2B Montreal (210/386/841 5-62 53SB)
8: Bill Barnett 1B NY Stars (296/412/945 25-75)
9: Mack Sutton 3B NY Stars (252/342/827 30-94)
10:Otis O'Keefe LF Montreal (293/384/834 17-97)

The CA Whitney race seems to be a tight one and it will likely come down to Johnson and Barrett. Barrett has the home run edge, Johnson has edges in other spots. You really can't go wrong with either pick but one of those futuristic stats gives the edge to Johnson, so do I. Several players who had fine seasons did not qualify for enough plate appearances and therefore do not appear on my ballot.

In the FA race there really is no debate about who #1 is...
1: 1B Red Johnson 1B NY Gothams (304/423/1043 52 HR and 137 RBI's) Truly the best power hitter in the game today. Johnson has won 3 Whitney's and he is a shoe-in for #4.
2: Edwin Hackberry CF Det (309/412/971 32-99) Likely would have won the CA award if he was in that Association. At worst he would have made it a 3-man race. Truly a gifted young hitter (23) and a very good CF glove.
3: Bobby Barrell RF Phily (289/390/918 39-108) Without a doubt the best of the Barrell Boys so far, Bobby continues to jolt those home runs even at age 39. He became just the 2nd player in baseball history to pass 600 home runs (he ended the year at 605). If he could put together 3 more good seasons and average 36 home runs a year he would pass all time leader and Hall of Famer Max Morris who has 711. He is just 121 RBI's behind Morris and while it's a long shot for next season, if he played 2 years and stayed healthy he would certainly pass Morris's career number of 2324.
4: Al Tucker RF St. Louis (362/435/909 14-86 105 runs) The 36 year old veteran Pioneer OF put together his best batting average season of his career and won his 2nd batting title (first in 1943 hitting 345).
5: Tim Hopkins 1B Chicago (284/372/888 38-128) Hopkins in his 3 1/2 years in Chicago has found a home park that he just loves. Since that trade from Brooklyn he has walloped 125 home runs. This was by far his best overall career season.
6:Rats McGonigle CF Washington (287/393/931 30-112)
7:Walt Messier LF New York (297/352/869 35-122)
8: George Cleaves C New York (321/437/903 19-76)
9: Jesse Alvarado LF Washington (291/323/809 32-119
10: Hank Koblenz 3B Phily (216/277/750 44-121)
EDITORS NOTE- the above column was written before the Whitney Award winners were announced by the league.

ANOTHER BIG DAY FOR WASPS DUO PROPELS WASHINGTON TO VICTORY

Bob Krohn to Monte Harriman for a touchdown is becoming one of the most uttered phrases in football as the duo combined for two more scoring passes Sunday to help the Washington Wasps run (and throw) all over the Boston Americans in a 48-20 triumph. Krohn leads the AFA in passing yardage and touchdown throws, tossing for 1,494 yards and 20 scores as the season hits the midway mark. Harriman has caught 11 touchdown passes and 49 receptions overall for a league high 743 yards. Harriman is on pace to establish new single season records in all three of those categories. Not bad for an undrafted second year receiver out of Sunnyvale University that no one wanted two years ago.

Boston struck first in the game when Walt Michos completed an 80-yard opening drive with a 3-yard run up the middle for the opening touchdown Eric Balfour missed the extra point, so the Americans had to settle for a 6-0 lead. Four minutes later the Wasps responded with -what else- a touchdown pass from Krohn to Harriman. Krohn, who also handles the kicking duties for Washington, converted his extra point attempt and the Wasps never trailed again. Rick Petty ran for 93 yards, but the big story was Krohn, who completed 17 of 26 pass attempts for 239 yards and 4 touchdowns. His favourite target Harriman, made 8 catches for 116 of those yards.

The Wasps victory, along with the Philadelphia Frigates 35-10 win in Pittsburgh yesterday, leaves both clubs with 5-1 records and establishes a clear divide in the race for the East Division title. Turnovers played a big role at Fitzpatrick Park as Paladins quarterback Dane Sutherland was intercepted 5 times, including two that were returned for touchdowns, while the Frigates also recovered three Pittsburgh fumbles.

The story of two teams distancing themselves from the pack is much the same in the West where the surprising St Louis Ramblers keep on winning and are now 6-0, a game up on the Chicago Wildcats heading into a key meeting between the two at Cougars Park next Sunday. No other team in the West Division has won more than 2 games this season.

The Ramblers were not overly impressive at Pioneer Field yesterday, but even a lackluster effort was more than enough for a 24-3 victory over the winless Detroit Maroons. Chicago was dominant after the long flight to the west coast as the Wildcats mauled the Los Angeles Tigers 34-7. The other game yesterday saw Harry Rawlings through for 3 touchdowns to lead the New York Stars to a 37-28 win in Cleveland over the Finches.

COWBOYS HALT SKID WITH NARROW WIN OVER WINGS

The San Francisco Wings came within a missed field goal of remaining unbeaten but instead the Wings suffered their first loss of the season, falling 9-7 to a desperate Kansas City Cowboys club. The Cowboys had entered the contest on a 3-game losing streak and were in danger of sliding out of playoff contention in the Continental Football Conference. Instead, the win improves the Cowboys season mark to 5-3 and with 4 games remaining they are now in second place, a half game up on Los Angeles and New Orleans after both the Lobos and Crescents lost on the weekend.

The Wings dip to 7-1-1 after coming up short in a tight defensive struggle. Kansas City had a nice drive on their opening possession of the game, but it sputtered out on the San Francisco 24-yard line after Pat Chappell threw three straight incompletions. The Cowboys did manage to open the scoring at that time when Reuben Walston was good on his field goal attempts. Neither team had much success moving the ball the rest of the first period but a pair of big runs including a 26 yard rumble for a touchdown by Mason Matthews increased the Cowboys lead to 9-0 in the second quarter. It stayed at 9-0 as Walston shanked his extra point attempt.

Just before the break, Pat Chappell had a pass picked off by Wings defender Tom Dreps and that paved the way for the Wings biggest play of the day: a 66 yard touchdown run off a draw on second and long by Noah Bradburn to cut the Cowboys lead to 9-7.

San Francisco missed several opportunities to take the lead in the second half. Rather than attempt a field goal to move in front the Wings elected to go for it on 4th and goal from the Cowboys 4-yard line early in the fourth period, but Glenn Carroll was stopped short by the Kansas City defense. On a 4th and 6 from the Cowboys 14-yard line they also came up short with 7:24 remaining and then a minute later, after a Mason Matthews fumble deep in his own territory the Wings once more failed to convert on a 4th down inside the Cowboys 10-yard line. There was one more opportunity when Tom Dreps blocked a Kansas City punt with 1:44 left in the game. A quick 34 yard Sam Metcalf to Wes Mula pass set up another first and goal situation for the Wings. The Kansas City defense held and on 4th and goal from the 8-yard line with less than a minute left the Wings finally decided to go for the field goal.

It became instantly apparent why there was such reluctance by the Wings to attempt a kick as Russ Gilliam was wide with a 15-yard chip shot and the score remained 9-7 with all that was left to do for Kansas City was run out the clock.

The other two games over the weekend also provided surprising results. In Chicago, the Comets won for just the second time this season as a Dave Brown 41-yard field goal in the final minute lifted the Comets past Los Angeles 17-14. New Orleans stumbled in New York, falling to 5-3 after the Gothams scored a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns to claim a 30-16 victory.

PENN CATHOLIC DROPS IN POLLS

Penn Catholic tumbled from the ranks of the unbeaten teams as Commonwealth Catholic handed the Crusaders their first loss of the season, claiming a 16-14 victory in Philadelphia on Saturday. The Knights jumped out to a 14-0 first half lead thanks to a pair of Eddie Liedle touchdown throws but Crusaders quarterback Steve Burton finally got Penn Catholic on the scoreboard with a 7-yard touchdown run late in the third period. Early in the fourth quarter what would prove to be the difference in the game happened when powerful Commonwealth Catholic defensive lineman Herm Bauer tackled Dale Edens in the Crusaders endzone for a safety to make the score 16-7. Penn Catholic cut the deficit to 2 points early in the fourth quarter but that was a close as the Crusaders would come. The loss drops Penn Catholic from 6th to 8th in the weekly top ten rankings and their record now sits at 6-1.

Only nine major schools remain unbeaten but two of them in Lubbock State and Wyoming A&I do have a tie on their records. The perfect teams still standing are top ranked St Blane (5-0), Rome State (6-0), Oklahoma City State (6-0), Redwood University (7-0), Tempe College (5-0), Ellery (5-0) and Brooklyn State (4-0).

St Blane had another explosive display of its offense in dumping Annapolis Maritime 30-0 with all 30 of the Fighting Saints points coming in the first half before they took their foot off the gas and let the subs play the final 30 minutes. Rome State remains second in the rankings behind the Saints after another easy victory for the Centurions. This time Alexandria was the victim in a 34-0 drubbing in Rome. Ga. Backs Fred Akins and Paul Schultz combined for 4 rushing touchdowns while Schultz also passing for one as the Oklahoma City State Wranglers dumped Iowa A&M 47-7. Redwood had little trouble winning for the 7th time this season as the Mammoths, led by a 103 yard rushing day from Alan Jokinen, downed Sunnyvale 27-3.

CUP CHAMPS FIND SCORING TOUCH

The Toronto Dukes have had their struggles in the early going this season, but the two-time defending Challenge Cup champions certainly found their way and got back on track over the weekend. After opening the season with a 1-2-2 record the Dukes strung back-to-back wins together to vault into second place, two points back of front-running Boston.

The Bees were Toronto's first victim of the weekend as Lou Galbreath and Quinton Pollack combined four 2 goals and 8 points to help earn their club a 5-4 victory at Denny Arena Saturday evening. It was not the tight defensive style that Dukes coach Jack Barrell preaches but it got the job done. A day later Barrell would have been much happier after Toronto blanked the visiting New York Shamrocks 5-0 thanks to a 27 save effort from Gordie Broadway to earn his first shutout of the season.

LAST WEEK'S RECAPS

TUESDAY OCTOBER 25

Chicago 1 at New York 1: Tommy Burns made his season debut after missing the start of the campaign due to a dislocated jaw and the Packers star center picked up an assist on Max Ducharme's second period power play goal. It would be the only puck the Packers could put past Shamrocks goaltender Etienne Tremblay, who made 26 saves on the evening. Norm Hanson was outstanding in the Chicago cage as well, facing 38 shots including a 20-shot blitz in a third stanza dominated by the hosts. New York, which outshot the Packers 20-4 in the final period, had their persistence pay off when Orval Cabbell scored the tying goal with 2:08 remaining.

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 26
New York 3 at Boston 3: The Greenshirts were back at it 24 hours later and ended up with another tie. Most of the excitement came in the first period when each club tallied twice. Tom Brescia's second period marker put New York ahead but Garrett Kauffeldt, with his third of the season, tied the game midway through the third frame.

THURSDAY OCTOBER 27

Chicago 2 at Detroit 0: After 40 minutes of scoreless hockey at the Thompson Palladium, the visiting Chicago Packers scored twice in the third period to skate away with the victory. Tommy Burns assisted on both them as Max Ducharme, with his third of the season, notched a powerplay marker and Marty Mahoney, with his 4th goal of the campaign, added some insurance.

Montreal 1 at Toronto 1: The Dukes and Vals skated to a 1-1 tie with Charlie Brown scoring for Toronto with a shorthanded goal in the second period and Brett Lanceleve tying things with a power play marker early in the third. It was a goaltender's battle between veterans Tom Brockers and Gordie Broadway. Broadway faced 38 Montreal shots while Toronto fired 31 at Brockers.

Montreal 4 at Detroit 6: A busy weekend with all six teams playing twice gets underway in the Motor City with defenseman Spencer Larocque scoring twice and adding an assist to pace the Detroit Motors to a 6-4 victory. The Vals also lost Shel Herron to a knee sprain that will sideline the veteran defenseman for 3 weeks.

New York 3 at Chicago 0:Etienne Tremblay stopped all 28 shots he faced to backstop the New York Shamrocks to a 3-0 win in the Windy City. Samuel Coates, Joe Martin and Rusty Mullins were the New York marksmen.

Toronto 5 at Boston 4: The struggling Dukes won for just the second time this season, nosing out the Boston Bees in a rematch of last season's title series. Les Galbraith and Quinton Pollack paced the Toronto attack with a goal and 3 assists each. The pair combined to set up Rob Painchaud's powerplay goal with 6:18 remaining in the third period with what proved to be the game winning goal.

SUNDAY OCTOBER 30

Chicago 3 at Boston 3: Plenty of tie games this week including this one in which veteran defenseman Bert McColley scored his first goal as a Packer after the trade from New York last spring. McColley's goal was the only one of the third period and earned the Packers a point in the contest.

Detroit 7 at Montreal 2: The Motors completed the home and home weekend sweep of the Vals by scoring 5 times in the first 12 minutes and coasting to a 7-2 victory. Former Detroit backup Brad Carter was making his first start for the Valiants and last just those 12 minutes before being yanked from the crease by Montreal coach Norb Hickey. Adam Vanderbilt and Spencer Larocque each scored twice for the Motors.

New York 0 at Toronto 5: A 27 save shutout for Gordie Broadway as the Dukes won for the second day in a row. Les Carlson continues to have a hot stick for Toronto, scoring his fifth goal of the season and adding two assists.

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 2
Chicago at Montreal
Detroit at Boston
Toronto at New York

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 5
Montreal at Boston
Toronto at Detroit

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 6
Chicago at Toronto
Detroit at New York

Toronto Rebounds To Go Undefeated in Three To Close Out October

Dukes have a comeback week with two wins plus a tie in the last full week of October. The week began with a rematch against their Canadian rivals from Montreal. The 14,149 who came to Dominion Gardens on cool, crisp Thursday evening witnessed puck stopping at its highest level. This game was a far cry from the 7-4 Valiants win at home the previous week.

Coach Barrell has been preaching to his charges that they must tighten up defensively, Although the score, a 1-1 draw, might indicate a tight checking affair the game was far from a defensive struggle attested by a total 69 shots on goal, 67 of which were rejected by Gordie Broadway or Tom Brockers. Many of the shots turned away were of the spectacular variety. Both goaltenders left forwards shaking their heads after saves that stopped play for a faceoff. Both goals were scored on special teams. Early in the second, while killing a penalty, Charlie Brown pinched in then put a shot over Brocker's shoulder stick side after Lou Carlson had poke checked a Montreal defenseman. Valiants tallied in the third with Les Carlson serving a penalty for slashing when Brett Lancaster converted on a pretty passing play from Wayne Augustin and Adam Sanford. The fans left the building after the deadlock praising both puck stoppers, neither of whom received one of the 3 stars.

Into Boston's Denny Arena for a Saturday night matchup with the Bees for a game that was the opposite of the Montreal game. In a wide open, spirited affair, again with shots aplenty; a whooping total of 82 for the two teams. Toronto dominated in first jumping out to 2-0 lead on markers by Maurice Charette followed by Quinton Pollack on the power play. The turnaround in play in the second was eye opening, the Bees were all over the Dukes. The Dukes took all five penalties in the period including a misconduct to Bobby Sauer for boarding, The puck never seemed to leave the Toronto end as the Bees scored 3 by Robert Walker, Joe Morey and Jacob Gron on 23 shots to take a 3-2 lead after 2.

The tide turned again in the final period. Dukes pressed Boston then were rewarded with a 4-3 lead on goals by Lou Galbraith and Carlson, The lead did not last long as Wilbur Chandler knotted the game at 4 less than a minute after Carlson had given Toronto the lead. With Jacob Gron in the sin bin for holding, Rob Painchaud scored the eventual game winner from Pollack, Galbraith at 13:42 as the Dukes' outlasted the home team.

During the morning skate before the Sunday afternoon game with the Shamrocks Coach Barrell was seen working with the lines on defensive zone coverage, whatever was discussed in this unconventional use of the morning skate seemed to work as the Dukes skated to 5-0 win over the visitors from New York. Painchaud, Pollack and Carlson, along with first goals of the season from Trevor Parker and Bobby Sauer provided all the offense. Toronto was out shot 27-26 in Broadway's first whitewash of the season.

Jack Barrell: "A much better week but we still have a long way to go. I am far from satisfied with our play without the puck. The game against Montreal was one of the best goaltending efforts I have ever had the pleasure to witness. I told the guys after the game they owe Broadway one because all of them were lax in playing their checking roles. That shortie by Brown was nice although he knew he was in for a tongue lashing if he does not make the play, I tell the guys if you are going to take a chance on the kill the is only one rule, IT HAD BETTER WORK!

Boston was game that adds to my gray hair. About 75% of our practices are spent working on defending and what to do in all different situations. Then we go out on the ice and suddenly everything we have practiced seems to go out the window.

We are taking far too many stick penalties which are just basically lazy or poor positioning penalties. That has to change. I see far too much freelancing: we have a system when we have the puck, along with one when we don't. If one guy steps out of the system, it causes cascading chaos.

Sunday against the Shamrocks was better, Gordie's shutout was in a large part due to forcing weak shots from the outside."

CAGE CAMPAIGN TIPS OFF TOMORROW

The fourth season of the Federal Basketball League gets underway tomorrow with a record number of teams in the pro cage loop. The expansion St Louis Steamers have joined the league, bolstering its ranks to 17 clubs. The Steamers went 1-5 in tune-up games and will make their official debut with a game in Detroit against the Mustangs - a club that reached the league championship series a year ago.

Other action to get the season underway includes the league champion Brooklyn Red Caps travelling to Hartford to face the Patriots and the Baltimore Barons, who were a perfect 6-0 in exhibition play, are in Pittsburgh to face the Pilots.

LIBERTY COLLEGE TEAM TO BEAT IN COLLEGE CAGE ACTION

The collegiate basketball season tips off this week and while there are a number of teams capable of winning the national championship, the preseason favourite is clearly the Liberty College Bells. With Luther Gordon, who won the Barrette Trophy as college basketball player of the year last season as a junior, leading the way the Bells will be the team to beat this season.

The Bells have had plenty of success in recent years, reaching the national quarterfinals a year ago and have now gone ten straight years of getting to the final eight while finishing ranked in the top 14 for 14 consecutive seasons. In that time period they also won all 3 of the school's national titles. Gordon, who led the nation in scoring last season after transferring from a New York junior college, has a strong supporting cast which includes fellow seniors Scott Basile and Edgar Stillwell. Most pro scouts expect Gordon to be the clear first overall choice for next year's Federal Basketball League draft.

TWIFB released its preseason top twenty-five this week and it is no surprise the Bells head the list. Others that earned high praise from "The Scripture of Sports" include Carolina Poly, Western Iowa, CC Los Angeles and Annapolis Maritime - the schools that round out the top five.

The Cardinals slot in at number two on the preseason list and are led by senior guard James Halle and junior forward Mel Turcotte. Halle was a first team All-American and one of the top scorers in the nation a year ago, averaging 16.8 points per game to help lead Carolina Poly to the South Atlantic Conference title and the quarterfinals of the AIAA tournament. Turcotte, is an early favourite to be the number one pick of the 1951 FBL draft. They did lose guard Major Belk, a second team All-American to graduation and he was selected second overall in the FBL draft by the Toronto Falcons, but the hope is sophomore George Bertram, a look product from Chapel Hill, came pick up some of the slack.

Third on the list is Western Iowa and, like each of the top two in our poll the Canaries reached the quarterfinals of the AIAA tournament a year ago after going 30-2 overall and a Great Lakes Alliance best 15-1 in section play. The Canaries did lose forward Willy Ludwick to graduation and he was selected third overall by the Syracuse Titans in the pro draft but there is plenty of talent returning highlighted by junior center Darryl Baugher and seniors Slim Barner and Al Halsey. Their backcourt will be young but talented with sophomore Dinny Cox and freshman Dick Landry, the number 4 ranked high school senior a year ago, being counted on to develop quickly.

CC Los Angeles won 21 games a year ago and was knocked off by Western Iowa in the second round of the tournament, but we expect big things from the Coyotes this season. They have a terrific backcourt duo in senior Erv Johnson and junior Cornelius Porter plus a talented small forward in Henry Piercy. They need junior center Tripp Ruby to have a breakout season after coming off the bench each of his first two years.

At number five on our list is Annapolis Maritime and while the Navigators may lack a future FBL star, they do have a deep and talented roster led by senior forward Billy Ambrose. The naval academy went 26-5 a year ago after missing the AIAA tournament each of the two previous seasons but they have a long history of surprising tournament runs with the most recent one being a trip to the Finals in the spring of 1944.

Here are our preseason Top Twenty-Five as well as our preseason selections for All-American status in the upcoming season.

THE SHATTERED RINGS: DESMARAIS' TRAGIC END LEAVES MIDDLEWEIGHT DIVISION IN FLUX

In the harsh realm where ropes meet canvas, the middleweight division has been cast into turmoil by the cruel hands of fate. Edouard Desmarais, the lionhearted French pugilist and two-time holder of the coveted World Middleweight Championship, met his untimely end in a fiery spectacle among the Azores' unforgiving peaks a little less than two weeks ago. A Paris to New York Constellation, a vessel of dreams and destinies, now a grim charred relic.

Desmarais, a warrior in every sense, had etched his legacy in the ring. His formidable skills, his epic trilogy with Frank Melanson that saw each claim the title from the other, and his triumph over Archie Rees for the European Middleweight title, were chapters in a story of pugilistic grandeur.

As the wreckages smolder, the middleweight division, once firmly gripped by Desmarais' resilient hands, is now an open field, a canvas without an undisputed master. The recently retired Frank Melanson, who shared the squared circle with Desmarais in legendary encounters, offered somber words, "Edouard was a true champion, a man of the ring, and beyond. We danced, we fought, and we respected. His spirit was indomitable, and his loss leaves an irreplaceable void."

Hector Sawyer, the heavyweight colossus who admired Desmarais' tenacity, expressed, "In Desmarais, we had a champion who transcended weight classes. His skill, his heart, were unparalleled. He was a friend, an inspiration. His absence leaves a shadow over the ring."

Archie Rees, the Englishman who tasted defeat against Desmarais, remarked, "In the ring, Edouard was a force of nature. His demise is a profound loss for boxing. He elevated the sport, and his legacy is etched in every jab, every hook. The ring echoes with his absence."

The question now echoes through smoky arenas and distant gyms - who will seize the mantle that Desmarais, in his tragic departure, has left vacant? With contenders circling and uncertainty reigning, a name that rises to prominence is Davis Owens. The 25-year-old, a rising star with an impeccable record, was set to dance with Desmarais in December. Fate, however, dealt a different hand.

The middleweight division stands at a crossroads, a canvas eager to bear witness to new sagas, yet haunted by the absence of a fallen champion. The brutal ballet of fists will continue, but Desmarais' shadow will loom large over the ropes, a reminder of a warrior's journey cut short among the clouds.

RECENT KEY RESULTS

• Tuesday evening in Detroit, following a long tribute for Edouard Desmarais who was slated to fight at Thompson Palladium in December before his shocking death in a plane crash last week, middleweight Millard Shelton (26-5) claimed a unanimous decision over Bobby Price (22-5) in a 10 rounder.
• Friday in Blackpool, England, French middleweight Yohan Revel improved to 23-1 with a 4th round knockout of Oscar Fawkes.

UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS

• Tonight- London, England - WW contender Danny Julian (25-1-1) vs Charles Hickson (17-1-1) and rising welterweights Archie O'Carry (17-1-1) vs Lewis Kernuish (17-0)
• Nov 5- Thompson Palladium, Detroit - Middleweight contender John Edmonds (29-3) vs Mike Cook (27-15-3)
• Nov 12 - Bigsby Garden, New York City - World Welterweight champion Mac Erickson (20-0) defends his title against Mark Westlake (27-4-1)
• Nov 15 - Union City, NJ- rising Heavyweight Joey Tierney (15-0) vs Reggie Bryan (18-7-4)
• Nov 23- Boston: Chester Conley managed Italian middleweight Hugo Caino (15-0-2) vs Cecil Savage (8-12-3)
• Nov 23- London, England: rising British heavyweight Ben Budgeford (20-1) vs Cameron Tegan (13-7-1)
• Nov 27- Columbus, OH- WW River Thomas (22-8) vs Clyde Bissonette (22-9-3)
• Nov 28- Blackpool, England- HW Irish Pat Harber, who once faced Hector Sawyer and is 41-8-2 vs Alexander Tuffin (6-6-3).

• In a speech at the laying of the corner stone for the new United Nations headquarters on Manhattan's East Side, President Truman appealed anew for effective international controls to assure that atomic energy "will be devoted to man's welfare and not to his destruction."
• US diplomats from behind the Iron Curtain have begun internal secret strategy talks on the East-West cold war. While the news Russia has the atomic bomb will be the main topic, they also will discuss the feud between the Kremlin and Marshall Tito of Yugoslavia, church-state disputes in Hungary, Poland and Bulgaria as well as the recent purge of thousands of Czechs by the Prague government.
• Prime Minister Attlee slashed British spending on defense and cut down on free medical services in the latest effort to ease Britain's economic crisis.
• Because shortages of steel and coal and adding to the list of unemployed in the United States daily, cutting deeper into the Nation's economic fabric, it appears likely that President Truman will be forced to take action against steel and coal strikes.
  
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November 7, 1949
 

NOVEMBER 7, 1949

ST INGATIUS KNOCKS OFF ST BLANE AGAIN

This is starting to become a habit. For the second year in a row the St. Ignatius Lancers have defeated the St. Blane Fighting Saints. A year ago, it was by a 23-10 score and this season it was a one-sided 38-17 victory for the Lancers. The loss sends previously unbeaten St. Blane toppling down from the top spot in the polls to number 4 while St. Ignatius cracks the top ten for the first time since their appearance in the preseason rankings.

Over the past four seasons, which includes a pair of National Titles, the Saints are 31-2-1 with both of their losses coming at the hands of St. Ignatius. On this day the story for the hosts was their strong defense, which stymied the Saints time and again, as well as a senior halfback by the name of John Granger, who ran for two scores and caught a 7-yard pass from Steve Cinnamond for a third major. The only game the 6-1 Lancers have lost this season was their opener, when they fell 20-7 in the Motor City to Detroit City College.

St Blane was not the only previously unbeaten team to taste defeat this week as Tempe College and Brooklyn State each lost for the first time this season. The list of unbeaten and untied teams is down to four with top ranked Rome State, which handed the Brooklyn State Bears their first loss, Oklahoma City State and Redwood University sitting 1-2-3 in the polls. The final team with a perfect record is Academia Alliance outfit Ellery College, which remained unbeaten and untied with a 34-10 section victory over George Fox University.

The Centurions have replaced St. Blane at the top of the polls as Brooklyn State's shining moment of story-book glory following a 4-0 start ended with the violent eruption of a great Rome State football team that had been held scoreless almost to the end of the opening half of one of the most savagely fought games of the year. The final score of 31-10 did not do the Bears justice for their spirited effort, as it was inflated by a pair of late touchdowns for the Centurions when Brooklyn State turned the ball over twice will trying to get the equalizing score while trailing 17-10 until the those closing minutes.

Oklahoma City State continues to win and climb the polls despite very little fanfare from the big newspaper centers in the east or west. The Wranglers ran their record to 7-0 with a Plains Athletic Association leading 4-0 mark following a 26-13 doubling of Eastern Kansas. Halfback Fred Atkins ran for 97 yards and two scores to lead the way to victory over the Warriors on Saturday.

Redwood continued its impressive run in the west with a dominating 38-13 victory over Coastal California on the road in Los Angeles. The Mammoths are 4-0 in West Coast Athletic Association play and appear to be headed for a showdown with rival Northern California for the section's berth in the East-West Classic. The Miners humbled Spokane State 34-3 on Saturday and are 5-0 in section play and 7-1 overall. The Mammoths will host the annual meeting between the two foes on in two weeks.

WEEKEND RESULTS

RAMBLERS REMAIN PERFECT

Down Wildcats in Defensive Struggle

The St Louis Ramblers improved to 7-0 on the season after winning a crucial West Division showdown with the Chicago Wildcats by a score of 7-0. The loss drops the Wildcats to 5-2, 2 games back of the front-running Ramblers with 5 games remaining in the American Football Association regular season. It was the second time this season that the Ramblers beat Chicago, winning 34-7 three weeks ago in St Louis.

Some strong defense, crucial turnovers and a key punt return proved the difference in the contest. St Louis prevailed despite gaining only 256 net yards on the day, nearly 200 less than the 455 the Wildcats accumulated. The difference was Chicago missed its opportunities while St Louis made good on the one real scoring chance they had.

Chicago started strong with two impressive drives but ended up with nothing to show for it as the first stalled when Stu Hubbard intercepted a Fred Wilhelm pass and the second, a 9-play march of 57 yards went unrewarded when Wilhelm's 36-yard field goal attempt came up short.

The Ramblers missed a field goal attempt of their own early in the second period but got their break late in the frame when John Sweat returned a punt 59 yards before being forced out of bounds at the Wildcats 29 yard line. Six plays later Sweat completed the drive with a 5-yard scoring run for what would turn out to be the only points of the game.

Chicago had other chances such as early in the third quarter when Ricky McCallister tried to force a pass to Herman Glass but the Ramblers Jesse Tedesco stepped in front and intercepted the ball at the St Louis 3-yard line. Wilhelm would miss on a second field goal attempt midway through the fourth period and then with just 12 seconds left and the ball at the St Louis 20, McCallister was intercepted once more at the St Louis 3-yard line, this time by Stu Hubbard in a game clinching turnover.

Philadelphia and Washington continue to battle for top spot in the East Division as both improved to 6-1 with victories at home. The Frigates blanked Los Angeles 23-0 behind a pair of Jim Taylor touchdown passes while the Wasps doubled Pittsburgh 28-14 as Bob Krohn and Monte Harriman combined on a pair of scoring grabs. Krohn completed 21 of 32 attempts for 246 yards with Harriman hauling in ten of those throws for 121 yards. Philadelphia beat Washington handily at Sailors Memorial two weeks ago for the Wasps first defeat and the two clubs will stage a rematch at Columbia Stadium next Sunday.

New York won for the second week in a row as Harry Rawlings had another strong day under center for the Grid Stars. The New York quarterback passed for 230 yards while backs Dan Cole and Scooter Beaumont combined for 156 yards rushing in a 43-21 victory over the struggling Boston Americans, who have dropped 4 of their last five games. Speaking of struggling the Detroit Maroons are now 0-7 and there is speculation that longtime head coach Frank Yurik may not survive the season after the Maroons were booed by the Thompson Field fans as they suffered through a 42-6 loss to the Cleveland Finches.

CHICAGO CONQUERS COWBOYS IN SHOCKING UPSET

Comets Win 28-14 at Packer Park

There have been some teams surprisingly struggle this season. Certainly, the unexpected collapse of both the St Louis Pioneers and Philadelphia Sailors from World Championship Series participants to the bottom of the barrel were two examples but they may pale in comparison to what is happening to the Kansas City Cowboys this season. The class of the Continental Football Conference its first three years of existence, it seemed that Cowboys coach Pete Walsh and all-world quarterback Pat Chappell could do no wrong. Even when there was a minor slip in losing their bid for a third straight CFC crown in the title game loss to San Francisco a year ago it seemed just a little hiccup.

But now, after a shocking 28-14 loss at home to the lowly Chicago Comets, a team that had been outscored 236-66 in its previous 6 meetings with the Cowboys, all Kansas City wins of course, the formidable Kansas City eleven is now looking like just another football team. The troubling signs were already present as the Cowboys lost 3 consecutive games before hanging on for a 9-7 win over the first place San Francisco Wings a week ago, but this loss is a new low point for the club and may just be what costs the Cowboys a berth in the CFC title game.

Kansas City is now 5-4 with 3 games remaining. They host Buffalo before heading out on the road successive weekends for games in New York and Chicago. The Cowboys are tied with the Los Angeles Lobos for second place, but the Lobos hold the tiebreaker after sweeping the season series with Kansas City. Los Angeles has a tough game next week when the Lobos host a Wings team that has already clinched first place. Then it will be a trip to New Orleans to face the 5-5 Crescents, who are also still very much in the title game hunt, before the Lobos finish at home against the New York Gothams.

Give the Comets credit as they won for the third time this season, primarily by forcing 6 Cowboys turnovers including a second quarter 36-yard interception return for a score by Bill Rice that put the Comets up 14-7 at the time. Pat Chappell threw for 218 yards and a pair of touchdowns while only being intercepted that one time but he also fumbled the ball away twice. It was not a bad effort by the Cowboys signal-caller but well below his usual production. The issue may lie more with the ground game and in particular Mason Matthews. The burly fullback who bulled his way for a league best 1,217 yards a year ago has gained just 363 through 9 games this season including only 29 on 10 carries yesterday against the Comets.

There is still time for the Cowboys to get back in the post-season saddle, but now they will need help in the form of at least one Los Angeles loss should Kansas City aim to make it 4 consecutive appearances in the CFC championship game.

San Francisco clinched its spot in the title tilt after the Wings improved their season mark to 8-1-1 with a 28-10 road victory in New Orleans. Tom Dreps had a big game for the winners, scoring on a pair of first half touchdown runs while also interception two Vince Gallegos passes. Just for good measure Dreps also returned three punts for a total of 100 yards including a 68-yarder in the third quarter that set up the Wings final score of the day. The final game of the weekend was in New York where the Stars scored a pair of first period touchdowns to beat the Buffalo Bulls 21-7.

HOWARD RETURNS TO FORESTERS AS FOUR MANAGERIAL SEATS FILLED

"All a Misunderstanding" Claims Foresters Owner Marshall

In what is being termed simply a "misunderstanding" it was quietly revealed that Pinky Howard will continue to act as the manager of the pennant winning Cleveland Foresters next season. Howard was not made available to meet with newsmen, but Cleveland owner Richard Marshall did make a brief statement confirming that Howard, who led the Foresters to their third highest win total in franchise history and within a game of winning their second ever World Championship Series, will be back as manager next season.

This after reports two weeks ago were circulated that the Foresters had not offered Howard a contract extension, reports that Marshall himself seemed to confirm at the time. Now the owner, who has been out of the spotlight during the Foresters disastrous last decade but is well remembered for creating quite a row with a former general manager over a decade ago when the Foresters last were a contender, says his words were taken out of context and the entire situation was "all a misunderstanding."

"I may have misspoke, when I said my club had not offered Howard a contract for next season," explained Marshall. "What I meant was, at the time, we had not reached agreement, but negotiations were ongoing."

Marshall confirmed a contract has now been signed and that the 55-year-old Howard will be Cleveland's manager come opening day.

*** Eagles Still Searching For Next Bench Boss ***

The Boston Minutemen, Pittsburgh Miners and St Louis Pioneers have each filled their managerial vacancies, leaving just the Washington Eagles, who had skipper John Lawrence announce his retirement, still searching.

Boston named veteran minor leaguer skipper Billy "Muscles" Hammond to fill its vacancy after Tom Steffen was cut loose following two years on the job. Hammond, a former Minutemen player, has spent the past half dozen seasons as the manager of the Charleston Blue Legs, a AAA affiliate of St Louis. What may be bigger news is Hall of Famer Ed Ziehl has joined the Minutemen as their bench coach. The former Gothams star had spent the past four seasons managing the Los Angeles Knights of the Great Western League.

St Louis tabbed long-time Cincinnati third base coach Cliff Everett to replace Hugh Luckey with the Pioneers. Everett spent a decade with the Cannons and was part of their three consecutive pennant winning clubs from 1943-45. He also spent more than a decade in the big leagues as a third basemen with Detroit and the Chicago Cougars, winning a Whitney Award and being part of three WCS winners as a player to go with the two world titles he won in Cincinnati.

Finally Pittsburgh filled its opening with news that Jim Williams will be the Miners manager next season. The 63-year-old may seem like an odd choice for the rebuilding club which just lost Bob Beelman to retirement but Williams, while never a manager, has a wealth of experience as a bench coach for 13 seasons with the Philadelphia Sailors. He was a part of a pair of pennant winning Sailors clubs and won a WCS with the old Baltimore Cannons in 1914 during his 5-year FABL pitching career.

MOTORS STREAK TO TOP OF NAHC

Some hot play of late by the Detroit Motors has them tied with the Toronto Dukes for top spot in the early going of the North American Hockey Confederation season. The Motors have won four games in a row and gone five straight without a loss including a 5-1 victory over the two-time defending champion Dukes on Saturday evening. That strong play of late gives the Detroit club, which has missed the playoffs three of the past five years and not won a playoff series since 1942, a 5-3-2 record. The Motors are tied with Toronto for 12 points but the league is very tight after 10 games for each squad with only 4 points separating first place from last place.

Heading the other direction, you have the Chicago Packers and Montreal Valiants both on three game losing streaks. The Valiants are tied with New York for last place - and both of those clubs missed the playoffs a year ago- but they are only 4 points out of first so certainly no need for panic at this stage. Chicago is 3-3-4 on the season and after the awful start (followed by a terrific second half) the Packers endured last year a .500 opening month of the campaign is of little concern. What might be starting to be a worry is Tommy Burns. The scoring machine who had a league best 39 goals a year ago despite missing 11 games with an injury and 47 the previous season has scored just once in 6 games this year. Burns does have 4 assists so is close to a point a game but there is some speculation in the Windy City as to whether Burns has fully recovered from a devastating preseason hit that left him with a dislocated jaw and forced him to miss the start of the season.

DAILY RESULTS LAST WEEK

WEDNEDAY NOVEMBER 2

Chicago 2 at Montreal 3: The Vals opened the season with 2 straight victories but then went winless in their next four games before snapping that skid at home against Chicago. Adam Sandford's 4th and 5th goals of the season led the way with Wayne Augustin adding a goal and an assist for the Vals.

Detroit 2 at Boston 2: A rematch of a semi-final matchup last season saw Nick Tardif score the tying marker for the Motors with less than 6 minutes remaining in the game to earn a 2-2. Hank Walsh had opened the scoring for Detroit in the first period with Mark Dyck and Wilbur Chandler scoring the Boston goals.

Toronto 3 at New York 0: Gordie Broadway stopped 21 New York shots for his second shutout of the season with Herb Burdette, Chad Roy and Maurice Charette handling the offense for the Dukes.

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 5

Montreal 4 at Boston 4: The Bees are forced to settle for just a single point for the second game in a row and they only earned that after rallying for three unanswered third period goals. It was a slow start for the hosts, but they outshot the Vals 16-3 in a frantic third period for ex-Boston goaltender Tom Brockers in the Montreal cage. Bad news for the Vals as forward Wayne Augustin, who had 3 goals and 5 assists already on the season, was injured and could miss the next two and a half months.

Toronto 1 at Detroit 5: The Dukes outshot the Motors 36-23 but Millard Touhey was terrific in the Detroit net, leading his team to a 5-1 victory. Marsh Spencer and Dixon Butler paced a balanced Detroit attack with a goal and an assist each while Adam Vanderbilt had 3 helpers. Quinton Pollack was the lone Dukes shooter to beat Touhey.

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 6

Chicago 2 at Toronto 3: The Dukes, who likely were read the riot act by Coach Jack Barrell on the train home from Detroit, responded with a more inspired game this evening, edging the Packers 3-2. Quinton Pollack scored his 6th goal of the season, and it was the game winner while Derek Gubb had a goal and an assist for Chicago. The Dukes defense was still suspect in this one as they allowed 47 shots on Gordie Broadway, who had a big bounce back game after his showing in the Motor City the previous night. The Packers are winless in four.

Detroit 2 at New York 1: The Motors won their fourth in a row with a 2-1 victory over the Shamrocks. Henri Chasse, the other half of Detroit's two-headed goalie tandem, made 37 saves while Ben Witt and Hank Walsh were the Motors marksmen.

AROUND THE LEAGUE

• The Toronto Dukes look well positioned in net when 35-year-old Gordie Broadway eventually reaches the end of the line. Judging by Broadway's play this season that won't be anytime soon but when it does happen there a pair of youngsters the Dukes own the rights to waiting in the wings. One is Charlie Dell, a highly touted 21-year-old who was selected 4th overall in the 1948 draft and his currently get his feet wet with the Toledo Tigers of the HAA. The other is Scott Renes, a 23-year-old who was selected in the 3rd round back in 1945 but has been with Seattle of the Great West League ever since. Renes is enjoying a dominant start to the season with a 1.06 GAA and a .942 save percentage -both best in the coast loop.
• Thanks in no small part to Renes, Seattle is off to a hot start in the Great West Hockey League. The Emeralds ae 16-1-1 and lead second place Vancouver by 13 points atop the loop, which expanded from 4 teams to six this season with the addition of the San Francisco Wings and Hollywood Stars.
• It is interesting to see the junior league has 3 powerhouse teams it appears. 16 games into the season Saint John, led Toronto draft pick Ken Jamieson and New York second round pick in goaltender Roger Marchand, has yet to lose with a 15-0-1 record. But they are only tied for first in the East because Verdun is 15-2-1. The Argonauts are a young team with no one older than 17. In the West St Thomas has a large lead with a 15-1-1 record. The Pachyderms boast league scoring leader Bart Bradford- another Shamrocks pick- as their top player. At the other end of the table we have the 0-16-2 Kitchener Roosters. Among their players are Packers late round pick Gene Dalton and what looks like very little else.
• Gordie Thomas of the Pachyderms may be drawing some interest from NAHC scouts. The 18-year-old center originally from Winnipeg leads all draft eligble junior players with 38 points in 17 games. Left winger Ryan Alavie of Saint Johns is the top draft eligible goal scorer with 17 so far.

Dukes Go 2-1 Now Tied Atop NAHC With Detroit

Toronto sandwiched two wins between a loss to move into a tie for first with the suddenly hot Motors team from Detroit. The week began with a return visit to New York for the second half of a back to back with the Shamrocks. The home team came out of the dressing room flying, pinning the visitors in their own zone for most of the first period. Dukes were out shot 11-3 in the stanza with Gordie Broadway again standing tall between the pipes. Broadway was spectacular on two saves robbing both Jim Macek and Tommaso Brescia on deflections in tight. He was also helped out when Paul Tetreault missed a wide open cage when left alone in front of the net.

The Dukes seemed wake up in the intermission as they applied more pressure to Alex Sorrell in the Shamrocks goal outshooting the home squad 12-8 in the second period. The visitors were also rewarded with a goal when Herb Burdette tapped in a rebound off a Doug Zimmerman shot for his 1st of the year with just over 5 minutes remaining in the middle frame. Down by a goal and unable to solve Broadway in five straight periods the Shamrocks decided to open play up in the hope of putting the disc behind the Toronto keeper. The plan did not achieve the desired results as Toronto scored the only two goals in the third. Chad Roy notched his second of the season when he converted from the high slot after taking a pass from Bobby Sauer before the period was 3 minutes old. The Dukes scored their third and final goal of the game when Maurice Charette was left alone in front of Sorrell on passes from Clyde Lumsen and Herb Burdette just after New York had killed off a 5 on 3. Broadway registered his second shutout of the year, also in succession, in 3-0 victory.

A quick trip home to practice Friday before heading into Detroit for a Saturday night encounter with Motors at Thompson Palladium. The crowd of 16,670 saw the Motors open the scoring at 3:36 on a goal by Bobo Davis from Alexandre Veins and Adam Vanderbilt. The Dukes dominated play in the first, firing 18 shots at Millard Touhey, with no success. The turning point of the game seemed to come with 68 seconds left in the first when Marsh Spencer dented the twine behind Broadway just after the Dukes had hemmed the Motors in their own zone for an extended period. That second goal seemed to deflate the Dukes.

Things went from bad to worse when the Motors made it 3-0 on Nick Tardif's 4th of the year before the second period with a minute old. Dixon Butler's 1st of the year made it 4-0 at 7:05. The highlight of the game for Toronto was when Les Carlson squared off with Lou Barber in a spirited battle in the Detroit end. It was one of the few signs of life from a clearly dejected Dukes team. The low light came when Vincent Arsenault made it 5-0 shorthanded with Marsh Spencer serving a major. Quinton Pollack managed to spoil Touhey's shutout with his 5th of the campaign in the third, which was a another listless period for Barrell's team.

Back home to face Chicago on Sunday on what was a very quiet trip the Dukes managed to open the scoring when Trevor Parker converted on passes from Charlie Brown and Bobby Sauer at 4:53. Toronto went to the intermission up one which was flattering considering the Packers were all over the home side. Many fans thought that Terry Russell may have gotten the start but Barrell went back to Broadway who turned away 13 in the first, many of which were high quality chances to knot the score.

The siege in the Toronto end continued in the second with the Packers were again all over the Dukes. Broadway once more stood on his head, only allowing one shot from Derek Gubb behind him of the 19 he faced in the second. People in the corridor outside the Dukes' room said the it was loud in the room with Barrell berating his troops for at least ten minutes of the fifteen minute break.

If the fans thought the third would be a tight checking affair were in for a surprise. Both teams seemed to be set on leaving their goaltenders to their own devices as a total of 30 shots, 15 at each, were on net in the period. Toronto got a break early when Frank Featherstone scored just in the opening minute and then Pollack, with his 6th, made it 3-1 at 12:26. Chicago closed to within one at 18:03 off of Marty Mahoney's stick setting up for a wild finish. With the Packers cage empty Chicago shooters were thwarted by Broadway who robbed Ed Delarue in tight with only seconds remaining in the game as the Dukes hung on for a 3-2 win.

Coach Barrell: "It is not often I am unhappy with a winning week that puts us in tie for first. This week is one of those weeks. We cannot continue to rely on goaltending to bail us out game after to game. Obviously our system is not working so this week I going to change the system before we face Montreal on Thursday, go into the Windy City Saturday then back home to host Boston Sunday. The players do not seem to be comfortable with our systems so it is time adjust. Buying in is a demand, not an option! If we do not improve then it will be time to change the roster. I cannot take this play much longer."

TOUGH WAY FOR STEAMERS TO BREAK INTO CAGE LOOP

The expansion St Louis Steamers became the record 17th team to join the Federal Basketball League when they made their debut in Detroit against a Mustangs club that went to the league finals a year ago. That opener was a lesson in just how much work lies ahead for the Steamers and their head coach Andrew Brown, who was a Detroit assistant a year ago, as Brown's former club dominated in a 103-70 victory. The first bucket in St Louis history was a shot from the left baseline by Tim Curran but it was very rough introduction for the Steamers, who trailed 33-10 after the first quarter.

The schedule maker did the Steamers no favours the rest of the week either as the followed up the visit to Detroit with a difficult opponent in the Philadelphia Phantoms for their first home game and then welcomed the Mustangs for a return visit. The scores were a little more respectable at the St Louis Arena but the result was the same in falling 97-80 to the Phantoms and 99-89 in the rematch with Detroit. More bad news for the Steamers when Cy Worley -the first overall draft pick out of St Blane- had to leave Sunday's game early with an injury that is expected to sideline the young forward for nearly two months.

The Mustangs and Phantoms each got off to perfect 3-0 starts with Baltimore and Buffalo being the only other two clubs that survived the opening week without tasting defeat. The Barons and Brawlers each went 2-0. Fans in Detroit and Philadelphia have to be very optimistic as each club beat one of its major rivals. The Phantoms season opener was an 89-62 win in Washington, handing the Statesmen a very rare loss at the National Auditorium and between road wins in the nation's capital and St Louis the Phantoms downed Cincinnati 91-81 in their home opener. As for Detroit, the Mustangs began with an easy couple of games against the expansion Steamers but then thumped the Chicago Panthers 101-68 behind 22-points from center Jack Kurtz last night to see the Panthers fall to 0-3.

Like Washington, which ended up dropping two of its three games this week with both being surprising home losses, the defending champion Brooklyn Red Caps also stumbled out of the gate. The Red Caps were tripped up 80-76 by Hartford in their season opener with Kevin Kennard scoring 22 points in his first career FBL start after 4 seasons coming off the bench. Brooklyn did right the ship with wins in Syracuse and Rochester to finish the week at 2-1. Hartford survived a hellish first week against the two Eastern powers by splitting games with Brooklyn and Washington. A feat even more impressive when you consider the Patriots were playing without forward Joe Quintana as the 6th year pro out of CC Los Angeles who averaged 13.4 ppg a year ago is expected to miss the entire season with a leg injury.

PRESEASON TOURNAMENTS UNDERWAY TO MARK COLLEGE CAGE START

A number of preseason tournaments tipped off yesterday to usher in the start of another collegiate basketball campaign. The defending National Tournament Champion Lexington State Colonials are not participating in one of the early events -they do not open their season until November 18th with a tough test on the road against Annapolis Maritime- but a number of highly touted teams including TWIFB's pick for the 1950 tournament crown Liberty College were in action.

The Bells opened their slate with a 67-57 win over Mississippi A&M in the Preseason AIAA Showcase in Chicago. Liberty College will face North Carolina Tech in the final of the 4 team tournament after the Techsters beat Central Ohio 62-54 in the other semi-final.

The Tournament of Champions, held at Bigsby Garden and arguably the biggest of the early tournaments saw its four-team field get underway as well yesterday with Western Iowa and 1948 AIAA champion Redwood advancing to the finals. The Canaries had little trouble flying past Central Carolina 72-54 while Mammoths outscored Texas Gulf Coast 77-69.

In Boston the annual Jack Easton Tip-Off Classic -named for the man credited with founding the sport and an instrumental force in organizing the current college basketball structure and championship tournament- got underway with a couple of upsets. The biggest of which saw Troy State, a tiny New York State university, shock Detroit City College 59-41 in the opening round of the 8-team field. The University of New Jersey also pulled off an upset, surprising Northern California 58-45. Brunswick and Pueblo State also advanced to the semi-finals.

CANARIES EARLY SUCCESS ON THE RECRUITING TRAIL

Twelve of the top twenty high school seniors have already committed to collegiate programs for next season including three that will play for Western Iowa. They include the top ranked center in the nation, and number 7 overall, in Milwaukee native Leo Beck and well as a Denver high school forward by the name of Hank Ledet, who is ranked by OSA as the 8th best recruit this season. The third newcomer next season for the Great Lakes Alliance power will be Billy Hudson, a small forward out of St Paul High School in Minnesota. OSA has Hudson as #17 on its list.

The only top five recruit to commit thus far is Harry Wall, a 6'4" forward out of Madison High School in Brooklyn, New York. Wall, number four on the scouting service list, decided to head west and will play for Rainier College next season after heavily considering offers from St Blane, Whitney College and Detroit City College.

Erv Corwin, a guard from Valdosta, Georgia is the number one ranked recruit according to OSA and is believed to have narrowed his choice down to Carolina Poly and Bayou State although Coastal California, Detroit City College and Western Iowa may also still be in the running.

ERICKSON SET FOR SATURDAY TITLE DEFENSE

World Welterweight Champion Mac Erickson returns to the ring Saturday when he puts his title on the line against veteran pugilist Mark Westlake. It will be the fourth defense for Erickson since he claimed the title with a decision over Harold Stephens in April of last year. It will also be Erickson's first appears in the boxing mecca that is the Bigsby Garden although he did fight in Gothams Stadium on the undercard of a Hector Sawyer title fight four years ago.

The 28-year-old Erickson is a perfect 21-0 and coming off a July bout in which he outpointed Danny Rutledge in a battle of two undefeated fighters. The St. Paul, Mn. native is heavily favoured over Westlake, a 32-year-old Mississippian who briefly held the world title after beating Dennis O'Keefe in the fall of 1946. Westlake would lose to Stephens in his first defense the following February in St Louis and enters the ring with a 27-4-1 career record.

RECENT KEY RESULTS

• In a pair of bouts in London, England on October 31, welterweight contender Danny Julien ran his record to 26-1-1 with a unanimous decision over Charles Hickson (17-2-1) in what was just the second career loss for Hickson. The other bought also involved rising European welterweights and it saw Archie O'Carry (18-1-1) from the Netherlands claim a majority decision over previously unbeaten Scottish fighter Lewis Kernuish (17-1).

UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS

• Nov 12 - Bigsby Garden, New York City - World Welterweight champion Mac Erickson (20-0) defends his title against Mark Westlake (27-4-1)
• Nov 15 - Union City, NJ- rising Heavyweight Joey Tierney (15-0) vs Reggie Bryan (18-7-4)
• Nov 23- Boston: Chester Conley managed Italian middleweight Hugo Caino (15-0-2) vs Cecil Savage (8-12-3)
• Nove 23- London, Egland: rising British heavyweight Ben Budgeford (20-1) vs Cameron Tegan (13-7-1)
• Nov 27- Columbus, OH- WW River Thomas (22-8) vs Clyde Bissonette (22-9-3)
• Nove 28- Blackpool, England- HW Irish Pat Harber, who once faced Hector Sawyer and is 41-8-2 vs Alexander Tuffin (6-6-3).

• US Secretary of State Acheson is expected to push for greater economic and political unity among Western European nations, including the new German republic, in a meeting of Big Three Foreign Ministers this week.
• First signs on an end to the month long steel strike as one company, Bethlehem Steel, has signed a pension-insurance agreement with its 80,000 striking employees. It is hoped other steel manufacturers will follow quickly.
• There are reports that the government may soon step into the 46-day old coal strike. Union head John Lewis and operators have been invited to meet in Washington this week. Lewis has made an offer to negotiate with Illinois soft-coal operators independent of the rest of the industry. His offer was in response to a plea from that state's Governor who warned that soft coal supplies in Illinois "are so low that the health of thousands of citizens is imperiled."
• The US government slapped rigid controls on shipment of strategic good to practically the whole world in an effort to prevent re-shipments to the Soviet Bloc. Only Canada was exempt with heavy focus on Communist China and Latin America.
• The United States of Indonesia, the world's newest republic, came into being with an agreement ending 300 years of Dutch rule over the rich East Indies. The Dutch were spurred on my international pressure and UN guidance.
• 47 people, including a member of the House of Representatives were killed after a military plane collided with an Eastern Airlines flight just outside Washington DC.
  
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November 14, 1949
 

ERICKSON’S EARLY HEAD BUTT A FACTOR IN SEVENTH ROUND TKO OVER WESTLAKE

Bigsby Garden, New York, N.Y. -It was a somber evening at Bigsby Garden, for reasons unrelated to the business at hand. The plane crash that took the life of the reigning middleweight champion, Edouard Desmarais, was recently announced, and his upcoming title defense against Davis Owens was still on the fresh newsprint of the New York World’s sports pages. The plane crash was so sudden and jarring, with Desmarais often seen around town in the days and weeks since his last win.

This night featured Mac Erickson, the most exciting young fighter in boxing today, in his fourth title defense of his welterweight crown. Yes, three successful title defenses might make fans of Hector Sawyer chuckle, but in the welterweight class, it is really saying something. No one has held the belt longer since before the War.

In the other corner is a man who has been there before. Mark Westlake once held the same crown in the early days of the restart of the division. Westlake won the belt from Jackhammer O’Keefe and lost on his first defense to Harold Stephens. Erickson has taken on the contenders, giving them their title shot. Now, it is time for the retreads to step into the ring to test their mettle against Thor. Mark Westlake was a hard puncher who had a reputation of disappearing for rounds at a time. Westlake earned his second title shot, but not many gave him a real chance against a complete fighter like Erickson. Erickson’s previous opponent, Danny Rutledge, was a formidable foe and Erickson cruised in a unanimous decision.

Though there was a pall over the crowd, these two combatants came out punching. Just 11 seconds into the match, Westlake connected on an uppercut, which he quickly tried to establish. Erickson came back with a violent right hand. While the champion was able to get through Westlake’s defenses, the challenger scored with big shots in an entertaining first half of the opening round.

But it was a head butt that appeared inadvertent from the stands that would play a big role in the bout. Referee Ernest Byrd, arbiting his third title fight, admonished Erickson for the head butt. However, the head butt drew blood and the resulting cut on Westlake’s nose caused a quick pause in the fight.

The cut did not seem to immediately harm Westlake or take him off his game as he finished strong, carrying the first round. Erickson started off the second round with a combination that forced Westlake to regroup, but he could not capitalize any further. Westlake was able to regroup and in the final moments of the second round, he connected on a hard shot upstairs that gave Westlake momentum.

Westlake used the third round to pick his spots and come through with big hits that hurt the champion Erickson. Westlake was very confident, even cocky, as the third round came to a close, as the challenger had designs on building a lead on the judges’ cards.

As the fourth round started, Erickson decided to take matters into his own hands. With Westlake starting to pour it on in a dominating start to the fourth round, with about thirty seconds left in the round, Erickson landed an effective uppercut that made Westlake’s nose start to leak. The ringside doctor took a look and allowed the fight to continue. Apparently, Erickson’s first-round head butt did more damage to Erickson’s reputation than it did to Westlake’s performance.

The challenger went back to work in Round 5, coming at Erickson to start the round, cornering him, and landing a hard cross that forced the champion to cover up. Westlake did not let up throughout the round, as some swelling started to appear under Erickson’s right eye and the continuous barrage potentially injuring Erickson’s left shoulder. The sixth round was more of the same, with Westlake featuring a hook that caused Erickson to double over in pain.

For someone who has impressed as much as Erickson, he was clearly behind in the fight. Westlake was building a big lead through six rounds. The seventh round started just as most of the other rounds did, with Westlake scoring with purposeful punches. Erickson delivered an uppercut that quickly changed everything.

Erickson connected squarely with Westlake’s nose, which started bleeding profusely. Just prior, Westlake was clearly targeting Erickson’s swollen eye, so both fighters were targeting the exposed weakness of the other. However, bleeding will always stop a fight quicker than a swollen eye that might hamper a boxer’s ability to see a lethal punch coming. A nosebleed is not the same as a severely swollen eye, so this reporter thought Erickson was in more trouble, never mind the substantial lead Westlake built by the seventh round.

Referee Byrd stopped the fight and led Westlake over to the physician. Despite the protests lobbed from the challenger’s corner to at least finish the round so the corner men could work on cauterizing Westlake’s nose, Byrd decided to stop the fight. For a referee as experienced in prize fights as Byrd, this came as a shock. Byrd was second guessed almost immediately. In the commotion after the TKO was announced, the crowd acted as though deprived of a great ending to a good fight. Erickson was behind on points, but knowing Erickson’s penchant for knockouts, the best was likely still to come in this bout.

Erickson (21-0-0) stayed undefeated, though many believe he was let off the hook by an overbearing referee. Westlake (27-5-1) definitely earned another title shot in a likely rematch. But there will be calls for a review on the decision to stop the match and that will linger on. I would not want to be in Ernest Byrd’s shoes as he tries to explain his actions.

UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS

• Tonight - Union City, NJ- rising Heavyweight Joey Tierney (15-0) vs Reggie Bryan (18-7-4)
• Nov 23- Boston: Chester Conley managed Italian middleweight Hugo Caino (15-0-2) vs Cecil Savage (8-12-3)
• Nove 23- London, Egland: rising British heavyweight Ben Budgeford (20-1) vs Cameron Tegan (13-7-1)
• Nov 27- Columbus, OH- WW River Thomas (22-8) vs Clyde Bissonette (22-9-3)
• Nov 28- Blackpool, England- HW Irish Pat Harber, who once faced Hector Sawyer and is 41-8-2 vs Alexander Tuffin (6-6-3).

FRIGATES TAKE EAST LEAD WITH WIN IN WASHINGTON

The Philadelphia Frigates are well positioned to make what would be just their second ever appearance in the American Football Association championship game after a 28-10 win in Washington allowed the Frigates to take over sole possession of first place in the AFA East Division. The Frigates, who won their only previous title game appearance in 1944, beat the Wasps for the second time this season after previously winning 58-28 at home three weeks ago.

Philadelphia, which now sports a 7-1 record as the season hits the two-thirds completed mark, dominated the Wasps defense with Jim Taylor throwing for 225 yards and two touchdowns while Greg LePage added 88 yards on the ground and a rushing touchdown. Philadelphia held a huge edge in total yardage, outgaining the Wasps 410-161 on the day. Despite the Frigates defensive dominance, Washington end Monte Harriman still found the end zone, scoring his league-leading 14th touchdown while making 6 catches for nearly half of the total Washington offensive output.

St Louis continues to be the class of the West Division as the Ramblers, who had never finished above .500 since their inception in 1933, are a perfect 8-0 following a 38-13 victory over the New York Stars at Pioneer Field. Once more it was the duo of John Sweat and Nick Klausen who led the way for the Ramblers. Klausen carried the ball 14 times for 112 yards including a pair of touchdown runs, while Sweat excelled both sides of the ball. Sweat threw for 73 yards and a score, ran for another touchdown while on defense he intercepted New York quarterback Archie Rawlings twice.

Second place Chicago is 6-2 in the West Division with both of their losses coming at the hands of St Louis. The Wildcats held off a late charge by Detroit to beat the winless Maroons 21-14 yesterday. In other action Phil Colvin threw for 178 yards and 3 touchdowns as Cleveland outscored Boston 48-27 while Bob Holt had a 90-yard punt return for a touchdown to help pace Pittsburgh to a 28-21 win over the Los Angeles Tigers. Tigers quarterback Dusty Sinclair's fourth quarter fumble in his own territory set up the winning score on a 10-yard run by Pittsburgh quarterback Albie Stallworth with 5 minutes remaining in the game.

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CHAPPELL AERIAL HEROICS KEEP COWBOYS PLAYOFF HOPES ALIVE

This has not been a year to be proud of based on the past standards of the Kansas City Cowboys, but quarterback Pat Chappell delivered when the club needed him most yesterday in guiding his Cowboys to a 42-35 victory over a spirited Buffalo Bulls club. The win, coupled with the Los Angeles Lobos loss to first place San Francisco, gives the Cowboys control of their own destiny in their bid to reach a fourth consecutive Continental Football Conference title game.

Entering the contest the Cowboys were reeling, losing twice to Los Angeles and then suffering the indignity of a home loss to the lowly Chicago Comets. That loss left the Cowboys tied with the Lobos for second place and the right to face the defending champion San Francisco Wings, who had already clinched top spot, in the loop's 4th championship game.

A loss to Buffalo would be devastating to the Cowboys hopes of being the only club to play in all four title games of the young league - one that appears to be on its final legs as rumours persist that two or three of the seven remaining CFC clubs are set to be transferred to the more established American Football Association next season. That was the furthest thing from the mind of Cowboys coach Pete Walsh as he tried to get his charges, who had lost 4 of their last 5 games, back on track.

Cue Chappell, the former 3-sport star at St Magnus, who is unquestionably the most exciting player in the Continental circuit. It has at times, been a struggle for the talented quarterback this season but not on this day as he threw 6 touchdown passes and for 356 yards in total to allow his club to prevail in a shootout with the Bulls.

Chappell was terrific all day but saved his best for last. Buffalo had rallied to tie the game at 35 with three minutes remaining before Chappell went to work. Taking over at his own 26 yard line, he quickly found Collie Lovas for a 32-yard pass to get into Buffalo territory. On a big third down and ten play he connected with Tommy Cohan for just enough to move the chains. He would find Cohan twice more on the 9-play drive including a 12 yard touchdown strike with just 1:26 left to play. It would prove the difference as the Cowboys held on for the 42-35 win.

Los Angeles failed to keep pace as the Lobos were no match for San Francisco in a 28-10 Wings win. The visitors scored a pair of touchdowns in the first period and held the lead the rest of the game. The Lobos now trail the Cowboys by a game with each club having two remaining. Los Angeles does hold the tie breaker, but they likely need to beat both New Orleans and New York in their remaining games while hoping the Cowboys stumble on the road either in New York or Chicago. Yesterday's final game saw the New York Gothams improve to 4-5 with a 21-7 victory over the 3-7 Chicago Comets.

NO SURPRISES AS ALL THE TOP RANKED FAVOURITES ADD TO VICTORY TOTALS

After a couple of weeks with at least one major upset among the top college grid programs in the nation, this weekend went pretty much as expected with none of the top ten ending up on the wrong end of Saturday results.

Playing in Philadelphia's Sailors Memorial Stadium, topped ranked Rome State had little difficulty disposing of a Pierpont squad that entered the fray with just one loss on the season. That total doubled by late afternoon as the Centurions, led by a pair of touchdown passes and a 9-yard scoring run from qaurterback Paul Domenico, downed the Purple 34-17.

Oklahoma City State ran its record to 8-0 as the Wranglers moved a step closer to clinching the Plains Athletic Association title and solidifed their number two ranking in the polls with a convincing 34-20 victory over Daniel Boone College in Columbia, Mo. The overmatched Frontiersmen line was simply no match for the Oklahoma City State backfield of Paul Schultz, Fred Atkins and Johnny Smythe, each of whom scored a touchown and had several impressive carries.

Third ranked Redwood and fifth ranked Northern California continued on their collision course to determine who will win the West Coast Athletic Association title and play in the East-West Classic. The Mammoths crushed Idaho A&M 72-14 while the Miners dumped the Portland Tech Magpies 26-7. The two schools will meet November 19.

The other half of the East-West Classic remains up in the air with a trio of 4-1 schools in Minnesota Tech, Central Ohio and Detroit City College. Each won on the weekend with the Lakers dumping Pittsburgh State 14-3 in an out of conference matchup while the Aviators and Knights both prevailed in section play.

St Blane remains 5th in the polls but a week after being shocked by St Ignatius, the Fighting Saints came up with a spirited second half to rally for a 27-10 triumph over North Carolina Tech. Trailing 10-3 at the break there were worries that St Blane might lose in back-to-back games for the first time since they dropped 3 in a row in November of 1944. A strong second half led by a 72-yard scoring run by Glenn Jones and a pair of short-yardage power drives over the goal line by fullback Roger Stanton turned things around for the Saints.

CUBAN WINTER LEAGUE PREVIEW : PART ONE

Just like we did with the draft earlier this year, we'll be covering a player to watch in the Cuban Winter League from each of the 16 FABL organizations. Each organization is paired with a member of the opposite association, filling eight teams based in Cuba that compete during the winter. The CWL will host some of the league's brightest prospects, with a focus on those who are nearly ready for major league action. Plenty of scouts will be in attendance for these games, watching how their guys develop or their next project to acquire via trade or the Rule-5 draft. Today we start with the Federal Association:

Boston Minutemen - Camaguey Coyotes
C Tillie Juarez (Unranked)
Acquired: Via Draft: 22nd Round, 339th Overall (1948)
AA: .269/.364/.404 (98 OPS+), 124 PA, 2B, 2 3B, 3 HR, 14 RBI
A: .271/.358/.327 (78 OPS+), 123 PA, 6 2B, 11 RBI

There were plenty of options for a prospect to watch in Boston. You've got either of the young Taylor's in the outfield, or like Yank, a top 10 prospect in Marshall Thomas, or even #2 pick and #1 prospect Rick Masters. But that's no fun! Everyone knows about them! So why not take a look at a guy who's gone from literally useless filler to a pretty decent catcher!

Taken just two drafts ago in the 22nd Round -- one most scouts don't even study for -- Tillie Juarez has managed to jump from Class C to AA in just a year and a half. The results have been mixed, but he finished his year in AA, where he posted a 106 WRC+ in 31 starts behind the plate. That's quality numbers from a catcher, who also walked (16) more then he struck out (10) and slugged six extra base hits in limited time. A native of Mexico, Tillie is on the older side for prospects, as he was selected as a senior after failing to sign with the Wolves in 1947. so he'll be 24 in March. He hasn't gotten much love from the prospect pickers, but he's a hard worker with a low floor, and that's enticing for a backup catcher. Boston has a weakness behind the plate now, allowing a glossed over prospect without much future, a chance to join the elite ranks of FABL players.

Chicago Chiefs - Cienfuegos Crocodiles
RHP Johnny Duncan (#183 Overall)
Acquired: Via Draft: 10th Round, 145th Overall (1946)
AA: 15-14, 257 IP, 3.08 ERA (130 ERA+), 1.35 WHIP, 124 BB, 133 K

Ed Bloom is far and away the top prospect on the reigning World Championship Series Chiefs, but enough is known about the 3rd ranked prospect. He's already got a few FABL plate appearances, and thumped a 145 WRC+ in 59 games. A guy not as well known is young righty Johnny Duncan.

A 10th Rounder in 1946, Duncan has had a slow ascent up the Chiefs system, but he was tremendous for the AA Memphis Excelsior. Duncan went 15-14, but with a 3.08 ERA (130 ERA+) and 1.35 WHIP while worth 5.6 WAR in 257 innings. His 3.37 FIP (84 FIP-) was well above average, as he was able to work around 124 walks by striking out more guys (133) and limiting homers (6). The latter features work well at Whitney Stadium, which is one of the easiest venues to homer at. With a sinker that grazes 90, Duncan does a good job keeping the ball in the park, and it helps set up the rest of his arsenal. It's not as deep as you may want in a top or even middle of the rotation starter, but he does get a lot of movement on his pitches. His cutter may be the best, and it has good inward movement, but he doesn't have a true out pitch yet. His slider is okay, and like Chiefs ace John Stallings, he's a three fastball kind of guy. This complicates his future a bit, but Duncan looks like a reliable back-end starter who can give you a ton of solid innings. The Chiefs have had a ton of success with pitchers like that, and now that Duncan has been added to the 40, a strong spring could position him for future rotation work.

Detroit Dynamos - Havana Sharks
RHP Bob Haverhill (#194 Overall)
Acquired: Via Trade with Cleveland (1947)
FABL: 2-2, 35.1 IP, 2.80 ERA (145 ERA+), 1.36 WHIP, 22 BB, 12 K
AAA: 12-15, 225 IP, 2.72 ERA (107 ERA+), 1.36 WHIP, 128 BB, 145 K

The Detroit Dynamos certainly aren't in need of pitching, but they have a quality CWL veteran in Bob Haverhill. 25 in January, Haverhill was with the Sharks last season, and captured the ERA crown with an impressive 2.45 (193 ERA+) in 58.2 innings pitched. Known for his wildness, Haverhill walked (40) almost as many guys as he struck out (48), something he did stateside too. Originally a 5th Rounder of the New York Stars, Haverhill has been traded twice already, the most recent is how he got to Detroit after they selected him from the Foresters in the Rule-5 draft and didn't want to carry him on the 40 all season long. He made his debut the next season, starting 4 of his 5 outings in 1948. He did the same this season, and now has 61 FABL innings with the Dynamos, although he was awful last season and solid this year. The walks are always elevated for Haverhill, but he's walked 16.7% of the FABL hitters he's faced, and his K% is just 7.1. That's more then half of the 15.1 K% he had in 225 AAA innings this season, and he'll either need to get it back up to that level or keep the walks down. Scouts still view him as a back-end guy, but if he can consistently strikeout more guys then he walks, he'll be a solid #2 or #3 for Detroit behind ace and Allen Winner Carl Potter.

New York Gothams - Holguin Hawks
CF Bert Preble (#37 Prospect)
Acquired: Via Draft: 3rd Round, 46th Overall (1949)
AAA: .146/.186/.171 (-7 OPS+), 43 PA, 2B, 2 RBI, SB
A: .269/.358/.280 (75 OPS+), 106 PA, 2B, 5 RBI, 2 SB
B: .346/.415/.480 (131 OPS+), 143 PA, 7 2B, 2 3B, 2 HR, 18 RBI, 4 SB

It was a weird draft year for Bert Preble, who went from 3rd Round Pick to AAA in just a few months. It was a somewhat shocking decision, as while Preble did good in Class B, he was bad in A ball and awful in AAA. Sure, the second two stops were short, but he went just 31-for-134 with 24 strikeouts. That brings the question of how will Preble fair in the CWL?

My first guess, not great, but with someone as talented as Preble, there's a lot of hope for a mini-breakout. He's athletic and a reliable defender, so there's always value in the field and on the bases while he waits for the hit tool to develop. He'll always draw his share of walks, and the strikeouts will come down, but right now he's too aggressive and is trying to go for the fences with every swing. He's more of a batting title contender then home run leader, and OSA goes as far as declaring him a potential .350 hitter. But with how exciting those tools are, and the Fed's runner ups relative weakness in center, a strong winter showing from Preble could allow him a shot this Spring to earn the starting center field job. It may not be a challenge he is ready for, but the Gothams are trying to win a pennant, and when that's the case, you are willing to take a few risks with your highly valued prospects.

Philadelphia Keystones - Manzanillo Palms
LHP Sam Ivey (#49 Overall)
Acquired: Via Draft: 2nd Round, 20th Overall (1949)
A: 5-6, 102.1 IP, 4.49 ERA (96 ERA+), 1.68 WHIP, 43 BB, 71 K

A pitching prospect with a lot of hype the past few seasons, Sam Ivey was one of the first off the board in the January draft, selected 20th by the Philadelphia Keystones. They sent him straight to A-ball, where he made 13 starts for the Allentown Cokers, finishing 5-6 with a 4.49 ERA (96 ERA+) and 1.68 WHIP. Those numbers don't bring too much excitement, but those who watched Ivey explain that it doesn't tell the full story. For some reason hitters found the gaps against him, Ivey's 3.54 FIP (82 FIP-) was nearly twenty percent better then the average Middle Atlantic League hurler, as he allowed just one homer in 102.1 innings with 71 strikeouts and 43 walks. The sidewinding southpaw does a great job missing bats and keeping the ball on the ground, as his sinker/slider combo is tough to beat, especially devastating to same side swingers. And if that's not enough to trip you up, all five of his offerings have plenty of life, with none staying straight. His sinker can sit at 90 while his splitter gets you swinging out of your shoes, and you have to worry about the curve and change too. If he puts everything together, Ivey will front a rotation, but even now he looks to have a respectable floor of a middle-of-the-rotation arm. I'm sure the Keystones front office will be closely following his progress, as no member of their rotation had an ERA below 4. Only the team that allowed more runs then anyone else, the Pittsburgh Miners, share that with Philly, and #4 Pat Wolter was just an out away from achieving the sub 4 ERA. The Keystones are deep with talented prospects, including CWL teammates Don Berry (24th), Bill Heim (94th), and Red Ellis (102nd), but they don't have any pitching prospect with the tools Ivey has shown.

Pittsburgh Miners - Matanzas Buccaneers
RF Bill Newhall (#17 Overall)
Acquired: Via Draft: 1st Round, 13th Overall (1946)
AAA: .281/.358/.352 (88 OPS+), 632 PA, 22 2B, 6 HR, 45 RBI

Few teams can boast the amount of young outfield talent the Pittsburgh Miners have at their disposal. The big league team already has Ernie Campbell (.331, 1, 64, 5), Charlie Williams (.309, 11, 78), and Paul Williams (.244, 1, 20), and if you believe in 1948 and not 1949, Jeep Erickson (.253, 6, 39) is a legit starter too. The next in that long line?

Well, that should be "The Hollis Hotshot" Bill Newhall!

Not yet eligible for the Rule-5 draft, Newhall spent all of 1949 as a 21-year-old in AAA, and he looked like a 21-year-old might. His .281/.358/.352 (88 OPS+) line is respectable, and when it comes with a 98 WRC+, 22 doubles, 65 walks, and plus defense at all three positions, it's a very successful campaign. Currently ranked as the 17th best prospect in FABL, Newhall has amazing plate discipline and he could be one of the rare sluggers who walks more then he strikes out. He hasn't shown much of the pop now, but when it all comes together, he's a guy you could see hitting 15-20 home runs a season. The current Miners team really lacks power, just one hitter with more then six homers, and they had three players with 600 or more PAs, and the three combined for just three homers. Newhall's slug is something that teams strive for, and he could develop into a potential regular on a contending club.

St. Louis Pioneers - Santiago Scorpions
CF George Atkins (#6 Prospect)
Acquired: Via Draft: 2nd Round, 24th Overall (1947)
B: .244/.327/.354 (70 OPS+), 407 PA, 13 2B, 3B, 8 HR, 58 RBI
C: .452/.507/.710 (203 OPS+), 69 PA, 7 2B, 3 HR, 15 RBI, 2 SB

Despite not turning 21 until June, the Santiago Scorpions were enthused with 6th rated prospect George Atkins enough to pencil him into the two spot and center field this winter. It seems to be a risk the Pioneers are okay with too, as despite not playing above Class B in his two and a half seasons as a professional, Atkins will have to deal with some of the closer to the majors pitching prospects across the country. None of the guys he'll face will have the prospect pedigree of Atkins, who scouts think could be truly one of the game's greatest center fielders. He's got an elite hit tool and the ability to hit the ball a mile, as even a park as spacious as Pioneer Field won't be able to contain the ball if he gets a hold of one. He posted plus defensive metrics in center as well, and Atkins is expected to keep that up as he grows as an outfielder. He's not the fastest guy out there, but he profiles as an above average defender, and he'll have more then enough bat to make up for it. If the projections are accurate, Atkins could be one of the game's brightest stars, and this will be his first real test as a player. Will he play up to his competition? Or will he get a rough winter to teach him that baseball isn't as easy as it's come to him so far? I could see this going either way, but one thing is for sure:

Pioneers fans will be more then happy with the wait once they see him patrolling center each day for most of the 50s.

Washington Eagles - Santa Clara Stallions
SS Tom Perkins (#27 Overall)
Acquired: Via Draft: 1st Round, 10th Overall (1949)
B: .267/.389/.433 (112 OPS+), 36 PA, 5 2B, 3 RBI, SB
C: .395/.512/.642 (161 OPS+), 207 PA, 9 2B, 8 3B, 5 HR, 32 RBI, 37 SB

The Eagles first selection in the most recent draft, Tom Perkins is there lone member of the league's top 100 prospect list, and he checks in at 27th overall. Perkins spent most of his professional season with the Eagles Class C affiliate, where he swiped an absurd 37 bases in just 42 games. It helps when you are on base over half the time (.512), as the 22-year-old proved he was more then capable of besting pitchers at the lowest rung of the affiliated ladder. "Smokestack Lightning" has a lot of the skills scouts look for in a big league shortstop, as he combines speed, an excellent hit tool, and a great glove. That was on full display with his 176 WRC+ and 2.7 WAR In his first 42 professional games, and with a strong showing this winter, the Eagles may get aggressive and move their highly touted prospect all the way up to AA. There are some organizations around the draft who were floating the idea of bringing Perkins straight to the majors, and he'll now have his first opportunity to prove that he's one of the more talented young players in the game. With Tom Miller at short, Bill Wise at second, and Mel Carrol at third, there's no obvious spot for him right now, but the two youngsters are coming off serious injuries and Carrol will be 38 next spring. It's only a matter of time for Perkins to secure a FABL spot in the lineup, and if the Eagles want to upgrade their rotation, his presence allows them to move one of their very talented middle infielders.

Next week we will look at prospects Continental Association clubs are sending to Cuba.

CONNER NAMED EAGLES NEW BENCH BOSS

The Washington Eagles filled the final managerial vacancy in FABL this off-season with the announcement that Frank Conner will replace John Lawrence as their new manager. Lawrence, who announced his retirement last month, had spent 9 seasons running the Eagles after 3 years in a similar capacity with the old Baltimore Cannons.

Connor is a 48-year-old who had spent the past two seasons as the first base coach with the Philadelphia Keystones. He also spent some time as a bench coach and manager in the minor leagues but never played professional baseball. His managerial style is described as one who takes a very conventional approach.

What may be bigger news in the nation's capital is the announcement that Hall of Famer Dave Trowbridge has also joined the Eagles as their new first base coach. The 51-year-old, who amassed 2,923 career hits and played for the New York Stars even beyond his 44th birthday, had spent the past four seasons as the hitting coach at Boston's AAA affiliate in Columbus.

TALES FROM THE WOLVES DEN

Interview with Fred Barrell Part Two -Brett continues publishing his long interview with Wolves skipper. A lengthy interview on a wide range of topics.

Brett Bing: You talked about your task from the owner in evaluating the Wolves system. What are your first impressions of the strength of the system?
Fred Barrell: All FABL systems were affected by two things during the Forties. The first being WWII, the second being the founding of the GWL. Both put the same pressures on every organization. Players were in demand to fill out rosters at every level, with the uncertainty of the war draft along with the money being offered to players from the west, clubs became very protective of players. This led players being kept that, if I am to be brutally honest, had no right playing professional baseball. Toronto is no different than the majority of teams, players were kept around that at best were AAAA material, good replacement level but with no long term value.

I have seen or read reports on most players in the minors or in the GWL due to my former job in Detroit. I brought a few personal files with me on the move to Canada but none of the files that I considered Dynamos property, Although I was tempted, in the final assessment I considered that to be espionage, which I am familiar with due to the war. It was basically stealing which is below me in baseball.

The Wolves have an excellent scouting department with very dedicated people who do a fine job. Scouting is a tough job because you trying to predict what a player, as young as 17, will develop into in 4 or 5 years, Their are basic skills that every scout worth his salt can read, but the devil is in the details. Does the the player have more skills that will develop over time or has he already reached the top of his skill set? Are their intangibles that will allow him to progress further than his physical tools can take him? The best scouts have a sixth sense in which they can see more in a player than is initially evident with his current tools.

In our first meeting as we started the critical evaluation of the system, player by player. I said that we have to judge each player's abilities as if he were a member of the Wolves regulars in at most within 3 years. Does the player have that kind of ability? This, I know, is a harsh judgement standard but we have to be realistic, the job of the system is to develop players to feed the Wolves.

We have come to a consensus on several players, most of whom are older with the AAAA abilities I mentioned before, who probably will not be members of the organization come spring. Some names may be known by the time this goes into publication. The list seems to be growing every time we have a meeting.

I am fully supportive of the team's new movement towards pushing players up the system to challenge them to prove their worth. We have to get away from the war mentality of protecting players with no or limited future to making younger players prove their worth. I think the biggest benefactors of this philosophy will be the long suffering fans in Buffalo. While not immediately, they will soon be seeing players who will be in the FABL as regulars instead of players waiting for a call as an injury replacement. This will not happen overnight, we all agree in meetings that the transition make take until 1952 at the latest.

The other factor we have been evaluating is the possible demise of the GWL. Mr. Millard assures us that the league is on last legs. Even when he is busy in his other business with the unrest being caused by UMW president John L. Lewis, Mr. Millard remains in constant contact with the Wolves. We have been receiving calls from him at all hours for progress reports even as he remains very involved while running his coal business. He wants a plan for a defunct GWL. We have heard that the owners are meeting to develop plans for a cessation of the GWL with different options including expansion of the FABL. Mr. Millard is not at liberty to discuss these plans, he has made it crystal clear that he wants the Wolves to be prepared for a possible influx of players. That will change the landscape of pro baseball in a major way.

BB: Can we move off baseball for a minute to discuss the Dukes under your brother Jack?
FB: Gladly, I admire the job John has done with the Dukes. I now see the pressures of being a head coach in a different light after this season. Hockey players, in my opinion, are as fine an athlete as ball players although they have to be a little crazy especially the guys in net. To me it looks like unorganized chaos with guys going at top speed, hitting each other with little purpose. John assures me that that is far from true that there is actually purpose to what appears to me to be madness. I hear John talking in your paper all the time about the system the players are supposed to be playing, but for the life of me I cannot see a system. Hobie is trying to explain the systems to me without much luck.

I have been taking the family to games when possible. It is an enjoyable way to spend a few hours as I learn, with Hobie's help, what is going on on the ice. One thing I think the Dukes should do is upgrade Dominion Gardens. Having the smallest home rink in the NAHC doesn't seem right to me given the passion of the fans. I am sure John will be telling me to keep my thoughts to myself if he reads this article.

DUKES CONTINUE TO SET NAHC PACE

The Toronto Dukes have just one loss in their last 9 games and after two wins and a tie last week, the two-time defending NAHC champions have opened a 3-point lead over Detroit and New York, which share second place. The Dukes offense has been running at high gear with last season's MVP leading the way. Quinton Pollack has 19 points including 7 goals in his first 13 games this season and his linemates Les Carlson and Lou Galbraith are right behind him with 17 points each. Toronto coach Jack Barrell has constantly preached tightening up the defense but if the Dukes can average more than 5 goals a game, as they did this week, the defense won't be under much pressure.

At the other end of the standings is the Boston Bees, who are winless in their last 8 games. Boston has been banged up with a number of forwards nursing various ailments, but the normally strong Bees defense has struggled this season as has the goaltending tandem of Oscar James and Pierre Melancon. Only Montreal has surrendered more goals than the Bees. The other big surprise is the Chicago Packers who are last in goals for, which is very unfamiliar territory for that club. Tommy Burns did get a goal in a win over Boston last week but the 29-year-old who scored 86 goals over the previous two seasons, has scored just twice in 9 games this year. Fortunately for the Packers, Norm Hanson is having a terrific season in net and is the early favourite to win his second career Juneau Award.

DAILY RESULTS LAST WEEK

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 9

Boston 0 at Chicago 4 : Marty Mahoney scored a pair of first period goals and Norm Hanson notched his NAHC leading 4th shutout of the season as the Packers goaltender made 32 saves in a 4-0 win over visiting Boston. Tommy Burns and Moose Vezina also scored for Chicago.

New York 3 at Montreal 2 : A big first period was enough for the Shamrocks to snap a 3-game losing skid and hold off Montreal by a 3-2 count. Jocko Gregg scored twice, and Ryan Kennedy added another marker in the opening frame for the visitors with Ian Doyle's shorthanded tally accounting for the only Montreal goal in the first twenty minutes. After a scoreless second period, Paulie Mosca got the Vals with one early in the third stanza, but that was a close as they would come as Etienne Tremblay shut the door the rest of the way.

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 10

Montreal 0 at Toronto 8 : The Vals were slow getting off the train as Toronto exploded for four first period goals and outshot the Valiants 17-5 in the opening twenty minutes. It never did get any better for the visitors as Gordie Broadway stopped all 28 Montreal shots he faced while Tom Brockers lasted less than 14 minutes in the Montreal net before being replaced by Brad Carter. Toronto captain Bobbie Sauer had a hat trick to lead the offense with Lou Galbraith scoring twice and added an assist while Quinton Pollack chipped in with 3 helpers.

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 12

Boston 3 at Detroit 5 : The Motors extended their unbeaten streak to 5 games with a 5-3 victory on home ice over the Bees. Adam Vanderbilt scored twice to lead the Detroit attack with Lou Barber and Spencer Larocque each collecting two assists in a win over a banged-up Boston squad.

New York 3 at Montreal 1 : The Shamrocks get a second straight win in Montreal while the Valiants dropped their third consecutive game and lost Ian Doyle in the process. Doyle, who has 9 points in 14 games, should just miss a couple of days with a calf strain. Rusty Mullins scored once in each of the first and second periods to give the Greenshirts the lead. Robert Stevens got one back for Montreal with just under 3 minutes remaining but any hopes of a Vals comeback ended when Simon Savard made the score 3-1 in the final minute.

Toronto 3 at Chicago 3 : Jeremy MacLean scored with 5:18 remaining in the game to salvage a point for the Packers after Toronto had taken the lead on third period goals from Rob Painchaud and Lou Galbraith.

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 13

Boston 4 at Toronto 5 : Alex Cameron was the hero for the Dukes with his first goal of the season coming while shorthanded with only 41 seconds remaining in the game to lift Toronto to a 5-4 victory. The wild third period saw 6 goals - 3 from each time- including a pair in a span of just over two minutes from Tommy Hart to allow Boston to tie the contest.

Chicago 0 at Montreal 1 : Brad Carter received a rare start in the Montreal net and proved he may be deserving of more of them after the Vals backup netminder stopped all 31 shots he faced to blank Chicago 1-0. Norm Hanson was not as busy -he faced just 21 shots- but nearly as good with only Brett Lanceleve's second period marker beating him.

New York 6 at Detroit 3 :The Shamrocks won for the third consecutive game and halted Detroit's 5-game unbeaten streak with a 6-3 New York victory at the Thompson Palladium. Jim Macek scored twice to lead the Shamrocks scoring parade.

UNDEFEATED WEEK KEEPS DUKES IN FIRST

Toronto moved into sole possession of first place in the NAHC after two wins and a tie during the week. On the night before Remembrance Day, the Dukes came out flying before a near standing room only crowd of 14,182 at Dominion Gardens. The home side put 3 behind Tom Brockers before the game was 10 minutes old. Maurice Charette, Mike Navarro (short handed0 followed by Bobbie Sauer had lit the lamp as Montreal had seemed to leave their legs on the train. When Les Carlson scored his 6th of the season on the power play at 13:53 which prompted Valiants bench boss Norb Hickey to replace goaltender Tom Brockers with Brad Carter.

It did not help the Valiants as Toronto scored two in each of the remaining periods including a hat trick by captain Bobbie Sauer to win going away 8-0. Gordie Broadway picked up his 3rd shutout of the campaign in turning away 28 shots. Montreal's only good chances came during the second period when they tried mount a comeback down 4-0, Broadway made a couple of stellar saves to keep the goose egg on the visitors side of the scoreboard.

Lakeside Auditorium hosted a matchup between the Chicago Packers and Dukes Saturday before what appeared to be a well lubricated crowd of 17,064. Chicago has allowed the fewest number of goals in the league thus far this season. Their defense-first strategy was forefront as while they allowed Toronto to total 36 shots during the game most were from the outside in which Ned Hanson had a clear view of the puck. Hanson would make the save then the defensemen would pick up the rebound not allowing a second chance for the Dukes.

The Packers opened the scoring with Pete Moreau netting his first of the season from Bert McColley and Marty Mahoney on a shot from a tough angle that went in off Dukes rearguard Charlie Brown's skate in front of the net. The Dukes controlled the play in the middle period and it paid off as Toronto tied the game at 1 when Lou Galbraith finally solved Hanson on one of the very few rebounds Toronto got to. The tie was short lived as Mike Laforme put the Packers back in the lead at 18:12 from Norm Fraser and Wes Burns. Early in the third Rob Painchaud knotted the score at 2 from Bob Crone and Charette when Hanson seemed to whiff on seemingly easy shot from the point. Dukes took the lead at 10:10 when Galbraith deflected home a Carlson shot while Jarrett McGlynn was in the box for tripping. After Pollack took a bad slashing penalty at 13:23 the home team capitalized when Jeremy Maclean tied the score on the power play. The game ended in a draw at 3, Chicago has been in 5 ties this season.

In a matchup of last year's finalists a crowd of 14,506 was treated to a wild third period between the Boston Bees and Dukes. The struggling Boston team opened the scoring the first with a man advantage when Robert Walker tipped home a Tommy Hart shot at 19:07 with Painchaud off for high sticking. Toronto scored twice in the second on a power play marker from Pollack before Clyde Lumsen gave the Dukes a lead at 10:25. The first two periods were wide open, fast skating, with a total of 60 shot on net. Oscar James and Gordie Broadway earned their pay checks in net. That was nothing compared to the final frame.

There were a total of 6 goals in the third: 3 for each team. Wilbur Chandler knotted the game at 2 with his 8th at 1:09. The tie was shorted lived as Lou Galbraith restored the lead 33 seconds later form Carlson and Pollack. The home crowd must have thought the Dukes had the game when Bobby Sauer with his 4th of the week made it 4-2 at 9:32. Tommy Hart then put the Bees on his back scoring at 10:54 then again with Painchaud off 93 seconds later to tie the game at 4. The game seemed headed for a tie until Alex Cameron caught the Bees pressing after Zimmerman had been set off for kneeing at 18:48. Cameron broke in alone on James after taking a pass from Spencer Hoffard beat him high to the stick side with a wrist shot with 41 seconds remaining in the game. Toronto killed the remaining time to secure a 5-4 victory.

Jack Barrell: "That was a good week. Believe or not I believe we improved defensively over the week even with that third period against the Bees. We simplified the system. I take the blame for giving too many options on our breakout, zone coverage. We have now tightened up. With the old system there were too many reads, and if everyone did not read the same thing it led to far too much confusion. We simplified the reads therefore the way we are going to breakout after a turnover. Now if I can get the guys to stop taking stupid, lazy stick penalties we may have something going forward. Tough week ahead Valiants, who will be looking for revenge, then back to back with Detroit. We will know how good our defensive changes are next week.

BRAWLERS AND BARONS LEADING THE WAY

Two weeks into the Federal Basketball League schedule and we are down to just two of the 17 teams that have yet to taste defeat. They are a pair of surprising clubs in the Baltimore Barons and Buffalo Brawlers as each sports a perfect 5-0 record after both missed the playoffs entirely a year ago.

The Brawlers are led by veteran center Larry Yim, who is leading the loop in both points and rebounds after the three time all-star was among the leaders in both categories last season. The 26-year-old former second team All-American from CC Los Angeles, is in his fifth season as a pro and third year with Buffalo. The Barons rely on more of a team approach with four solid scoring options led by Nestor Patterson and Jack Hirst.

Three teams remain winless with two of them - the Syracuse Titans and expansion St Louis Steamers- not being unexpected 0-5 clubs. The Titans were the worst team in the league a year ago and the Steamers are a collection of youngsters and cast-offs which will make for a very long season. The third 0-5 team is the Cincinnati Cyclones, who were two games over .500 a year ago and just fell short of the postseason. Cincinnati has had some close calls and nearly beat Buffalo last night before falling 96-94 due in no small part to a 46-point night from Larry Yim for the Brawlers.

• It's early, and it'll be early for quite some time, but there may be some new teams vying for top spots in both divisions and some additional parity around the league. Among last year's playoff teams, the Chicago Panthers, Cleveland Crushers and Washington Statesmen each got off to a slow start. Once again, it's early, but the point differential for the Panthers and Statesmen in their early games are particularly concerning.
• The Panthers lost their first four games and count an early thumping at the hands of their playoff conquerors, the Mustangs, who walloped Chicago, 101-68. Chicago did finally get a win Saturday, downing Pittsburgh 92-81.
• Washington lost two of three in Week 1, headlined by an 89-62 Opening Night loss against playoff qualifier Philadelphia. The Phantoms, by the way, were off to a sterling 3-0 start. Things evened out the last few days for both clubs with the Statesmen claiming victory over a couple of struggling teams in Syracuse and Cincinnati while the Phantoms dropped a pair including the rematch with Washington.

BELLS EARLY NUMBER ONE AFTER WIN IN PRESEASON AIAA TOURNEY

The Liberty College Bells were TWIFB's pick to be the top team in collegiate basketball this season and their showing in Chicago at the Preseason AIAA tournament did nothing to change our minds. Led by 1949 Barrette Award winner as the top player in collegiate basketball Luther Gordon, the Bells had little trouble with their opponents at Lakeside Auditorium early last week.

Gordon, who set a single season AIAA scoring record with 602 points last season, was off to a quick start this year with 20 points in the Bells 67-57 win over Mississippi A&M in the opener of what is considered the premier preseason tournament. Two days later Gordon scored 24 in a 76-50 win over North Carolina Tech in the championship game. Fellow seniors Scott Basile and Edgar Stillwell, who will be counted on heavily again this season by a Bells squad that went 28-4 last year but was upset in the quarterfinals of the season ending tournament, each had strong showings against the Techsters. Basile scored a game-high 26 points while Stillwell led the way on the boards with 10 rebounds and chipped in with 8 points.

The Bells take top spot in the first poll of newspaper writers this season with Lane State, winners of the West Coast Classic, are second and Noble Jones College, which went to the AIAA title game a year ago before falling to Lexington State in the finals, holds down the number 3 spot. The Colonels did not participate in a preseason tournament.

• One million Soviet workers, along with soldiers and mechanized forces paraded for hours through Red Square in honor of the Russian revolution. Soviet leaders hailed the 32nd anniversary of the revolution in speeches accusing the United States of formenting a new world blood bath.
• Republic Steel Company is the latest to reach an agreement with workers, ending the 45-day old strike against the nation's third largest steel producer. On the weekend US Steel signed an agreement, virtually ending the strike with only about 124,000 steel workers across the country still off the job.
• John L Lewis called a truce in the 52-day old coal strike, sending workers back to their jobs until midnight November 30. Workers have been without a contract since it expired June 30.
• The West's Big Three Foreign Ministers are in agreement that the dismantling of German industry should stop.
  
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November 21, 1949
 

NOVEMBER 21, 1949

REBRAND FOR WEELY SPORTS PAPER

This Week in Figment Baseball is no longer as your favourite sports weekly has gone from being the bible of baseball to the scripture of sports. Editor Jiggs McGee announced that with the heavier emphasis on all sports in the Figment universe, the name of the publication will be changed effective this edition to This Week in Figment Sports.

TWIFB made it is debut as a weekly magazine during baseball season and monthly during the off-season in September of 1936. By 1940 football coverage was added and later hockey, boxing and basketball began to receive regular coverage as the paper switched to a year-round format that sees it produce 52 issues a year.

"Readers can expect the same great coverage," promised McGee. "Just with a new name that better reflects the focus of the publication."

PACK-ING UP

Cougars Deal Veteran Infielder Walt Pack to Chiefs

For the second time in less than a month the two Chicago baseball clubs have hooked up on a trade. Late October saw veteran outfielder Carlos Montes change his allegiance from the Cougars to the Chiefs in exchange for a young prosect and now it is another veteran joining the World Champions as Walt Pack has been moved from the Cougars.

The 35-year-old Pack had a slightly down year by his standards, batting .253 with 13 homers and 54 rbi's. He was being forced out by the Cougars to make room for Otto Christian at third base but Pack, who is a strong defender at the hot corner and has some home run power, may just have a rebound year in 1950 with the Chiefs.

Originally a 4th round pick of Brooklyn out of Henry Hudson University in 1935, Pack was dealt to Toronto before playing a game in the Kings system. He peaked at #11 on the OSA prospect rankings and made his big league debut with the Wolves in 1939 at the age of 24. He won the Whitney Award in 1945 and twice led the Continental Association in homeruns but after a slump in 1946 the Wolves sent him to the Cougars prior to the 1947 campaign. He was an all-star for the third time in his debut season with the Cougars and smacked 62 homers while batting .268 in 3 seasons with the Windy City Kitties.

In return the Chiefs send minor league prospects Walt Cooper and Bunny Brice to the Cougars. Cooper, an 18-year-old righthander who was a second round selection in 1948, was the Chiefs third ranked prospect but at just 166 on the OSA list. He went 9-17 with a 5.92 era in Class B last season and OSA feels he may develop enough to be a bottom of the rotation arm. Brice, 19, was the Chiefs 9th round selection in the 1948 draft and is not ranked by OSA. His biggest asset his speed and OSA feels he could develop into a .310 hitter if everything breaks right. Brice is a natural shortstop but has had some struggles handling the position as a pro and may need to shift to second base. He moved rapidly through the Chiefs system last year, starting in C and finishing with a .267 batting average in 81 games at the Class A level.

JIGGS McGEE's TAKE: I really like this move for the Chiefs. A low-cost option that could, if Pack regains his form and my bet is he will prosper at Whitney Field, be a huge upgrade on Tommy Wilson's bat at hot corner for the Chiefs. The Cougars likely did not have a lot of other suitors for Pack so they added a back-end pitching prospect and a lottery ticket in Brice in exchange. At 27, Otto Christian deserves to play everyday so the Cougars needed to move Pack while he still had some value.

CUBAN WINTER LEAGUE PREVIEW : PART TWO

The Cuban Winter League, a training ground for many of the top FABL prospects, begins its fourth season of action tomorrow. Last week we looked at some of the top young prospects from Federal Association clubs that will be competiting in the loop this season. Today we turn our gaze to the Continenatl Association teams.


He may be 20, but Charlie Rogers is one of the few CWL rookies who's already played in FABL. To accomplish that, he went from AA to AAA to Brooklyn, causing havoc to the opposition wherever he was calling home. In 134 games between the three levels, Rogers took full advantage of his speed, swiping 18 bags with 31 doubles, 16 triples, 6 homers, and 65 RBIs. He won't draw any walks, just 23 in 585 trips to the plate, but if you're hitting .300 before having your first legal drink, you're doing something right! Rogers has the hit tool to challenge for a batting title, and with his speed, any ball hit on the ground has a chance to cause trouble. He's still getting caught stealing too often, something he'll have to clean up as he matures, but this kid already looks like another star to add to Ralph Johnson in the outfield. He's a stellar defender in center as well, potentially as good as regular center fielder John Moss. Both are more then capable of playing everyday in center, and there have been some rumblings that Moss could be on the way out for pitching to open a spot for Rogers. That's likely the case eventually, but if Rogers continues his assault on pitching in the CWL, he could force their trade happy GM to make a move to open a lineup spot for him.


The Star of the CWL and the Stallions Ace last season, Zane Kelley is back in Cuba, and the ace/stopper/superstar is ready to defend his ERA title. Kelley made a league high 22 appearances and threw 80.2 innings, going 6-3 with a 2.45 ERA (189 ERA+) and 1.19 WHIP. He then carried that into a dominant Century League season, where he struck out twice as many hitters as he walked, finishing 11-4 in 20 starts with a 3.00 ERA (136 ERA+) and 1.20 WHIP. That earned him a late season promotion to the Windy City, where he kept up the good work. He split his four starts and came an out away from four complete games. He allowed just 26 hits and 11 earned runs, working to a 2.78 ERA (145 ERA+) and 1.09 WHIP. Recently turned 24, its clear that Kelley is ready for a rotation spot, but there is no room in the Chicago rotation right now. This has found Kelley, along with his Stallion teammates Ron Berry and Harry Beardsley, on the block, allowing Kelley to showcase his talent to the 15 other FABL scouts. While not the most exciting prospect, all Kelley has done is win games, and he should be able to keep that going this winter.


A severe hip strain ended Nick Remillard's season early, right as he was ready to earn his first callup to the majors. Acquired a few seasons ago in the controversial Bob Arman trade, Remillard made 75 of his 82 appearances in AA, where he hit .330/.418/.460 (123 OPS+) with 15 doubles, 5 homers, and a 136 WRC+. That earned him the promotion that cut his season short, but he was off to a hot 7-for-23 start with a double and homer. Second is wide open right now for the Cannons, as Charlie Rivera (.235, 7, 41, 8) will be 36 next season and his offense has almost completely cratered. With a great winter, Remillard now has a chance to force his way into the rebuilding squads lineup. Formerly taken 6th Overall by the Kings in the 1944 draft, Remillard has improved his plate discipline, which is a huge plus when he already excels at putting the ball in play. Now that he knows which pitches to swing at, he's going to get a lot more base hits, and while the small infielder won't hit for much power, he should more then make up for it with all the times he gets on base. If the veteran Cannons want to get younger, Remillard may be the next to join their youth movement.


Most pennant winners don't arrive as early as the Cleveland Foresters, who somehow squandered a 3-0 WCS lead in a season where almost everything clicked. Luckily, the Foresters are one of the youngest team, and they haven plenty of talented prospects waiting for a chance. Jim Urquhart's wait may not be too much longer.

Taken 15th Overall last season, the Foresters made the curious choice of using Urquhart exclusively off their Class C affiliates bench, despite his hearty .455/.500/.727 (207 OPS+) triple slash. They were far more aggressive this season, as after a quick stop in A ball, he spent 58 games in AA before a surprising promotion to AAA. All he did then was produce:

It's quite hard to fathom, but Urquhart managed to produce 5.7 WAR in just 69 games, buoyed by an absurd 20.4 zone rating and 1.116 efficiency in 623.1 innings that would even impress the superstar shortstop trio of Harry Barrell, Jim Hensley, and Skipper Schneider. And not only was he leaps and bounds better then the average second basemen, Union League pitchers couldn't fool him either, as he mashed to the tune of .304/.373/.400 (135 OPS+) with a WRC+ of 142. He was successful in 15-of-17 stolen base attempts, and he added 19 doubles, 4 triples, 41 runs, 30 walks, and 28 RBIs. With the second base defense as good as it is, you think maybe he could shift to short, but the 22-year-old from Memphis has never taken a rep from the left side of the infield. And while it may be worth trying him out there a bit, both positions are wide open in Cleveland now that star Jim Adams Jr. (.326, 12, 88, 7) has moved to the hot corner full-time. Adding Urquhart into the mix makes the Foresters even more dangerous, as despite his seemingly disbelief in the longball, scouts view him as a top second basemen. It's a weaker position right now, and I wouldn't be too surprised if by the end of 1950 he's a top five second basemen in FABL. The glove is great, he'll hit well above .300, and you always have to worry about his speed. He's one of those guys who can change the game on a dime, so if he can keep his temper under control, he'll do plenty of good for the Foresters as they look to make the 1950s look like 1949, not the rest of the decade.


Now that the offense has started to turn things around, all the Saints need is one more pitcher. "The Grim Reaper" may just be that guy.

Known for his devastating stuff, Ted Coffin is a huge strikeout arm, setting down 13.8% of the hitters he faced in the Century League this season. Sure, it came with almost as many walks (104 to 110), but Montreal has a really talented young southpaw who could open up the season in the big league rotation. Coffin was with the Crocodiles last year as well, and the overall numbers were impressive. He went 6-2 with a 2.97 ERA (164 ERA+), 1.48 WHIP, and 39 strikeouts in 56.2 innings pitched. Now he's added a mile on his sinker, but despite the big whiff numbers, he isn't the type to blow batters away. This season he was topping out at 88, but velocity really isn't what makes him good. What does is his sequencing, as he has five pitches that all move out of the zone. His knuckle curve is the go-to for strikeouts to righties, while his slider is nearly unhittable for lefties. Plus they also have to account for the straight curve and his splitter, which allows Coffin to keep even the best hitters off balance. The only thing keeping Coffin from anchoring a rotation is his unreliable command, but around the game we've seen success from effectively wild pitchers. This season seven pitchers had a BB% of 12 or higher, and four of them had ERA+ above 100. Expect Coffin to join those ranks once he's fully developed.


While it is interesting to see that the Manzanillo Palms are planning on playing former #1 prospect Ralph Hanson out in left, I'm curious to see how one of the best baseball name's, Bill Slappy, performs. The Stars are known for their penchant for acquiring Bill's, so it was no surprise they made him their 6th Round pick in 1944. He had a slow crawl up the ladder until this year, as he was in A ball last season, and he's already eligible for the Rule-5 draft. It actually went quite well, as Slappy was one of the best Middle Atlantic League hurlers, going 19-5 with a 2.36 ERA (162 ERA+), 1.25 WHIP, and 169 strikeouts in 225.1 innings. He managed to work around the 100 walks, but that was a bit tougher for him this season. This time in AA, Slappy walked 157 hitters in his 230 innings, and among FABL affiliated minor leaguers, no pitcher with 110 or more strikeouts walked as many hitters as Slappy did.

These control issues are all that's standing in the way of his FABL career, as the stuff is amazing. It's real tough to elevate his pitches, and even Bill Barrett (.300, 37, 104, 10) says he struggles to elevate Slappy's sinker. Of course, someone like Barrett has no issues drawing a free pass off him, and even guys who don't walk can luck into one. As serious as these control issues may be, it makes his change up almost unhittable, and when he's on he'll generate some of the ugliest swings you'll ever see. Give him a good catcher and you could really come up with a good game plan, but if his control stays as poor as it is, you're playing with fire every time you send him out. He's not going to hang a hittable pitch, but get a runner on third?

You better not have a catcher who likes catching on one knee...Otherwise, he's going to get his cardio for the week!


Long known for a team who competes each season, after back-to-back pennants, the wheels fell off the bus, and the Sailors plummeted to last. So what's next for them?

Well, the Sailors are lucky because they have plenty of good prospects, including Jerry Keith, who are at or near big league ready. Based on his AA time, it looked like Keith was ready, as he came a tenth of a win away from five WAR while posting a 155 WRC+ and .334/.441/.520 (149 OPS+) batting line in 124 games. It was an impressive all around campaign for the switch hitting middle infielder, who hit 33 doubles, 8 triples, and 12 homers with 70 runs, 67 RBIs, and 88 walks. He struck out just 58 times in 549 PAs, and while he wasn't great defensively, he was passable even before considering his offensive production. Unfortunately for Keith, the Sailors have no shortage of middle infield talent on the big league club. So much so that they've moved former 9th Pick and a top 10 prospect during the season Al Farmer (.263, 3, 47, 3) to left so they can keep his bat in the lineup. Not only that, despite being Rule-5 eligible, Farmer has yet to be added to the 40-man roster. I'm sure the Sailors will protect him, as he's a not-too-distant future big leaguer, and seems likely to be plucked if left unprotected. 23 in a few days, Keith deserves a look at the big league level, and with a strong stint it may be coming sooner then later.


Acquired in a trade that saw Walt Pack (.253, 13, 54), who himself was traded today, go from Toronto to Chicago, Pat Todd has since been the third basemen of the future. He's overshadowed on a team with five top fifty prospects, but that shouldn't stop him from making an impact against that on a deep Coyotes roster. Right now, he's behind another former Cougar draftee, Hal Wood (.315, 6, 81), who's still a top player at 35. That's okay for the soon-to-be 23-year-old, who spent his 1949 season in AA Chatanooga. He was one of the most valuable Reliables, worth almost five wins above average in 134 Dixie League games. Todd hit a strong .324/.397/.412 (114 OPS+) with 30 extra base hits, 62 walks to 52 strikeouts, and 101 runs scored or driven in. A much different prospect then Pack once was, Todd doesn't have much slug, just five homers in 583 PAs, but he's a truly gifted defender at the hot corner. He posted a 12.6 zone rating and 1.063 efficiency, and there's no concern about his glove not playing at the highest level. Dominion Stadium is tough to get balls out at, so it's reasonable that the Wolves wanted to replace a slugger with an excellent glove and hit tool. He's likely still a season off, but as the Wolves look to get younger, the emergence of someone like Todd would allow them to trade someone like Wood before age diminishes his value too much.

NORTHERN CAL CLINCHES TRIP TO SANTA ANA

The Northern California Miners thundered into 1949 football history and clinched an invitation for a second straight appearance in the East-West Classic on New Years Day with a 20-17 victory over their longtime rivals from Redwood University.

The fifty-second annual gridiron battle between the West's oldest college rivals was a dandy, with both schools entering the contest perfect in section play and each ranked in the top five in the nation. Redwood entered the game a perfect 9-0 and ranked number three but limped out as a 7th ranked 9-1 team while the Miners, 8-1 and 5th in the nation, moved up a slot to #4 and their trip to Santa Ana for New Year's was confirmed by classic organizers immediately after the contest.

It was a back and forth game that's outcome was not certain until just before the final gun sounded with the Mammoths gamely trying to get in position for a potential game tying field goal after Miners quarterback John Stanphill gave his team a 20-17 lead with a 12-yard touchdown run with just over 5 minutes left on the club. It looked like the Mammoths might just get in position for the tying kick but in the final minute Northern Cal's mighty lineman Tom Dannemiller recovered a Jim Baker fumble on the Miners 19-yard line and his club was able to run out the clock. The Miners will be making their fifth trip to the East-West Classic and are 3-1 all-time including a 20-0 shutout of St Magnus a year ago.

Central Ohio knocked off Detroit City College 14-0 in the Motor City to win the Great Lakes Alliance section title but that does not mean the Aviators will get to stage a rematch of the 1921 game with Northern Cal. In fact, it sounds like Classic executives are leaning to inviting Wisconsin State, winners by a 13-12 score in a defensive struggle with Minnesota Tech. Central Ohio is 5-1 in section play but the 4-1-1 Brewers beat the Aviators earlier this season and are ranked in the top ten in the polls, while the Aviators are on the outside looking in again this week. The Classic committee expects to make an official decision. Both schools have completed their seasons slate of games as has St. Ignatuis, which is 8-1 including its dramatic upset of St Blane earlier this season. There is some speculation the Lancers may be the top choice for Santa Ana, but most feel the Lancers are considered a long shot.

St Blane, trying to battle back to the top of the polls after falling from number one with their November 5 loss to St Ignatius, moved up a spot to number three following a more than convincing 52-0 victory at home over Western Iowa. It was another outstanding game from quarterback Bill Thomas, who ran for a touchdown and passed for three more including a pair to end Bobby Leonard.

Top ranked Rome State had the week off as the Centurions prepare for their annual showdown in Philadelphia with Annapolis Maritime while second ranked Oklahoma City State improved to 9-0 with a 24-0 shutout of Sunnyvale.

HARRIMAN CLOSING IN ON RECEIVING RECORDS

Monte Harriman's big season just keeps getting bigger for the Washington Wasps. The end is on a record-breaking pace and only added it to it with 2 more touchdown catches in the Wasps 30-24 victory over the Chicago Wildcats. It does not seem to matter who is throwing the ball as the Wasps played with Tommy Norwood under center, filling in for the injured Bob Krohn. Norwood had himself a big day, throwing for 321 yards and the two scoring passes to Harriman.

Those two touchdown catches give Harriman 16 on the season and with three games remaining he is just one scoring catch shy of tying Stan Vaught's 1942 record of 17 touchdown receptions. Harriman had 7 catches yesterday to give him 72 on the season. That is the fourth highest total of all-time and leaves him 12 shy of Vaught's mark of 84, also set in 1942 when he was with Detroit. Harriman's 128 receiving yards pushed him over the 1,000 mark at 1,062 -making the Wasps end just the fourth player to gain at least 1,000 yards receiving. Former Wasps Johnny Douglas set the record with 1,221 in 1942 but that mark also appears in peril of being surpassed by Washington's new receiving threat.

The win over Chicago allowed the Wasps to stay within a game of first place Philadelphia in the East Division after the Frigates ran their record to 8-1 with a 31-13 triumph at home over Boston. St Louis fell for the first time this season as the Ramblers were upset 17-14 in Pittsburgh. The Paladins scored a pair of first period touchdowns and built a 17-0 and the Ramblers only made the game close when Tom Berryman scored his second rushing touchdown of the game as time expired. A pair of Tommy Thompson second half scores, and three on the day for the Cleveland halfback, lifted the Finches to a 28-13 victory over Los Angeles while in New York Archie Rawlings threw a pair of touchdown passes to Sterling Beauregard as the Stars dumped winless Detroit 21-6.

GOTHAMS SURPRISE COWBOYS - MUDDY PLAYOFF PICTURE

The New York Gothams are the latest team to upset the former darlings of the Continental Football Conference, handing Kansas City a surprising 23-6 defeat and sending the playoff picture into chaos. The Stars are still alive for the right to face the San Francisco Wings in the CFC title game, as are the Cowboys, New Orleans and even Los Angeles.

The way it looks now with one week remaining in the season is the Kansas City Cowboys are still the favourite but they need to win their final game on Thursday in Chicago. New Orleans, which hosts Buffalo Sunday in its finale is tied with Cowboys at 6-5 but lost both of its games to Kansas City this season so the Cowboys should hold the tiebreaker if it ends up in a two-way tie between the two clubs. New York, which plays in Los Angeles on Thanksgiving Day before finishing their west coast trip with a game against first place San Francisco on Sunday, could also end the season with a 7-5 record. Then there is the Los Angeles Lobos, who shot themselves in the foot with a tough 34-31 loss in New Orleans but could conceivably end up in a 4-way tie for second place if they beat New York Thursday and have the Gothams, Kansas City and New Orleans all lose over the weekend.

The Cowboys simply came out flat in New York yesterday. Their offense sputtered through the first half while they spotted the Gothams a 14-0 lead on a pair of Nate Tyson touchdown runs. It was the fourth quarter before they finally got on the scoreboard but with just 213 yards of net offense, an off day from Pat Chappell and no running game to speak of, the Cowboys gave themselves little chance to win and looked nothing like a club fighting for a playoff spot.

It was a much different story in New Orleans where the Crescents and visiting Los Angeles Lobos gave it everything they had in a back and forth battle that was decided by two field goal attempts. Willard Shaw was successful on his 28-yard attempt with 2:26 remaining to give the Crescents a 34-31 lead and only after Stan Spearin missed a 27-yard attempt for the Lobos less than a minute later was the outcome decided.

The final game saw the Chicago Comets build a 19-0 lead on Buffalo and hold on for a 19-14 victory over the Bulls. The victory improves the Comets record to 4-7, tying the franchise record for wins in a season, and dooms the Bulls to a last place finish.

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 16

Detroit 3 at Chicago 2: The Packers took a 2-0 lead on first period goals from Marty Mahoney and Derek Gubb but Detroit battled back with goals from Remy Emond, Dixon Butler and Adam Vanderbilt to claim a 3-2 victory. In Chicago this season it appears that if Norm Hanson does not get a shutout, the Packers will lose. All four of Chicago's wins in their 16 games this season have been when Hanson was perfect in net. Chicago outshot the Motors 44-28 in this one.

New York 4 at Boston 1: Make it 4 straight victories for the Shamrocks, who saw Geoff Hartnell score twice and add an assist to pace his club past Boston by a 4-1 count. It was the slumping Bees fourth straight loss, and they are winless in their last 9 games.

Toronto 0 at Montreal 1 :A goaltending duel in Montreal as the Valiants backup goaltender Brad Carter received his second straight start and notched his second consecutive 1-0 shutout win. Carter made 30 saves while the Dukes Gordie Broadway turned aside 28 of the 29 he faced. The lone exception was Adam Sandford's second period power play marker.

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 17

Chicago 0 at Boston 1 : Tommy Hart scored the only goal of the game with 2:13 remaining in the third period to lift Boston to a 1-0 victory over the Packers, snapping the Bees 9-game winless streak. Chicago managed just 15 shots on Oscar James while Norm Hanson faced 31 in the Packers cage.

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 19

Toronto 4 at Detroit 1 : An unusually quiet Saturday evening with just one game on the docket. Phillippe Dubois had a goal and an assist to lead the Dukes past Detroit 4-1 in a game that saw Toronto outshoot its hosts 39-16.

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 20

Boston 2 at Montreal 2 : The Bees and Vals skate to a draw in a game that Boston fired 47 shots on Montreal netminder Brad Carter, who continues to get the nod from Valiants coach Norb Hickey over veteran Tom Brockers. Alex Peters opened the scoring for the Vals less than 2 minutes into the game but Mark Dyck tied it for the Bees in the second period. Joe Morey put Boston up 43 seconds into the third frame but just over a minute late Brett Lanceleve, with his 7th of the season, rounded out the scoring.

Chicago 1 and New York 2: The Packers power outage continues as Chicago has scored just 3 goals in its last 4 games and the Packers are last in the loop with just 30 goals in 16 games. They have only surrendered 27 but are tied for last with Boston despite the positive scoring differential. This was not one of Norm Hanson -who has been outstanding- better efforts as he faced just 20 shots but was beaten by Ryan Kennedy in the first period and Jim Macek in the second. Max Lavigne had the lone Chicago marker.

Detroit 4 at Toronto 3 : A big third period allowed the Motors to split their home and home series with the first place Dukes. Detroit scored 3 times in the final frame while Toronto tallied just once to allow the Motors the comeback victory. Nick Tardif, Bob S. Kelly and Marsh Spencer scored the third period Detroit goals after Lou Barber got his first of the season in the second period. Charlie Brown, Les Carlson and Trevor Parker replied for Toronto.

DUKES REMAIN IN FIRST DESPITE 1-1-1 WEEK

Toronto maintains a slim 1 point lead atop the NAHC over Detroit, who have a game in hand, after a loss, win and a tie over the past seven days. The week started in Montreal with a game against against the the Valiants. The home team, as Coach Barrell had told his charges, were certain to be ready to seek revenge after last week's 8-0 shellacking at Dominion Gardens. The first period was a quick paced 20 minutes with nothing entered on the game sheet in either the scoring or penalty categories. Montreal outshot the Dukes 10-4 with Gordie Broadway forced to make many saves on rebounds his defensemen failed to clear, although Brad Carter only face 4 shots Maurice Charette had two good chances to opening the scoring. Toronto had more the play in the middle frame testing Carter 16 times to no avail. The Valiants scored on a 5 on 3 advantage when Adam Sanford scored from the slot on a feed from Robert Stevens. That proved to be the only marker of the game as the visitors could not breach the wall Carter threw up in the Montreal net. Valiants got some measuring of redemption in the 1-0 victory.

Thompson Palladium was the site for a battle of the two teams atop the league in the early going on Saturday night. The tension in the crowd of 16.670 was almost palatable before puck drop. The players seemed to also feel the importance of the game as Francis McKenzie and Clyde Lumsen dropped the mitts to exchange pleasantries less than four minutes into the game. Detroit's plan seemed to be to hit everything in sight in an attempt to slow down the Dukes high flying offense. Dukes took the hits without retaliating knowing they were coming to every puck carrier.

Philippe Dubois snuck in from the point to bury one behind Henri Chasse at 5:36 set up by Les Carlson and Quinton Pollack to quiet the home crowd a little before Alex Lavalliere made it 2-0 banging home a Trevor Parker rebound at 17:17. The goal for Lavalliere was his first of the season. The Dukes were in the Detroit zone for what seemed to be all of the first 40, out shooting the Motors 25-9.

An unassisted goal by Alex Cameron made it 3-0 at 8:28 of the second. If the Motors thought the Dukes were going to sit on the lead, they were wrong, as the Dukes continued to press the home team in the final period testing Chasse 14 times. After Les Carlson took high sticking then 10 more after arguing with the ref, Nick Tardif scored on the man advantage from Joe Todd at 14:48. Clyde Lumsen made the final 4-1 at 16:37 of the third as the teams prepared for the rematch in Toronto Sunday.

Due to the snowstorm blanketing Ontario's capital the team met in front of a less than capacity crowd. The 13,359 on hand saw a little different game than the night before with Detroit trying to control the puck more and hit less away from home. After Carlson scored on the power play in the first Charlie Brown's 2nd of the year, also with a Motor serving time, made it 2-0. The crowd felt the back to back sweep was on the way for the Dukes. Trevor Parker's second slashing penalty of the period gave the Motors the opportunity they needed when Lou Barber beat Broadway on a seemingly innocent shot from the left hand faceoff dot. With the Dukes up 2-1 with less than 10 minutes remaining goals by Tardif and Bob S. Kelly just 14 seconds apart gave Detroit a 3-2 lead. Parker tied the game at 14:00 mark with the man advantage. Marsh Spencer then deflected one off Broadway's trapper 41 seconds later to restore the Motors' lead. Coach Barrell summoned Broadway to the bench replacing him with Terry Russell, in what was a surprising move to most in attendance. Detroit hung on for a 4-3 comeback win.

Coach Barrell: "We probably had our best week of the year until the final 10 on Sunday. Carter stoned us in Montreal, that happens. We played very well in Detroit Saturday night. Sunday is what happens when you take your foot off the gas. I pulled Broadway because I saw him fighting the puck. If a goaltender starts to do that, it is time for a change. Gordie will be fine. He has logged the vast majority of workload. Expect to see him between the pipes Wednesday night against Boston. The less complicated system is paying dividends, but those lazy stick penalties are right out of hand!"

DEFENDING CHAMPS DROP SEASON OPENER

The Lexington State Colonials, who were a surprise national champion a year ago after sweeping through the national tournament field to the first title in school history, got off on the wrong foot this season with a 54-33 loss to Annapolis Maritime on Friday in Baltimore.

It was the second win of the season for the Navigators, who opened things up 8 days ago with a 58-50 victory on the road against Central Illinois. Ranked #5 in the latest AIAA poll, the Navigators have four returning starters and an impressive addition in freshman Bruce Rider. The Frankford, Pa. native led the naval academy in scoring both games including a 15-point showing against the Colonials on Friday.

Noble Jones College, which lost to Lexington State in the AIAA title game last year and is ranked #3 at the moment, skipped the preseason tournaments but the Colonels looked solid in their opener Tuesday, downing St Patrick's 54-38 behind 15 points each from senior center Mike Miller and freshman forward Jim Graybeal. Noble Jones College was far less impressive Friday, but they still pulled out a 57-54 victory over tiny Glover College. Graybeal, who was a top 30 recruit, again led the way for the winners with 11 points.

It was a busy week for number one ranked Liberty College as the Bells played three times, winning them all to improve to 5-0 on the season. None of the opponents were especially challenging as the Bells won on the road at Bronx Tech 52-46 before having a much better showing Friday evening in Philadelphia against Henry Hudson University. Top pro prospect and last year's AIAA player of the year Luther Gordon had 29 points against the Explorers. Gordon matched that two days later with another 29-point effort in an 80-48 drubbing of Brandywine.

RECENT KEY RESULTS

• Welterweight Bob Thomas improved to 21-7-1 with a unanimous decision in a ten rounder in Brooklyn on Wednesday evening. Thomas, 29-year-old San Francisco native has been around the fringes of being considered one of the best in his weight class but fell short in several big tests including a June loss to Ira Mitchell.

UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS

• Nov 23- Boston: Chester Conley managed Italian middleweight Hugo Caino (15-0-2) vs Cecil Savage (8-12-3)
• Nov 23- London, Egland: rising British heavyweight Ben Budgeford (20-1) vs Cameron Tegan (13-7-1)
• Nov 27- Columbus, OH- WW River Thomas (22-8) vs Clyde Bissonette (22-9-3)
• Nov 28- Blackpool, England- HW Irish Pat Harber, who once faced Hector Sawyer and is 41-8-2 vs Alexander Tuffin (6-6-3).
• Dec 3- Providence, RI - WW Ira Mitchell (24-4) vs Willis May (22-5-2)
• Dec 9- Philadelphia, PA- WW Danny Rutledge (18-1) vs Heinie Verplanck (18-5)
• Dec 15- Washington DC - MW contender Bill Boggs (19-2-1) vs Bobby Hinkle (30-6)
• Dec 17 - Atlanta, GA - HW contenders Lewis Jones (20-2-1) vs Tommy Cline (19-2)
• Dec 28- Union City, NJ - MW contender Tommy Campbell (22-3-1) vs Rip Rogers (20-3)
• Dec 29- Memphis, TN - Former HW challenger Roy Crawford (30-4) vs Cannon Cooper (28-4-1)
• Dec 30- Syracuse, NY- MW Davis Owens (20-0) vs Jim Ward (21-3)
• Dec 31- Brooklyn, NY - HW Scott "The Chef" Baker (20-4-3) vs Barry Scott (18-5)

• The Soviet Foreign Minister charged in a speech at the United Nations that Western Germany is being prepared by the United States and Britain as a springboard for an attack on the Soviet Union. Andrei Vishinsky also referred to the quarrels between the United States Navy and Air Force as "a shameful argument as to how best to attack peace-loving countries."
• Yugoslavia blasted at Russia for appearing before the UN as a champion of peace while exerting "aggressive pressure" in efforts to oust Premier Marshall Tito.
• The Shah of Iran visited with President Truman in Washington. He is seeking American military aid for what he says is in the interests of world peace, as well as for the benefit of his own country. He declared that the defense of his oil-rich country which has been subjected to a war of nerves by Russia on its norther border "is important to all other countries and the whole security of the Middle East and the family of the world."
• The Federal mediator in the soft coal talks turned the dispute over to the White House, saying that in his opinion further efforts to mediate the contract controversy between John L. Lewis and the operators would be fruitless.
• The Navy announced plans to drop 35 air squadrons because of "current and projected budget restrictions."
  
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November 28, 1949
 

NOVEMBER 28, 1949

OKLAHOMA CITY STATE WINS NATIONAL GRID TITLE

Rome State Tumbles Following Shocking Tie With Navigators

For the first time since they shared a football title with Georgia Baptist in 1917, Oklahoma City State has been crowned the class of the AIAA. The grid Wranglers completed a perfect 10-0 season with 30-3 victory over Eastern Oklahoma and that win, coupled with a shocking result in Philadelphia where Rome State -number one entering the weekend- was forced to settle for a 23-23 tie with Annapolis Maritime, bumped the Wranglers up to number one for the unofficial end of the collegiate football season.

President Truman was among the many dignitaries at Sailors Memorial Stadium in Philadelphia to witness the annual clash between the two service academies. The Centurions were riding high entering the game with a perfect 8-0 record and a National Title, which would have been their third in the last six years, seemingly a foregone conclusion. This had been a down year for Annapolis Maritime as the Navigators, bloodied and beaten like the Navy's leaders in their funding fight with the Air Force, were just 2-5-1 entering the game.

Turnovers proved the difference as Rome State dug itself a deep trench it could not get out of when three first period turnovers allowed the Navigators to take an early 13-0 lead. The score was 16-7 at the half and the best the Centurions could do was scrape out a tie.

The Centurions slid to fourth in the final rankings as St Blane and Northern California each jumped ahead. The Fighting Saints were in Los Angeles where they pulled out a hard-fought 17-13 victory over a game Coastal California Dolphins eleven while Northern Cal has completed its slate and only has a New Year's Day date with Wisconsin State to prepare for. The East-West Classic committee confirmed earlier in the week that the Miners and Brewers will be its choices for the big game in Santa Ana.

Other key results over the weekend saw Travis College complete a perfect 6-0 run through the Southwest Alliance with a 48-0 trouncing of Darnell State. The Bucks will play in the Oilman Classic against a yet to be determined opponent but believed to likely be between Minnesota Tech and East-West Classic cast-off Central Ohio.

Baton Rogue State replaced Bayou State in the top ten with 16-7 victory in their annual season ending meeting. The victory gives the Red Devils the Deep South title with a 6-0 section record, finishing ahead of Bayou State and Georgia Baptist.

FRIGATES CLINCH EAST DIVISION CROWN

Wasps Lose Despite Record Setting Day for Harriman

The Philadelphia Frigates will be playing in the American Football Association championship game for the first time since 1944 and just the second ever appearance in franchise history. The Frigates clinched top spot in the East Division with a convincing 28-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Paladins yesterday. That win, combined with Washington's 31-23 loss in New York, gives the Frigates a 2-game bulge on the second place Wasps with just two games remaining in the season. The Frigates hold any potential tiebreaker by virtue of sweeping the season series between the two clubs.

Greg LePage scored a pair of touchdowns, one on a 23-yard carry to open the scoring in the second quarter and the other on a 5-yard pass from Jim Taylor in the closing seconds of the third period to round out the scoring at Sailors Memorial Stadium where the Frigates shut out the Paladins. Taylor threw 3 touchdown passes in the victory as the Frigates extended their winning streak to six games.

The disappointment of the title game elimination soured what should have been a celebratory mood for the second place Wasps in New York. The Stars handed Washington its second loss in the last three games by building up an 18 point lead at the break and holding on for a 31-23 victory. Much of the focus was on Monte Harriman, the undrafted end out of Sunnyvale who led the Wasps in catches a year ago as a rookie and has taken it to a new level this season. Harriman caught 12 passes from Bob Krohn Sunday -one shy of Stan Vaught's single game reception record- for 167 yards and two touchdowns. Those totals allowed Harriman to establish a new record for touchdown grabs and receiving yards in a season. His 18 scoring catches are one more than Vaught collected in 1942 and his 1,229 receiving yards top the old mark of 1,221 set by former Wasps end Johnny Douglas also in 1942. Harriman is also tied with Vaught's 1942 mark for most catches in the season at 84 with two games remaining for the young Washington star.

The West Division race just became a little more interesting after the St Louis Ramblers were forced to settle for a 21-21 tie in Cleveland. St Louis, which dips to 8-1-1 on the campaign, led 21-7 entering the final period but the Finches scored twice in a two and a half minute span to pull even. Mark Ravellette ran for a 15-yard score to complete an eight play, 75-yard drive to cut the St Louis lead to seven points and then after a quick 3-and-out that took just 55 seconds, a 36-yard Ravellette run set up the tying touchdown on a 5-yard carry by Steve Watts.

Second place Chicago improved to 7-3 and stayed in the race for the West Division title after the Wildcats blasted the 0-10 Detroit Maroons 35-7 at Thompson Field. Ricky McCallister threw a pair of touchdown passes for the winners. The final game of the weekend saw the Boston Americans rally from a 14-0 deficit to beat Los Angeles 30-14 behind 130 rushing yards from Bill Kinnaird and a pair of Del Thomas touchdown throws.

COWBOYS CLINCH SECOND WITH WIN OVER CHICAGO

To Face San Francisco in Title Rematch

It was not pretty but the Kansas City Cowboys did just enough to ensure they will play in their fourth consecutive Continental Football Conference championship game thanks to a win over Chicago on Thanksgiving coupled with some help from first place San Francisco yesterday. The Cowboys were dominant through the first three seasons of the young grid loop, going 35-6-1 and winning the first two title games before being upended a year ago by a 26-10 score in a championship game loss to San Francisco. This year has been a different story for the Cowboys, who have seen their running game fall apart allowing teams to focus solely on stopping the passing attack led by quarterback Pat Chappell. The result is the Cowboys lost 5 games this season, including 3 in a row, and only managed to claim second place because of a narrow 21-14 victory over Chicago on Thursday.

Against the Comets, who tied a team record with 4 wins this season including a shocking upset of the Cowboys in Kansas City, Chappell threw a pair of second period scores as his club built a 21-0. It turned out that was barely enough as the Comets battled back with a pair of touchdowns but could not get the equalizer.

That victory over Chicago was not enough on its own to ensure the Cowboys would return to the CFC title game as the New York Gothams had a chance to force a 3-way tie for second place after the Gothams began a busy week on the west coast with a 28-10 victory over the Los Angeles Lobos. San Francisco put an end to any hopes the Gothams -who played in the first two title games- had of getting back to the championship contest with a dominant 37-7 victory keyed by 30 second half points over a worn out New York squad.

The Gothams loss left a two-way tie for second between the Cowboys and the New Orleans Crescents, who rallied thanks to a late Vince Gallegos to Clayton Reilly touchdown pass for a 28-24 victory at home over Buffalo. That left the Crescents and Cowboys with identical 7-5 records but Kansas City, which beat New Orleans twice during the season, claimed the trip to San Francisco for next weekend's title game on the tiebreaker.

*** Wings Have Enjoyed Success Against Cowboys ***

The San Francisco Wings will be clear favourites heading into next Sunday's title game. That was not the case a year ago when the Wings, at 12-2, finished well ahead of the 10-3-1 Cowboys for the West Division crown. The league, which was comprised of 8 teams that season, went with a 4-team playoff which allowed the first all-West Division title game in league history. San Francisco split its two games with the Cowboys during the regular season with each winning at home. That trend continued with the Wings claiming a 26-10 victory while enjoying great success in stopping Mason Matthews and the Cowboys running game. Matthews ran for a league high 1,217 yards during the regular season a year ago but was held to just 24 in the playoff.

That blueprint of stopping the run game was executed well by the Cowboys opponents this season as Matthews, who carried the ball for just 456 yards this season, and the entire Cowboys running game was absent much of the season. Without that threat of a big ground gain, the defenses put most of their attention on covering Pat Chappell's passing targets and the approach has worked. Perhaps no one did it better than the Wings in the meeting between the two in San Francisco earlier this year when the Cowboys were held to just 68 yards rushing and Chappell completed just 6 passes for 77 yards in a 35-14 loss.

The West Coast has not been kind to Kansas City of late, with the Cowboys on a 5 game losing streak against the two California clubs including 3 straight losses in San Francisco. The Wings will be looking to make it four straight and win their second CFC title in the process.

CFC'S FAREWELL: A GRIDIRON LEGACY FADING INTO HISTORY?

San Francisco, November 27 -- As the echoes of cleats clashing and the roar of the crowd reverberate in Golden Gate Stadium this Sunday, they may very well signify the swan song for the Continental Football Conference. The gridiron spectacle, conceived by the visionary Percy Sutherland and brought to life through the grit of the esteemed former Navy Lt. Commander and St. Blane gridiron luminary Ben Montgomery, has had a commendable four-year run. Yet, the winds of change whisper a near certainty that a solitary professional football league will stand tall come next fall.

The American Football Association came tantalizingly close last winter to assimilating three CFC clubs into its venerable fold. Reports from the trenches suggest that a lucrative settlement was poised for acceptance by five CFC magnates, who would gracefully bow out from franchises seemingly hemorrhaging money due to the ferocious salary battles waged by both leagues. Alas, the deal crumbled in the eleventh hour. The stumbling block? None other than the tenacious William Beauregard, owner of the New Orleans Crescents, who staunchly insisted on his team's inclusion in the migrating cohort, a notion the AFA found less than appealing back then, favoring the Los Angeles market.

Fast forward, and Los Angeles is now firmly under the AFA banner, thanks to the relocation of the Cincinnati Tigers. Beauregard's Crescents, along with the San Francisco Wings and the Kansas City Cowboys, appear destined to join the expanded AFA —assuming the league's president, Jack Kristich, and his cadre of owners remain committed to the notion of incorporating three new teams, a decision that seems to waver between two and three, depending on the day's wind.

The Continental Conference, originally boasting eight squads, suffered a blow when Brooklyn bowed out after the 1948 season. The harsh equation of player costs outweighing gate revenues proved the undoing of the grid Kings. Presently, murmurs circulate that both Buffalo and New York, despite drawing appreciable crowds, find themselves teetering on the edge of throwing in the proverbial towel. If that grim fate befalls them, even a New Orleans veto might not suffice to stave off the CFC's demise. It's inconceivable to imagine Montgomery and the surviving owners pressing forward with a mere five-team league.

The CFC has been a crucible of electrifying football for the past four years, a testament to the audacious experiment of Sutherland and Montgomery. Yet, as the final whistle blows this Sunday, the curtain might very well descend on this thrilling gridiron odyssey. Football enthusiasts would be wise to savor the spectacle, for it might be their last chance to witness the brilliance of the CFC before it becomes a fading memory etched into the annals of sporting history.

DUKES STAR GALBRAITH SUSPENDED

The Toronto Dukes will have to make do without young star Lou Galbraith for the next four games after the 22-year-old left winger was suspended for an incident against the Chicago Packers last night. Galbraith was given a 5-minute major and kicked out in the third period after a vicious elbow to the head of one of the Packers. In 20 games this season, the Winnipeg native is third in scoring in the NAHC trailing only linemates Les Carlson and Quinton Pollack with 20 points on 7 goals and 13 assists.

The first overall selection in the 1947 NAHC draft, Galbraith had 17 goals and 42 points in 50 games as a rookie and followed that up with a 28 goal, 59 point season in 58 games a year ago. He missed most of the playoffs in Toronto's back-to-back Challenge Cup runs, sidelined with injury for all of the 1947-48 postseason and limited to just 2 games a year ago.

DAILY NAHC RESULTS FROM LAST WEEK

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 23

Boston 2 at Toronto 1: Veteran Boston center Wilbur Chandler set up both Cam Cundiff and Joe Morey for goals to lift the Bees to a 2-1 victory over the Toronto Dukes. Only Doug Zimmerman's tally with just 24 seconds remaining in the game spoiled the shutout bid for Oscar James, who made 27 saves in the Boston net. The victory gives Boston two wins and tie in their last three outings and perhaps has the club back on track after going winless in their previous nine games.

Detroit 4 at New York 5: Third period goals from Mark Theriault and Rusty Mullins lifted the Shamrocks to a 5-4 victory over the Detroit Motors and extended the Greenshirts winning streak to six games. Orval Cabbell paced the winners with a goal and 2 helpers.

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 24

Chicago 6 at Detroit 5: The Motors come up a goal short for the second straight night as Ed Delarue's goal midway through the third period proved the difference in a 6-5 win for the Packers. A much needed offensive explosion for a Chicago club that had lost 4 straight and scored just three times in those 4 contests.

Montreal 1 at Toronto 2: All the scoring came in the opening 16 minutes of the game as the Dukes, behind goals from Lou Galbraith and Doug Zimmerman, shaded Montreal 2-1. Brett Lanceleve, with his 8th of the season, was the Montreal marksman.

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 26

Detroit 0 at Chicago 2: Michael Cleghorn had quite a game in his first appearance of the season as the Packers backup goaltender turned aside all 28 Detroit shots in a 2-0 victory for his second career shutout. Mike Geiger scored his first NAHC goal in 3 years to open the scoring and Moose Vezina added an insurance marker in the second period.

Montreal 1 at New York 6: The Shamrocks stretched their winning streak to 7 games with a 6-1 victory over the struggling Montreal Valiants. Alex Sorrell made 31 saves while Tommy Brescia had a hat trick to lead the Shamrocks.

Toronto 3 at Boston 1: Charlie Brown set up a pair of first period goals by Alex Lavalliere and Frank Featherstone to lead the Dukes past Boston and avenge their loss three nights earlier to the Bees at Dominon Gardens.

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 27

Boston 2 at New York 1: The Shamrocks winning streak came to an end after Robert Walker scored his 7th goal of the season with just 2 minutes remaining in the game to lift Boston to a 2-1 road win. The clubs had traded first period goals with Len Bentley lighting the lamp for the Bees and Simon Savard responding for New York.

Chicago 4 at Toronto 4: With Gordie Broadway on the bench for an extra attacker Les Carlson scored with 9 seconds remaining in the third period to allow the Toronto Dukes to salvage a point and claim a 4-4 tie with Chicago. The draw completed a successful week for the Packers who claimed 5 of a possible 6 points.

Detroit 6 at Montreal 3: The Motors halted a 3-game losing skid by doubling the Valiants 6-3 as recently signed defenseman Tyson Beddoes scored once and added 3 assists to pace Detroit. Marsh Spencer added 3 points for the winners while Clarence Skinner scored twice in a losing cause for Montreal.

AROUND THE LEAGUE

• From Finn LeBec, Boston Globe : "The Bees split a home and home with the Dukes and managed to get a late winner against the Shamrocks in a 2-1 week against the two top teams in the loop. Oscar James was 24 seconds away from a shutout in a 2-1 win on the front end of the back-to-back at Dominion Gardens. Gordie Broadway had a shutout bid snapped in the 47th minute, but Boston could not get any closer in a 3-1 loss at Denny Arena the next night. In New York on Saturday night, it was Robert Walker, who cashed in his seventh goal with two minutes left on the game clock to steal the win, with Oscar James capping a solid week with 36 saves on 37 shots, including stopping 15 of 16 in the third period."
• From Bob Murphy, Detroit Times : "The Motors dropped three straight and four of five games before getting back on track with a 6-3 win in Montreal last night. Injuries to the forwards seem to be catching up to the club as both of the last two McLeod Trophy winners are sidelined. Nick Tardif should be back in a couple of days but Louis Rocheleau, who was rookie of the year last season, is out for the year. Detroit also lost Bobo Davis to an injury last week after taking a slapshot to the foot but the 23-year-old winger learned it was not broken and he should be back in action by the weekend. Tyson Beddoes, signed to a contract from Cleveland of the HAA, is certainly fitting in nicely. The 26-year-old rearguard had a 3-point game last night and is averaging a point a game through his first 9 NAHC contests.
• The Chicago Packers snapped their four game losing skid with back to back wins over Detroit last week and the offense, which had been in a terrible slumber, finally got going with 12 goals in three games after scroring just 7 times in their previous five outings. Tommy Burns scored once in the opener against Detroit but the 29-year-old who won 3 straight McDaniels Trophy's as the NAHC's most valuable player between 1946 and 1948, has just 3 goals in 15 games this season.

DUKES MAINTAIN LEAD IN NAHC

Toronto's men of the ice maintain a slim lead atop the standings ahead of the suddenly charging Shamrocks of New York who are only 2 points in arrears with two games in hand. The Dukes started a rare 4 game week at home to face Boston, a team they had beat 10 day ago 5-4 on last minute shorthanded goal. With the city still recovering from the weekend's snowstorm, Dominion Gardens was at less than capacity. In a game that reminded many of yesteryear rather than the present day's increased scoring the team staged a tight checking, few second chances, hard hitting low scoring game. The first half of the game remained scoreless with few good scoring chances but eventually Conn Cundiff broke the scoreless draw when he snuck in from the point to deflect a cross crease pass from Wilbur Chandler past Dukes stellar netminder Gordie Broadway.

Down by one going into the third period the home squad began to take more chances in an attempt to beat Oscar James to tie the game. After Trevor Parker took yet another slashing penalty it appeared that Coach Barrell's head might explode behind the Dukes bench. It did not get any better for Parker when the visitors capitalized on the man advantage as Joe Morey scored from a near impossible angle appearing to almost be behind the goal line. If looks could kill, was the glare Barrell gave Parker as winger returned to the bench. Parker assumed a seat on the other side of Terry Russell, Barrell obviously told him his night was over for ice time. James refused to let the Dukes back into the game until the last minute with their net empty when Doug Zimmerman banged a rebound home off a Painchaud point shot. Boston went back to Union Station savouring a 2-1 win.

Toronto was on the ice 24 hours later hosting the Vals who had shut them out a week ago. In a more wide open game than with Boston the Dukes were again victimized while shorthanded. With Alex Cameron off for hooking, Brett Lanceleve opening the scoring for Montreal. The Dukes stormed back 67 seconds later when on the rush when Doug Zimmerman beat Tom Brockers on the short side with assists going to Chad Painchaud and the recently resigned Charlie Brown. Lou Galbraith knocked in his 7th of the year on goal mouth scramble after a Les Carlson shot at 16:25. The game stood 2-1 Toronto after one. Although the fans did not know it at the time that would be the end of the scoring for the game. Toronto continued to pepper Tom Brockers with shots but he made 28 saves in the last two periods after giving up 2 on 6 shots in the first. Broadway's busiest period was the first when he turned aside 15 of 16. Montreal was 0 for 15 in the last two giving Toronto a 2-1 victory.

Toronto was in Denny Arena Saturday night looking to avenge the 2-1 loss to Boston on Wednesday. In front of 14,718 the Dukes came out of the gate fast scoring twice in before the game was 4 minutes old. Alex Lavalliere opening the scoring at 2:47 then Frank Featherstone made 2 -0 72 seconds later with Charlie Brown picking up a helper on both goals. Things looked like there were going to get out hand when after the second goal the home team began taking runs at Dukes resulting in 4 minor penalties. Coach Barrell was constantly yelling at the ref to get control of the game. Things seemed to settle down in the second as the teams went back to the tight checking game seen in Toronto on Wednesday. The game entered the third still at 2-0 until Quinton Pollack notched his 8th of the season after receiving a feed from Clyde Lumsen who had taken a D to D pass from Painchaud. That goal seemed to take the wind out of the Boston sails but Ray Gustafson tried to make things interesting when he converted from Maxime Rheault and Tommy Hart just before the 7 minute mark. That would be the only stain on Broadway's 23 save effort.

Toronto headed home for the second back to back of the week against the Packers. As fast as the team started in Boston their start Sunday was directly opposite. Chicago scored twice on the power play before the game reached the 4 minutes mark on goals by Stanley Royce and Norm Fraser. About 6 minutes later Trevor Parker took a tripping call and then went crazy on the ref who added a misconduct. Post game rumour, well away from Barrell, was that Parker did not want to go to the bench after taking another stick penalty.

Chicago went to the dressing room up 2 then increased the lead to 3 when Jeremy MacLean scored another power play at 6:08. Toronto managed to climb back into the game when Spencer Hoffard then Luke Brisebois scored before the end of the second. Alex Cameron brought the home team all the way back knotting the game at 3 at 1:14 of the final frame. The joy of the fans was short lived as Ed Delarue put the Packers up 4-3 at 2:21. This set up a dramatic finish when, with Broadway on the bench for an extra attacker, Maurice Charette fired a wrist shot at the net that eluded Ned Hanson with 9 second remining allowing the Dukes to steal a point in 4-4 tie.

Coach Barrell: "Two back to backs in a week tests a team. We luckily passed that test with Maurice's late shot. I had to bench Trevor to sent a message that I will not tolerate stupid penalties any longer, I am going to start shortening the bench if guys do not get that stick penalties are just laziness. If you get beat, you get beat, hustle back into position stop slashing, hooking, tripping, work your legs to get back into the play. I have just heard that the league is going to review the game report on Lou's penalty. If they are thinking suspension they are crazy!"
Brett note: League has suspended Galbraith for 4 games, Jack Barrell may have something to say about the sanction.

SAWYER TO FACE ENGLISH CHAMP

Hector Sawyer will return to the ring in February and face a rising British star by the name of Ben Budgeford. That is the word released this week from Sawyer's long-time manager Chester Conley, who says the heavyweight champ will make his first-ever visit to Philadelphia for a fight. The bout will be held at the Keystone Arena on February 18 and mark the 15th title defense for The Cajun Crusher since he won the title in 1940.

Sawyer improved his career mark to 62-3-1 with a 13th round TKO of Lewis Jones at Chicago's Lakeside Auditorium on October 8. It will be far from his first meeting with a British fighter as he had previous successful title defenses against Irish Pat Harber in 1947 and Grant Knowles when Sawyer travelled to Europe for two bouts a year ago.

Little is known about the 22-year-old Budgeford, who will be considered a heavy underdog. The Liverpool native is coming off a 5th round TKO win in London last week over Cameron Tegan, which improved Budgeford's career record to 21-1 but he has fought exclusively against European fighters and this will be his first trip to the United States.



RECENT KEY RESULTS

• Wednesday evening in Boston, Italian born middleweight Hugo Caino improved to 16-0-2 by scoring a unanimous decision over Cecil Savage. Caino, who was 'discovered' by promotor Chester Conley while in Europe during Hector Sawyer's tour lat year, has easily won all three of his fights since being imported to North America by Conley last spring.
• Ben Budgeford, the British fighter who has just been announced as Hector Sawyer's next opponent, ran his record to 21-1 with a 5th round TKO over Cameron Tegan in London Wednesday.
• In Columbus, Oh. on Thursday River Thomas earned a decision in a 10-rounder with Clyde Bissonette. Thomas, a 30-year-old welterweight from New Jersey is now 23-8 as a professional.

UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS

• Dec 3- Providence, RI - WW Ira Mitchell (24-4) vs Willis May (22-5-2)
• Dec 9- Philadelphia, PA- WW Danny Rutledge (18-1) vs Heinie Verplanck (18-5)
• Dec 15- Washington DC - MW contender Bill Boggs (19-2-1) vs Bobby Hinkle (30-6)
• Dec 17 - Atlanta, GA - HW contenders Lewis Jones (20-2-1) vs Tommy Cline (19-2)
• Dec 28- Union City, NJ - MW contender Tommy Campbell (22-3-1) vs Rip Rogers (20-3)
• Dec 29- Memphis, TN - Former HW challenger Roy Crawford (30-4) vs Cannon Cooper (28-4-1)
• Dec 30- Syracuse, NY- MW Davis Owens (20-0) vs Jim Ward (21-3)
• Dec 31- Brooklyn, NY - HW Scott "The Chef" Baker (20-4-3) vs Barry Scott (18-5)
• Feb 18- Keystone Arena, Philadelphia- World Heavyweight champ Hector Sawyer (62-3-1) defends his title against Englishman Ben Budgeford (21-1)

• With a World Championship title to celebrate and now a pair of deals to bring in veteran hitters Walt Pack and Carlos Montes, fan interest in the Chiefs is soaring reports Leland Kuenster of the Chicago Herald-Examiner.
• A couple of minor moves as FABL clubs continue to prepare for the December 5 rule five draft. The Detroit Dynamos added 25-year-old first baseman Fred Carter to their secondary roster while the New York Stars did the same with 26-year-old righthander Nini Marini. Marini, a 1942 9th round pick, went 15-14 with a 2.47 era for AAA Syracuse last season while Carter hit .340 in 134 games at AA Akron. Carter was Detroit's 4th round pick in 1946 out of Rainier College.
• Some bad news for the Washington Eagles. 21-year-old infielder Bill Wise, the Eagles first round pick in 1946, has had a setback from the injury that cost him the second half of the season. An all-star selection but unable to play due to his knee injury, word is recovery is not going as planned but there are still hopes that "Slick Willie" will be healthy by the start of spring training.
• Cuban Winter League play is underway and the Detroit Dynamos are thrilled with Bob Haverhill's first outing. The 24-year-old, who has seen limited action with the Dynamos each of the past two seasons but is being counted on to join the rotation in 1950, threw a 4-hit complete game win to lead Havana past Santiago 6-1. Haverhill fanned 7 while walking just 2.
• Other Cuban loop notes come from Tip Harrison of the Chicago Daily News who points out that Santa Clara starts 3-0 after the Cougars AAA trio from Milwaukee each picked up a win. Zane Kelley and Ron Berry both allowed just a single run in complete game victories while Harry Beardsley allowed two in seven. Blues infielders Elmer Grace (7-15, HR, 3 RBI) and Al Clement (5-11, 2B, 3 BB) were crucial in the perfect week as well.
• Brett Burns of The Mail & Empire points out Toronto Wolves players John Wells and Pat Todd are struggling early in Cuba with both 1 for 11. Management in Toronto is impressed with Ray Hatch's first start throwing a CG 3 hitter in an 8-1 win. They are a little concerned about how he was used out of the bullpen for 2 IP 4 days after throwing 157 pitches with a full complement arms for relief. Manager Barrell will be discussing the situation with the Coyotes manager on his trip.

• Now that we are about 10 games into the season, the cream is rising to the top of both divisions. The East has been separated by good teams on win streaks and everyone else. Baltimore has been atop the league since a scorching 6-0 start and the Barons' 8-2 record leads the division. Baltimore has made their money against Boston with three wins against the Centurions in those ten games, the last of which was a 101-99 win on Sunday. Boston SG Morgan Melcher scored 39 points, hoisting up 39 shots in the process, and pulled down 21 rebounds in a losing cause.
• Also in the East, Philadelphia (7-2) and Rochester (8-3) end the week on four-game winning streaks. Rochester has been a bit of a surprise because of the teams the Rockets have beaten over the last four games, including Baltimore, Buffalo, and Washington. But, whenever you have the inimitable Marlin Patterson (24.1 ppg), you can understand Rochester's success. Patterson took on Baltimore's Jack Hirst and scored 39 points with 24 rebounds, followed later in the week by Buffalo's Larry Yim and Washington's Ivan Sisco. Against Yim, Patterson put up 24 points and 24 boards, holding Yim to 11 points. It was more of the same against Sisco, fresh off his Player of the Week honors. Patterson went for 22 points and 24 rebounds while Sisco only managed 15 points and 15 rebounds. Needless to say, Patterson won the Eastern Division Player of the Week.
• The Western Division has three teams at the top, surprising with one of the teams involved and surprising with one of the teams missing. Cleveland is on a seven-game winning streak to push its record to 8-2, bypassing the recognized class of the division in Detroit (8-3). Ziggy Rickard has started his sophomore campaign strong, taking the next step with a scoring average of 21.8 in 10 games after averaging 18.6 points a game in 59 games a year ago. You would expect to see the Chicago Panthers near the top of the Western parade, but their 0-4 start have hampered them out of the gate. Chicago has won five of seven to get within a game of .500 at 5-6. Meanwhile, Buffalo, led by the singular force in the middle, Larry Yim (23.2 ppg, 20.7 rpg, 5.1 blk/g), jumped out to a 5-0 record and have since fallen back to earth despite standing in third place at 6-4. The worm might be turning for Chicago waking up and Buffalo falling back to the pack. In Buffalo's last five games, their only win was a scant one-point victory over winless league newcomer St. Louis.
• Expansion St Louis is now 0-10 after losses to Buffalo, Detroit and Washington last week. The Detroit Mustangs held the Steamers to just 49 points in a 79-49 drubbing on Wednesday. The only other game this season a team has scored less than 60 points in a game was on November 9, and once more it was the Steamers in dropping a 91-54 decision to Cleveland.
• At the other end of the spectrum is the Washington Statesman, who's 107-103 win over Hartford on November 7 is the highest scoring game thus far this season. Ivan Sisco had 41 points for the winners that night. That is well below the single game scoring mark of 55 established by Ward Messer last season during his rookie year with Detroit.
• Bob Murphy of the Detroit Times tell us that the Detroit Mustangs have won 4 straight but they lost their starting point guard Israel Slusher for 2 weeks with a broken finger. It has been a weird schedule for the Mustangs who played 3 of their first 10 games in Toronto. They only face the Falcons 3 more times but one of them is also on the road. Toronto is a city neither Detroit club plays well in as the Motors always struggle and the Mustangs are 1-2 this season. At least the Wolves are in the CA so Detroiters don't have to worry about them.

Not much had gone right to start the season for the Chicago Panthers, who just a week and a half ago had yet to win a game. Richard Campbell took that personally.

After the Panthers were able to run into a team that wasn't doing much winning, the now 1-11 Cincinnati Cyclones, Campbell led his struggling squad to wins over the Barons (99-97), Cyclones (93-72), and Patriots (83-73). The only loss of the week was against the Cleveland Crushers (91-83), but he dropped 30 points and grabbed 17 rebounds. As good as that was, it actually lowered his totals for the week, as he averaged 33.3 points and 18.3 rebounds a game.

Campbell was recognized for his production, named Player of the Week in the FBL. It's the 8th time he's done this, but first as a center, as Campbell and Cory Myers have switched position. Head Coach Geoffrey Mount has decided he wants his tallest player at center, and it has seemed to work well for both players. Campbell is averaging 23.7 points and 14 rebounds a game while Myers is at 11.4 and 12.3. Things were looking bleak early on, but with the improved play the Panthers have improved to a more respectable 5-6 in their first 11 games.

COAST CONFERENCE SCHOOLS IMPRESS EARLY

A pair of schools with a rich history of success in the West Coast Athletic Association are off to strong starts as Lane State and Coastal California each began the season with five consecutive wins and are both ranked in the top ten. The second-ranked Emeralds began the season by claiming the West Coast Classic title, going a perfect 3-0 in the coast tip-off tournament and then built on that success with wins over Pierpont and a tough test on the road at Great Plains State. Against the Academia Alliance side on Monday, center Jacob Twigg had 24 points and forward Carl Casswell added 14 in a 78-59 victory over the Purple in the Emeralds season opener in Eugene. Friday evening they travelled to Wichita, KS to face Great Plains State and were impressive in a 63-54 victory that saw Casswell dominate the game. The senior, who was a second team All-American a year ago, scored 23 points to lead the way.

The Emeralds have yet to win a National Title, unlike many of their WCAA rivals, but did reach the title game twice. Last season they had a disappointing end to the campaign with a second round exit but are hoping Casswell can carry the club much further this time around.

Just surviving the brutal competition in the West Coast Athletic Association is a major challenge with Rainer College and Redwood on the rise to join traditional powers Coastal California and CC Los Angeles. Of those four only the Dolphins have never won a national title but not for lack of opportunites. Coastal California owns a record 23 section titles and has reached the National Semi-finals 13 times but has yet to go all the way. The Dolphins won the WCAA title last year but bowed out in the quarterfinals of the national tournament.

Coastal California is a young club this year with just two returning starters in Tony Lincoln and Chris Martines but they have impressed so far with a 5-0 start that has the Dolphins ranked 6th in the current collegiate cage poll. They started things off with a road trip to the east coast that saw them have an easy time with both Bronx Tech and Commonwealth Catholic. They followed that up with 3 wins this week starting with a 44-24 drubbing of California Catholic behind a 15 point effort from Martines. Next up was St. Patrick's and Martines once more had the hot hand with 16 points in a 49-39 triumph at the Los Angeles Arena. Sunday afternoon Sadler was the opponent and the Dolphins made it 5 straight wins by double digits with a 48-38 win over the Bluecoats.

Liberty College remains number one in the nation as the Bells had just one game last week. That was a 56-47 win over Brunswick that ran the Bells record to 5-0. Luther Gordon led the way again for the Philadelphia school with 19 points but the current AIAA scoring leader is not Gordon. Gordon is second in the country among AIAA schools with an average of 21.7 points per game over his 5 contests this season but for the moment at least the National spotlight falls on William Wheeler from Western State. The junior guard at the tiny Buffalo, NY school is averaging 25.5 points game after leading the Bisons to upset wins over Ohio Poly and St Patrick's. Williams had 27 points in a season opening 69-44 victory over Ohio Poly and followed that up with 24 in the victory over the Shamrocks.

• Seven American Senators said today they are convinced the Marshall Plan has saved Western Europe from Communism.
• David E. Lilienthal has resigned, effective December 31, as the chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission, leaving wide open the question of who will succeed him in one of the most important jobs in the world.
• Hungary announced it has arrested Robert Vogeler, an American businessman, as well as British citizen on charges of spying and sabotage.
• Argentina has seized the business offices of both the United Press and Associated Press as well as the offices of four newspapers in Buenos Aires opposing the regime of President Juan D. Peron. A government official said they were probing the financial records of each office looking for possible connections between the press and money spent by "Union Democratica," a left-wing Liberal coalition which opposed Peron for President in February 1946.
• 43 persons, including three ex-Presidents of the republic and the chief justice of the Supreme Court, took refuge in the United States Canal Zone from the new government of Arnulfo Arias in Panama.
• Crowded churches across the country last Thursday and then crowded stadiums throughout the weekend as the country enjoyed perfect fall weather for Thanksgiving and football. Secretary of Defense Johnson reserved a whole train to transport 200 to Philadelphia for the Rome State-Annapolis Maritime game Saturday. The contest ended in a 23-23 tie. President Truman also attended the game.
  
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December 5, 1949
 

DECEMBER 5, 1949

KANSAS CITY WINS FINAL CONTINENTAL CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP GAME

Loop Expected to Fold Over Winter, Cowboys Win 3 of 4 League Titles

Just like it started, the Continental Football Conference ended today with the Kansas City Cowboys monarchs of all they surveyed in the ill-fated field. The loop seems assured of ending after four long years of trials, tribulations and costly experiments, but behind the disappointments, the disillusionments and financial setbacks involving millions of dollars, remained the unshaken conviction of the powers that-were that because of their efforts the standards of the professional gridiron sport were raised.

The final details have yet to be ironed out but the worst kept secret in the sport is that the two championship game participants -the Kansas City Cowboys and San Francisco Wings- will be part of the American Football Association next year. Whether determined New Orleans Crescents owner Bill Beauregard gets his way and his club becomes the third survivor of the now clearly deceased CFC remains to be seen. A similar deal fell apart a year ago primarily because of Beauregard's refusal to give up his team but sources from both the AFA and CFC are adamant that will not happen again and believe the CFC has thrown its last pigskin.

It was fitting that the Cowboys closed the league out with a convincing 34-12 win over the Wings in the final game. They had their struggles this season, much like the fledgling league which dropped to seven teams in what seems assured to be its final season, but the Kansas City Cowboys were clearly the class of the CFC.

Surely the big win over the Wings offered further evidence that the Pete Walsh coached club was a football team that must be granted a place among the all-time greats. It was an aggregation that played 59 Conference games, winning 46 of them, losing 12 and held even once while appearing in all four CFC championship games, winning three of them while introducing plenty of new stars to the sport, none shining brighter than quarterback Pat Chappell.

It was Chappell who led the way on Sunday before 55,000 hostile fans at Golden Gate Stadium in a thrilling sendoff for the loop. The former St Magnus three-sport star threw for 290 yards and a pair of touchdowns while also calling his own number on a four-yard scoring run in the second period. The result was the second CFC championship game Most Valuable Player Award of Chappell's career. It will be very interesting to see how he fares next season against some of the better American Football Association clubs.

*** Cowboys Scored Early ***

Riding a 5-game losing streak in California and dealing with all sorts of struggles this season, it was important the Cowboys get off to a fast start against the Wings and they did just that. It was a mud-covered Golden Gate Stadium gridiron this dreary afternoon -it seemed as if the weather realized that the finish was being written to the Conference- the principals struggled for what some regarded as a now-meaningless game. Not the Cowboys, who clearly had something to prove after their suffering through the worst of the 4 Continental campaigns and barely qualifying for the title game.

The Kansas City offense, much-maligned in recent weeks, stepped up on its first possession Sunday. Chappell showed they meant business when his first snap resulted in a 37-yard pass to Ernie Orr. He was sacked on the second play but that was a mere hiccup as Chappell, with surgeon-like precision, cut through the Wings defenses with 4 straight completions culminating in a 21-yard scoring strike to Tom Manning which gave the Cowboys the lead less than 5 minutes into the game.

It stayed 7-0 until another strong Chappell drive began the second period. Although some runs were mixed into this 9-play march, they had little effectiveness, so it was through the air where Chappell once more found success. He and Ernie Orr started the drive with a pair of quick passes and they would connect a third time on the series for a total of 30 yards. The drive ended when Pat Hill found an opening and ran for a 7-yard touchdown. Reuben Walston's extra point was successful, and the Kansas City lead was 14-0.

That score seemed to wake up the Wings who responded with what would prove to be their only touchdown of the afternoon. Donnie Carney carried for 5 yards to complete a 10-play foray that traversed 80 yards. The lead cut to seven, this marked a crucial series for the Cowboys and once more Chappell answered the bell. Bill Tammaro had been very quiet in the early going but the end made two big catches on this drive: a 23 yarder on a key third and nine followed by a 31-yard catch and run to get inside the Wings 20 yard line. Three plays later, faced with a fourth and two on the San Francisco 4-yard line, the Cowboys decided against the safer option of a field goal and instead relied on their offensive line to clear a hole for Chappell to plow through. He did and did not stop churning his feet until he was in the endzone and had restored the 14 point lead, making the score 21-7.

The Wings would cut the lead to 21-12 after a field goal and a safety and they had some chances to get closer that failed because the Cowboys defense, often overlooked through the years since their offense had been so strong, came up big. First it was Dewey Mitchell with an interception after the safety had given the Wings hope and then it was Doug Kain recovering a fumble with the Wings closing in to field goal range.

Early in the final period Chappell found Ernie Orr, who had 7 catches on the day, for a 3-yard touchdown to increase the Cowboys lead to 28-12 and then Kain added an exclamation point on the victory win a late interception, which he returned 12 yards for the final touchdown of the contest.

These two clubs have certainly built a rivalry and it is sure to continue when they move to their new league.

FIELD UNVEILED FOR THE CLASSIC GAME MATCHUPS

A few final collegiate football games highlighted by St Blane's 40-26 victory over Texas Gulf Coast brought officially an end to the college football season for 1949. All that remains are the Classic games to usher in the start of the 1950s. With January 1 falling on a Sunday this year, all but one of the 13 classic matchups will be pushed to Monday January 2. The lone exception is the Desert Classic in El Paso which will be played on the Sunday and feature Tempe College against St Ignatius.

Here is the full Classic Field

As for the weekend results the two biggest contests took place in Dallas and Birmingham. St Blane, as has been its tradition in recent years, refused all Classic invitations but instead took season ending trips to Southern California last weekend and to Dallas on Saturday. Both ended in positive results with the Fighting Saints outscoring Texas Gulf Coast 40-26 on Saturday with All-American candidates Bill Thomas, Roger Stanton and Bobby Leonard taking the advantage of one last opportunity to impress the selection committee before next week's announcement of the college grid award winners. Leonard, the senior end from Philadelphia, was especially impressive with over 100 yards receiving and a pair of long kick-off returns.

The other game of note was the battle for supremacy in the state of Alabama with the Alabama Baptist Panthers beating Opelika State 19-6. The Baptist backfield duo of Steve Skoda and Rick McGuire was just too much for the Wildcats to tame, with the pair combining for 124 yards rushing and Skoda crossing the goal line twice.

WILDCATS CLOSE GAP IN WEST

Chicago Wins, St Louis Loses to Force Pivotal Final Weekend

The Chicago Wildcats may still get a chance to defend their American Football Association championship after they closed the gap on the slumping St Louis Ramblers yesterday. The Wildcats, who blanked New York 34-0 last year to win their 3rd AFA title since the birth of the two division format in 1933 and 6th overall, staged a wild rally to stay alive in the race yesterday, scoring 20 unaswered second half points to nip Pittsburgh 20-17. The Wildcats are now 8-3 on the season while St Louis, which lost in Washington yesterday 38-7 is 8-2-1.

The Ramblers, who have never come close to appearing in a championship game, are assured of finishing with the first winning record in franchise history but after an 8-0 start they have two losses and tie which means they must win next week to secure the division title if Chicago prevails at home against Cleveland. The Ramblers do have to play on the road but they have the luxury of playing the 1-10 Detroit Maroons in their finale.

It is almost incredulous that the Wildcats are still alive after their awful first half at Cougars Park against Pittsburgh yesterday. The Paladins dominated the opening 30 minutes and took a 17-0 lead into the break. Rickey McCallister gave Chicago fans some hope with an early touchdown pass to Don Foresta to complete an 84-yard scoring driving on their first possession of the second half. With time becoming a factor the Wildcats got a huge break with just over 6 minutes remaining in the game after they blocked a Pittsburgh punt setting up a 1-yard touchdown plunge by Louis Dunlap to cut the Pittsburgh lead to 17-14. Then came an impressive drive that set up the tying field goal, a 24-yarder by Fred Wilhelm with just 56 seconds remaining. As it turned out the Wildcats were not done, as Don Foresta intercepted a Dane Sutherland pass with just 29 seconds remaining and as time expired Wilhelm made good on a 21-yard field goal to give the Wildcats their first lead of the day and a 20-17 victory.

St Louis, meamnwhile, was feeling the pressure in Washington. After 8 straight wins to start the season the Ramblers lost 17-14 at home to Pittsburgh and then were forced to settle for a tie in Cleveland last weekend. The Wasps were eliminated from title contention but still had plenty to play for with end Monte Harriman's record chase front and center. Harriman smashed Stan Vaught's single season reception and touchdown catch record with a 10 catch, 3 touchdown day that also moved him within 8 points of another Vaught mark - the all-time single season scoring record. Harriman now has 126 points on the campaign following the Wasps 38-7 win over the Ramblers.

In other action Philadelphia lost 24-21 to the New York Stars after Erwin Rice returned a Greg LePage fumble 12 yards for the winning score with less than 2 minutes remaining in the game. Despite the loss, the Frigates have clinched the East Division title. After 10 straight losses to start the season the Detroit Maroons finally notched their first victory, beating Boston 24-7 while on the west coast Phil Colvin threw 3 touchdown passes to lead Cleveland to a 49-13 drubbing of the Los Angeles Tigers.

Note more on the Maroons coaching situation can be read here

BARRELL SURE TO DRAW IRE OF LEAGUE AFTER OUTBURST

Toronto Coach Livid With Suspension of Galbraith

It will be interesting to see what, if any further discipline is dispensed to the Toronto hockey club after Dukes coach Jack Barrell ripped the league for a suspension handed out last week to Toronto winger Lou Galbraith. Here is the full account, as printed in the Toronto Mail & Empire, of Brett Bing's interview with Barrell following the announcement early last week of the suspension.

Brett: We all received word Monday that Lou Galbraith has been suspended for the next 4 games due to attempt to injure on a hit during Sunday's game against Chicago. I noticed right after the penalty was called you called the referee over then exchanged heated words. What are your thoughts on the 4 games?
Jack Barrell: First of all it should not have been a penalty, let alone a suspension. That is travesty, the hit was clean. By the way tell the editor of TWIFS that picks up your stories that it wasn't an elbow. That rag is usually accurate, but they should check their sources. If they got a copy of the league report, I want to know how! The Packers forward took what is commonly known as a sucker pass across the middle -he had to look behind himself for the pass- Lou read the play and lined up the hit. The guy turned then ducked when he picked up Lou coming at him. Lou finished his check, he hit his head instead of hitting the guy on the jersey crest because he ducked! It was clean, hard hit. There was an audible gasp on both benches along with most of the crowd because everyone knew what was coming, but there was no malicious intent Lou wasn't head hunting he was finishing the check.

When I saw the refs arm go up, I could not believe he was calling a penalty. I lost my temper when he called a major in a tight game, we were down 4-3 at the time. This was the same guy we had the night before in Boston who I had trouble with when Boston started taking cheap shots after we went up 2 early. I had words with him when he only gave Ray Gustafson two for kneeing, that should have 5, 10, game for intent to injure, that was far dirtier than Lou's hit.

I asked him to talk to the linesmen to see what they saw on Sunday. He basically told me that the call was the call, and he did not need help from the linesmen. This guy and I have had run ins over the years. My biggest issue with him is that he is inconsistent, what isn't a penalty early in the game suddenly becomes a penalty later which just confuses the players. I ask why 5? He said intent to injure. That's when I lost it, actually surprised I did not get a bench minor or worse after the discussion.

We killed the major and then tied the game. When I got our copy of the game sheet, I looked for any mention of the major in comments section. It was blank, usually if there are issues it will be mentioned there either with a full writeup or a comment that a report will follow later. If I had have known there was a report going to the league, he would not have got out of the rink without the Dukes getting a copy. I found out alter he called in a report to the league office then telegraphed a written report. After the suspension was announced we asked why there was nothing on the game sheet? A league official said they had gotten a report from the ref that justified further action therefore 4 games.

Our GM was refused when he asked for a copy of the report. Have we gone back to medieval times with a Star Chamber? The hit was clean, hockey is a hard-hitting game. Guys learn at a young age not to pick up a pass like that in traffic because you are going to get destroyed if you do. Coaches teach it in pee wee hockey. Sure, the hit was hard but not illegal. Are we trying to turn the NAHC into European soccer where guys roll around on the field if anyone gets close to them?

I keep telling Lou not to worry about the hit, we were all relieved the recipient of that bone jarring hit wasn't hurt, maybe he has learned his lesson. I want the team to rally around this injustice since we have no recourse on the suspension. Lou will continue to practice, travel with the team, we will use him in the press box as an extra set of eyes on the game. I have probably said too much already about the incident.

Dukes Notes -In other Dukes news the team remains in first after going 2 wins, 1 loss after the interview. On Thursday night in Detroit the Dukes took down the Motors 2-1. First period goals by Les Carlson amd Bobbie Sauer proved be all the team needed for the win. The team seemed rallied around Galbraith, only heroics from Millard Touhey between the pipes for Detroit kept the score from being more lopsided as he made 39 saves. Only Ben Witt put one past Toronto netminder Gordie Broadway on a power play in the second.

Toronto again prevailed in New York on Saturday winning 4-1 in an up and down, wide open affair. Bobbie Sauer continued his recent hot streak potting two. Les Carlson had the other two including his league leading 11th. The team was flat Sunday at Dominion Gardens against the visiting Motors allowing two goals in each of the second, third period after going into the first intermission tied at one. Detroit moved into second with a 5-1 win.

Carlson leads the league in goals with 11 (6PP) and points with 25 while Quinton Pollack is the leader with 15 helpers. Sauer's +12 mark is the highest in the league, J. C Martel's 72 blocked shots is 6 more than Motors rearguard Dixon Butler. Broadway is 1st in wins, saves, second on GA, shutouts, third in GAA, 4th in save %.

DAILY NAHC RESULTS FROM LAST WEEK

WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 30

Detroit 2 at Boston 1: Ray Gustafson gave Boston a lead in the second period, but he was the only Bee to beat Henri Chasse, who faced 42 shots in the Detroit net. Boston goaltender Oscar James kept the Motors off the scoresheet for 48 minutes before Marsh Spencer tied the game and Alex Leveille added the winner for the visitors with less than 4 minutes to play.

New York 3 at Montreal 3: The Shamrocks and Valiants skated to a 3-3 tie with New York's Alexandre Lapalme and Montreal's Cory Findlay each scoring once and adding an assist.

THURSDAY DECEMBER 1

Chicago 5 at Boston 3: Jarrett McGlynn and Derek Gubb each scored once and added two helpers to pace the Packers, who are unbeaten in their last 4 outings. Joe Morey scored twice for Boston.

Toronto 2 at Detroit 1: First period goals from Les Carlson and Bobbie Sauer stood up as Toronto held on for a 2-1 victory in Detroit. Ben Witt had the Detroit goal on a second period powerplay. The Dukes outshot the Motors 42-28 in the game.

SATURDAY DECEMBER 3

Boston 2 at Chicago 2: The Bees and Packers complete a home and home series with a 2-2 tie. David Rankin scored with 2:59 remaining in the third period to earn a point for the Packers.

Montreal 2 at Detroit 6: The Valiants struggles continue as their winless streak stretched to six games despite outshooting the Motors 48-25. Henri Chasse was strong in the Detroit net while Tyson Beddoes, Marsh Spencer, Francis McKenzie and Lou Barber led a balanced Motors attack with each collecting a goal and an assist on the evening.

Toronto 4 at New York 2: Another big game for Bobbie Sauer, who was recently named NAHC player of the month for November. The veteran center scored twice and added an assist in a wide-open affair that saw the two clubs combine for 87 shots.

SUNDAY DECEMBER 4

Boston 2 at Montreal 2: Shel Heron's first goal of the season with just a minute and a half remaining in the third period allowed the Montreal Valiants to claim a tie against the Bees. For the second time in 3 games, Joe Morey had a pair of goals for Boston.

Detroit 5 at Toronto 1: Ben Witt had a 4-assist night to pace the visiting Motors past the Dukes 5-1. Vincent Aresenault, who had a slow start to the season for Detroit, scored a pair for the winners.

New York 3 at Chicago 1: Orval Cabbell, Jocko Gregg and Simon Savard were the goal scorers while Robert Sharpley had 2 assists as the Shamrocks prevailed 3-1 in the Windy City, snapping the Packers 5 game unbeaten streak.

• We have new leaders in both divisions this week. The Philadelphia Phantoms are the hottest team in pro basketball with an active seven-game winning streak and a league-best 10-2 record. What's more, the Phantoms have only played at their own friendly confines in three games, so there is more home cooking to come with 11 of their next 14 at Keystone Arena. They have excelled with a balanced scoring attack with five players averaging in double figures -- four starters and sixth man PF Millard Caldwell. Three starters are averaging 10 rebounds a game or more, with PF James Ball just off the mark at 9.8 per game. And then there is Jerry Hubbard, who is leading the world at 13.5 assists per game. No one else in the league has more than nine a game.
• The Buffalo Brawlers won both their games this week while Cleveland lost both their games, resulting in both teams tying for first at 8-4. Larry Yim scored 32 points and pulled down 29 rebounds, including 13 on the offensive glass, to help Buffalo escape Toronto with a 86-84 win. The more impressive win for the team was an 86-77 win over the still-disappointing Chicago Panthers. Yim had 24 and 21, which marked the sixth game in the first 12 where he has crossed 20 points and 20 rebounds in the same game.
• The Statesmen are on a heater, finally finding their way, while their nemesis, the Brooklyn Red Caps, are continuing to flounder. Washington was 4-0 this week, which included wins against both teams that were in first place entering the week. Cleveland and Baltimore both bowed to Washington in nine-point losses. Cleveland's Ziggy Rickard scored 34 points in the 100-91 Cleveland loss, but Washington got to the line 26 times and outscored Cleveland from the stripe, 24-15, which made the difference. Washington built a 12-point halftime lead against Baltimore, and the Barons never really challenged in the second half. PF Charles Hooper filled up the box score with 13 points, 12 rebounds, 7 assists, and 8 blocks in the win.

• Baseball's annual Rule Five draft will take place today. It is expected a number of selections will be made but it is likely that very few will have any sort of impact this season.
• Percy Pringle Jr. of the Brooklyn Daily Eagle reports that Kings management is said to be watching the Cuban Winter League very closely, especially with young pitcher Paul Byler. Byler struggled with his control walking 9.1 bb/9 in 101.1 innings with the Kings during the 49 season. He wasn't much better at AAA Jersey City walking 7.4 per 9. If he is ever going to make the big leagues and stay in the rotation he must fix out his control problems. His first game in the CWL which went 10 innings, Blyer threw 154 pitches and walked 6 in 9.1 innings. He did strike out 10 but again his walks are an issue. Jackson Scott on the other hand wasn't as highly thought of moving through the minor league system but definitely has much better control is starting to move ahead of Byler for the rotation. With the Kings 40-man roster crunch coming this spring, there will likely only be 1 spot for either Byler or Scott and right now, Scott is in the lead for that spot. While its way too early to give up on Blyer and Kings GM Martin has a history of lack of patience with pitchers, its time for Byler to start to show he wants it.
• 22 year old Joe Fulgham is impressing the Detroit Dynamos with his play in Cuba. The former football All-American from St Blane was the Dynamos first pick, 12th overall last year, and the hope is he will show enough in spring to compete for a starting job in the Detroit outfield. Fulgham is slashing .381/.519/.714 through 7 games for the Havana Sharks.
• The Chicago Chiefs are also very impressed with their 1949 first rounder's showing in Cuba. Ed Bloom, a third baseman out of American Atlantic University, was selected 8th overall and made is big league debut with the Chiefs in September. He is destroying Cuban League pitching with a .545 batting average (12-for-22) after two weeks of action.
• Toronto Wolves camp reports that Pat Todd has found his hitting eye in Cuba but John Wells is still overwhelmed early with level of pitching. Ray Hatch is preforming well and Les Ledbetter hasn't walk anyone, yet.

RECENT KEY RESULTS

• Saturday in Providence, Ira Mitchell -who once had a welterweight title shot against Harold Stephens and also had tough losses to Mark Westlake and Danny Rutledge, improved to 24-4 with a unanimous decision over Willis May (22-6-2)
• Last Monday in Blackpool, England Irish Pat Harber scored a unanimous decision over Alexander Tuffin. Harber, a 35-year-old from Cork, Ireland, is now 41-8-2 as a pro. He had a title shot against Hector Sawyer in Chicago in the summer of 1947 and managed to go the distance but was badly outpointed by the longtime champ.

UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS

• Dec 9- Philadelphia, PA- WW Danny Rutledge (18-1) vs Heinie Verplanck (18-5)
• Dec 15- Washington DC - MW contender Bill Boggs (19-2-1) vs Bobby Hinkle (30-6)
• Dec 17 - Atlanta, GA - HW contenders Lewis Jones (20-2-1) vs Tommy Cline (19-2)
• Dec 28- Union City, NJ - MW contender Tommy Campbell (22-3-1) vs Rip Rogers (20-3)
• Dec 29- Memphis, TN - Former HW challenger Roy Crawford (30-4) vs Cannon Cooper (28-4-1)
• Dec 30- Syracuse, NY- MW Davis Owens (20-0) vs Jim Ward (21-3)
• Dec 31- Brooklyn, NY - HW Scott "The Chef" Baker (20-4-3) vs Barry Scott (18-5)
• Feb 18- Keystone Arena, Philadelphia- World Heavyweight champ Hector Sawyer (62-3-1) defends his title against Englishman Ben Budgeford (21-1)

• The Atomic Energy Commission disclosed it has worked out scientific designs for a plant to "breed" previous atomic materials. If it works as anticipated it will be of momentous importance in supplying atomic materials for such peacetime projects as atom-powered ships and aircraft.
• The top military men in the West are meeting in Paris to start work on plans to use nearly a billion American dollars for Atlantic nation defenses against any Russian aggression.
• The Cominform called on all Communists in the world to help Yugoslav peasants and workers overthrow Premier Marshall Tito's regime.
• A British newspaper report says 2,000 persons perished in a uranium mine fire in the Soviet Zone of Germany last week. The paper says it was one of the worst mine disasters in history and charged that it was due to negligence.
• As the November 30 deadline in the soft coal dispute passed, John L. Lewis changed plans for a full-fledged strike by 400,000 miners into a three-day work week. A three-week truce, which ended a 52-day mine shutdown, ended last week.
• Late news last evening indicated Lewis had reached an agreement with a group of Kentucky coal operators on terms of a new contract, calling for a 15-cent per-ton increase in the United Mine Workers' welfare fund and a wage raise of 95 cents a day.
  
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December 12, 1949
 

WILDCATS SET FOR RECORD 9TH AFA TITLE GAME APPEARANCE AFTER ST LOUIS SWOON

Ramblers Winless in 4 To Lose Hold On West Division in Final Week

The unthinkable happened to the St Louis Ramblers as, after an 8-0 start, the Ramblers did not win any of their final four games and ended up losing the West Division championship to the Chicago Wildcats. The latest defeat was a crushing blow as the Ramblers were overwhelmed by a dreadful Detroit Maroons squad that was 1-10 entering the game but exited looking like world-beaters following a 28-0 whitewashing of a stunned St Louis eleven.

Everything that could go wrong did for the Ramblers starting with Lyle Medley missing a 21-yard field goal on their first possession. A Detroit team fighting to save the job of long-time Coach Frank Yurik, seemed to finally have everything go right after a season where nothing seemed to work as the Maroons intended. Two of Detroit's 4 touchdowns came off turnovers in a span of 15 seconds. First Mike Miller returned a blocked punt 8 yards for a score and then on the ensuing kick-off the Ramblers Ken Kirby fumbled, and Stene Wynkoop went 37 yards untouched into the St Louis endzone making the score 21-0 Detroit at the time and spelling the end of the Ramblers season.

Meanwhile the Chicago Wildcats, the most successful team in AFA the past decade, won their final 3 games and despite losing twice to St Louis this season, nosed out the Ramblers for first place and the right to host the Philadelphia Frigates in next Sunday's AFA championship game. Ricky McCallister, who is quickly becoming one of the best quarterbacks in the game, threw for 317 yards and 4 touchdowns to pace the Wildcats to a 35-14 victory over Cleveland. That allowed Chicago to finish with a 9-3 record and nose out the 8-3-1 Ramblers for the division crown.

Elsewhere the Philadelphia Frigates limped into the playoff after losing successive weeks to the New York Stars. This one was a 21-13 defeat at Sailors Memorial Stadium thanks to a pair of long New York touchdown passes from Archie Rawlings to Dan Cole. Greg LePage did run for 82 yards for the Frigates to surpass the 1,000-yard mark on the season for a modern day record third time.

Bob Krohn and Monte Harriman completed a record breaking passing season in Washington by combining for 2 more touchdowns as the Washington Wasps stung the Tigers in Los Angeles by a 24-10 score. The Wasps finished the season tied with the Frigates for the East Division lead but the Philadelphia eleven earns the tiebreaker after sweeping their two head-to-head matchups this season. Finally in Boston, Bob Holt had a 61-yard punt return as one of his two touchdowns as the visiting Pittsburgh Paladins downed the Americans 33-16.

All that remains is the championship game as the Chicago Wildcats will look to win the AFA title for the second year in a row. Both teams finished with identical 9-3 records but the Wildcats will host the game due to their 30-24 victory over the Frigates at Cougars Park on October 16. That contest had a wild finish as the two teams combined for 37 points in the final period.

PAST CHAMPIONS OF THE AMERICAN FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION

Sunday's championship game in Chicago will mark the 17th occasion the league has used a playoff contest to determine its champion. Prior to 1933 when the AFA went to an East and West Division format, there was just a single division and the team with the best regular season record was declared the champion.

The Chicago Wildcats have played in a record 8 championship games, winning 3 and losing 5 entering next week's contest. The Wildcats also won 3 titles during the early days of the AFA prior to the implementation of the division format and title game. The Philadelphia Frigates won the title in their lone appearance in the championship game. That was in 1944 when the Frigates knocked off Detroit.

RECORD SETTING SEASON FOR HARRIMAN

The Washington Wasps may have fell just short in their bid for an East Division title, but it was no fault of Monte Harriman as the second-year end had a history making season. Harriman, undrafted a year ago when Washington signed him as a free agent, had 38 catches as a rookie last season but followed it up with the greatest season any receiver has ever enjoyed. He finished with 101 catches, smashing Stan Vaught's mark of 84 receptions in a season set in 1942. Harriman also destroyed the old marks for receiving yardage and touchdown catches with his 136 points also becoming a new single season mark.

His quarterback, veteran Bob Krohn, set a new record for touchdown passes with 33, easily topping the previous highwater mark of 26 established by Boston's Del Thomas two years ago. Krohn's 2,610 yards passing topped the loop this season and was fifth highest season total of all time. Krohn set the single game touchdown pass mark with 7 in a win over Boston, a game which saw Harriman on the receiving end of a record 5 scoring grabs.

GRID ALL-AMERICA TEAM UNVEILED

Three members of the St Blane Fighting Saints highlight the 1949 group of college football All-Americans. The trio are a pair of seniors in fullback Roger Stanton and end Bobby Leonard as well as junior quarterback Bill Thomas. Minnesota Tech was the only other school to place more than one player on the team as the Lakers outstanding line was recognized with the selection fo guard Ox Ostermann and center Frank Clayton.

Ostermann and Leonard both made the team a year ago as juniors and they are joined by Texas Gulf Coast halfback Wally Dotson as player to make the team both last year and this season. Here are the 1949 All-Americans.

AN OPEN LETTER TO MAROONS - DO NOT LET LATE WINS CLOUD JUDGEMENT

As if it wasn't tough enough, Rollie Barrell's off-season just got a little more difficult. The Maroons majority owner, who had been rumoured to have his mind made up and seemed determined to find a way to part ways with minority owner and longtime coach Frank Yurik, probably had mixed reactions to the local grid outfit winning each of its final two games. That hardly salvages a disastrous season that saw the club lose its first 10 games and for the second consecutive season finish with a dreadful 2-10 record. But what it does do, is make Barrell's task of convincing his ownership group that Yurik needs to be replaced just a little tougher than it already was.

The problems seem obvious to even the most casual observer. The Detroit offense is marooned in the 1930s. Yurik was a great coach back then, but the issue is he still makes coaching decision as if it was still 1930 and refuses to embrace the forward pass - something that has become a staple of the league. With no quarterback capable of throwing the ball, the Maroons passing game was the worst in the loop and they also finished dead last in overall offense. The club has some good halfbacks, led by Marc Orlosky but when everyone in the building knows the plan is to run the ball, opposing defenses simply stack the line and shut what the Maroons try to pass off as an attack down completely. The Maroons averaged just 10.3 points per game, less than half the total managed by 9 of the other 11 squads and they threw just 4 touchdown passes all season.

Don't get me wrong. Yurik is a legend in this city, and we should never forget that. He gave this city three championship clubs and despite the fact they came up short in each of them, Yurik did guide the Maroons to three championship game appearances in the past decade. But the time has come to make a change and the perfect replacement seems to be standing on the sidelines as Detroit's assistant coach. That would be Tom Bowers, the former star Boston end who certainly knows a thing or two about running a pass-focused offense. Bowers has plenty to offer a team as a coach, but these days must be biting his tongue when he sees the Detroit gameplan outlined by Yurik. The fact that Bowers is Barrell's son-in-law adds another wrinkle into the sticky mess that Barrell will have to navigate if he does indeed decide it is time for a change on the sidelines.

There is a silver lining. With Bowers in charge and a dependable quarterback there is no reason the Maroons cannot turn things around quickly. The good news is, with the CFC expected to fold, the timing for wholesale changes could never be better. There will be some pretty good signal callers looking for work with four, perhaps five Continental clubs closing up shop. Imagine what the Maroons offense might look like next year were Bowers in charge and someone like young New Orleans Crescents star Vince Gallegos was their quarterback?

It will be an interesting few weeks as I would not expect Barrell will let this drag on too long. His new coach, be it Bowers or anyone else, will need time to sign the right personnel to have this team competitive again.

COUGARS HOPE MOLINA IS MISSING PIECE IN FLAG QUEST

The Chicago Cougars made their third trade of the off-season but this time instead of dealing away a veteran they opted to add an experienced arm for their bullpen. Chicago announced that they have acquired 30-year-old David Molina from the Philadelphia Sailors in exchange for reliever Harry MacRae and three highly touted prospects. This after a pair of deals with the Chicago Chiefs sent Walt Pack and Carlos Montes across town in exchange for minor leaguers.

The Cougars have long been considered the most talented club in the Continental Association but have not won a pennant since 1941 and often their dreadful record in games decided by a single run has been blamed as a key factor in their failures. Over the last three years the Cougars are 19 games under .500 (61-80) in games decided by a single run. There one-run game winning percentage of .432 pales in comparison to a .551 mark over the same period in games decided by more than a single run.

That seems to be the primary motivation to seemingly overpay for a real pitcher, although one who has led FABL in saves each of the past four seasons. The fact that Molina is an Illinois native adds to his appeal, but it was clear he was the Cougars number one target this off-season and will be counted on to perhaps provide the final piece to solving the pennant puzzle that has confounded the Cougars for the better part of a decade.

The cost was not cheap. MacRae is two years younger than Molina and did a decent job in his first full season as the Cougars primary choice to protect a late league, notching 15 saves while posting a 2.91 era this past season. Originally a 7th round pick out of Topeka State, the 28-year-old righthander will likely replace Molina in the closer role for the Sailors. In addition to MacRae, the Cougars also parted with major league ready outfield prospect Johnny Peters and a pair of top 150 prospects in 22-year-old first baseman Cal Rice and 19-year-old third baseman Amos Peterson.

Peters, 25, and ranked just outside the OSA top fifty, is likely the key to the deal for the Sailors. The 3rd overall selection in the 1945 draft, Peters made his big league debut in August with the Cougars before finishing the season in AAA where he hit .307 with 11 homers in 110 games for Milwaukee. OSA feels he can be a very good outfielder, perhaps flirting with a .330 batting average. He will likely become the Sailors starting leftfielder next season, allowing Billy Forbes to shift back to center and with Joe Scott in right will make for a pretty impressive trio all under the age of 26.

Rice is a 1945 10th round selection who hit .276 with 13 homers between A and AA last season. OSA praises is eye at the play and projects him to be an above average power hitter and perhaps the eventual replacement for Ed Reyes at first base in a couple of years. Peterson was the Cougars second round selection in the 1948 draft but struggled at Class C each of the past two seasons.

JIGGS McGEE's TAKE: The Cougars paid a hefty price for what is essentially just a bullpen arm, but I don't mind the deal. Chicago has underachieved for close to a decade and often their record in one-run games, as pointed out above, has been fingered as a major cause. The club is clearly banking on Molina being the solution to that problem, but I think MacRae could do a very solid job in Philadelphia and acquiring Peters is a huge acquisition that leaves the Sailors set in the outfield for years to come -assuming Billy Forbes fully recovers from his devastating knee injury.

Bottom line -I think the Cougars overpaid but they have a very deep farm system that can easily withstand the cost and if Molina can finally end the terrible run of bad luck and bad outcomes for the Chicago nine, the cost will be considered a mere pittance.

COUGARS SHIP FOUR TO PHILLY FOR PEN ANCHOR

Ever since the Chicago Cougars won their last Continental Association pennant, they've been troubled by one-run games. It started in the 1941 World Championship Series, where they dropped four of the seven games to the Boston Minutemen by a single run. Since that embarrassment, the team has gone 667-566 (.541). But when it came to those one run games: 178-207 (.462). This all could change now, as the Cougars picked up premier stopper David Molina (8-11, 22, 3.53, 76) from the first-to-worst Philadelphia Sailors.

Acquired with teammate Al Duster (10-13, 4.45, 82) in the trade for franchise icon William Jones, Molina was once a 2nd Round Pick of the Detroit Dynamos. He spent just over a year with the Dynamos, as the next 11.5 years came with the Sailors. He worked his way up the Sailors system before cracking the team's 1942 Opening Day roster. Previously a starter, the then 23-year-old threw 60.2 innings out of the pen, going 6-4 with 7 saves, a 2.52 ERA (130 ERA+) and 62 strikeouts. But that was quickly forgotten, as he was whisked to the Navy and missed the next three seasons. When he returned in 1946, he was now 27, and he could have been worried that there was no spot in the rotation left for him. That turned out to be the case, but it could also be the best thing that ever happened for him.

A native of Quincy, Illinois, Molina was handed the stopper job and he did not look back. He led the Continental Association in saves (27) and appearances (80), something he has continued to do each season since. Molina threw an impressive 125 innings with a strong 3.10 ERA (117 ERA+), 3.17 FIP (87 FIP-) and 101 strikeouts. There aren't many, if any, other pitchers who can do that out of the pen who can do the kind of things Molina did, and all he did is do it three more times. Along with leading the CA in saves and outings, Molina has always had an ERA below 3.60, a FIP below 3.50, and a K% above 14 all while throwing 100 or more innings while appearing in half of his team's game.

He'll be expected to do more of the same with his new team, one that hasn't had a reliable presence like Molina at their back of the pen in a long time. Molina saved 22 games for the Sailors, the lowest in his four seasons as the stopper, but that would rank 2nd all time by a Cougar pitcher. Molina already has saved 109 games in 637 games, while only one Cougar pitcher ever has made more then 60. The perennial bridesmaids finally have someone who can hold leads for their star-studded staff, and the price they had to pay was four useful pieces.

The headliner is former 3rd Overall pick Johnny Peters (.059), a soon-to-be 26-year-old who has 19 FABL games under his belt and is coming off a AAA season where he hit .307/.405/.502 (136 OPS+) with 11 homers and 70 RBIs. The Sailors will also receive incumbent stopper Harry MacRae (8-3, 15, 2.91, 24), as well as a pair of infield prospects in Cal Rice (12th/123rd) and Amos Peterson (18th/158th), as the Sailors look to retool their roster a bit. MacRae can replace Molina in the late innings while Peters could open the season as the Sailors starting left fielder. Peterson is a more far out prospect, but Rice is a member of the Cougars' 40-man roster who can eventually replace Ed Reyes at first. This move may trigger other from the last place Sailors, who were rumored to be discussing a trade with the Chiefs for former Whitney Winner Marion Boismenu.

One has to wonder if this trade sparks the FABL hot stove, as the only three trades this winter have involved the Cougars. Despite the Foresters cruise to victory, many Continental Association have their eyes on the prize, and a big move from a regular contender could be the push they need to throw their chips in for the first season of the 50s.

The Montreal Saints and Pittsburgh Miners also announced a trade immediately after the Rule Five draft. Montreal added 28-year-old catcher Homer Guthrie, who hit .283 last season in a platoon role, in exchange for a pair of minor league pitchers: Jack Behrs, a 25-year-old righthander who was a 1942 8th round pick of the Saints and went 7-9 with a 3.38 era at AAA Minneapolis last season, along with 23-year-old Dick McGowan. McGowan was an 11th round pick out of Bluegrass State in the 1947 draft and split last season between AA and AAA. He is currently pitching in the Cuban Winter League.

Saints Assistant General Manager Homer Moore told the Montreal Star the club made the move to provide some experience and offense behind the plate next season. Jess Garman is still the club's future behind the plate but there are concerns that the 23-year-old 1947 second rounder still needs some time to develop. Garman made his Montreal debut in 1949, batting .243 in 64 games. He will be pushed by 25-year-old Jack Spahr, who struggled with a .218 batting average this past season, for the role of Guthrie's backup in 1950.

The Saints did not make a selection in last week's rule five draft. A year ago, they selected outfielder Karl Berggren from Cincinnati but after the 27-year-old hit just .129 in 35 spring plate appearances he was returned to the Cannons organization, for whom he hit .258 at AAA Indianapolis.

STARS TAKE FOUR IN BUSY RULE FIVE DRAFT

As is usually the case in recent years the annual rule five draft saw a mixture of big league veterans and unproven minor leaguers selected. In all a total of 20 players, including 4 by the New York Stars, were selected with the Philadelphia Sailors leading things off by calling the name of Butch Smith.

Smith was made available by the Cincinnati Cannons after the 38-year-old righthander struggled through a 5-5, 6.66 season out of the Cannons bullpen. He was a key piece of three Cincinnati pennant winners and claimed the 1944 Continental Association Allen Award when he led the CA in wins and era. In all, Smith has pitched in 435 FABL games, all with the Cannons organization, and owns a 135-115 career record.

The Stars four selections began with 22-year-old third baseman Dan Finch in the opening round despite the fact that Finch hit just .246 in Class A last year. Finch was originally drafted 15th overall by the Pioneers in the 1945 rookie draft and is considered a top fifty prospect but it may be difficult for the Stars to hide him on their active roster all season. New York followed with pitchers Al Moore and Joe Lund, both from the Philadelphia Keystones organization. Moore is 27 but is coming off an impressive 16-4, 2.72 season at AA New Orleans while Lund, a 1940 second rounder who is also 27, split last season between AA and AAA. Lund did spend the 1946 season pitching out of the Keystones bullpen. The Stars final selection was used on 24-year-old right fielder Franklin Thomas from the Chicago Cougars. Thomas hit .296 with 13 homers last season, splitting the campaign between AA and AAA.

No other FABL club selected more than two players in the draft and four teams - Montreal, the Philadelphia Keystones, St Louis and Washington did not make a selection. The Philadelphia Sailors, who added Smith and catcher Tom Cooprider out of the Boston organization, lost the most players with four Sailors being selected.

PACKERS STAR BURNS IS BACK

Tommy Scores 6 in 3 Games

After much talk in Chicago regarding just what might be wrong with Tommy Burns, the veteran Chicago center answered the critics with an outstanding week that saw the 29-year-old score 6 times including a hat trick in a 3-2 win over Toronto. Burns entered the season as the modern-day (post 1940) NAHC leader in goals with 223 including a record-tying 47 two years ago. Last year, even with missing 11 games due to an injury, Burns still led the NAHC with 37 goals.

He missed the first week of the current season after suffering a dislocated jaw in preseason action and started very slow with just 2 goals in his first 12 games. Entering play last week Burns had just 3 goals and 9 assists in 18 games, but he got back on track with a pair of helpers in a 2-1 win over New York on Wednesday and the scored 6 times in 3 wins over the past four days. Like their star center, the Packers had a slow start to the season but have gone 7-1-2 over their past 10 games and are now just 2 points behind first place Detroit.

NAHC GAME RESULTS FROM LAST WEEK

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 7

Boston 2 at Detroit 3: The Motors won their third in a row while Boston has just one victory to show for its last seven games after Bees fell 3-2 in the Motor City despite outshooting Detroit 39-23. Henri Chasse had a strong game in the Detroit net with Lou Barber leading the offense with a goal and an assist.

New York 1 at Chicago 2: Tommy Burns assisted on both Packers goals while Norm Hanson stopped 38 of the 39 shots he faced in a 2-1 victory on home ice for Chicago. Only Alexandre Lapalme's goal with less than two minutes remaining prevented Hanson from his fifth shutout of the season.

THURSDAY DECEMBER 8

Chicago 3 at Toronto 2: Another close game for the Packers and Tommy Burns factored in all of the Chicago scoring for the second night in a row. The reigning goal scoring king of the NAHC had a slow start this season but he doubled his season total with a hat trick against the Dukes. Two of Tommy's three tally's came on the powerplay.

Montreal 2 at Boston 1: A pair of struggling teams met at Denny Arena and when the dust settled Tom Brockers had made 36 saves to beat his former club 2-1. Clarence Skinner, who assisted on Adam Sandford's opening goal, notched the game winner in the second period. Robert Walker provided all of the Boston offense with a first period marker.

SATURDAY DECEMBER 10

Detroit 3 at New York 2: The Motors rallied from a 2-0 deficit at the midway point to pull out a 3-2 victory behind a pair of goals from Bick Tardif.

Montreal 3 at Chicago 6: Tommy Burns breakout week continued with 2 goals to lead the Packers to their third straight victory, doubling Montreal 6-3. Burns has 5 goals in the last two games after scoring just 3 times in his first 19 outings.

Toronto 1 at Boston 1: Boston outshot the visiting Dukes 31-17 but had to settle for a 1-1 tie. Both goals came in the middle frame with Mark Dyck scoring on the powerplay for Boston before Les Carlson answered with his 12th of the season for Toronto.

SUNDAY DECEMBER 11

Boston 4 at Toronto 4: A little more offense in their rematch but the final result was once more a tie in the Bees and Dukes home and home weekend. Quinton Pollack paced Toronto with 3 assists while Les Carlson scored twice to give him an NAHC best 14 on the season. Carlson's second goal came with just 34 seconds remaining and Gordie Broadway on the bench for an extra attacker.

Chicago 2 at Montreal 1: The Packers complete a perfect 4-0 week with a 2-1 win over the Valiants. Tommy Burns scored again -his 6th goal in the last 3 games- with Marty Mahoney getting the game winner late in the third period. The Vals have just 1 victory in their last 10 games.

New York 3 at Detroit 3: The Motors kept their one point lead on Toronto atop the NAHC standings despite having to settle for a 3-3 tie against the Shamrocks. Orval Cabbell allowed the Greenshirts to pull even when he scored on a power play with just over 4 minutes remaining in the third period. It was Cabbell's second goal of the night and he assisted on Jerry Finch's marker. Nick Tardif, Vincent Arensault and Francis McKenzie where the Detroit marksmen.

DUKES FALL FROM FIRST AFTER PAIR OF WEEKEND TIES

Toronto's heroes of hockey have slipped into second place one point behind the Detroit Motors who are enjoying a 4 game winning streak. The Dukes were back on home ice Thursday hosting the Packers. The team had a lot of jump to start the game opening up a two goal lead in the first 5 minutes against Chicago, who are still smarting from the last minute goal that allowed the Dukes to salvage a tie 2 weeks ago. Frank Featherstone open the scoring early in the game and less than 3 minutes later when Maurice Charette made it 2-0 on a pretty 3-way passing play from Chad Roy and Bobbie Sauer that gave Packers goaltender Norm Hanson no chance in the Chicago cage.

Little did the joyous crowd know that would be the last time the red light would go on behind Hanson this game. After Carlson was sent off for unsportsmanlike conduct, a call that seemed to bewilder Barrel, Tommy Burns cut the lead in half with the man advantage. Burns, who is off to slow start by his high standards, tied the score at 15:15 on a one timer snap shot on a feed from Moose Vezina. A quick paced second saw only two entries on the game sheet. The first was a tripping penalty to Chad Roy at 15:57, the second came after 46 seconds of elapsed time when Burns completed his hat trick on the power play.

After grabbing the lead the Packers seemed to settle into a style for which they have become accustomed to this season. The Packers tenacious defense gave the home squad little time to make a play with the puck. The third was scoreless, the Dukes pressed for another tie late with Jarrett McGlynn off for interference but could not find the twine behind Hanson. Packers leave 3-2 victors.

Toronto headed into Denny Arena to face the struggling Bees Saturday night. In a game that threatened to get out of hand at times became a struggle between the two netminders, Oscar James and Gordie Broadway. In a chippy affair with both teams taking liberties in hauling down opponents, many of which went uncalled, Boston had better chances than the Dukes. Boston outshot Toronto in all 3 periods and totals for the game favoured the Bees 31-17. Boston opening the scoring at 2:15, again with Dukes a man short, when unchecked Mark Dyck slammed home a rebound off a Joe Moray shot. Les Carlson continued with his fine goal scoring season when he deflected a Trevor Parker shot past James with only 49 seconds remaining in the middle frame. The third was a period of dump and chase for both teams with many stoppages for pucks frozen along the boards. Game ended in 1-1 tie as both teams boarded their rail cars for a return match on Sunday in Toronto.

The teams met Sunday with the same two tending goal. Boston pressed early controlling the puck, they were finally rewarded when Ray Gustafson snapped home a shot for the slot at 15:06. Dukes came out onto the freshly resurfaced ice for the second seeming on a mission. In a period in which they tested James 19 times, only Carlson's shot after 83 seconds found its way into the Boston net. In a play for which Willis Beane was kicked out of the game for cross checking Les Carlson in the head the fans littered the ice with debris, threatening Beane as left the ice. Boston retook the advantage in the last minute of the second on a marker from Conn Cundiff. The Dukes took the opening puck drop of the final period down the ice to score 11 seconds in on snap shot off Chad Roy's stick. Maxime Rheault's first of the year made it 3-2 at 8:59 in what was becoming a high scoring period for these two teams. Dukes tied the game 91 seconds later when Pollack sent sprung Charlie Brown while on the kill. Not to be outdone Boston regained the lead 90 seconds later when Garrett Kauffeldt was left untended in front of Broadway. The 3 goals in 3 minutes was unexpected given the tenor of the previous 5 periods between the two teams. Les Carlson, who seemed none the worse for wear after Beane's cheap shot, sent the fans home happy when found a loose puck in the crease with 34 seconds left and the extra attacker on the ice. Game ends 4-4.

Coach Barrell: "Rumours of Tommy Burns' demise have been greatly exaggerated, he is still a premier player. He took a few defensemen to school with his hat trick in the Packers win. I warned the guys before the game that this is first time the ref who got Lou suspended is working our game, be on their best behavior. I probably should not say this, I am enough trouble with the league, but the unsportsmanlike call was bogus, Les questioned an offside call then gets sent off. The guy was looking for an excuse. Navarro just got suspended for 3 after Saturday's game on another questionable decision made in the Star Chamber. We are about to see if their is a double standard in the league. Beane's cross check was far more serious than Lou's body check or Navarro's play, lets see if he is suspended for his infraction. Boston's back line is very big but not very mobile. They make liberal use of their size and sticks to thwart opposition forwards. This is well known league wide, Boston's defensemen are the dirtiest group in the league.

We have to work on our penalty killing as the holidays approach, or better still quit taking stupid penalties. Lou Galbraith tweaked his back in practice which is why he did not play against Boston. The trainers think he may be out a few more days."

• The Philadelphia Phantoms extended their winning streak to nine games with victories over Syracuse and Rochester last week. Phantoms guard Jerry Hubbard, who is the FBL's assist leader, dished out 18 helpers in an 80-71 win over third place Rochester on Friday. Washington is keeping pace as the Statesmen have won six straight and nine of their last ten after beating Pittsburgh and Baltimore last week. Both the Phantoms and Statesmen had somewhat slow starts to the season with Philadelphia dropping two of their first five before going on their run while the Statesmen got off to an even slower tip-off, dropping their first two games of the season -both at home.
• Baltimore was the hot team in the East Division with a quick 10-2 start but thanks to the Statesmen, the Barons have cooled off. Baltimore was beaten twice in a 5-day span by its beltway neighbours with the Washington quintet prevailing 88-79 last Sunday and then taking Friday's contest 100-87 in a game that saw all five Statesmen starters reach double-digits in points. In between the two Washington losses, the Barons dropped a 79-69 decision at home to Syracuse in a game in which Titans rookie Willy Ludwick scored 26 points. It was just the third win of the season for Syracuse.
• It was a nice week for the Detroit Mustangs with wins over both their key rivals. First, they beat the Chicago Panthers soundly in the Windy City by a 100-73 margin with David Reed scoring 25 and Ward Messer adding 23 and then Detroit likely made Daniel Prescott angry with a 105-91 victory at the Palladium over the Brooklyn Red Caps. Jack Kurtz had the hot hand in that game with 30 points while Ward Messer had 29 rebounds. At 10-5 the Mustangs are tied for first in the West Division with Cleveland. Prescott, who was the head of the old ABC before it folded, is not the biggest fan of Mustangs owner and FBL founder Rollie Barrell.
• Prescott's Red Caps are not used to muddling along at .500, as they are with an 8-8 start this season. The Red Caps won the Federal League title a year ago and proceeded that with 5 championship wins in the final six seasons of the old American Conference. However, six losses in their last nine games has many wondering what is going on in Brooklyn.
• St Louis is still winless after 15 games for the expansion Steamers but everyone knew they would struggle. What is a surprise is the Chicago Wildcats have lost 3 straight and are now just 6-9 on the season.

CLOSE CALL BUT LIBERTY COLLEGE REMAINS PERFECT

The Liberty College Bells added a pair of victories over Academia Alliance schools this past week to run their perfect record on the season to 9-0 and keep the Bells at the top of the collegiate cage rankings. On Wednesday evening in Philadelphia, Luther Gordon had 20 points as 13 boards as the Bells survived a scare from Ellery College, nipping the Bruins 61-59. Ellery had a chance to force overtime in the closing moments but Bruins guard Bert Hope, who would attempt just one shot all game, had his effort blocked by Bells junior forward Kenny Pieper and Liberty College held on for the win.

There were no nervous moments two nights later for Liberty College supporters, who packed the Keystone Arena to witness a laugher as the Bells dominated Grafton by a score of 70-44. Gordon once again was the big scorer, with 24 points to go along with 12 boards in an easy Friday evening of work.

Lane State was not as fortunate as the Bells were in their narrow victory Wednesday, as on Thursday evening the Emeralds fell 42-40 to Miami State and dropped from second to fifth in the latest rankings as a result. The Gulls built an 8-point first half lead and held on for the victory, running their record to 8-1 and allowing them to make their first appearance in the top ten this season.

Noble Jones College moves up to second in the rankings with the Colonels winning 46-37 on the road at Eastern Virigina in their only game of the week. The 6-0 Colonels seem to have found a talented youngster in Jim Graybeal as the freshman scored 17 points in the win over the Dukes and is averaging 13.0 ppg thru his first 6 college games.

Carolina Poly and Annapolis Maritime, both 7-0, are ranked third and fourth this week. The Cardinals won on the road 55-46 over College of Cairo before beating 21st ranked Lubbock State 70-47 on Saturday. The Navigators lone game this week was a 48-33 win over Pueblo State on Wednesday behind a career best 18 point effort from Philadelphia born freshman Bruce Rider.

RECENT KEY RESULTS

• Friday night in Philadelphia Danny Rutledge stumbled in being held to a draw by Heinie Verplanck. Rutledge, who had won his first 17 pro bouts and faced fellow unbeaten Mac Erickson with Erickson's world welterweight title at stake in July, was facing a strong opponent in Verplanck (18-5-1) but it was a fight he should have won. Instead two judges scored the 10-round tilt a dead heat while the third gave Verplanck a 1-point advantage. Rutledge rebounded from his loss to Erickson with a strong showing against Rudy May in October and it had been expected he would earn another shot at the title had he defeated Verplanck.

UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS

• Dec 15- Washington DC - MW contender Bill Boggs (19-2-1) vs Bobby Hinkle (30-6)
• Dec 17 - Atlanta, GA - HW contenders Lewis Jones (20-2-1) vs Tommy Cline (19-2)
• Dec 28- Union City, NJ - MW contender Tommy Campbell (22-3-1) vs Rip Rogers (20-3)
• Dec 29- Memphis, TN - Former HW challenger Roy Crawford (30-4) vs Cannon Cooper (28-4-1)
• Dec 30- Syracuse, NY- MW Davis Owens (20-0) vs Jim Ward (21-3)
• Dec 31- Brooklyn, NY - HW Scott "The Chef" Baker (20-4-3) vs Barry Scott (18-5)
• Feb 18- Keystone Arena, Philadelphia- World Heavyweight champ Hector Sawyer (62-3-1) defends his title against Englishman Ben Budgeford (21-1)

• The nation's soft coal miners returned to work last Monday, making for one of the briefest strikes in the union's history. Just hours after they walked off the job for latest time, John L. Lewis announced a deal had been made and miners were back on the job for the afternoon shift that day.
• Andrew J. May, former congressman and chairman of the House Military Affairs Committee, became a Federal prisoner last week as he reported to a Kentucky prison after being convicted of wartime bribery and conspiracy charges. The 72-year-old, in failing health, has been sentenced to 2 years.
• A former Air Force major told the House Committee on Un-American Activities of ripping secret radar equipment out of four planes bound for Russia during the war but said a fifth with the same material reached the Soviet Union.
• Lt. Gen. Leslie Groves, wartime chief of the atomic bomb project, told the House Committee on Un-American Activities that "a great deal of pressure" was put on him to "give the Russians everything they wanted" but that the pressure came from subordinates in the lease-lend administration and not from the late Secretary of Commerce Harry Hopkins or former Vice President Henry A. Wallace.
• The President of the American Medical Association, blasting President Truman's compulsory health insurance plan with a warning that doctors "must prepare for a renewed assault on medicine and free enterprise." The AMA has voted to charge a $25-a-year compulsory due for membership and will use those funds to finance the AMA's campaign against "socialized medicine."
• Advocates of free enterprise ousted Australia's Labor government in the second defeat of Socialism in the British Commonwealth within 11 days. The outcome paralleled the election verdict in New Zealand. The British Labor government of Prime Minister Attlee faces an election sometime before the end of its five-year term next July.
  
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December 19, 1949
 

DECEMBER 19, 1949

WILD FINISH FOR WILDCATS IN GREATEST AFA TITLE GAME EVER STAGED

Chicago Wins Second Straight AFA Title With Last Second Score

Ricky McCallister and Tom Gipson connected for a 6-yard touchdown pass with no time left on the clock to complete a thrilling comeback and give the Chicago Wildcats their second straight American Football Association title, edging the Philadelphia Frigates 28-27 at Cougars Park on Sunday. McCallister had found Milt Haley in the endzone less than two minutes earlier as the Wildcats rallied from a 27-14 deficit with two late scores.

In his first season of full-time duty as the Wildcats quarterback, McCallister completed 11 of his 25 pass attempts for 162 yards and 3 touchdowns, earning Most Valuable Player honours for the title game along the way. It is the latest in a string of accolades for the Pittsburgh native who guided St Blane to a National Championship while winning the Christian Trophy in 1947. A year ago, with the aging Gus Brown still handling the passing duties, McCallister played primarily on the defensive side of the ball and was named to the AFA all-star team as a defensive back.

The game started out poorly for the Wildcats, who faced little adversity in last season's 31-0 thumping of the New York Stars in the championship game. It took less than two minutes for the visiting Philadelphia Frigates to take the lead as Wildcats back Ralph Manson fumbled the ball on the opening play from scrimmage and while the Frigates could not advance the ball on their opening series, they did go up 3-0 on a 41-yard Frank Ellison field goal.

It would remain 3-0 until late in the first period when Frigates All-Star back Greg LePage fumbled on his own 22 yard line. The ball was scooped up by Mark Smith of the Wildcats and returned to the Frigates 9 yard line. Three plays later McCallister hit Milt Haley with a 6-yard scoring pass and the Wildcats led 7-3.

Philadelphia thought they had regained the lead on the first play of the second quarter when LePage broke free for a 25-yard touchdown run but the score was nullified by a holding penalty on the Frigates. The wet, cold field led to a total of 9 fumbles with another LePage miscue allowing the Wildcats to go up 14-3. This one came on a play action pass from Fred Wilhelm to Herman Glass for 26 yards that caught the Frigates secondary completely by surprise. It was one of 5 Chicago passes attempted by Wilhelm instead of McCallister in the game.

The Frigates cut the deficit to 14-6 with Frank Ellison's second field goal of the game. That came with just 1:35 remaining in the opening half and was immediately followed by the first Philadelphia touchdown of the afternoon. The Wildcats went to the well a second time in calling on Wilhelm to make a long pass, but the Frigates were ready this time and Greg Krehbiel intercepted it. With a short field and just over a minute on the clock, Philadelphia quarterback Jim Taylor drove the Frigates 32 yards with a 1-yard pass to Steve Johnson capping the drive and cutting the Chicago lead at the break to 14-13.

A Wildcats fumble midway through the third period opened the door for the Frigates to take a 20-14 lead as Greg LePage plowed through from the 2-yard line with the go-ahead score. Mel Herndon would score on a 3-yard run early in the final quarter and the Frigates seemed in control with a 27-14 lead. In control at least until McCallister took over.

With 4:41 on the clock the Wildcats were running out of time, trailing by 13 with the ball on their own 14 yard line. McCallister completed five passes for 44 yards and was aided by a pass interference penalty and with 1:52 on the clock he found Haley in the Philadelphia endzone for the second time on the day.

Trailing by 6 points, the Chicago defense held, and Philadelphia was forced to punt with 1:16 remaining. McCallister, starting at the Wildcats own 30 yard line, went to work. He found Tom Gipson for 15 yards and then connected with Haley on a dramatic 49-yard pass play that set up a first and goal on the Frigates six yard line with 25 seconds remaining. Three straight incomplete passes made it all come down to one play and that's when Gipson came up with his biggest catch of his career to tie the game at 27 with no time left on the clock. McCallister than calmly kicked his 4th extra point of the afternoon to set off the celebration as the Wildcats won the AFA championship game for the fourth time in franchise history, and celebrated their 7th AFA title.

HALEY DESERVES RECOGNITION

Famed boxing columnist Johnny Bologna was in attendance at Cougars Park for the AFA championship game and came away wondering why Milt Haley does not get more respect. The veteran end has been with the Chicago Wildcats since 1945, never as their top receiving threat but he has caught 110 balls during the regular season, and he caught a touchdown pass in last year's championship win over New York.

On Sunday Haley had five catches for a game high 82 yards, plus was a big factor on the other side of the ball. Bologna acknowledged that "QBs get all the MVP love, but how about WR Milt Haley? He caught the pass with 1:52 left to get it to within 6 points for his second TD of the game. He hauled in a 49-yard pass to put the Wildcats in a 1st & Goal with 25 seconds left.

Haley also recovered a fumble in Chicago territory on a 4th down draw play by Philadelphia RB Greg LePage that would have given the Frigates a first down in the red zone. Chicago marched down the field and scored after that to take a 14-3 lead.

ST BLANE END LEONARD CLAIMS CHRISTIAN TROPHY

Bobby Leonard, the star senior end from the St Blane Fighting Saints was named the winner of the Christian Trophy as the Most Outstanding College Football player for the 1949 season. Leonard, who is expected to be a high first round selection for next year's AFA draft, was an All-American selection each of the past two seasons.

The Philadelphia native was also named the winner of the Bryan Award, given to the best all-around player. Leonard's win marks just the second time a player has won both the Christian and Bryan Trophy's in the same season. He follows former Rome State back Chet Donelson, who won both in 1945. Two others, Wally Dotson of Texas Gulf Coast and Gus Thompson of Rome State have won both awards, but each won their two trophies in different seasons.

Leonard becomes the third St Blane athlete to win the Christian Trophy since it was first awarded in 1940. He follows a pair of quarterbacks in 1943 winner Mike O'Rourke and current Chicago Wildcats star Ricky McCallister, who was the 1947 Christian Trophy winner.

Leonard won the voting this year by a wide margin with North Carolina Tech back Jackie Charles finishing a distant second. Dotson of the Hurricanes finished third with quarterbacks Paul Domenico of Rome State and Leonard's Fighting Saints teammate Bill Thomas rounding out the top five.

The Ipswich Trophy, presented to the top lineman went to St Ignatius senior guard Ken Underwood.

CHAPPELL NAMED CFC TOP PLAYER

For the third time in its four year history the top player in the Continental Football Conference is Kansas City Cowboys quarterback Pat Chappell. What is expected to be the final awards announcement for the CFC was made earlier this week and named the Cowboys star as the top player in the league and the starting quarterback on its all-star team. While nothing is yet official, all indications are the Continental Conference is expected to fold before next season and Chappell's Cowboys along with the San Francisco Wings and possibly the New Orleans Crescents will migrate to the American Football Association.

Present at the ceremony to announce his selection as the loop's premier player, Chappell refused to be drawn into talk about the CFC's demise after being pressed by reporters regarding how he felt he would adjust to the American Football Association next year. "I am the quarterback of the Kansas City Cowboys and last I checked we are in the Continental Conference," was all Chappell would say on the subject.

Chappell was one of five Cowboys named to the all-star team, being joined by end Ernie Orr along with defensive stars Leon Anderson, Dale Schermer and Johnny Boyland. For Orr, who had 60 receptions for a league high 1,100 yards this season, it marked the fourth consecutive season he was named to the all-star team. Orr is the only player named to either the offensive or defensive team for each of the four seasons of the league.

The San Francisco Wings led the way in placing 8 players on the all-star teams, followed by the Cowboys quintet. Los Angeles and New Orleans had 3 selections with Buffalo and Chicago both placing two. Only the New York Gothams failed to have a player named to either the offensive or defensive team.
SURPRSING YOUNG OFFENSE HAS MOTORS TIED FOR TOP SPOT
The Detroit Motors have plenty of young talent in front of a pair of veteran goaltenders who seem content with sharing the workload, at least at this stage. It is that young offense led 25-year-old center Adam Vanderbilt (12-10-22) and a rising star in 21-year-old winger Lou Barber (5-17-22) that has caused plenty of excitement at the Thompson Palladium this season. The Motors lead the NAHC in goals with 93 through 29 games this season and that is a big reason why the Motors are tied with two-time defending champion Toronto for top spot as the season approaches the midway mark.

There is a strong supporting case led by 22-year-old center Ben Witt (4-18-22), 23-year old winger and former rookie of the year Nick Tardif (12-7-19) and 22-year-old pivot Francis McKenzie (7-8-15) that has Detroit fans thinking a first place finish - something the franchise has never seen, not even in its early days in Ottawa before the 1935 move to the Motor City. What is more surprising is the club is enjoy offensive success despite the injury that cost last season's NAHC rookie of the year Louis Rocheleau his entire season.

There is a long ways to go but there is plenty to cheer about for a chance in Detroit.

DAILY NAHC RESULTS FROM LAST WEEK

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 14

Boston 3 at Detroit 0: All the scoring came in the third period with Maxime Rheault, Mark Dyck and finally Len Bentley with an empty-netter to lead the Bees to a 3-0 win over the Motors. Pierre Melancon, just back with the big club after being recalled from Springfield, stopped all 33 shots he faced for his second NAHC shutout this season. The result snapped an 8-game winless streak for the Bees and a four game unbeaten run for Detroit.

Chicago 2 at New York 5: A four goal outburst in a span of less than 11 minutes to start the first period propelled the Shamrocks to a 5-2 victory over Chicago. Orval Cabbell scored twice to lead the Greenshirts.

Toronto 1 at Montreal 1: The Valiants outshot the Dukes 44-24 with only Gordie Broadway's acrobatics in the Toronto cage being enough to salvage a point for the visitors. Isaac Finnson gave the Vals a lead in the first period but Philippe Dube tied it for the Dukes just over six minutes into the final stanza.

THURSDAY DECEMBER 15

Montreal 2 at Toronto 1: Tom Brockers started back to back games for the Vals and made 31 saves to trim Toronto 2-1. Like Deuling and Adam Sandford, both on the power play, were the Montreal marksmen while Bobbie Sauer-also with the man advantage- had the only Toronto tally.

SATURDAY DECEMBER 17

Boston 5 at New York 2: The Bees win back to back games for the first time since October 14 and 16 and over the same two teams, following up a shutout of Detroit on Wednesday with a 5-2 win over New York. Wes Chandler, Garrett Kauffeldt and Maxime Rheault each had a goal and an assist to pace the Bees offense.

Montreal 4 at Detroit 5: Nick Tardif's powerplay goal with 1:29 left in the game proved the difference and gave the Detroit Motors a 5-4 victory over the visiting Valiants in a game Montreal was outshot 44-23. Francis McKenzie scored twice for the winners while Claude LeClerc had two goals and a helper for the Vals.

Toronto 4 at Chicago 3: Bobbie Sauer scored twice including the game winner late in the third period while also adding an assist to lead Toronto to victory. Tommy Burns had 3 points for the Packers in a losing cause.

SUNDAY DECEMBER 18

Boston 2 at Montreal 3: First period goals from Luke Deuling and Clarence Skinner held lead the Montreal Valiants to a 3-2 win over Boston.

Chicago 2 at Detroit 3: The same result in Detroit as Nick Tardif scored his 12th of the season and added an assist to lead the Motors past the Packers 3-2.

New York 1 at Toronto 2: Good news, bad news for the Dukes who nipped the Shamrocks 2-1 but lost Quinton Pollack for up to a week with calf strain. Bobbie Sauer set up both Toronto goals, by Bob Crone and Charlie Brown, while Simon Savard had New York's only goal as the Shamrocks managed just 17 shots on Toronto netminder Gordie Broadway.

DUKES IN TIE FOR FIRST AS SEASON APPROACHES MIDWAY MARK

In a 4 game week the Dukes go 2-1-1 to move into a tie atop the NAHC standings with Detroit. Toronto is now 5 games shy of reaching the halfway point in the new expanded 70-game schedule with a record of 14-9-7 for 35 points.

The week started with a home and home with Montreal. On Wednesday 14,475 on hand were treated to a fast-paced low scoring affair at Montreal Arena. The first period was a cautious affair that ended scoreless. The play opened up a little in the middle frame with Montreal's Tom Brockers turning away all 15 he faced including many fine chances on 2 power plays. Montreal opened the scoring with less 5 minutes remaining in the second when Isaac Finnson's harmless looking shot somehow found its way past Gordie Broadway. Broadway made 14 saves in the second. The Valiants were all over the Dukes in the third but Broadway stood tall making 21 saves in the period. Toronto finally solved Brockers when Philippe Dubois pinched in, then found a loose puck in the crease to tie the game at 1. This was the final with Broadway making 43 saves during the contest.

The teams played the same style of game at Dominion Gardens on Thursday night before 14,213. Terry Russell made his first start in goal of the season in relief of Broadway. Russell was victimized early when with Luke Brisebois off early for interference as Luke Deuling converted from a tight angle on a pass from Nickolas Roch at 2:48. That was all the scoring until the 15:43 mark of the second when again while on the power play Adam Sanford beat Russell from down low to make it 2-0. Down 2 entering the final period Bobbie Sauer made it tight finally solving Brockers from the high slot during a 5 on 3 advantage at 4:33. Press as they might the Dukes could not find the tying goal as Brockers continued to rob Dukes snipers. Brockers was the deciding factor in sealing a 2-1 Vals victory.

Dukes went into Chicago on Saturday, having only scored twice in two games against Montreal, to face the defensively sound Packers. A low scoring affair was expected by the 15,699 in attendance. Although it was not as low scoring as the Dukes previous two, it was a tight checking affair with Packers hitting everything in sight. Lou Galbraith returned to the lineup after missing time due to injury and suspension. The Dukes led 2-1 after one on goals by Spencer Hoffard and Bobby Sauer with Max Ducharme replying for Chicago on which Tommy Burns drew, of course, an assist. In the second Ducharme again from Burns tied the game at 12:38. Then with 8 seconds remaining on the clock Galbraith, left alone in front of Hanson, tallied on passes from Les Carlson and Quinton Pollack to make it 3-2. Tommy Burns and Max Ducharme completed their 3-point night when Burns lit the lamp beating Broadway high glove side with Sauer off at 12:38. Sauer redeemed himself less than 4 minutes later he scored the eventual winner beating Hanson off a Trevor Parker rebound at 16:28. Dukes win 4-3. In a interesting fact the Dukes received all 38 PIM including three 10-minute misconducts to Parker, Galbraith and Lumsen.

Back home Sunday to face the Shamrocks in what was to be another low scoring affair. Etienne Tremblay and Gordie Broadway kept the scoring column on the gamesheet blank until Bob Crone buried a rebound off a Sauer shot midway through the middle frame to give the Dukes the lead. Up 1 with 20 minutes remaining the Dukes tried to check the visitors into submission but Simon Savard spoiled the shutout at 3:48 when he beat Broadway from the right hand faceoff dot with a well placed wrist shot. It was one of only two shot that made it to the Dukes goal in the period. Toronto continued to press New York forcing Tremblay to make a number of tough saves. Charlie Brown carried the puck in while they were on the power play then found the back of the net at 12:34 with Joe Martin off for holding. Dukes held on for a 2-1 win to close their first half.

Coach Barrell: "Good week allowing only 7 goals against in 4 games. Brockers has had our number all year. He stands on his head every time he sees our jerseys. Our goaltending was great, Russell only allows 2 both while we were down a man, Gordie makes 43 save in a loss. That game in Chicago was the first time I have ever seen a team take 38 penalty minutes while the other team had zero. Guess who the ref was, it is becoming personal. Had we lost I would have filed a protest immediately after the game. That was a joke. I had better be quiet as the league is not very happy with some of my post game comments. Big game coming up here Wednesday night against Detroit. Quinton is questionable with a strained calf, let's see how he responds. Painchaud is out until at least the end of January with a skate cut."

• When will the St. Louis Steamers get their first win of the season? St. Louis is winless in its first 19 games and all the numbers look terrible. The Steamers are 0-11 at home, 0-15 in the Western Division, and point differential more than twice as bad as any other team in the league (-19.5 per game). For a new team, only 2,074 paid patrons are showing up in those 11 home games, which is less than a quarter of St. Louis Arena's capacity. The team is last in scoring, rebounding, and defense. Isaac Luck is the only starter averaging in double figures at 11.7. Luck and the other starters should earn hazard pay this year.
• On the other end of the spectrum, the Mustangs are leading the league in point differential (+13.6 per game). Consequently, Detroit has taken over the top spot in the Western Division, leading Cleveland by a game and Buffalo by three games. How have they pushed their way to the top? They have running and gunning their way to first place, winning five straight while scoring 100 or more in each contest. The five games were bookended with wins against the Panthers and also had a statement 105-91 win at home against Brooklyn, pulling away with a 26-17 the fourth quarter. It was the Mustangs inside game that made the difference, as Jack Kurtz dropped 30 points on 12-for-23 shooting and Ward Messer's 29 rebounds.
• The Pilots are struggling to keep their heads above water as Pittsburgh tries to matter in the Western Division. Not much was expected of the Pilots before the season and a 1-5 preseason did not help. The loss to Baltimore in the opener held some hope, at least in the first half, but Baltimore roared back to win. But just as the team looked to turn a corner, they have taken a step back. Pittsburgh won three straight after the Opening Night loss just to lose four of five, followed by another three-game winning streak. The Pilots entered the week at their high-water mark, which was two games above .500 at 8-6, but they lost three of four -- each by 20 points or more -- to fall back to .500 at 9-9.
• The Panthers' Larry Serrano and the Mustangs' Alan Hepburn have been added to the injury list this week. Serrano is a bigger loss as the Panthers second-leading scorer. The shooting guard had started each of the first 19 games, but suffered a broken arm in Detroit on Sunday and will miss the better part of the next two months. Hepburn will miss 5-6 weeks with a stress fracture in his foot and while has not been as active offensively for Detroit (9.9 ppg), his 2.4 steals per game is tied for seventh in the league and the defensively responsible shooting guard started all 16 games for Detroit before he was hurt in Monday's 108-73 defeat of Pittsburgh.

BELLS AND COLONELS CONTINUE TO LEAD WAY

Liberty College and Noble Jones College remain unbeaten and ranked 1-2 in the weekly collegiate cage polls after each won twice last week. Those two are among just 8 of the 213 AIAA colleges to remain unbeaten. As usual, senior center Luther Gordon led the way for the Bells. The likely first overall pick in next year's FBL draft had 31 points in a 61-47 victory over Pierpont on Monday and then added 24 in an easy 84-47 triumph over Three Rivers State to push the Bells season mark to 11-0.

Mike Miller and freshman Jim Graybeal each had 14 points as Noble Jones College knocked off Lubbock State 52-39 on Monday and then on Saturday the Colonels downed Western State 65-44 despite 19 points from Williams Wheeler of the Bisons, who is challenging Liberty College's Gordon for the AIAA scoring lead.

To show how fickle the voters are in the early stages of the season, 8-0 Carolina Poly did not play last week, and they fell from third to 8th in the polls because each of the teams in between them came up with victories. Among those schools are unbeaten Annapolis Maritime (9-0), Coastal California (9-0) and Indiana A&M (6-0). Rounding out the unbeaten schools are 10th ranked CC Los Angeles (7-0) and 12th ranked Alabama Baptist (5-0).

Alabama Baptist is being led by a familiar name to FABL fans as junior Les Lightbody, a cousin of former FABL stars Doug and Frank and current Pittsburgh Miners first baseman Jim Lightbody leads the Panthers in rebounds and his 7.2 ppg is third on the team behind Kirby Scott and William Dixon. It is a light schedule next week leading up to Christmas but one game to keep an eye on is Alabama Baptist hosting 22nd ranked Bulein on Wednesday. It will be a good test to see if the Panthers are indeed worthy of their 12th overall ranking. The Deep South Conference school has had a fairly easy time with wins over Richmond State, American Atlantic, College of Waco and Golden Gate University with their toughest test likely coming in their season opener, a 73-68 victory over Brooklyn State. Bulein is 5-1 on the year with their lone loss to Deep South school Central Kentucky but the Hornets will be in action tonight at Georgia Baptist before making the trip to Tuscaloosa for Wednesday's game.

TALES FROM THE WOLVES DEN

CATCHING UP WITH THE BARRELL'S

Brett's note to readers: More from my recent interview with Toronto Wolves manager Fred Barrell. In today's column I decided to attempt to broaden the discussion with Fred. Instead of talking about the Wolves, the future of the team I decide to try to branch out to see if Fred would talk about his family which is undoubtably the premier sports family in North America. I was surprised when Fred agreed, and once he got going, he had plenty to say.

Brett: Your family is an iconic name in all sports not just baseball. Would you care to share a few thoughts with the readers on your family?
FRED BARRELL: Sure. The family was a large one with 10 children, 9 boys and one girl spread over 20 years, I don't know how my parents did it, especially with my father travelling all the time with his baseball duties which changed over time as his positions changed within the game.

My parents both passed last year, not a day passes without me thinking of both of them. They did a fine a job, in my opinion, of raising all of us. They instilled morals, we all knew the difference between right and wrong, where the line was and not to cross that line. My mother was particular in having us all "toe the line", you did not cross the line, her wrath was a thing that you only had to see or experience once to know you did not want to go that road. Both my parents were tough but fair. Rufus was a good sounding board. He usually answered your questions with another question forcing you to think the issue through to come up with your own conclusions. Many times this season I wished I could have talked to him about the issues I was having with the Wolves knowing he would force me to think the issue through by asking another question that would eventually bring me to a path forward. My mother was someone to talk to when you had questions about family or life in general. She was more to the point, she gave you her opinion on any subject there were no gray areas with her it was black or white, right or wrong. I really miss that advice.

My eldest brother Joe was born in 1894 two years after my parents were married. Joe passion was football after playing at Noble College he went to coach at the college level. He was coaching at Coastal California when he was tragically lost in a plane crash during a snowstorm while on a recruiting trip in 1934. Lost way too young in his 40th year. He is the father of FABL players Rufus "Deuce" Barrell and Roger Cleaves out of wedlock.

Next came Roland or Rollie as he commonly known born a year after Joe. He is owner of the Detroit Maroons football club who are struggling through a trying season in AFA. That does not sit well with him, and I predict there will be changes soon for that team. For Rollie if something does not work you change it to find something that will work.

Next came John who everyone here knows as Jack...the Dukes coach. John and I talk often as we both based in Toronto. He is like my mother, there is no middle ground with him you everything is right or wrong. We talk often about motivating teams. I am trying to see if I can incorporate his defense first philosophy from hockey to baseball. As he explains it "If you stop the other team from scoring you have to score less to win. It easier to score less than more." Most people do not remember that John also played football Twenties to make ends meet, two sport athletes were not uncommon in that era.

The first one born in the 20th Century was James in 1900. His need for speed was insatiable either on the ground or in the air. Jimmy flew for the 94th, was shot down in the first war to end all wars. His need to go fast led him into auto racing. He crashed to his death in the Indianapolis 500 in 1919. His son, also named James, played some pro ball and had a few games with Oakland in the Great Western League.

After two in football, one hockey player, a speed demon we come to first FABL player Dan born in 1904. Neither Dan nor I had the natural baseball talents of our other 3 brothers, we had to work hard daily on improving our skills. Dan could hit anyone he knocked around the minors for 6 seasons before finally joining the Kings in '32. The knock against him was his work in the field, part of the problem was his balky knees. He took countless hours of infield daily to hone his fielding, finally his body gave out after our championship in 1937. He was a career .320 hitter who got on base nearly half the time he came to the plate. Dan also played football at Whitney College, which is where he hurt his knee but when he was healthy, he was an Olympic decathlete.

I was born the year after Dan then came the second last of the 4 Barrells on the 1937 World Series team, Tom born in 1908. Tom joined me on the Georgia Baptist Gators in 1925 a move that I know made both our parents proud that we were continuing our education. I not sure they would be as happy if they found out how many classes were cut to work on baseball, although I am sure Rufus knew but am not sure if he shared the knowledge with our mother. Some things are better left unsaid, no sense causing trouble. I was actually surprised that Tom decided to stay all 4 years in college, he was probably ready for pro ball 2 years earlier.

Many people do not remember than were both originally Chicago Cougars property. I was drafted 3rd overall in '26. Tom beat that by going 1st overall in '29. Tom and I never played together in the minors. We were together in Cougars uniforms until we both were part of a package sent to the Kings for Tommy Wilcox as a headliner of the trade. Tom and I were battery mates until 1940 in Brooklyn. He could flat out pitch, his problem was controlling his emotions, one missed or bad call would set him off. My job was getting him back to the game, he shook me off more than anyone, I would just keep calling for the same pitch which would drive him crazier, then Dan would come over from first to settle him down.

The thing that shocked the family was when Tom decided to manage the Kings. None of us thought that he has the temperament to handle a team. He has proven us all wrong, he is a more than capable of handling a team at the FABL level. One highlight of my first season was that we managed to split the season series with Brooklyn even when we lost the last two games. I never mentioned it, but the team knew, that is sure to be a topic of conversation when our family gets together over the holiday season.

Now we come to the best hitter of the bunch. Bobby is a no doubt Hall of Famer. Dan could hit, Bobby takes it to another level. He is best hitter in the Fed of our generation and maybe all of the FABL, although Fred McCormick may dispute that statement. Foregoing college he was taken 6th overall in 1928 out of Atlanta High School. Wonder what the five teams who passed on him were thinking?

At 18 he went through C to B to A ball not hitting under .376 playing a total of 132 games driving in a total of 130 runs. He spent 1930 in New Orleans for seasoning which many believed he did not need before joining the Keystones as a regular in 1930 at age 20. Since then, he has appeared in at least 149 games starting a minimum of 144 except for 1941 when he missed than last 6 weeks of the season with torn ankle ligaments. His batting stats are well known as only the second player after Max Morris to hit 600 HR, has driven in over 2220, a lifetime .313 hitter with too many batting awards to mention here. What people don't know is how hard he works in keep his swing right, after every game he goes through his plate appearances writing down every pitch for every at bat by pitcher. Then he keeps all the pages at home filed by team, pitcher. Before coming to the park, he reviews his notes the upcoming team then pitcher to see if he can find a pattern. When the Wolves coaches came to me this past summer with the pitch charting idea I immediately thought of Bobby, it seems to work for him. Individual players cannot or will not do it on their own, if we do it as a team, we may be on to something as many coaches are saying when we discuss the charts. As hard as he works on his stroke he spends almost as much time trying to improve his work in the field. He is not the fleetest of foot, but he still plays an above average corner OF with a cannon for a left arm. That standard joke around the family is when I ask Tom in the Thirties how he would pitch to Bob the answer was "Very carefully, if 1B is open he is going there unless he strikes himself out swinging at bad pitches." Now when they are in the same room someone says "very carefully".

The last of the brothers is Harold born in 1913. As taciturn, dour as Tom was Harry is on the other end of scale. He joined Dan, Tom, and myself with the Kings in 1933 after matching Tom by being selected first overall by Cleveland in 1931. Brooklyn management spent a king's ransom to get him at the trade deadline that summer. His fielding skills at SS are second to none, a ball in his area his almost an automatic out. No slouch at the plate he is a slap hitter who always seems to find a hole as a .307 career average would indicate his bat to ball skills. The Kings sent him to Boston in July 1943 just before he went into the service that fall spending two years overseas. He continues to play in Boston on an everyday basis, along with playing practical jokes on unsuspecting teammates. Those antics drive managers crazy, but you cannot take him out of the lineup.

The youngest in our family is our only sister Elizabeth born in 1914. Betsy has all my mother's traits, mannerisms. She is married football legend currently coaching with Rollie's Maroons, Tom Bowen. Tom will not get away with any foolishness around Betsy. Betsy was a fine athlete in her own right competing in Hitler's 1936 Berlin Games before the world fell apart with WWII. An interesting fact is that Bobby's wife Annette was a teammate of Bety's on that '36 Olympic team.

I am looking to this Christmas as we will all be gathering in Toronto for Christmas along with some of our nieces and nephews. My wife Tillie and John's wife Marie are organizing the event with everyone staying at our houses. Tillie will cook a big Christmas Eve dinner after which we will listen to the Dukes play Boston on the radio. Then Christmas turkey dinner will be at John's after most of us go to watch an afternoon game at Dominion Gardens when the Dukes host the Shamrocks. Marie and Tilley have been organizing this for months at last count there will be 33 total, we all wish there were 2 more, Rufus and Alice.

RECENT KEY RESULTS

• In Washington DC on Thursday, 24-year-old middleweight contender Bill Boggs ran his record to 20-2-1 with a unanimous decision over Bobby Hinkle.
• Saturday in Atlanta Lewis Jones was handed his second straight defeat. The 24-year-old, who was knocked out in October in a title shot against Hector Sawyer, did not heed repeated warnings for various infractions in his duel with Tommy Cline and was disqualified by referee Gary Rosato in the 9th round of what had been a real battle between the young contenders. Cline, who recently turned 25, improves to 20-2 with the victory, and he was slightly ahead on all three judges' cards at the time of the disqualification.

UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS

• Dec 28- Union City, NJ - MW contender Tommy Campbell (22-3-1) vs Rip Rogers (20-3)
• Dec 29- Memphis, TN - Former HW challenger Roy Crawford (30-4) vs Cannon Cooper (28-4-1)
• Dec 30- Syracuse, NY- MW Davis Owens (20-0) vs Jim Ward (21-3)
• Dec 31- Brooklyn, NY - HW Scott "The Chef" Baker (20-4-3) vs Barry Scott (18-5)
• Feb 18- Keystone Arena, Philadelphia- World Heavyweight champ Hector Sawyer (62-3-1) defends his title against Englishman Ben Budgeford (21-1)

• The United States, Britain and Canada have virtually completed broad outlines for a new partnership in the development of atomic energy and atomic bombs.
• Dr. Harold Urey, an atomic scientist, attacked the House Committee on Un-American Activities for listening to a "wild tale" about shipment of atomic materials to Russia years ago, declaring it is far more important for this Government to act immediately to ward off a third world war that would last 10 years.
• The former commanding General of the Army Air Force says he believes another war is far off- and preventable. H.H. Arnold says with all of the new death-dealing and destructive capabilities of modern war implements available to mankind, it will make all nations shudder at the very thought of another war.
• Israel Premier David Ben-Gurion arrived in Jerusalem to set up his government in the disputed Holy City in defiance of a United Nations plan for internationalization.
• The State Department cautioned all American ships to avoid the port of Shanghai as a danger zone. The port is held by Chinese Communists and blockaded by Chinese Nationalist gunboats and destroyers.
• Britain's Protestant churches called on the government to place drastic restrictions on all forms of gambling, one of the nation's multi-million-dollar industries.
• United States Steel Corp. raised its steel prices about $4 a ton on Friday with other top basic steel producers expected to follow the leader. However, congressional investigators are trying to head of a general steel price increase because they say it threatens the economy.
  
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December 26, 1949
 

DECEMBER 26, 1949

BOBBY B AND GRID WILDCATS ARE DECADE'S BEST

Keystones Slugger Barrell and Chicago Wildcats: Athlete and Team of the Decade

To usher in the start of the 1950s and recognize the first full decade of weekly editions of This Week in Figment Sports (established in 1936) we decided to select the most successful player and team of the 1940s. There was much internal debate but in the end the winners, in our opinion, are Bobby Barrell of the Philadelphia Keystones as the top player of the 1940s and the AFA's Chicago Wildcats as the best team.

We bounced back and forth on our selection of Barrell but in the end The Georgia Jolter was our pick, narrowly edging out The Cajun Crusher, heavyweight boxer Hector Sawyer. Others were briefly considered, most notably basketball's Ivory Mitchell, who was a first team all-star 9 times in the past decade and 7 times was named the playoff MVP in either the American Basketball Conference or, after that league's demise, the Federal Basketball League. Other candidates included Tommy Hart of the Boston Bees, who helped lead his club to 5 Challenge Cup wins and scored over 500 points in the decade to lead all NAHC players. Consideration was also given to Kansas City Cowboys quarterback Pat Chappell. Chappell got a late start in the decade, not turning pro until 1946 but he was a two-time Continental Football Conference player of the year in leading the Cowboys to the first two CFC titles and reaching the championship game in the third season. Being a basketball All-American selection and a very successful football and baseball star at St Magnus prior to turning pro also aided Graham's cause.

Each of those were impressive but the choice really came down to Barrell or Sawyer. Sawyer spent nearly the entire decade as world heavyweight champ, knocking out German strongman Jochen Schrotter in the 15th and final round of their title fight on January 15, 1940, and never looking back. There was a nearly five year hiatus because of the war where boxing, aside from military exhibitions nearly completely shut down, but Sawyer made up for lost time with 14 successful title defenses including his latest, a 13th round TKO of Lewis Jones in October. The champ is now 62-3-1 for his career and has never lost in his 13 title defenses. In fact, he has never really been in danger of losing while taking on all comers in the heavyweight division. Now 35 years old, Sawyer does not seem ready to retire just yet and may be set on breaking 1920's welterweight George Grainger's record of 16 title defenses without a loss.

Sawyer supporters can make an impressive case, but Bobby Barrell rewrote the FABL record book with what is considered the greatest on the field sports story of the decade - his pursuit and breaking of Max Morris' single season homerun record in 1947. Barrell hit 64, beating by 4 the standard established by Mighty Mo fourteen years earlier. That was just the peak of Barrell's impressive decade. He won the Triple Crown twice, led the Federal Association in homeruns five times and with 367 homers this decade he joined Morris as the only players to hit more than 600 round-trippers in their career. Barrell also won 4 Whitney Awards this decade and helped the Philadelphia Keystones win two pennants and the 1945 World Championship Series.

It is a tough call and always difficult to compare athletes in sports that are so different from one another but for our money the most accomplished athlete of the 1940s is Bobby Barrell.

*** In Age of Parity, Wildcats Stand Out ***

When trying to identify the team of the decade it is interesting to see how few really stood out from the pack and our choice of the one football team that did stand out was only made because they won another title last week. Up until the Chicago Wildcats beat the Philadelphia Frigates just over a week ago, we were debating the merits of a pair of hockey teams. Hockey in the 1940's had two of dominant clubs in the Boston Bees and Toronto Dukes as each won 5 Challenge Cups in the past ten years. The Bees never finished lower than in second place any season during the decade and boasted a star studded offense led by what in its prime was the most dangerous trio in the sport in the line of Tommy Hart, Wilbur Chandler and Waldemar Rupp with Joe Morey replacing Rupp late in the decade. Boston also had the best team defense in the league, a factor that contributed to three different Bees goaltenders in Tom Brockers, Pierre Melancon and Oscar James all winning at least one Juneau Trophy as the loop's top netminder. The Boston Bees were TWIFB's choice for the team of the decade until Ricky McCallister and the Chicago Wildcats pulled off some magic, scoring 14 points in the final two minutes to beat the Philadelphia Frigates and win their 4th American Football Association Championship in the past ten years.

Before their recent heroics the Wildcats did get some attention from us but the feeling was the Boston Bees, and Toronto, were just a little bit ahead. The Wildcats were winners of the AFA title in 1941,1943 and 1948 and participants in the title game on three other occasions including their comeback win Philadelphia Frigates a little over a week ago. The Wildcats are led by legendary coach Carl Boon and in their prime had an outstanding quarterback in Gus Brown. Age is catching up to Brown, but former St Blane Christian Trophy winner Ricky McCallister has filled in seamlessly and the Wildcats had a 79-31 regular season record this decade to go along with a 4-2 mark in AFA Championship games. They did have back-to-back 5-5 seasons in 1944 and 1945 but the Wildcats never lost more games than they won in any season this decade and now they will begin the 1950s as back-to-back defending American Football Conference champions.

There were some other teams we considered but none were from the college ranks despite some strong Rome State and St Blane teams as no collegiate football team won more than two national titles. On the diamond parity seemed to be the word of the decade with no team really standing out. The Cincinnati Cannons come closest in our books from the baseball teams as the Cannons, transplanted from Baltimore after an awful final decade in that city, immediately became contenders once they moved to the Queen City. Led by a talented core of homegrown young stars like Deuce Barrell, Jim Hensley and Fred Galloway, and augmented through the years with veteran additions such as Moxie Pidgeon, Al Wheeler, Adam Mullins, Tom Barrell, Tom Bird, Gail Gifford and even the great Rabbit Day the Cannons were immediate contenders in the Continental Association. They finished just 4 games out in 1940 after six straight last place finishes and were a first division club for 8 straight years including 3 consecutive pennants beginning in 1943 and World Championship Series titles the first two of those years. In 1947 with an aging roster, they made another strong run but fell just one game short of the Philadelphia Sailors.

Basketball did give us the Brooklyn Red Caps and 6 playoff titles as the Red Caps won 5 times in the last 9 years of the now defunct American Basketball Conference as well as being crowned champs of the Federal Basketball League last spring but because for much of the decade the sport was not truly recognized as a big-time major league, we will omit the Red Caps from consideration. An argument might be made for the Rainier College cagers as the Majestics won 3 National Tournament titles over the past decade but in the end, they fell short on our list as do the St Blane and Rome State football teams despite their on-field success.

The Continental Football Conference's Kansas City Cowboys have been dominant with 3 titles and a finals appearance in the four years of the league, but they are also excluded from consideration because the league did not form until 1946. Which left us with the Chicago Wildcats, winners of 4 AFA titles in the 1940's as our team of the decade.

GRID WIDLCATS NO STRANGERS TO DRAMATIC FINISHES

The fact that it came down to the final play of the game for the Chicago Wildcats to prevail over the Philadelphia Frigates in the American Football Association championship game should come as no surprise if the Wildcats recent history of title matchups is taken in to account. The Wildcats played in the title game six times this decade and three of those games had the winning score registered in the final two minutes of the game.

Just over a week ago it was a pair of Ricky McCallister touchdown passes including the game winning strike to Tom Gipson with no time left on the clock that provided the margin of victory in a 28-27 victory over the Philadelphia Frigates. The Wildcats 1948 win over the Stars and their loss to the Stars two years earlier were both lobsided scores, but the 1944 Wildcats win over the Boston Americans had a dramatic comeback for a 21-20 victory.

In the '44 title game Gus Brown completed three passes for 64 yards in the final minute to lift the Wildcats to a one point win a year after the Americans staged a dramatic comeback of their own. That would be in the 1943 game when Eric Balfour kicked a 35-yard field goal with 1:56 left in regulation to give the Americans a 24-21 victory. Balfour's boot came just a few minutes after Boston's Jim Faircloth recovered a Chicago fumble and returned it for a touchdown to tie the game at 21.

Those two games pale in comparison to the 1941 title game. It was a defensive struggle between the Wildcats and the New York Stars that remained scoreless until Gus Brown scrambled for a 7-yard touchdown late in the third period. A Chicago fumble set up the tying score for the Stars early in the fourth quarter and it looked like we might see the first overtime game in AFA history. That was not to be as Brown drove the Wildcats 55 yards in the final two minutes to set up Eddie Andrews game winning 12-yard field goal as the clock expired to give the Wildcats a 10-7 victory.

HALEY UNSUNG HERO OF WILDCATS CHAMPIONSHIP VICTORY

Quarterback Ricky McCallister may have been selected as the Most Valuable Player of the recent American Football Association championship game, but it is hard to imagine the Chicago Wildcats would have completed their dramatic 28-27 victory without the exploits of veteran end Milt Haley.

The 34-year-old Haley is part of a slowly vanishing breed: a two-way player who made an impact on both sides of the ball in the title game. His dramatic 49-yard catch and run with less than a minute remaining left the Wildcats on the Frigates 6 yard line and was instrumental in the game winning touchdown. Haley also caught two touchdown passes on the afternoon including an 8-yarder with just under 2 minutes remaining to draw the Wildcats within 6 points. He also added 5 tackles on defense.

Undrafted after a stellar career as a two-sport athlete at Bayou State, Haley nearly ended up trying his hand at professional baseball instead of football. That would be in the spring of 1940 when the Houston Bulls of the then independent Lone Star Association had offered the Little Rock, AR. native a contract to play for them that summer. He would have received $300 a month but just before reporting Haley received a call from Chicago Wildcats legendary coach Carl Boon, who offered him $300 a game to play for the Wildcats.

He joined the Wildcats for the 1940 season and was on the field for their championship game win over the New York Stars in 1941. That would be his last football game for three years as Haley joined the Army Air Corps and flew 30 combat missions, winning the Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal. After the war he returned to the Wildcats and has been with the club ever since.

HARRIMAN NAMED TOP GRID PERFORMER

The record setting season of Monte Harriman left little doubt as to who would be named the player in the American Football Association for 1949. Monte Harriman, an undrafted second year end out of Sunnyvale, rewrote the receiving record book during a stellar campaign with the Washington Wasps. Harriman smashed Stan Vaught's old single season mark for catches with 101 and touchdown grabs with 23 while also surpassing for Wasps end Johnny Douglas receiving yardage mark by nearly 200 yards as Harriman became the first player to top 1,400 yards receiving. Just for good measure, his 138 points was also a new AFA scoring record, erasing the legendary Vaught's name from yet another mark.

Harriman's quarterback, vetern Bob Krohn, was also named to the all-star team after Krohn smashed Del Thomas' two year old single season touchdown mark with 33 scoring throws. Below is the complete list of 1949 American Football Association All-Stars.
No team has done more this off-season to try and change the string of struggles than the Chicago Cougars and their latest deal adds another veteran in outfielder John Moss. The Cougars had earlier added what they hope is the answer to their shoddy record in 1-run games with a deal to bring in veteran relief pitcher David Molina from the Philadelphia Sailors and now they have added what may well be the best defensive outfielder in the game today in former Brooklyn Kings centerfielder John Moss. This deal follows up two separate deals that moved veterans Carlos Montes and Walt Pack to the Chicago Chiefs for prospects.

The Moss deal see three young Cougars prospects heading to Brooklyn. The trio is highlighted by 24-year-old lefthander Ron Berry, who 12-3 with a 2.62 era at AAA Milwaukee last season. A 1944 7th round choice, Berry is 3-1 in 4 Cuban League starts this winter. Joining Berry in heading to Brooklyn are 22-year-old southpaw Dutch Yoak, a 1945 second round selection who had a strong 13-2 showing at Lincoln after an early season promotion to Class A, along with 24-year-old AAA second baseman Tom Brownleaf who was originally drafted in the 8th round in 1943. The Cougars will also receive 19-year-old shortstop Jack Moore, who spent last season with the Class B Tampa Cigar Kings after being selected in the 8th round of the 1948 draft.

JIGGS McGEE's TAKE While it was no secret that the Kings wanted to move on from Moss, dealing him to the Chicago Cougars is a bit of a head scratcher. The Cougars have been and quite likely will be a contender for the Continental crown for quite some time and adding one of the best outfield gloves in the game (and a pretty good bat) in Moss will only make the stronger...and harder for a club like Brooklyn to surpass.

Yes, there is a glut of outfield talent in the borough, but Johnny Reb is coming off a season in which he led the CA in doubles and topped all centerfielders in range and zone rating. Berry has the making of a pretty good starter, probably not an ace but certainly a good number two guy and the Kings rotation looks deep with the young lefthander expected to join Bob Arman, Leo Hayden and Joe Potts so it is not a bad deal for Brooklyn. I just hate the idea of making your main rival - and yes, I know the Cougars have won nothing in recent years, but they are still clearly the best team in the CA- better without forcing them to give up a key piece. Berry was expendable because, as good as he may turn out to be, the Cougars are loaded on the mound. Now, with Moss joining Sal Pestilli and Leo Mitchell as the likely outfield trio they are even more imposing.
So far in the off-season from a disappointing 1949 season, the Brooklyn Kings have been fairly quiet. They picked up a couple of players in the Rule 5 draft but other than that it had been relatively quiet from the Kings office. Down at the Winter Meetings King's GM DD Martin said "We had some interesting discussions and while we have not made any moves yet, we are involved in several very active discussions". Well the "active discussions" have finally produced some fruit. The Kings traded All-Star CF John Moss to the rival Chicago Cougars in a 5-player deal. Now Moss is a 2-time All-Star and is pretty much the consensus pick as the top defensive centerfielder in the FABL. Why would the Kings part with him? Simple, they haven't been able to put together what they feel is a pitching staff that can get them into contention. Did this deal, produce what the Kings have been searching for?

The centerpiece of the deal is for 24-year-old SP Ron Berry (LHSP). Berry is the Cougars #3 prospect and #34 overall as rated by the OSA. He was 12-3 with a 2.62 ERA with the AAA Milwaukee Blues. Being young, left handed and a quality starting pitcher is exactly what the King's have been looking for. The scouts also like Berry with the King's John Spears chiming in that the former 7th round choice in the 1944 draft projects to be a #2 type starting pitcher. "He projects to have a repertoire that include a swing and miss slider, a swing and miss changeup, a quality curveball and an average fastball. Everyone raves about his big time stuff."

So why did the Cougars deal him if he is so highly thought of? Well, the Cougars have arguably the best rotation in baseball and especially the Continental Association. There just wasn't room for him and they have another even more highly thought of prospect than Berry. But the Cougars who on paper year in and year out have the best team in the CA, simply have not put it all together and won many pennants. So Moss fills a role that they hope will solidify a great pitching staff and pretty good offense, with the best defensive CF around. The Kings also sent the Cougars 19-year-old 2B/SS Jack Moore from their Class B club.

The Kings also received infielder Tom Brownleaf who will like be a utility infielder for them next season and could be asked to be a starting middle infielder if needed. Brownleaf hit .317 with AAA Milwaukee last season. The Kings also added another lefthanded pitching prospect in Dutch Yoak who was 13-2 with a 2.55 ERA in Class A ball. Yoak was a 2nd round pick in the 1945 draft that has not lived up to the expectations that could along with being drafted that high. But the King's think maybe he has a chance to put things together and they will work with him. Spears notes "His stuff is good and should continue to play as he develops."

One question will be who will start in CF for the Kings next spring. One obvious answer is highly thought of prospect Charlie Rogers who at age 20 has had a rapid rise through the organization. He has struggled a bit in Cuba this winter with the bat but he is the reason the King's felt that they could deal Moss. Rogers is more of a lead-off type hitter with great speed and while he is not considered as good as Moss defensively, he is still very good on defense. Another option if Rogers isn't deemed ready would be moving All-Star and 2-time Whitney Award winner RF Ralph Johnson to CF. Johnson came up as a CF, but is better suited to play a corner. But he could cover CF if Rogers needed more time.

The King's tend to make deals in bunches and whether or not any other will be as big as this is hard to say. But the odds are we are not done seeing deals from Brooklyn as we head into the run up to Spring Training. But first the club has the Draft Lottery and the first 10 rounds of the 1950 draft next month. But don't be surprised if another trade or two is discussed and finalized.

COUGARS HOPING WINTER MOVES END TITLE DROUGHT

The Chicago Cougars have already announced that they are throwing in all the chips for the 1950 season. After another year of finishing runner-up, the Cougars made a statement by adding pen ace David Molina in a five player deal with the Philadelphia Sailors.

They then doubled down by trading for John Moss.

The 28-year-old former King is considered to be the best defensive outfielder in all of FABL, and was the only qualified center fielder this season to post at least a 13.0 zone rating or a 1.030 efficiency. He's also the only qualified player in the past three seasons to have at least a 20 zone rating or a 1.045 efficiency. And he's done it all three seasons.

Not only is "Johnny Reb" a skilled gloveman, the 28-year-old can hold his own at the plate. He led the Continental Association in plate appearances (705) and doubles (39) while hitting .271 with 11 homers and 74 RBIs. A disciplined hitter, he drew 98 walks to just 53 strikeouts, and produced a 117 WRC+. This was his third season as the Kings everyday center fielder, and he's owned a .258/.363/.376 (103 OPS+) batting line in 500 FABL games. He's been worth nearly twenty (19.1) wins above replacement while gathering 114 doubles, 236 RBIs, 281 runs, and 293 walks. The 1947 All-Star will be a welcomed addition to the Cougars lineup, and his defensive prowess should benefit flyball pitchers Duke Bybee (14-12, 3.99, 96) and Pete Papenfus (13-12, 150), and third year starter George Oddo (8-7, 3.97, 105) has had some flyball issues early on.

The biggest part of this deal might be that Sal Pestilli will play his first FABL game at a position that isn't center fielder. Other then pinch hit opportunities, Pestilli has only played in the center outfield, and even 33 he had a 12.5 zone rating and 1.029 efficiency. But he'll be 34 on Opening Day, and it's only a matter of time before he'd have to move to a corner. That will be right, which vastly improves the Cougars defense. With the top two center fielders now in center and right, Leo Mitchell will be protected in left, allowing many more flyballs to find the glove and not the grass. Cougars Park is one of the smallest CA stadiums, and with Moss and Pestilli shagging fly balls, it may be hard to do anything other then homer when you deal with the Windy City Kitties.

The headline of the package is young southpaw Ron Berry, who is currently pitching for the Santa Clara Stallions of the Cuban Winter League. Currently ranked as the 36th best prospect and six ranked among pitchers, Berry went 12-3 with the AAA Milwaukee Blues, working to a 2.62 ERA (155 ERA+) and 1.20 WHIP with 55 walks and 116 strikeouts in 158 innings pitched. In the winter, he had a nice 2-hit, 9-strikeout shutout of the Havana Sharks, but was recently hit hard in a three homer loss to the Holguin Hawks. Berry is currently 3-2 with a save in 5 starts and a relief outing, and he owns a 4.66 ERA (94 ERA+) and 1.29 WHIP with 19 walks and 32 strikeouts. Most teams would balk at parting with a potential ace like Berry, but the Cougars are deep with top pitching both in Chicago and on the farm.

Coming along with Berry is former 2nd Rounder Dutch Yoak and and soon-to-be 25-year-old infielder Tom Brownleaf. Yoak, 22, is best known for his pitching in high school, where he went 35-0 in his last three seasons at La Porte. He spent 17 of his 23 starts this year in Class A Lincoln and went 13-2 with a 2.55 ERA (154 ERA+), 1.04 WHIP, and 41 strikeouts. Brownleaf split his time between AA and AAA, posting WRC+ of 147 and 143 while making starts at second, third, and short. He was added to the 40 to avoid a selection in the Rule-5 draft, and will compete for a bench role in Brooklyn. The Cougars got a prospect back as well, adding 19-year-old infielder Jack Moore, a 19-year-old middle infielder who hit .326/.379/.474 (111 OPS+) in 69 games for the Class B Tampa Cigar Kings.

THINGS LOOKING UP IN MONTREAL?

The Montreal Valiants have had their struggles this season highlighted by a 7-game winless skid in which they had their struggles both with scoring goals and keeping pucks out of their net. However, things might be on the upswing as the Vals have claimed 9 points in their last seven games on 3 wins, 3 ties and just a single loss. Montreal fans are hoping this might forecast a complete reversal of past fortunes for the club.

Two years ago, the Valiants had a strong start to the season and were challenging for top spot in the NAHC until a terrible swoon starting in mid-December sent the team reeling and they finished in 5th. A year ago, they never seemed to get untracked and once more finished in 5th place, missing the playoffs for the third year in a row.

The key to any sort of a playoff push in Montreal lands squarely at the feet of Tom Brockers. The veteran goaltender was acquired from Boston a year ago at quite the cost, with the hopes that it would add stability in the Montreal net. Brockers struggled his first season with the Vals and has had mixed results this year but three consecutive solid outings in a pair of ties with New York and a 1-0 win over Detroit -which has the most prolific offense in the league this season- bodes well for the near future.

The Valiants are 11 points back of the co-leaders in Detroit and Toronto but are just 4 points out of a playoff spot as the Chicago Packers, who currently reside in fourth, have hit a bit of a slump of their own. If the Valiants are going to get into the postseason and end their three year playoff drought it will almost assuredly require a big second half of the season from Tom Brockers.

Brockers broke into the NAHC as a 23-year-old with the Boston Bees in the fall of 1938. The Calgary native enjoyed immediate success, posting a 31-12-0 mark and a league best 1.86 goals against average. Those numbers were good enough to help Boston finish the regular season in first place and earn Brockers both the Juneau Trophy as top goaltender and the McDaniels Trophy as NAHC rookie of the year. The magic did not continue in the playoffs as Boston was swept by second place Detroit in the opening round.

Two years later Brockers and the Bees would win the Challenge Cup, starting a three year run with Brockers being named top goaltender each season and the Bees winning three titles. In 1945, with Pierre Melanson pushing for playing time in the Boston net, Brockers was moved to the Brooklyn Eagles. The Eagles had won only 6 games in the two previous seasons combined and continued to struggle with Brockers in net. They did improve in Brockers final season with the club, but poor attendance caused the team to fold following the 1946-47 season and Brockers returned to Boston after the Bees selected him in the dispersal draft. A year later with Melanson and a youngster by the name of Oscar James in the mix, the Bees felt Brockers was expendable and dealt the now 33-year-old to Montreal in exchange for veteran defenseman Bryant Williams and Brockers is now in his first full season with the Valiants.

DAILY NAHC RESULTS FROM LAST WEEK

WEDNESDAY DECEMBER 21

Chicago 2 at Boston 2: After a scoreless opening period at Denny Arena the two clubs traded goals in both the second and third frames. Chicago opened the scoring on a Jarrett McGlynn power play tally just 41 seconds into the second frame but Garrett Kauffeldt, also with the man advantage, equalized things for Boston. Mike Van Tol put Chicago ahead early in the third, but Wilbur Chandler tied it with his 11th of the season.

Detroit 6 at Toronto 4:The top two clubs in the NAHC had a high scoring battle at Dominion Gardens. A 3-0 lead after twenty minutes proved key for the visitors in claiming the 6-3 win. Marsh Spencer led the way for Detroit with 3 points, a total equaled by both Lou Galbraith and Bobbie Sauer of the Dukes.

New York 2 at Montreal 2: Grifin Dufrense with his first NAHC goal and Samuel Coates staked New York to an early 2-0 lead but the Valiants battled back to earn the tie on goals from Robert Stevens and Isaac Finnson.

SATURDAY DECEMBER 24

Montreal 3 at New York 3: A rematch of Wednesday's meeting but the result is the same as the Valiants and Shamrocks skate to a 3-3 draw. Geoff Hartnell, Simon Savard and Orval Cabbell scored for the Shamrocks while the Montreal marksmen were Ian Doyle, Pat Coulter and John McDonald.

Toronto 4 at Boston 2: A 3-goal outburst in the third period lifted the Dukes to a 4-2 victory over the Bees despite being outshot 36-20 in the game. Lou Galbraith scored twice to pace the Toronto attack including the game winner. Luke Brisebois and Herb Burdette, with an empty netter, were the other Toronto goal scorers while Mark Dyck and Garrett Kauffeldt were the only Bees to solve Toronto netminder Gordie Broadway.

SUNDAY DECEMBER 25

Boston 5 at Chicago 2: A busy Christmas day saw all six teams in action with the Boston Bees riding a fast start in which they exploded for 3 goals in less than 4 minutes in the opening period and went on to beat Chicago 5-2, leaving the Packers winless in their last 4 outings. Maxime Rheault scored twice and added an assist for the Bees while Jacob Gron had a goal and two helpers. Chicago was forced to give backup goaltender Michael Cleghorn a rare start after Norm Hanson was forced to miss the contest with an eye infection.

Detroit 0 at Montreal 1: Goals were hard to come by on this evening as Tom Brockers and Millard Touhey kept the game scoreless for over 57 minutes. A late powerplay goal by Arlen Doherty proved the difference in the 1-0 Valiants triumph. The Detroit loss ends the Motors three-game winning streak while the Vals are now unbeaten in 4.

New York 3 at Toronto 2: With Detroit losing in Montreal, the Toronto Dukes had a chance to take over sole possession of first place in the NAHC but the Shamrocks had other plans. Third period goals from Trevor Hooton and Geoff Hartnell lifted the visitors to a 3-2 victory after the Dukes had led 2-0 until midway through the second stanza.

DUKES STUMBLE OVER CHRISTMAS

If the Toronto Dukes were expecting a sack full of wins from Santa Claus under the tree they were disappointed after going 1-2 during the week.

The week began with an anticipated matchup against the Detroit Motors in a battle for top spot in the NAHC. A holiday crowd of almost 15,000 filled Dominion Gardens on Wednesday for the game. Hopes turned to horrors as the visiting Motors were dominant from the opening faceoff. In a first period where the puck never seemed to leave the Toronto end, the Motors jumped to a 3-0 lead on goals by Ben Witt, Francis McKenzie and Nick Tardif outshooting the Dukes 17-3 and silencing the large crowd.

The rout continued when before the middle period was a minute old Lou Barber made 4-0. Credit to the Dukes who seemed to wake from their slumber after the chorus of boos from the crowd. Toronto started to stage a comeback when J.C. Martel scored at 3:16 on a goal in which Captain Bobby Sauer picked up his 15th helper of the campaign. That spark allowed the team to close the gap to 4-3 before the second intermission on two goals by Lou Galbraith in the last 5 minutes of the frame. Many in the crowd were now anticipating the Dukes coming back again to salvage at least a point but they had their hopes were crushed just past the halfway mark of the third when Hank Walsh beat Broadway followed quickly Marsh Spencer just two minutes later putting the game away for Detroit. Barrell lifted Broadway after giving up 6 on 31 shots. Quinton Pollack, playing despite a leg injury, made it 6-4 with a goal on the power play as a dejected crowd filed out of the Gardens.

Denny Arena was hosted to spirited game between the host Boston Bees and Dukes on Christmas Eve. In a penalty filled first Galbraith put the Dukes up with the man advantage assisted by Les Carlson and Bobbie Sauer. The teams settled down a little in the second to play some fast skating, hard hitting hockey with less stick work. Boston's Mark Dyck brought the crowd to its feet when tied the game at 1 on a pretty setup by Robert Walker. The game remained deadlocked until Luke Brisebois made it 2-1 with his 2nd of the year at 7:36. The home side stormed back to tie when Garrett Kauffeldt knocked the disc past Broadway at 10:26. Lou Galbraith turned out to be the hero for the Dukes with his second goal of the game, his 4th of the week, at 15:26. With Pierre Melancon on the bench for extra attacker Herb Burdette scored an empty netter to make the final 4-2.

After a quick turnaround the team returned home to face the visitors from New York on Christmas day. A surprisingly less than capacity crowd bolstered by upwards of 30 Barrells in town for the holidays hosted by Jack and Fred witnessed another high-spirited affair. The home side opened the scoring when Herb Burdette scored from Sauer, again, and Les Carlson at 13:37. The teams retreated to their dressing rooms with the Dukes up 1. Toronto doubled the lead when Frank Featherstone was sent in alone on Alex Sorrell on a feed from Charlie Brown with Jim Macek in the box. Shamrocks clawed their back into the chippy affair when Alexandre Lapalme was left alone in front of Russell on passes from Joe Martin and Trevor Hooton. The Dukes fell into the age-old trap of trying to protect a one goal lead in the third. Hooten tied the game at 2:07 went an innocent shot seemed to deflect off a Toronto defender to find its way past Russell. The Dukes could not seem to generate any sustained pressure for the remainder of the game. Another shot from distance by Geoff Hartnell eluded Russell while Martel was off, this proved to be the winner as the Shamrocks celebrated Christmas in Canada with a win 3-2.

Coach Barrell: "Disappointing week, when are we going to learn we have to play our game against Detroit not play their style? The crowd was right to boo us, and it seemed to bring a little life into the team. We played our game after going down 4, then for some reason let the Motors dictate the again in third. Playing one period out of three is not going work in this league. You can tell that there is no love lost between us and Boston. That was nasty affair in which we managed to escape with the two points. Christmas Day, we gave the game away to the Shamrocks by going into a shell rather than keeping the pace up. I know quite a few players had family, relatives in for the holidays, many of them at the two games. I am sure they are all disappointed in their play in the two losses. Pollack played the Detroit game basically on one leg. I had no choice but to sit him out on the weekend. Hopefully he can go either Wednesday in Montreal or in Detroit Saturday. The good thing is we are still tied with Detroit though they two in hand. Hit the halfway point next week, this week proved we still have a lot of things to work on going forward."

• Finally some good news for the woeful St Louis Steamers. No, they did not win a game as the expansion Steamers are now 0-21 after losing 74-59 to Buffalo on Friday evening. The good news is that first overall draft pick Cyril Worley was back in the lineup for St Louis. The former St Blane star forward missed 17 games with a hernia and is still not quite at 100% but he did play 20 minutes Friday evening. Worley scored just 2 points but did have 6 rebounds in the game. He played just 3 games, including a 14-point effort against Philadelphia the game before he went down with his injury.
• The Brooklyn Red Caps may be starting to come around. The defending FBL champs and most dominating team in the old ABC had a shaky start to the campaign at 5-9 but since then they have reeled off 6 straight wins and are starting to climb back up to their familiar haunt near the top of the standings. It is important to note that their only win against a contending team was the first of that streak against Buffalo, when the Red Caps held Larry Yim to just 13 points. Three of the other five wins were over Hartford with Toronto and Syracuse being the other Brooklyn victims.
• Philadelphia still leads the East Division at 14-4 but only by percentage points over Washington. The Phantoms lost at home to Baltimore on Christmas Eve and have lost twice to the Barons in their last four games. Baltimore likely wishes every game could be against the Phantoms right now as the Barons are in a bit of a slump with just 3 wins in their last 8 outings. Washington missed a chance to take over first place after the Statesmen, who led nearly the entire game, fell 83-82 at home to Harford thanks to a pair of free throws from Lionel Rice in the final stages of their Christmas Eve meeting.
• The Phantoms and Statesmen are basically matching records at the top of the East Division with each going 8-2 in their last 10. The Phantoms are due some home games, going 6-1 at home, but 11 of 18 have been played away from Philadelphia.
• Looking at teams that were at least relevant who have fallen off, what about the Boston Centurions? They still score, sitting third in scoring at 90.6 per game, but their defense is atrocious. Boston allows 93.2 points per game, which is the worst in the league by a country mile.
• Detroit continues to set the pace in the West Division as the Mustangs had back to back wins in Baltimore and at hope to Chicago late last week. Ward Messer had 22 points and 27 rebounds in a 93-75 victory over the Barons Thursday night and 24 hours later it was Jack Kurtz taking charge with 31 points in the Mustangs 98-74 laugher over the Panthers.

• A British military court sentenced former Field Marshal Erich Von Manstein to 18 years in prison for atrocities against Poles and Russians committed by German troops during the war. He was the last of Hitler's generals to be tried by the Allies.
• The president of the United Nations Assembly has proposed a temporary armistice in the production and use of atomic weapons. He stressed his plan is only an interim measure in hopes of halting an arms race between the United States and Russia for atomic supremacy.
• General MacArthur called for independent investigation of the fate of 376,000 missing Japanese war prisoners captured by the Russians after the Soviets walked out of the Allied Council for Japan meetings. This was followed by a renewed Russian charge that the United States was assisting the revival of Japanese fascism.
• Russia also claimed that the Japanese waged bacteriological warfare in China in 1940 with airborne fleas, and that the Japanese next step was to direct the germ assault against the Soviet Union.
• Official election returns in Bulgaria showed 99 percent of votes cast for the Communist-dominated Fatherland Front, which was the only option available on the ballots.
• Unknown plotters laid a huge dynamite bomb at the international headquarters of the United Auto Workers but it failed to go off and was removed by police.
  
  https://i.imgur.com/cZ2o82v.jpeg

January 2, 1950
 

JANUARY 2, 1950

LAST SECOND FIELD GOAL FALLS SHORT FOR ST IGNATIUS

Lancers Lose 27-26 to Tempe College in Desert Classic

The busy slate of collegiate classic games, pushed back one day in all cases but one due to New Year's Day falling on a Sunday, promise a full meal today after the action opened with a tasty appetizer in El Paso yesterday. The lone New Year's Sunday game was not short on excitement, as a thrilling back and forth contest went down to the wire before Tempe College, runners-up behind Texas Panhandle in the Southern Border Association, squeaked out a 27-26 triumph over a determined St Ignatius eleven.

The Lancers, who shocked St Blane for the second year in a row with a November upset victory, entered the contest with an 8-1 record and were ranked #6 in the country. They lived up to that billing early when backs John Granger and Steve Cinnamond each scored first period touchdowns and at the break the Michigan school led 16-10. However, a strong second half by the Titans allowed them to pull ahead early in the final period. Trailing 27-19, the Lancers cut the deficit to single point with a 79-yard scoring drive midway through the final period that ended with a 5-yard touchdown run from George Campbell behind the powerful blocking of All-American guard Ken Under wood. The Lancers defense held strong, and they got the ball back with just over 2 minutes remaining. As the clock expired, St Ignatius set up for a desperation 37-yard field goal that would have won the game, but George Miller's attempt sailed wide to the right of the uprights setting off a wild celebration by the Titans and the mostly pro-Tempe College crowd in El Paso.

There are 12 games on the docket for today highlighted by the East-West Classic between Northern California and Wisconsin State in Santa Ana. The other big game to keep an eye on is number one ranked and 10-0 Oklahoma City State facing Bayou State in the Lone Star Classic from Austin, Texas.

GOTHAMS BIG WINNERS IN FABL DRAFT LOTTERY

The New York Gothams will own the first overall selection when FABL clubs convene next week for the first ten rounds of the amateur ballplayer draft. The Gothams name was pulled out of the hat first in the weighted draft system that rewards non-pennant winners with extra opportunities for a high selection based on their improvement over the previous seasons results. The Gothams, who finished just a game behind the pennant winning Chicago Chiefs in the Federal Association, will kick off the draft proceedings with the number one choice. It will be the first time since 1932, when they selected college pitcher Curly Jones, that the Gothams have had the first overall pick.

The draft format alternates association's selecting first with the Federal Association getting top spot in even years and the Continental Association in odd years. The Philadelphia Sailors, who won back-to-back Continental flags in 1947 and 1948 but end up with the worst record in FABL last year at 62-92, defied the odds and were the first CA club out of the hat despite long odds. The Sailors will draft second in the format that alternates between Fed and CA clubs.

The lottery is used for each of the first two rounds and from rounds 3 to 25 the clubs continue to alternate leagues, but pick based on standings. The two pennant winners automatically pick 15th and 16th in all rounds. Here is the order for rounds one and two.

A similar weighted lottery is held for the second round and it was the Boston Minutemen who landed the first pick, at #17 overall. Both the Montreal Saints and Detroit Dynamos had the lottery gods smile upon them as the Saints will pick fourth in the opening round and second in round two while the Dynamos will select third in each of the opening two rounds. At the other end of the spectrum are the Toronto Wolves who ended up with the final lottery pick in each of the two rounds at #14. Do not feel too bad for the Wolves as they won the lottery and picked first overall both last year and in the 1947 draft.


With the 1950 FABL draft lottery completed and the draft just around the corner, we thought it would be a good time to revisit the mock first round first published in these pages back in August. There may have been some changes since then as savvy scouting directors take a closer look at the top talent available for this year's draft, but here is how we saw them -with a heavy assist to Dan Barrell and his staff at the OSA- as of last August. Note this is a word for word reprint of the assessment of the top 16 candidates at that time. (Hey, Jiggs can't do all of your scouting for you)

1- FRED LAINHART CF, Pandora (OH) HS, (.593,1,34): Number one in the "Way too Early Mock" a year ago, the Michigan born youngster hit .593 both last season and as a freshman. He was an All-American selection his debut season but only earned honourable mention status last year despite that batting average being the 8th and 9th highest all-time in the post-feeder era. OSA feels Lainhart has the "highest ceiling imaginable as an elite centerfielder."

2- BOB LONGSTRETH C, Opelika State (.277,6,38): There is a shortage of elite catching at the FABL level and that should help boost Longstreth's stock although it may not need much boosting as OSA says "with his talents the light of the 20-year-old Louisiana native's star could be blinding."

3- TOM DRILL LHP, Empire State (10-1, 1.71): Drill remains the top pitcher on our list but OSA has downgraded their assessment of the 20-year-old southpaw, noting the Philadelphia native has a ceiling of a #3 starter after calling him a "potential top of the rotation" arm a year ago.

4-ANDY ROBINSON 2B, Fredericksburg (VA) HS, (.517,3,28): OSA sees multiple all-star games in Robinson's future.

5- LES SASSON 2B, Conshohocken (PA) HS, (.500,4,33): It might be a tough choice come draft day for a club with a second base need at the top of its list. OSA sees both Sasson and Andy Robinson as future all-stars and does not differentiate much between them, nothing both have outstanding work ethic, will draw walks and each has above average speed.

6- EDDIE WEBB RHP, Reidsville(GA) HS (7-2, 1.34): A year ago, after his second straight 11-0 season at Reidsville High, OSA felt Eddie Webb could develop into a top of the rotation arm. He struggled a little with his control as a junior and while the scouting service still feels he is the best pitcher available in the draft, OSA has lowered Webb's ceiling to that of a "future number two starter." We are going to make him the second pitcher on our mock list behind Empire State's Tom Drill simply because high school arms are a bigger risk that college pitchers.

7- PAUL BAILEY CF, Wixom (MI) HS (.457,5,31): OSA is very high on the Detroit born youngster, tabbing him as a future all-star centerfielder.

8- ADAM RAMSEY 2B, Fremont State (.316,9,41): Fremont State is a lower level school out of Wyoming but Ramsey had a couple of strong seasons at the plate and OSA feels he can develop into an "above average second baseman someday."

9- SKINNY BENNETT C,Eastern Oklahoma (.263,5,22): Bennett will be hard pressed to become the top catcher drafted out of Eastern Oklahoma as that honour clearly belongs to Adam Mullins, the 11 time all-star who was selected 6th overall by Montreal in 1932. There is a real shortage of elite catchers in FABL right now and we feel that will help boost Bennett into top ten talk.

10- ELMER WALTERS SS, Bayou State (.269,2,40): The Cleveland native was a 1947 selection of the St Louis Pioneers but failed to see and instead joined Bayou State. OSA is very high on the 20-year-old, praising his outstanding range and a smooth swing, prompting the scouting service to suggest Walters could be an "above average shortstop someday."

11- BOB GRAY 3B, Northeast HS, Philadelphia, PA (.547,9,39): There have been some great infielders come out of Philadelphia the past few years including names like Jim Adams Jr., Tom Miller and John Wells -all of whom were first overall selections. It would likely be a stretch for Gray to go that high but he certainly seems a lock for being called in the first round. OSA feels Gray will develop into an elite starting third baseman as he matures.

12- RED MILTON RF, Southview HS, Lorain (OH) (.462,5,34): The Cleveland area youngster is expected to develop into an above average power hitter as he adds strength. His stats make him look more like a project right now but the scouting service feels Milton "has the talent to develop into a franchise cornerstone" as he matures.

13- PARSON ALLEN 3B, Chase City (VA) HS (.532,4,39): A three year starter at his high school, Allen has never hit below .500 in a season and OSA feels "his plus contact should translate into a solid big league batting average." It has not really been displayed yet, but the scouting service feels he has "tremendous power potential" and projects to be an "elite big league third baseman."

14- EARL HOWE CF, Cardinal Hayes HS, Brooklyn, NY (.504,14,49): If it was up to TWIFB, Howe would be much higher on the list. He is a two-time All-American and was a finalist for the Adwell Award as a junior.

15- OSCAR EDWARDS RHP, Crestview HS, Ashland, Ohio (10-1, 1.13): Born in Texas but he grew up in Ohio, Edwards did not make the scouting service list of top prospects a year ago but the groundball specialist is now considered a "fourth starter, and possibly more" by OSA.

16- ROY NASH 3B, Medway (MA) HS (.459,11,31): There are certainly some very highly touted high school third baseman in this draft and that might cause the New Hampshire native to drop outside of the first round despite being called a "franchise cornerstone" player by the scouting service.

AROUND THE LEAGUE

NAHC PLAYER POLL RESULTS RELEASED

The annual survey of NAHC players reveals that Tommy Burns is still at the top of his game. The Chicago Packers scoring star had his early season struggles this year but was named player of the month for December after a big month in which he had 9 goals and 11 assists. Burns was also named both the best and fastest skater in a recent poll of NAHC players. Here are the results of that poll.

DAILY NAHC RESULTS LAST WEEK

WEDNEDAY DECEMBER 28

Detroit 4 at Boston 2: Three quick goals in the second period allowed the Motors to pull away from the Boston Bees and claim a 4-2 victory on the road at Denny Arena. Vincent Arsenault had a goal and an assists for Detroit while Wilbur Chandler had the same stat line for the Bees.

New York 3 at Chicago 3: Bert McColley's goal with less than 3 minutes remaining in the game allowed the Chicago Packers to salvage a point against the Shamrocks.

Toronto 5 at Montreal 3: Bobbie Sauer and Les Carlson each had a goal and two helpers to pace the Dukes, who remain tied with Detroit for top spot in the NAHC heading into a home and home weekend series between the two rivals.

Montreal 4 at Chicago 5: Two goals in the final 63 seconds of the game lifted the Chicago Packers to a 5-4 comeback victory and setting off New Year's Eve celebrations at Lakeside Auditorium a couple of hours early. Mike Van Tol tied the game on a feed from Tommy Burns and with 23 seconds left in the contest Joe Fleming picked a perfect time for his second goal of the season. Burns, who would claim the player of the month award for December, finished the month off in five style with 2 goals and an assist while Adam Sandford had a hat trick in a losing cause for the Vals.

New York 1 at Boston 0: Simon Savard's powerplay goal midway through the third period accounted for all the scoring as the Shamrocks nipped the Bees 1-0. New York fired 34 shots on Boston goaltender Oscar James while Alex Sorrell, making his fifth consecutive start for New York, stopped all 26 shots directed his way.

Toronto 2 at Detroit 1: The Dukes won the first place showdown in the Motor City, pulling 2 points ahead of Detroit for top spot following a 2-1 victory. Lou Galbraith assisted on Les Carlson's goal in the opening frame and the scored with winner from Carlson and Quinton Pollack -who assisted on both- midway through the middle period. Graham Comeau was the only Motors player to beat Gordie Broadway, who stopped 32 shots in the Dukes net.

SUNDAY JANUARY 1

Boston 1 at New York 1: The 3 games to open the 1950 calendar year were the same matchups that closed out 1949 the day before. It was another low scoring affair between the Bees and Shamrocks with this one ending in a 1-1 tie at Bigsby Garden. Jocko Gregg gave the hosts a first period lead but Garrett Kuaffeldt tied the contest in the second frame with his 10th of the season.

Chicago 2 at Montreal 2:The outcome at the Montreal Arena was also a draw with the two clubs exchanging goals in both the second and third periods after a scoreless opening stanza. Following up his hat trick from the night before Adam Sandford notched his 15th of the season while Tommy Burns, with his 13th, was one of the Chicago scorers.

Detroit 0 at Toronto 2: Terry Russell gave Gordie Broadway a rare night off and the Dukes backup netminder was perfect, stopping all 28 shots in a 2-0 Toronto victory. The win increases the Dukes lead on second place Detroit to 4 points after Toronto swept both ends of their weekend home and home series. Les Carlson scored once and assisted on Trevor Parker's goal while Quinton Pollack had another 2-assist night.

DUKES ENTER THE FIFTIES ON A HOT STREAK

After a disappointing week over Christmas the Toronto hockey club ended the Forties and entered the Fifties with a bang: reeling off 3 straight wins including back-to-back over their archrivals from Detroit. A midweek trip into the neighbouring province was a reminder as to why Gordie Broadway is one of the, if not the, best goaltenders to ever to don the pads in the NAHC. The Vals took the lead before a home crowd of 14,475 on Adam Sanford's 11th of the year while on the power play setup by Nikolas Roch and Robert Stevens with just under 4 minutes to play in the first. Dukes were out shot 11-7 in the first in which Broadway was solid, but his best was still to come on this night.

In the second period Broadway turned away 28 of 29 shots including many of the spectacular variety with his glove that had Montreal shooters constantly shaking their heads looking skyward after Broadway again rob them of what appeared to be a sure goal. They only shot that got by him was a rebound tapped in by Pat Coulter after a wild goal mouth scramble. Even though the Dukes were hemmed in their own zone for extended periods of time they made the most of the opportunities on Tom Brockers.

Miraculously they entered the third with the game tied at 2. Bob Crone had tied the game at 1 with a snap shot from the Brockers' left hand faceoff circle that beat him going through the five hole. Following a Montreal marker, Philippe Dubois tied the game again in the last minute when he knocked in a rebound off a Sauer shot. Montreal players seemed to have a hard time getting over their chances in the second without scoring more than one. Things got worse when Trevor Parker gave the visitors the lead just 27 seconds into the final period. That was only Parker's 4th goal of the season, and he has spent a fair amount of time in Barrell's doghouse for his taking of ill advised penalties at critical junctures. The wind seemed to go completely out of the Vals sails when recently red hot Bobby Sauer notched his 12th, part of a 3-point night, on the power play making it 4-2. John McDonald. making up for his penalty on which the Dukes scored, closed the gap to one at 12:18. Les Carlson, who is leading the league in scoring with 17G-26A for 43 points, salted the game away at 17:27 making it a 5-3 victory Toronto.

On the last day of the decade Toronto went into Thompson Palladium to face the Motors before almost 17,000 fans -many of whom appeared to have started their year end celebrations earlier in the evening. The first frame was played, much to Barrells chagrin, in the Motors style. Up and down the ice with what seemed to be little or no regard to backchecking. Toronto, who welcomed Quinton Pollack back after missing 3 games, held a 19-17 shot advantage in the period, both teams managed a goal with the Motors' Graham Comeau scoring while Parker was off for hooking. Carlson tied the game from Galbraith and Pollack also up a man at 14:53. Barrell, from a source of Brett's, apparently read the riot act to his troops during the intermission about not playing the Motors game. The Dukes did step up their defense during the second period, the game became a tighter checking affair. Galbraith put the team up 2-1 when slammed home a goal on nice three way passing play from Carlson and Pollack. That was to be the last scoring of the game. Toronto played their style after the goal, hard hitting, tight checking the Motors at every turn. Toronto took over first place with a 2-1 victory.

While others were ringing in the new decade both teams were on the train for the return match on the first day of the Fifties. Barrell decided to rest Broadway after he had faced 84 shots in the last two games. Terry Russell answered the call turning away 28 shots to register the first shutout of the New Year blanking the Motors 2-0. Goals by Parker in the second, Carlson in the third were the only two Henri Chasse allowed to find the twine. Toronto shutdown the high-flying Detroit offense in what must have pleased Barrell.

Coach Barrell: "Nice way to enter the 1950s. In Montreal Gordie put on one of the best goaltending displays I have ever seen, he alone shut the Vals down. He had the shooters taking to themselves all game. Then we go into Detroit with something to prove, the first period drove me crazy. Between periods I told the team that running and gunning with the Motors is not going to work, think defensively first we have enough guys that will capitalize when we get a chance in their zone. Seemed to work, 5 straight shutout periods against Detroit is quite a feat. Terry Russell is always prepared to spell Gordie whenever called upon, a pros pro. We go into Chicago for 2 this week. We are going to stay in the Windy City for 4 days. The GM has secured practice ice for us away from prying eyes on Thursday, Friday. We have to keep moving forward, if you stand still in this league you get runover."

• The Statesmen are feeling good about themselves, winners in 11 of 13, and separating from the Phantoms to sit in first place alone by two games over Philadelphia. This week, Washington started with letting a fourth-quarter lead slip away at Hartford, 83-82, but bounced back to defeat Buffalo, as Ivan Sisco matched Larry Yim in points with 24, but outrebounded him, 18-14. Washington also avenged an earlier loss to 4-18 Syracuse, 95-87. But, if Washington has any illusions of being the unstoppable force, the upcoming schedule includes a potential immovable object in the Brooklyn Red Caps. The Red Caps' winning streak has reached eight and the Brooklyn-Washington game on Sunday is the fourth game of a busy week.
• The Mustangs have won nine of 11 to push ahead to a game-and-a-half lead on the Crushers after a 103-89 New Year's Day win in Cleveland. Jack Kurtz is doing his best to overshadow the young superstar Ward Messer, as Kurtz has gone for 30 points four times over that span, including 35 points in the win. The physical center has also gotten his money's worth, fouling out six times this season.
• Stop the presses! St. Louis won a game! In front of 1,929 witness that will someday claim to be 10,000 strong, the Steamers defeated Chicago, 65-57. Salvador Gresham and Elwyn Forney led the way with 14 points. #1 pick Cyril Worley, in his third game back after a long injury absence, added 11 rebounds despite 3-of-17 shooting. Isaac Luck helped out in both categories, with a double-double of 11 points and 13 boards. The game was tied at halftime, 32-32, but Chicago only managed 25 second half points. Both teams struggled from the field, with a combined 50 field goals made out of 184 attempted.

RECENT KEY RESULTS

• On Monday Harvey Winter (20-5), once considered one of the rising young stars in the heavyweight division, lost for the fourth time in his last six outings after being knocked out by Bill Sloan in the third round of their scheduled 10 rounder.

UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS

• Jan 9 - Trenton, NJ- middleweight contender Dale Roy (33-7-1) vs Roger Byrne (20-2-2)
• Jan 15- Washngton DC- rising heavyweight Joey Tierney (16-0) vs Curt Jones (22-11-6)
• Jan 21 - Bigsby Garden, New York - Middleweight Millard Shelton (26-5) vs Chet Cook (36-10-4)
• Jan 24- Hartfordt, Ct- former welterweight contender George Gibbs (25-5) vs Bob Thomas (22-7-1)
• Jan 27- Montreal Arena - former World Middleweight champion Adrian Petrie (19-2-2) vs Kevin Rawlings (23-5)
• Feb 18- Keystone Arena, Philadelphia- World Heavyweight champ Hector Sawyer (62-3-1) defends his title against Englishman Ben Budgeford (21-1)

• Indonesia officially became a country as the Dutch lowered their flag ending three centuries of rule in the East Indies.
• American officials estimate US arms and military equipment will begin moving to Western Europe about February 1 - a month behind the schedule laid out in the Atlantic Pact.
• Russia has accused Finland of violating her peace and mutual aid treaties with the Soviet Union by harboring more than 300 Soviet war criminals.
• President Truman and his top aides met for several days to decide overall policy and specific moves for combating the spread of communism in the Far East.
• Early fights are expected when the 81st Congress meets tomorrow in an atmosphere which promises more politics than legislation.
• Albert Einstein, whose theory of relativity helped open the whole vast field of atomic research, has put forward an even more sensational theory. He calls it "a generalized theory of gravitation" and it is a mathematical description of the mystery of gravity. If proved, it would explain every physical motion in the universe, from the inside of an atom to the enormous galaxies of outer space.
• America is on the way to the completely "artificial man" through thwarting nature's laws of death. That dire warning was sounded before geneticists of the American Association for the Advancement of Science by Nobel prize winning Dr. Herman J. Mueller. Mueller warns of the dangers of using medicine to defeat what nature intended.
  
  https://i.imgur.com/cV7DToO.jpeg

January 9, 1950
 

JANUARY 9, 1950

MINERS BEAT BREWERS FOR SECOND STRAIGHT EAST-WEST CLASSIC WIN

January 2, Santa Ana, Ca - A pair of fourth period touchdowns lifted the Northern California Miners to a 24-14 victory over Wisconsin State in the 34th annual edition of the East-West Classic. The victory marks the fourth time the Miners have won the famous New Years contest including the second straight year after Northern Cal topped St Magnus 366 days ago. The game was pushed to Monday January 2 because the New Year fell on a Sunday.

It was the first-ever trip to Santa Ana in January for the Brewers, who were selected to participate in the event despite finishing a half game back of Central Ohio in the Great Lakes Alliance, but the selection committee heavily weighed Wisconsin State's win over the Aviators and their standing in the top ten of the final polls.

The two teams, with the West Coast Athletic Association champs a six-point choice, boxed each other around inconclusively during the opening quarter. The Miners, a perfect 7-0 in section play and 9-1 overall, were ranked #3 in the nation entering the game while the 7-1-1 Brewers held down the 8th slot. Northern Cal, although seemingly a shade outplayed, scored first in the second period but the Brewers tied the contest just before the break.

A quick field goal early in the third period put the Miners ahead again but once more the Brewers quickly answered as Mike Upton, Wisconsin State's outstanding backfield operator, completed a long scoring drive with a 5-yard run to make the score 14-10. That lead did not hold up as on just the second play of the fourth period All-American lineman Tom Dannemiller recovered a Brewers fumble deep in Wisconsin State territory. It took just 3 plays for the Miners to regain the lead on a 7-yard pass from John Stamphill to Tommy Schomer. The Miners added a late score on a Stamphill 3-yard keeper to make the final 24-14 and make Northern California the first WCAA team to win back-to-back East-West Classics since Coastal California won 3 in a row from 1932-34.

PERFECT SEASON FOR OKLAHOMA CITY STATE

The Oklahoma City State Wranglers completed a perfect 11-0 campaign with a 24-7 victory over Bayou State in the Lone Star Classic. The Wranglers, who last month were crowned National Champions for the first time since they shared the title with Georgia Baptist in 1917, had a fairly easy time against the Cougars. Other than during a rough defensive first quarter, the Bayou State "T" play was minor league compared to the split "T" power and fast break of the Wranglers.

Oklahoma City State backs Paul Schultz, Johnny Smythe and Fred Akins spent leisure moments behind the Wranglers line making unhurried pitchouts and hand-offs which completely baffled Bayou State. With a superb line protecting them, there was simply no need to rush things. The Wranglers gained 286 yards rushing compared to a paltry 38 for Bayou State. Only in passing did the Cougars lead, moving 121 yards through the air to 74 for Oklahoma City State. The difference was that Oklahoma City State's passing yards produced points, but Bayou State's didn't.

The victory marks the second win in Austin in the past three years for Oklahoma City State after the Wranglers beat Kit Carson University in the Lone State Classic two years ago. Last season they were in New Orleans for the Cajun Classic and came out on the wrong end of a 27-17 outcome with North Carolina Tech.

In other major classic action, Andy Durante scored two touchdowns to pace Southwest Alliance champion Travis College to a 16-10 victory over Minnesota Tech. The news was not all bad for the Great Lakes Alliance, as while the Lakers and Brewers both fell, Central Ohio salvaged a victory for the conference after the Aviators flew past Baton Rogue State 30-21 in the Bayside Classic behind a big day from end Ricky Downer, who caught 9 passes including a pair of touchdown grabs. Staying in Florida but heading from Tampa south to Miami it was a big day for Central Kentucky after the Mustangs blanked Maryland State 19-0 in the school's first New Years appearance this decade.

GOTHAMS SELECT HOWE TO GET FABL DRAFT UNDERWAY

The New York Gothams opened the 1950 FABL college and high school player draft with a pick that was close to home. The Gothams choice was Earl Howe, a 17-year-old centerfielder from a high school in Bronx, New York. A finalist for the Adwell Award, presented to the top high school player in the nation, Howe was named to the High School All-American team for the second time following a junior season that saw him hit 14 homeruns while batting .504 in 27 games. Those 14 homers are one shy of the modern single-season high school record currently held by three players including Howe's possible future teammate in Gothams outfielder Walt Messer. The other two co-holders of that record are 1949 first overall selection Rick Masters and current Chicago Cougars third baseman Otto Christian. OSA feels Howe is the full package with excellent power, impressive speed and is a plus contact hitter.

The second choice was also a member of last season's high school All-American team as the Philadelphia Sailors also went local with the second pick by drafting Philadelphia high school third baseman Bob Gray. The 17-year-old from Northeast High School joins a growing list of Philadelphia born infielders as high first round draft picks in recent years. Gray had a stellar junior campaign in which he hit .547 with 9 homers. OSA projects Gray to be an elite big league third baseman with a terrific hit tool, above average power and a strong throwing arm.

Picking third the Detroit Dynamos selected outfielder Ralph Capriotti from Muncie High School in Indiana. The 17-year-old was a high school All-American in both his freshman and sophomore campaigns but was nosed out last year despite a .505/.571/.969 slash line. The Dynamos had identified Capriotti as their top target, figuring his raw power potential and elite hitting skills would play very well as a right-handed bat at Thompson Field.

The Montreal Saints followed up with another high school selction- and that might be a trend as the top of the draft is heavily skewed in favour of high schoolers. Montreal went with Joe Bullock, a corner outfielder with plus power potential and a very good eye at the plate. The scouting service feels the St. Louis native will be an elite big league right fielder. Bullock slashed .484/.559/.968 at Hannibal High School last season.

NAHC ALL-STAR GAME HIGHLIGHTS BUSY WEEK AHEAD

Borrowing a page out of the FABL handbook, the North American Hockey Confederation is set to stage its first all-star game. Like baseball's mid-season classic, the all-star game will feature the top talent from league but with just six days there is no Federal and Continental Associations so players will be randomly split into two teams for the friendly game. Proceeds will go to the NAHC players association fund.

The league had attempted to arrange an all-star game a year ago, but it was cancelled due to a snowstorm (or if you prefer FHM9's refusal to co-operate). There is talk of making it an annual event and plans going forward have suggested that the previous season's Challenge Cup Champion could take on a team of stars comprised from the other five clubs.

NAHC RESULTS LAST WEEK

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 4

New York 1 at Detroit 3:After dropping out of first place with back-to-back losses to Toronto last weekend, the Detroit Motors got back on a winning path with a 3-1 victory over the Shamrocks. Nick Tardif scored once and added an assist while Millard Touhey, still splitting Detroit netminding duties with Henri Chasse, stopped 27 of the 28 shots he faced.

Toronto 3 at Chicago 2: Toronto remains 4 points up on second place Detroit after Bobbie Sauer's third period power play goal lifted the Dukes to a 3-2 win for their fourth consecutive victory. Maurice Charette had the other two Toronto goals while Tommy Burns, with his 14 of the season, and Joe Fleming replied for the Packers.

THURSDAY JANUARY 5

Montreal 2 at Boston 2: The Bees and Valiants skated to a 2-2 tie with most of the scoring taking place in the opening period. Boston, on goals from Craig Simpson and Wilbur Chandler, led 2-1 after twenty minutes with Claude LeClerc serving as the Montreal marksman. Adam Sandford tied the game in the middle frame and Oscar James of the Bees along with Montreal's Tom Brockers shut the door the rest of the way.

SATURDAY JANUARY 7

New York 4 at Montreal 1: Third period goals from Samuel Coates, Simon Savard and Joe Martin lifted the Shamrocks to a 4-1 victory over the Valiants.

Toronto 2 at Chicago 5: Tommy Burns, Pete Moreau and Jeremy MacLean each had 3 points to lead the Packers past the Dukes 5-2, snapping Toronto's four game winning streak. Chicago led 4-0 after scoring twice each of the opening two periods before the Dukes finally showed signs of life in the third when Lou Galbraith beat Packers netminder Norm Hanson twice.

SUNDAY JANUARY 8

Detroit 4 at Boston 2: Millard Touhey had a busy night in the Detroit net but he was up to the task, stopping 42 of 44 Boston shots in a 4-2 Motors victory at Denny Arena. Vincent Arsenault scored once and had two assists for the winners, who were outshot 44-26 on the evening. The struggling Bees are now 8 points out of the final playoff berth.

New York 2 at Chicago 3: A successful weekend for the Packers with back-to-back victories including a 3-2 win at Lakeside Auditorium over the visiting New York Shamrocks on this night. Jarrett McGlynn and Moose Vezina had put the Packers up 2-0 before George Hartnell and Jim Macek scored less than a minute apart in the second period to tie the game. Max Ducharme notched the game winner from veterans Bert McColley and Tommy Burns with just over 7 minutes remining in the contest. The Chicago victory leaves the two clubs tied for third place, each with 38 points.

MINOR LEAGUE NEWS

BRADFORD REACHES CENTURY MARK

The St Thomas Pachyderms are dominating the West Division of the Canadian Junior League and the scoring exploits of Bart Bradford and Manny Coutu are big reason why. The Pachyderms have lost just 2 of their 45 games played this season and have scored a whooping 272 goals. Bradford, a 19-year-old center, became the first player to notch 100 points in a season with a goal and an assist in a win over the Brantford Blue Legs last week. Coutu, a 17-year-old left winger, is just 4 points behind his teammate with 96 on the season.

The diminutive Bradford, who stands 5'8" and weighs just 150 pounds, may not have a future in the NAHC but perhaps will play in the minor leagues some day. He was signed to a tryout contract by the New York Shamrocks over the summer but was quickly cut loose and landed in St. Thomas.

Coutu, on the other hand, is a towering 6'3" winger with plenty of pro potential. He is considered a likely first round pick in next June's NAHC rookie draft and his totals this season of 36 goals and 60 assists in 45 games have NAHC scouts drooling. A Toronto native, Coutu patterns his game after Les Carlson and would love to play for the Dukes one day.

DUKES SPLIT PAIR IN CHICAGO

After they rang in the New Year at home the Toronto Dukes spent most of the week in Chicago to face the Packers, in a schedule quirk, twice in 4 days. The team travelled into Chicago on Tuesday to settle for the rest of the week before facing the Packers on both Wednesday and Saturday night.

In a somewhat surprising move Barrell decided to start Terry Russell between the pipes for the second straight game after he had shutout the Motors on Sunday. As expected, whenever playing the tight checking Packers, the game was a low scoring affair. Toronto had their skating legs in the first period, testing Michael Cleghorn in the Packers goal 16 times as they seemed to be able to get open at will. Cleghorn was up to the task and shut the door on all 16. Russell was far less busy only being tested on 5 occasions. Ever dangerous Tommy Burns opened the scoring on one of the 5 shots, beating Russell from the slot on passes from Max Ducharme giving Chicago a 1-0 lead before the teams headed back to their rooms after 20 minutes.

The second frame settled in to be a typical Packers-Dukes game, tight checking with no room to move for either team. Toronto had an outburst just after the 12 minute mark of the period when Maurice Charette scored twice in 19 seconds both from in tight on Cleghorn. The Packers rallied to tie the game when Joe Fleming scored after carrying the puck in from the point to beat Russell cleanly with wrist shot. The third period opened up as both teams pressed for a winner. Cleghorn, who made 36 saves in the game, was forced to make many spectacular saves during the period until Bobbie Sauer beat him with Bert McColley off for high sticking at 13:35. The Packers attempted to rally but were unable to solve Russell, who made 22 stops in the game with 13 coming in the third, to preserve a 3-2 victory for the Dukes.

Both regular netminders, Gord Broadway and Norm Hanson, returned to duty Saturday night before 16,082 who packed into Lakeside Auditorium. In a surprisingly wide open first period in which the clubs combined for a total of 31 shot on goal the Packers took a 2-0 lead. Max Lavigne opened the scoring at 4:42 tipping a Jarrett McGlynn point shot past Broadway. Just over 3 minutes later with Lou Galbraith serving time for roughing Pete Moreau cruised in deking the Dukes keeper. Tommy Burns scored his 15th of year, 5th on the power play, to make it 3-0 before the second was 6 minutes old. Jeremy MacLean effectively put the game out of reach for the Dukes with another deflection at 12:12. Lou Galbraith tried to start a comeback with his 14th at 1:36 into the final frame but Jarrett McGlynn's 2nd of the game, 6th of the year, dashed hopes for the Dukes at just past the 4 minute mark. Galbraith scored again but it was far too little, far too late for the Dukes to think of stealing at least a point from the Packers in a 5-2 Chicago final.

Coach Barrell: "I was surprised that both the games started so wide open in Chicago. Neither team is known for an up and down game, usually it close to the vest, smother the other team. Russell's start was a hunch that worked out, although after Gordie struggled Saturday which has me thinking that 6 days off might be too many for him. He was not sharp, and he would admit he should have had at least 2 of the five that lit the lamp. We did not do a good job clearing guys away from the front of our net. We have to work on that with the defensemen before the game with New York at home Wednesday. The good news is we are still 2 points ahead of Detroit, 7 on Shamrocks who both have 2 games in hand. Packers are currently holding the last playoff spot with everyone now past the halfway point of the season. Still a long way to go, a lot of work to do."

• The Chicago Panthers season is starting to crumble. Star center Richard Campbell joins Larry Serrano on the injured list, with Campbell out for a month with a broken foot. It didn't stop him from winning his second Player of the Week, as the Panthers star averaged 26.8 points and 14 rebounds per game in his four games. Campbell leads Chicago in both points (23.3) and rebounds (14.4) per game despite the lowest minute total of the starting five (30.9) per night. It's going to be impossible to replace his production in the lineup, but third year center James Brown (6.3, 6.4, 0.5) will be called upon as the starting center.
• Maybe it is the success of the two-time defending Challenge Cup champion Toronto Dukes, who share Dominion Gardens, rubbing off on the Toronto Falcons but the Canadian basketball club has been on a tear of late, going on a 10-2 run that has the club in third place in the West Division. Heady space for a city suffered with the terrible Titans -now based in Syracuse- before Bernie Millard purchased the old Pittsburgh ABC team and moved it north prior to last season. The Falcons were last in the West a year ago but with the two-pronged offensive attack of big men Max Lucia (20.2 ppg) and Lon Porter (18.8 ppg) and a rapidly improving rookie point guard in former Carolina Poly All-American Major Belk (8.3 ppg, 8.5 apg) they are suddenly making some noise.
• The two division leaders are both on quite a run. The Washington Statesmen have won 14 of their last 16 games and opened up 2.5 game lead on second place Philadelphia in the East Division. The Statesmen looked very impressive in a dominating defensive display on the road in Brooklyn last night. It was a defensive struggle, with the Statesmen holding Brooklyn to 23.8% shooting from the field. Statesmen-killer Ivory Mitchell scored 21 points and added 11 rebounds and 8 assists, but it was not nearly enough in a 79-58 Washington victory. Washington killed Brooklyn on the boards, 92-61 and systematically beat Brooklyn on the scoreboard throughout the game.
• The West Division leading Detroit Mustangs withstood a 20-20 game from Larry Yim, as Yim (21 points, 25 rebounds) neutralized Jack Kurtz (7 points on 2-for-14 shooting, 6 rebounds), but Ward Messer was the star of the 95-71 win against Buffalo with 22 points, 29 rebounds, including 10 offensive boards, and a +27 while he was on the court. Detroit ran out to a 36-11 first quarter lead and never looked back. The Mustangs have won 12 of their last 14 and are the most efficient offensive team in the league while averaging more than 94 points per game.
• The St Louis Steamers continue to sputter, as the expansion squad has just one victory in 26 games. The Steamers defense is decent but the problem for Coach Andrew Brown is the club has no one who can consistently put points on the board. St Louis is averaging just 68 points per game - no other team in the league is scoring less than 77- and their top scorer is center Isaac Luck, who is averaging just 12.2 ppg. In comparison, four Detroit players are averaging more points per game than Luck, who is the only Steamers player in double-digits for points.

COASTAL CALIFORNIA FALLS IN SECTION OPENER

The list of unbeaten collegiate basketball teams this season has shrunk to six after the Coastal California Dolphins tasted defeat for the first time this campaign with a loss to Portland Tech in the lid lifter on action in the West Coast Athletic Association. The Dolphins were a perfect 13-0 as the welcomed the Magpies to Los Angeles for yesterday contest, but it was the visitors who claimed the victory by a 56-47 count. Senior forward John Gordon paced the Portland Tech attack with 18 points as the victory improves the struggling Magpies record to 5-8.

The nine team WCAA traditionally is the first conference to start its season and this year was no exception with 4 games yesterday. The others saw Rainier College trip up CC Los Angeles 62-52 behind a 12 point showing from freshman Doc Daniels, Gil Garrett scored 22 points to lead Northern California past Idaho A&M 72-55 while Stephen Woodard had 23 points to pace Redwood to a 74-62 victory over Spokane State.

As for the unbeaten schools remaining, they are ranked one thru five in the latest poll as well as 10th ranked Alabama Baptist. The Panthers improved to 11-0 with wins over Rome State and Mississippi Tech last week. Top ranked Liberty College is now 16-0 after the Bells downed Boulder State 68-40 and Brooklyn State 82-54. Luther Gordon had 18 points and Edgar Stillwell a dozen in the win over the Grizzlies while on Saturday against the Bears the bench was emptied early, and 10 different Liberty College players managed to get their names on the scoresheet in the 28-point victory.

EDMONNDS TO FACE BOGGS FOR VACANT MIDDLEWEIGHT CROWN

It has been announced that John Edmonds and Bill Boggs will meet to determine a successor to the late Edouard Desmarais as the World Middleweight Champion. The title fight will be held March 24 at New York's Bigsby Garden and comes just under five months after Desmarais, his manager and 45 others lost their lives when a cross-Atlantic Air France flight crashed in Azores. Desmarais was headed to New York, returning from his native France to being preparation for what would have been a December title defense against Davis Owens.

Owens was bypassed in the title decision as was former middleweight champion Adrian Petrie with the decision to have the two highest ranked contenders as determined in the latest This Week in Figment Sports rankings.

Edmonds, a 31-year-old native on Muncie, In. is currently listed as the top contender in the division and briefly held the title in the past. He waged a pair of battles with Frank Melanson for the title in 1947, winning the first on a 14th round TKO but losing in the same manner 12 rounds into their rematch. Edmonds is 30-3 with 21 wins by stoppage including his most recent outing, a 6th round TKO of Mike Cook in Detroit last November. Edmonds had been slated to fight next month in Chicago but quickly cancelled that bout when the title opportunity came up.

Boggs is just 24 years old and the Brooklyn native sports a 20-2-1 career mark. He gained some early notoriety when as a 20-yard-old he was included on the undercard of a Hector Sawyer heavyweight title fight. It was just his second pro fight, and it took him just 88 seconds to knock out his opponent. Boggs recently battled former champ Adrian Petrie to a majority draw in September and is coming off a unanimous decision victory over ring veteran Bobby Hinkle last month. Edmonds scored a majority decision over Hinkle last summer.

UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS

• tonight - Trenton, NJ- middleweight contender Dale Roy (33-7-1) vs Roger Byrne (20-2-2)
• Jan 15- Washington DC- rising heavyweight Joey Tierney (16-0) vs Curt Jones (22-11-6)
• Jan 21 - Bigsby Garden, New York - Middleweight Millard Shelton (26-5) vs Chet Cook (36-10-4)
• Jan 24- Hartfordt, Ct- former welterweight contender George Gibbs (25-5) vs Bob Thomas (22-7-1)
• Jan 27- Montreal Arena - former World Middleweight champion Adrian Petrie (19-2-2) vs Kevin Rawlings (23-5)
• Feb 18- Keystone Arena, Philadelphia- World Heavyweight champ Hector Sawyer (62-3-1) defends his title against Englishman Ben Budgeford (21-1)
• Mar 24- Bigsby Garden, New York - John Edmonds will face Bill Boggs for the world middleweight title, made vacant by the tragic death of former champ Edouard Desmarais in an October plane crash.

• President Truman told Congress that he soon will recommend tax law changes to "yield a moderate amount of additional revenue" as he presented his annual State of the Union message, outlining a broad program of foreign and domestic legislation that "necessarily requires large expenditures of funds."
• Socialized medicine and the Truman administration came under heavy fire in Albany when New York Governor Dewey made his annual message to the Legislature.
• The Government has ordered the Nation's railroads to reduce coal-burning passenger service by one-third in a move designed to conserve dwindling stocks of fuel. Meanwhile Mine Workers head John L Lewis said there is "grave unrest" among the nation's coal miners, adding that efficiency is decreasing because the miners "desire contracts and the operators won't make contracts."
• Chinese Nationalists have submitted a detailed new plea for American military and other advisors to help save Formosa from communist rule. A day later President Truman announced that the United States does not intend to use its armed forces to keep Formosa from the communists and will not provide military forces or advice to the Chinese Nationalist forces on the island. Truman made it clear the only help the United States will provide is continuing economic aid.
• A British association of Atomic Scientists predicts Russia will have enough A-bombs within a year or two to fight an atomic war.
  
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January 16, 1950
 

NAHC ALL-STAR GAME A SUCCESS

The first ever North American Hockey Confederation all-star game drew a near capacity crowd of 16,329 patrons to Chicago's Lakeside Auditorium to witness the best in the game gathered under one roof. The teams were divided randomly into two groups, and it was the Red team, led by first period goals from Chicago's Jeremy MacLean and Orval Cabbell of the New York Shamrocks, that prevailed by a 2-1 count. The Blue team scored its only goal in the first frame was with another local star, Max Ducharme of the Packers, getting the goal with assists from his teammate Tommy Burns and Toronto's Trevor Parker.

It was the goaltenders who stole the show as the Red team duo of Detroit's Millard Touhey and New York's Alex Sorrell combined to save 40 of the 41 shots they faced. The Blue side also split the game with Montreal's Tom Brockers allowing both goals on the 20 shots he faced. Gordie Broadway of the Dukes played the second half for the Blue squad and stopped all 20 shots he faced.

It was a very cordial affair with no penalties being called and the play was fast with few whistles. Jeremey MacLean of the Packers, who scored the first goal and assisted on the second for the Red team, was named the first star of the game with a pair of Toronto Dukes in Trevor Parker, for the Blue team, and JC Martel of the Red squad being named the second and third stars.

NAHC RESULTS FROM LAST WEEK

TUESDAY JANUARY 10

Chicago 3 at Montreal 8: The Montreal Valiants snapped their five game winless streak in a big way, scoring a season high in goals while crushing the Chicago Packers 8-3. Brett Lanceleve, Adam Sandford and Clarence Skinner each had 3 points for a Montreal team that saw 8 different players light the lamp and chase Chicago netminder Norm Hanson midway through the second period.

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 11

Boston 5 at Detroit 0: Oscar James made 29 saves for his second shutout of the season to lead the Bees past Detroit 5-0. Mickey Bedard, Conn Cundiff, Bryant Williams, Robert Walker and Craig Simpson each scored for Boston.

New York 1 at Toronto 0:The Shamrocks outshot Toronto 36-20 and Simon Savard's first period goal held up in a 1-0 win for New York over the first place Dukes. Alex Sorrell had the shutout for the Greenshirts.

SATURDAY JANUARY 14

Detroit 2 at New York 2: Ben Witt's goal with just over 3 minutes remaining in the third period allowed Detroit to salvage a point and gain a 2-2 tie with the Shamrocks at Bigsby Garden. Marsh Spencer had the other Motors goal while Jim Macek and Ryan Kennedy replied for New York.

Montreal 3 at Chicago 1: The Valiants beat Chicago for the second game in a row as they scored once in each period to down the Packers 3-1. Clarence Skinner, Nickolas Roch and Pat Coulter scored for Montreal with Jarrett McGlynn responsible for the only one of 36 Packers shots to elude Vals goaltender Tom Brockers.

Toronto 1 at Boston 3: The Dukes drop their second straight as Jacob Gron scores twice to pace Boston to a 3-1 victory despite the fact that Toronto outshot the Bees 32-24. Oscar James, who shutout Detroit in his last outing, had another strong game in the Boston net.

SUNDAY JANUARY 15

Boston 4 at Chicago 2: The Bees have won 3 in a row while the Packers have dropped 3 straight after Boston's 4-2 victory at Lakeside Auditorium. Jarrett McGlynn had the lone goal of the opening period before John Bentley tied it with his first for the Bees in the middle frame. Max Ducharme made it 2-1 for the Packers early in the third before Boston came to life with 3 unanswered goals, the last into an empty net to secure the victory.

New York 4 at Detroit 3: Rusty Mullins scored his second goal of the game with 1:09 left in the third period to lift the Shamrocks past Detroit 4-3 and claim 3 of a possible 4 points out of their weekend series. The victory moves New York to just a point behind Detroit for second place and only two points behind first place Toronto.

DUKES GOING INTO SCORING DROUGHT: DROP TWO GAMES

Toronto lost its scoring touch last week, dropping both games over the week while only beating the opposing goaltender once in 120 minutes.

The week started with a game at Dominion Gardens on a chilly, crisp Wednesday evening with 13,470 in the stands, The first period was slow paced as both teams seemed to be feeling each other out, content to dump and chase as soon as the puck advanced past the center ice line. Little did the fans know but when Simon Savard tipped home a Ryan Kennedy shot, for his 10th goal of the season, with 10:47 gone in the game that would be only goal they would see that night. The Shamrocks played a simple style of get the puck over center dump it in then forecheck the Dukes defense so they could not get the play moving in transition. In the third Toronto started to be able to move the puck in transition out of their end, only to be frustrated between the blue lines. This led to a number of 2 on 1 chances for the Shamrocks. Toronto goaltender Gordie Broadway was called on to make a number of tough saves to keep the margin at one goal. Alex Sorrell was not overly busy in the cage, he turned away all 20 he faced for his second whitewash of the season.

Into Denny Arena to face the Bees Saturday in a game expected to be a wild affair given past history between the teams. It was a surprisingly calm as the referee set the tone early, calling the Dukes Mike Navarro for a hook less than two minutes into the game. The man in the striped jersey made it clear anything even closely resembling stick work would immediately be called and the players got the message. Boston's game plan was evident early, hit anything that moves in Toronto uniform. Toronto had more chances in the first two periods, but they were only able to beat Oscar James once on a goal by Charlie Brown on a shot from the point through a screen that James never saw until he was digging the puck out of his net. That was good enough to allow the visitors to skate off with a 1-0 lead after 40 minutes. A two and half minute lapse in the third proved fatal for the Dukes. Garrett Kauffeldt opened the scoring a Bryant Williams rebound at 4:17 followed 95 seconds later by Jacob Gron's 6th when the puck came free after Broadway thought he had it frozen. Gron then completed Toronto's nightmare less than minute later when he banked a shot in off Spencer Hoffard. After that the Dukes had no gas left in the tank with Boston prevailing 3-1.

Coach Barrell: "Not going to win often only scoring one goal in two games. Shamrocks checked the life out of us, we could not get anything going for the entire 60 minutes. That is probably the sign of things to come. I think the games will be tighter more low scoring as the season moves on, less wide open. In Boston we got lost for about 3 minutes, we started to run around in our zone and it cost us a win. We still have to make the area in front of our net a tougher place for the opposition. They have to know they will pay a price if they come into the slot area. At minimum we have to tie up sticks, our goalkeepers are getting beat far too often on deflections. Not worried about the scoring, it will sort itself out in short order."

DRILL IS FIRST COLLEGE SELECTION IN FABL DRAFT

The FABL rookie player draft continued and worked its way through the first round. Last week we reported on the top four picks including Earl Howe, a 17-year-old outfielder from Cardinal Hayes High School in the Bronx who was selected first overall by the New York Gothams. The draft recap now continues with the rest of the opening round.

The fifth pick was made by the Pittsburgh Miners, and they drafted both the first pitcher and the first collegiate player with the announcement of their selection as lefthanded pitcher Tom Drill from Empire State University. As a sophomore with the Centurions Drill was a second team All-American selection after posting a 10-1 record with a 1.71 era. It is important to note that was against weak competition, but those numbers compare well with a couple of other small college pitchers who have enjoyed great success in FABL in John Stallings and Eli Panneton.

That is not to say Drill will approach either of the those two but he is the best college pitcher available this year and perhaps could be considered a poor man's John Stallings. Drill was drafted by St Louis in the 14th round out of high school three years ago but failed to sign with the Pioneers. It will be interesting to see if Drill can advance to the big leagues anywhere near as quickly as both Stallings and Panneton did. The Miners have had their struggles drafting pitchers with Denton Fox of the Pittsburgh Press noting their last solid pitcher draft pick was Lefty Allen back in 1932. OSA has high projections for Drill's upside, figuring he could rise to the level of a solid mid-rotation starter or better.

Drill's selection may well have prompted the New York Stars to also grab a pitcher going with Georgia high school righthander Eddie Webb. OSA feels Webb has the potential to be a future number two starter, but high school arms are always risky. Webb was an All-American selection as a sophomore and an honourable mention his freshman season after back-to-back 11-0 campaigns, but his ERA and walks ballooned his junior season. His work ethic has also come into question perhaps setting off red flags for some FABL clubs. The Stars are hoping he has a bounce back year in his final season of high school.

Next up was the Boston Minutemen with the 7th selection and the Minutemen were pleasantly shocked to see that shortstop Ed Wise, ranked second by several scouting departments, was still available for their selection. Boston wasted no time grabbing the 17-year-old Jersey City, NJ high school infielder. Wise displayed some decent power in his lone season of high school ball and OSA says there is plenty more longball development to come. He has a high ceiling and projects well on the field and at the plate according to the scouting service. The Minutemen like the fact that he already has experience at third base and that may well be where Wise ends up with 1948 first rounder Joe Kleeman already set as the heir to Harry Barrell at shortstop for Boston.

With the 8th choice in the draft the Cincinnati Cannons selected the top player from the August mock draft. That would be Ohio high school centerfielder Fred Lainhart who was a high school All-American as a freshman and an honourable mention last year in his junior season. Lainhart hit .593 both his freshman and junior season, to lead all high school players in both of those years. Only Walt Messer has enjoyed two high school seasons with a better batting average. In Lainhart's sophomore season he "slumped" to .573 and if his career HS average (currently .585) holds he will have the third best career high school batting average behind only Walt Messer and Buddy Miller (min 150 plate appearances). OSA is very high on Lainhart, suggesting he has the "highest ceiling imaginable as an elite center fielder."

The Philadelphia Keystones likely went with best available in their decision to select 17-year-old Virginia high school third baseman Parson Allen. Hank Koblenz is just 33 and still very much in his prime so the Keystones can certainly take their time developing Allen, who sounds a lot like Koblenz in his OSA scouting report. "Tremendous power potential" and "projects to be an elite big league third baseman" raves the staff in Dan Barrell's office.

Brooklyn's General Manager is always looking for pitching so the Kings selection of an arm with the 10th selection comes as no surprise. Elmer Sullivan is a Toledo native who for reasons unknown is nicknamed "Bananas." Perhaps it is for how he drives opposing hitters bananas with his filthy slider, the best of his 3 pitches. He was 11-0 last season and named a High School All-American for the second time. However, OSA is not sold on the righthander as a big league prospect, noting "Sullivan will be a relatively ineffective contributor." However, some scouting directors that TWIFS spoke with feel Sullivan has a huge upside and could develop into a very good pitcher.

At eleven, the Washington Eagles hope they found their third baseman of the future in Roy Nash. The Medway (MA) High Schooler is a franchise cornerstone raves OSA, noting his plus power and advanced approach at the plate. He was a High School All-American selection last season as a junior and certainly has some power potential with 34 homers in 69 career high school games. His selection makes three of the top eleven picks high school third basemen.

The Chicago Cougars selected Virigina high school second baseman Andy Robinson with the 12th pick of the draft. OSA feels Robinson has a chance to play in All-Star Games if he fulfills his potential. St Louis followed immediately with another highly touted high school second baseman by the name of Les Sasson. The pride of Conshohocken (PA) High School also has a chance to be an all-star according to OSA.

At pick 14 the Toronto Wolves called a college player for just the second time this draft. That would Skinny Bennett, a catcher from Eastern Oklahoma - the same school that produced the great Adam Mullins. The Chicago Chiefs followed with Hank Walker, making the Texas high schooler the fourth pitcher selected in the opening round. The Cleveland Foresters rounded out the draft by selecting a high school shortstop with big league ties. Gus Melvin, out of Buffalo, NY, is the grandson of Hall of Fame shortstop George Melvin, who starred for the Washington Eagles before finishing his career in Cleveland in the early 1900s.

COUGARS WINTER UPDATE

The 1940s can be thought of as the Skipper Schneider decade. A fixture at short is an understatement when it comes to the slick fielding Skipper, who debuted in 1940, and went on to start 1,460 of the 1,541 games (94.7%) at his familiar shortstop position. There's a reason for that, as he's accumulated a 310.4 zone rating, which alone is top 20 ever for a FABL shortstop. He's hoping his next decade will bring more success, as despite eight All-Star selections he's only placed in one World Championship Series. That was when he went 6-for-21 in the painstaking loss to his brother Buddy and the Minutemen in his first full season as a big leaguer. The ten-year professional enters 1950 with a .288/.340/.378 (104 OPS+) career batting line, and in terms of WAR, he's the fourth most valuable (65.8) FABL position player to don a Cougar uniform.
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The Cougars made their first pick as well, selecting 12th instead of 14th, where they will pick in Rounds 3 through 25. Heavily connected to Elmer Sullivan, who went two picks before to the Brooklyn Kings, Chicago shifted to a second high school second basemen in two seasons. This year it was young 17-year-old Andy Robinson, a Richmond native who attends high school in Fredericksburg. Unlike last year's first rounder Biff Tiner, Robinson has played elsewhere as well, getting experience at short and left as well. A talented hitter with a plus-plus contact tool, Robinson hit .517 as a Junior with 16 doubles, 3 homers, 28 RBIs, and 27 steals. And in 72 prep games, he's hit .521/.568/.812 with 67 extra base hits, 65 steals, 136 runs, and 102 RBIs. The Cougars scouting department had nothing but rave reviews for the middle infielder, with scouting director Dixie Marsh quoted that he "projects to be an elite second basemen."

They were up again a few picks later, but once more, the player homed in on was swiped up right before. This time it was the pick before, as high school southpaw Beau McClellan was taken 19th overall by the Dynamos. This made the 20th pick Ernie Tisdale, a righty who went 10-3 with a 2.57 ERA and 149 strikeouts in 18 starts for the Oklahoma Bible College last season as a sophomore. "Big E" is an imposing 6'4'' righty from New Jersey with a deep arsenal that features plenty of high movement pitches. His go-to offering is his sinker, which already looks to be at least an average pitch. He needs to polish up the rest of his arsenal, but he projects to have a filthy change. He's not the hardest thrower, sitting in the mid 80s with both the sinker and fastball, but with size you have to imagine he'll see a growth in velocity. His floor is a capable back-end starter, but with a little more life on his sinker, he could work his way up.
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Even during the draft, trades continue for the busy Cougars front office, as they found a taker for young righty Harry Beardsley. A former 10th Rounder, Beardsley was once a top 100 prospect, but has since been passed up by younger players. Ready for a big league rotation spot, the now 25-year-old was stuck behind the Cougars front five and Zane Kelley, but he'll now have a chance to pitch his way into the Pittsburgh Miners Opening Day rotation. No team allowed more runs than the Miners in the Fed, and all five rotation members had a higher ERA then George Oddo (3.99), the Cougars #5 starter. Coming back to the Cougars is a pair of young prospects in righty Bill Davis and catcher Johnny Hadley, who rank 399th and 483rd in the prospect rankings. Davis is a 19-year-old from Chicago who has a pair of high 80s fastballs that are enough to help him fill a FABL pen. Hadley, 23, spent his 1949 with the Class-A Gary Steelman, and hit .281/.364/.390 (99 OPS+) with 9 homers and 51 RBIs.

BELLS KEEP RINGING UP VICTORIES

The Liberty Bells are continuing to show why they were the preseason number one choice as the Philadelphia college basketball powerhouse improved to 18-0 on the season with two more wins last week. The Bells, who have reached at least the quarterfinals of the AIAA March championship tournament for 10 straight seasons and 13 of the last 14, appear well positioned for another deep tournament run.

It might be too early to talk about a perfect season, something that has never happened in AIAA cage history, but the Bells path to being unbeaten entering the tournament appears clear. Liberty College only has one of its remaining 11 games against a ranked team. That would be on February 18 when they host Frankford State, which is currently ranked 18th, in their season finale.

Last week began with a 65-59 win over a solid Chesapeake State (11-4) team in which Luther Gordon once more led the way. The likely first overall pick in the summer FBL draft and last season's Barrette Award winner as college player of the year, had 20 points and 7 rebounds in the victory over the Clippers on Tuesday. Friday night was a rout as the Bells blasted College of Omaha 87-38 at Keystone Arena. Gordon played just 25 minutes but had 34 points and 12 rebounds while Edgar Stillwell added 18. For Gordon, it increases his AIAA best scoring average to 21.4 points per game. He is also tied for fifth in the nation in rebounds, averaging 9.7. Gordon's 34 points in the win over the Raiders is tied for the sixth highest single game total in AIAA history at 5 points shy of Gerald Carter's 1944 record of 39. Carter is presently playing for the FBL's Boston Centurions after his collegiate career at Western Iowa.

Five other schools remain perfect including second ranked Noble Jones College (14-0), third Carolina Poly (14-0) and fourth Annapolis Maritime (16-0). The other two are Indiana A&M, which is ranked 7th and 13-0 but the Reapers have yet to begin their tough slate of Great Lakes Alliance section play as that commences this week. The final unbeaten is 10th ranked Alabama Baptist at 12-0.

RECENT KEY RESULTS

• In Trenton, NJ, welterweight contender Dale Roy needed little time to finish off a bout with Roger Byrne. The 32-year-old native of Binghamton, NY sent Byrne to the canvas with a hard cross to the head just 45 seconds into their bout last Monday night. Byrne was out cold, and Roy celebrated his 34th victory as a pro against 7 losses and 1 draw. Byrne, a 28-year-old from Jersey City, had an impressive 21-2-2 record entering the bout.

UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS

• tonight- Washington DC- rising heavyweight Joey Tierney (16-0) vs Curt Jones (22-11-6)
• Jan 21 - Bigsby Garden, New York - Middleweight Millard Shelton (26-5) vs Chet Cook (36-10-4)
• Jan 24- Hartford, Ct- former welterweight contender George Gibbs (25-5) vs Bob Thomas (22-7-1)
• Jan 27- Montreal Arena - former World Middleweight champion Adrian Petrie (19-2-2) vs Kevin Rawlings (23-5)
• Feb 18- Keystone Arena, Philadelphia- World Heavyweight champ Hector Sawyer (62-3-1) defends his title against Englishman Ben Budgeford (21-1)
• Mar 24- Bigsby Garden, New York - John Edmonds will face Bill Boggs for the world middleweight title, made vacant by the tragic death of former champ Edouard Desmarais in an October plane crash.

• 43,000 miners in six states walked off the job in another 'wildcat' strike and sharp exchanges flew over the possible use of the Taft-Hartley Act in the coal production showdown. Union head John L. Lewis charged Senator Taft with attempting to "herd coal miners into the lethal gas chamber of the infamous Slave Statute" while a Republican representative suggested impeachment of the President for failure to use the statute to settle the dispute.
• The country's supply of soft coal presently is said to be at its smallest amount in 25 years and considerably under the levels when President Truman twice declared national emergencies because of fuel shortages.
• By week's end the US Chamber of Commerce joined the chorus for Government action in the soft coal dispute, reporting it had found a "critical" shortage of fuel in 36 cities while noting that only "the unseasonably warm weather" had averted "widespread suffering and hardship."
• Chinese Communists invaded and seized the American consular offices in Peiping. Denouncing the action as a "flagrant violation" of treaty rights, the Government has ordered all American official personnel out of Communist China.
• Chinese Nationalist gunboats shelled an American freighter of Shanghai, rendering her unseaworthy with between 30 and 40 shell hits. Later a Chinese Nationalist Navy spokesman said the gunboat fired on the freighter to keep her from entering a minefield and being blown to bits.
• Ninety carloads of tanks and armored cars consigned to the Chinese Government on Formosa were loaded aboard a Turkish freighter.
• The United States is said to be close to finalizing plans to support Yugoslavia's Marshal Tito with limited military assistance under certain circumstances in his defiance of Moscow.
• British Prime Minister Attlee has set February 23 as election day for the first national election in 5 years. Bookmakers in Britain favour the Labor Party to win the general election over the Conservatives but at the same time made Winston Churchill a hairline favourite over Labor's Clement Attlee to be the next Prime Minister.
  
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Jaunary 23, 1950
 

JANUARY 23, 1950

GRID MAROONS PART WAYS WITH YURIK

In a move that many felt was long overdue the Detroit Maroons have fired the only coach the club has ever known as Frank Yurik was told his services were no longer required. The move ends Yurik's 29-year reign as coach and minority owner of the Detroit eleven. Yurik, who was a player-coach for the first ten years before moving exclusively to the sideline role, was an investor when owner Rollie Barrell moved the club he purchased from Rochester to Detroit in 1921. Yurik's ownership share will reportedly be sold to Charles Summers, Yurik's staunchest supporter on the board and the lone member said to have objected to the coaching change. Barrell will remain majority shareholder with 51% of the club. Yurik had a 25% interest in the team.

With Yurik at the helm, the Maroons won 4 American Football Association titles and the coach posted a career record of 199-116-17 with the club. He was an innovator and, along with Carl Boon of the Chicago Wildcats, the dean of AFA coaches. However, while Boon adapted and prospered as the game changed to relying more on aerial play, Yurik failed to adjust. It was somewhat compensated for in the early years of this decade because Detroit possessed a tremendous passing duo in quarterback Dewey Burnett and legendary end Stan Vaught but even then there were rumblings that a more progressive coach could have managed to get a lot more out of that duo.

The Maroons did win an AFA title in 1937 but came up short in their three other trips to the championship game. With Vaught and Burnett gone, the Maroons relied even more on the ground game and they paid the price as the opposition had an easy answer for Yurik's one dimensional attack. Yurik and the Maroons failed to recognize the need for a skilled passer and as a result won just 4 of their 24 games over the past two years. This past season half of the ten teams in the league threw for over 2,000 yards and three others surpassed the 1,750 mark through the air. The Maroons? Well they managed a league worst 711 yards through the air and scored barely 10 points a game - a recipe that saw them lose 10 straight before rallying for two season ending victories.

The search for Yurik's replacement will not have to go far as all indications point to assistant coach Tom Bowens getting a promotion. Bowers, who excelled as an end with the Del Thomas quarterbacked Boston Americans before finishing his career with one year in Detroit, is expected to move quickly to try and modernize the Detroit offense but he will have his work cut out for him as it is expected a major overhaul of personnel will be required on the offensive side of the ball.

There will be immense pressure on Barrell to ensure the move is a success and Bowens turns the club's fortunes around. Not just because Yurik was an institution at Thompson Field but also because Barrell leaves himself open to cries of nepotism since Bowens is his brother-in-law, married to Rollie's sister Betsy Barrell the former Olympic athlete.

MOTORS AND SHAMROCKS CONTINUE TO PUT HEAT ON DUKES

The race for top spot in the North American Hockey Confederation continues to be a three-team battle with the front-running Toronto Dukes clinging to a one point lead on the Detroit Motors and are two points ahead of the New York Shamrocks. Both Detroit and New York each have two games in hand on the two-time defending Challenge Cup champions.

The Dukes were expected to be a title contender with a terrific netminder in Gordie Broadway and the high-flying line of Quinton Pollack flanked by Les Carlson and Lou Galbraith but the other two contenders are a surprise. The Motors barely made the playoffs last season while the Shamrocks finished dead last and seemed to be on a rebuilding plan after dealing veteran defenseman Bert McColley away to the Chicago Packers.

Detroit's success can be credited to a talented group of exciting young forwards who have the club leading the NAHC in goals for while the Shamrocks, who went 18-32-10 a year ago and have already surpassed their point total of all of last season, are being led by their defensive play highlighted by the goaltending of Etienne Tremblay and Alex Sorrell.

Meanwhile Chicago and Boston, the two clubs many felt would battle Toronto for top spot, have both had their struggles and each is sitting well below the .500 mark. Offensive production is the issue in Chicago as the normally high scoring Packers have had their troubles putting pucks in the net this season while the Bees struggles can certainly be blamed, at least in part, on a rash of both minor and major injuries all season that has made it difficult for Boston coach Denny McLachlan to get much consistency out of his charges.

NAHC RESULTS FROM LAST WEEK

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 18

Chicago 2 at Detroit 2: Jarrett McGlynn scored his 10th goal of the season midway through the third period to allow the Chicago Packers to earn a point in a 2-2 tie with Detroit. Tommy Burns had staked Chicago to a lead early in the first period, but Remy Edmond and Francis McKenzie replied for the Motors in the opening frame.

New York 3 at Boston 3: Orval Cabbell assisted on all three New York markers in a 3-3 tie with the Boston Bees.

Toronto 3 at Montreal 3: The two Canadian clubs kept the trend going making it three ties on this day as Toronto and Montreal ended up in a 3-3 draw. Each club scored once each period with Brett Lanceleve getting the tying marker with just over 4 minutes remaining in the game after Les Carlson, with his 18th of the season, had given the Dukes a 3-2 lead.

THURSDAY JANUARY 19

Montreal 4 at Toronto 7: A high scoring affair at Dominion Gardens to complete a back-to-back series saw Toronto, paced by 4-point nights from Les Carlson and Cha Roy, dump Montreal 7-4 with seven different Dukes lighting the lamp. It was another rough start for veteran Vals netminder Tom Brockers, who allowed 6 goals on 26 shots before mercifully being pulled late in the second period.

SATURDAY JANUARY 21

Detroit 1 at Chicago 1: Back to back ties for the two rivals with both goals coming in the second period. Marty Mahoney scored just 3 seconds into the middle frame after a scoreless opening period but Francis McKenzie tied it with a shorthanded tally just over 15 minutes later.

Montreal 1 at Boston 3: First period goals from Robert Walker and Mickey Bedard, both on the powerplay, paced the Bees to a 3-1 victory over the Valiants. Jacob Gron increased the Boston lead to 3-0 in the second period with Nikolas Roch ending Oscar James shutout bid with the lone Montreal marker in the third.

Toronto 1 at New York 1: The Shamrocks continue to pressure Toronto for top spot after the two clubs skated to a draw at Bigsby Garden. Frank Featherstone opened the scoring for the hosts early in the second period but Robert Sharpley equalized for Toronto six minutes later. Alex Sorrell made 36 saves in the New York cage while Gordie Broadway stopped 24 of the 25 Shamrocks shots.

SUNDAY JANUARY 22

Boston 1 at Montreal 3: Montreal snapped a 3-game winless streak with a 3-1 victory at the Arena over Boston. Claude LeClerc, John Cline and Doug Lynch had the Vals goals with Craig Simpson notching the lone Boston marker.

Chicago 1 at New York 4: With Detroit and Toronto squaring off the Shamrocks took advantage of an opportunity to close some ground on the top two teams in the league with a 4-1 victory on home ice over the Packers. Tommy Burns opened the scoring for the visitors late in the first period but that would be the only one of 38 Chicago shots to elude New York netminder Etienne Tremblay. Rusty Mullins and Geoff Hartnell scored for New York in the second with Jim Macek and Tommy Brescia adding insurance in the third period. The victory moves New York back to within two points of first place Toronto.

[b]Detroit 2 at Toronto 0:[b] Henri Chasse stopped all 24 Toronto shots to lead the Motors to a 2-0 win over the Dukes, allowing Detroit to close to within a point of Toronto for first place. The Motors also have two games in hand. After a scoreless first period Lou Barber scored both Detroit goals, getting the Motors on the scoreboard midway through the second before adding his second of the game and 10th of the season in the third period.

GETTING CROWDED AT TOP OF NAHC

The standings are tightening in the hockey world as the Toronto Dukes have only won once in their last 7 games. Their 1-4-2 record has allowed a bunching of the top three teams. The Dukes still lead with 49 points in 44 games, but Detroit is just one back with 48 points and have played just 42 matches - two shy of Toronto's total. The New York Shamrocks add to the logjam as they trail the Motors only by point having suited up for 42 games. Chicago presently holds down the final playoff spot with 40 points in 43 trailed by only a point by Boston who have 39 points in 44 games. Montreal is currently in last with 35 points in 43 games.

Toronto played 4 games during the week starting in La Belle Province on Wednesday before 14,475. The first period was a prelude to way the game would played out for the 60 minutes. John McDonald opened the scoring less than 5 minutes in when his screen shot beat Broadway cleanly to the top corner. Bobby Sauer tied the game 70 seconds later when Martel's pass found him unmarked in front of Brockers. The second was a far more offensive with the Vals taking 17 shots, the Dukes tested Brockers 11 times in the period. Montreal again took the lead when Arlen Doherty scored from Isaac Finnson, Ray Sclisizzi on a tap in while Lumsen was off for roughing. Dukes tied it on a seemingly innocent shot from a Lavalliere that hit a defender's stick to deflect past Brockers. Toronto ran into penalty trouble in the final frame including being down 2 men for 1:53 early in the period. They managed to kill the 5 on 3 although it tired the penalty killers. Montreal then took two quick penalties while again on the power play when Doherty was called at 8:11 for hooking followed by McDonald 3 seconds later for the same infraction. Toronto then had a lot of open ice on 4 on 3 advantage. They took the lead on Carlson's 18th from Galbraith and Pollack. Montreal continued to press for the equalizer, they were rewarded when Brett Lanceleve's long shot beat Broadway with just over 4 minutes remaining to give both teams a point in the 3-3 tie.

The teams went on to meet again the next evening in Dominion Gardens. Toronto seemed to find its scoring touch in the first putting 3 past Brockers on goals by Galbraith, Carlson on the power play and Parker before the game was 12 minutes old in a period where the Dukes were all over the Vals. Sauer made it 4-0 early in the second only to have the Vals storm back with two before the period was 6 minutes old. Toronto again ran into penalty trouble with J. C. Martel taking 14 minutes in the period including a misconduct when the referee took exception to his comments after he was called for a slash. With Martel off Navarro scored when he was sent away alone by Chad Roy to make it 5-2. With less than minute remaining, Martel off again, Whitely made it 5-3 only to have Roy, with the Dukes second shorthanded tally of the period, make it 6-3 just after the face off at center. Brockers was then replaced by Brad Carter in the Montreal net. The teams exchanged goals in the opening 10 of the third with Roch making it 6-4 at 5:05 before Lumsen salted away a 7-4 victory for the Dukes.

Saturday night the Dukes went into the Big Apple to face the hot Shamrocks unit in Bigsby Gardens, In a relatively quiet affair all the scoring was in the first 10 minutes of the game. Frank Featherstone opened the scoring at 2:49 while up a man on assists by Pollack and Carlson. Robert Sharpley cruised into the slot to take a pass from Trevor Hooton before beating Broadway at 8:20. From then on Broadway and Alex Sorrell dominated the game. Sorrell was the far busier of the two netminders, making a total of 36 saves in game. Broadway turned away 24 of 25 in a highly entertaining 1-1 tie.

Toronto returned home to face the Detroit squad on Sunday up 3 points on the Motors. If Barrell thought they has regained their scoring prowess after the 7 against Montreal the weekend was to prove that it was not the case. Dukes seemed a little leg weary playing their third game in 4 nights. Detroit seemed to be the first to all the loose pucks, initiating all the physical play. There was no scoring in the first with goaltenders Terry Russell and Henri Chasse equal to all 15 shots they face between them, 6 for Russell, 9 for Chasse. The game was more than half over when Lou Barber opened the scoring from the slot on feeds from Marsh Spencer and Ben Witt at 11:54. Barber scored again at 11:21 of the third in a low energy game giving Detroit a 2-0 victory to pull the Motors to within a point of Toronto with 2 games in hand.

Coach Barrell: "January has not been kind to us. Every team goes through a down period in a season, hopefully this was ours and it is now over for this season. We are getting into old bad habits. Lazy stick penalties, trying to easy way rather than working hard. I have a sign in our room "Hard work beats talent when talent doesn't work hard" guys have to get back to their game. We have a couple practices to work on thing before we are back in New York Wednesday before a home and home with Chicago on the weekend."

ODDS AND ENDS FROM THE FIRST PHASE OF THE FABL DRAFT

• Scouting Directors across the league were in agreement that this was a very deep draft class, filled with high school talent. The consensus was there was plenty of offensive talent, particularly among outfielders with plenty of high potential selections bleeding into the third and even fourth round.
• The opinion on pitchers was very mixed with some Scouts suggesting it was also quite a deep crop, but others were concerned about what they felt was a lack of mound talent. Four pitchers went in the opening round lead by Empire State lefthander Tom Drill, who was selected 5th by the Pittsburgh Miners. The second round was dominated by throwers, with 10 of the 16 selections being hurlers.
• Speaking of second round pitchers, two of those selected were twin brothers Bill and Eddie Parkhurst. Bill gets the bragging rights as the Boston Minutemen made the 17-year-old the first pick of round two while four selections later Eddie got the call from the Miners. Their father, Eddie Parkhurst Sr., was also a pitcher and won a National High School title in the old feeder league era but was not drafted and did not play professional baseball.
• It marked the second draft in a row a pair of brothers were selected in the same round as a year ago the Berry brothers each went in the first round. Don, a corner outfielder from Grange College, was selected fourth by the Philadelphia Keystones while little brother Dallas, a high school centerfield, was taken 7th by Cincinnati.
• The most famous instance of brothers being selected in the same draft remains the Schneider triplets with Skipper, Buddy and Bart being selected with three consecutive picks in the 1939 draft. Skipper has made 8 all-star appearances. Buddy played in one and won a WCS when his Boston Minutemen triumphed over Skipper and the Chicago Cougars. Bart, a pitcher selected by Cleveland, has yet to advance past AA.
• Pittsburgh certainly had a type at the draft as each of the Miners first four selections and five of their top seven picks were pitchers. The Miners have not had a great track record in drafting arms which is why they have such a shortage of quality pitching talent in their system. They hope that between college stars Drill, taken in the first round, and fourth rounder Frank Ward along with high schoolers Eddie Parkhurst and Bob Finch, that sheer volume will lead to a decent pitcher or two down the road.
• Chicago Cougars fourth round selection, centerfielder Ike Soeur shares a connection with a current Cougar, Otto Christian, as the two both went to Walla Walla High School in Washington. The small Washington school is not known for baseball talent, as Soeur becomes just the third member of the school to be selected in the FABL draft, joining Otto, the 13th Pick of the 1941 draft, and Joe McGuire, a member of the GWL San Francisco Hawks organization who was the 299th pick of the 1942 draft.
• The grandson of Hall of Famer George Melvin was a first round pick. Like Grampa George, Gus Melvin is a shortstop and was selected by the Cleveland Foresters -the club George finished his career playing for- with the final pick of the opening round.

DYNAMOS HOPE PROSPECTS ARE LONG TERM ANSWER TO LACK OF OFFENSE

There has been much speculation that the Detroit Dynamos will deal one or more of their young pitching prospects - a position of strength- to address the obvious weakness that held the club back from being a true pennant contender last season. That would be a lack of production from their offense and in particular the corner outfield positions.

The Dynamos had arguably the best pitching staff in baseball last season and their 608 runs surrendered were the fewest in the Federal Association by a wide margin. Yet the club had to settle for a third place finish as their offense was the least productive in the loop. The club tried to plug holes with the addition of veterans Pinky Pierce and Hal Sharp along with untested minor leaguer Bill Parker and rule five pickup Wally Dorsey but all failed miserably. Even a costly trade deadline move to acquire catcher Adam Mullins from Cincinnati in hopes he could improve upon Rick York's feeble bat did not pay the hoped for dividends.

Much of the talk the past couple of months was of trading top 100 prospect Roy Schaub, who at age 23 and after half a dozen seasons in the minors and trades to and from the New York Stars, finally appears ready. Some insiders say the Dynamos were all set to pull the trigger on yet another deal with the Stars that would send Schaub to the Big Apple for a package highlighted by former Dynamos slugger Mack Sutton while another rumour had him off to Philadelphia in exchange veteran Sailors first baseman Ed Reyes, who has won 5 consecutive Continental Association batting titles but is 36 years old.

In the end it appears talks on both of those fronts have cooled and the Dynamos will elect to just be patient and wait for the kids to develop. There are plenty on the way with the crown jewel being local youngster Dino Sharp. Now 20, the slugging first baseman from Detroit was the 3rd overall selection of the 1948 draft and started to show some indication of his immense power potential with 16 homers at the Class B level a year ago. John Morrison, also 20, was the fourth overall pick of the 1947 draft, and while he is still struggling to find his stroke in A ball, Morrison is another player the organization has high hopes for. Closer to the big leagues are a pair of former college stars including a football All-American in Joe Fulgham out of St Blane. The 22-year-old was taken 12th in last year's draft and is performing well in Cuba after a decent showing in limited exposure to AA and AAA pitching. Expect Fulgham to be in Detroit's lineup next season, perhaps as early as opening day. Bill Morrison, no relation to John, was the club's second round choice last year. The Grange College centerfielder is also performing well in winter ball at Havana and may also make the big club this season.

The outfield may become very crowded over the next few years as the Dynamos try to find the right pieces to flank all-star Edwin Hackberry and to that end, they made it a priority to select a power outfield bat in this month's opening phase of the 1950 draft. Ralph Capriotti, a high school All-American who slugged 34 homers in 76 games for Muncie High school in Indiana, was selected third overall by the Dynamos and is a player that Detroit Scouting Director Al Horton feels could make multiple all-star appearances if he fulfills his potential.

Capriotti and the wave of talent on the way seems to be enough to convince Dynamos management to just stay the course and not deal any more -at least not until closer to the trade deadline- from their full cupboard of pitching prospects. The supply in that cupboard became just a little deeper last week when the Dynamos used their second round selection on Alabama High School lefthander Beau McClellan, a pitcher that Horton sees as an eventual number two starter in Detroit.

• Detroit is running away and hiding in the Western Division, as the Mustangs win streak is now at nine and have not lost since Christmas week -- in the last decade! Detroit leads Toronto and Cleveland by seven games.
• The injury to starting guard Alan Hepburn has done nothing to slow the Mustangs. Hepburn, who had been averaging 9.9 points per game and a team best 2.4 steals, last played on December 12. Since then, the Mustangs have gone 13-2 with Sigmund Hemphill filling in nicely. Hemphill, a cerebral guard who played his college ball at George Fox University, is not putting up huge numbers but using his speed to do little things on defense to help make up for Hepburn's absence.
• The Philadelphia Phantoms have shrunk Washington's lead in the Eastern Division to a single game, as the Statesmen slipped up with losses to Cleveland and Hartford. Philadelphia also lost to Hartford, but rebounded with two pummeling wins over 5-25 Syracuse. Washington's game against Hartford should have been a layup, but Washington was late to arrive on the court, as Hartford led Washington after one quarter, 25-11.
• Statesmen PG Blake Brooks, already day-to-day with a broken finger, only lasted eight minutes in the game in an ugly collision chasing a loose ball against Hartford's Corey Healy. The game in Connecticut's capital was supposed to be a get-well game for Washington after a surprising 82-67 loss at home against Cleveland, which was Washington's fourth home loss of the season. Last season, Washington went 32-2 at the National Auditorium. The win for Cleveland snapped its six-game losing streak, as star PF Ziggy Rickard led all scorers with 22.

UNBEATEN RANKS SHRINK TO FOUR

Panthers, Navigators Each Suffer First Loss

There are now just 4 AIAA major college basketball schools that have yet to taste defeat as two clubs fell from their ranks last week. Alabama Baptist was upset at home 57-50 by Hamman University on Thursday, ending a 12-game winning streak to start the season. The Panthers did get back on track Saturday afternoon when Don Hartley scored twenty points to lead Alabama Baptist to a 60-43 road win over Adirondack State.

Annapolis Maritime went 17 games without a loss until Berwick knocked off the Navigators on Wednesday by a 51-45 count. Like Alabama Baptist, the Navigators quickly returned to their winning ways with a dominating 69-44 showing Friday evening against Caesar Rodney.

Liberty College remains number one in the polls, a spot they have occupied all year, as the Bells added two more victims to run their record to 20-0. On Tuesday in Philadelphia, they had little trouble with Opelika State, dropping the 9-7 Wildcats by a score of 51-37. Two days later they travelled to Albany, NY and tamed the St. Pancras Lions 81-44 in a game that saw Luther Gordon score 32 points, two shy of his career high.

Backtracking to Opelika State, the Wildcats should be well prepared for the rigors of the Deep South Conference slate which is a late start and does not begin until next month. The recent slate of games could not have been much tougher for Opelika State as they played four ranked teams including #1 Liberty College and #2 Carolina Poly, both on the road. The test started with a 68-50 loss to #11 Rainer College before splitting their trip through Carolina with a 62-46 loss to the Cardinals but a 49-46 win over 25th ranked North Carolina Tech before heading up to Philadelphia for the Thursday loss to the Bells.

Carolina Poly slipped ahead of Noble Jones College into number two in the polls and is 16-0 including their South Atlantic Conference opener, a 75-44 drubbing of Cowpens State last week. Senior guard James Halle and junior forward Bill Florence paced the Cardinals in that win with 18 points apiece. The Colonels are still unbeaten with the same 16-0 record as the Cardinals, but Noble Jones College narrowly dipped to third despite wins over College of Cairo and Rome State.

The other remaining unbeaten team is Indiana A&M after the 15-0 Reapers prevailed in each of their two section openers in the Great Lakes Alliance last week. The started things off Thursday with a 67-55 road win in Lansing over St. Ignatius before following that up with a 57-41 victory at home over Wisconsin State behind a 22-point effort from senior forward J.C. Mitchell. It will be a tough in the week ahead for the Reapers as they travel to play 13th ranked Detroit City College Thursday before hosting #7 Whitney College Saturday.

If you are looking for a surprise team in the early stages of section play the Northern California Miners fit the bill. The Miners, who play in the very competitive West Coast Athletic Association, entered section play with a middling 8-6 record but have since reeled off five straight victories including wins over ranked schools in Coastal California and yesterday over Lane State and are 5-0 in WCAA play. They may very well be 5-4 two weeks from today with a tough slate that has 4 consecutive games against ranked schools including road trips to Rainier College and Coastal California for the rematch next week.

ERICKSON AGREES TO REMATCH WITH WESTLAKE

Mark Westlake will get a chance to prove what he has been saying since November 12. Westlake has been claiming he should rightfully be the welterweight champion of the world despite losing to reigning champion Mac Erickson on a stoppage in their first meeting. Westlake, who badly outclassed the champ and was well ahead on the judge's cards before referee Ernest Byrd stopped the fight after consulting with the ring physician regarding a terrible gash on the challenger's nose. Against vehement protests from Westlake's corner and the fighter himself the bout was stopped, and Erickson retained his title.

Westlake and his charges were incensed on two counts. One being that the stoppage occurred at all and secondly because the cut was originally opened by an accidental head butt early in the bout so at worst, they were claiming it should be considered a draw.

Erickson, to his credit, has granted Westlake a rematch and he is likely looking for redemption from what was one of his worst outings as a professional. Despite the uncharacteristic evening against Westlake, Erickson remains a perfect 21-0 and will defend the title that he first claimed in April of 1948 for a fifth time. Westlake, who is 27-5-1 and briefly held the title in 1946-47, feels if he can fight the same bout he did for a little under 7 rounds back in November he will once again be crowned champion.

The rematch is set for April 8 at Cleveland's Lake Erie Arena.


RECENT KEY RESULTS

• In Washington DC rising heavyweight contender Joey Tierney extended his perfect record to 17-0 with a unanimous decision over Curt Jones (22-12-6). Tierney, a 22-year-old Detroit native, was ranked the #3 contender in the heavyweight division in January's TWIFS quarterly list and may soon be in line for a title shot against Hector Sawyer.
• Memphis middleweight Millard Shelton scored a unanimous decision in 10 rounder at Bigsby Garden on Friday over ring vet Chet Cook (36-11-4). The 33-year-old Shelton is now 27-5.

UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS

• Jan 24- Hartford, Ct- former welterweight contender George Gibbs (25-5) vs Bob Thomas (22-7-1)
• Jan 27- Montreal Arena - former World Middleweight champion Adrian Petrie (19-2-2) vs Kevin Rawlings (23-5)
• Feb 9 - Washington DC - welterweight contender Ira Mitchell (24-4) vs Ronald Head (26-12-1)
  {*]Feb 11- Hartford, CT- welterweight contender Danny Rutledge (18-1-1) vs Stuart White (32-15-3)
• Feb 17- Youngstown, Oh- Veteran heavyweight Cannon Cooper (29-4-1) vs Bob Moore (19-14-1)
• Feb 18- Keystone Arena, Philadelphia- World Heavyweight champ Hector Sawyer (62-3-1) defends his title against Englishman Ben Budgeford (21-1)
• Feb 18- Keystone Arena, Philadelphia -Italian middleweight Hugo Caino (16-0-2) vs Chris Cummins (19-5-2)
• Feb 26- Lakeside Auditorium, Chicago- Heavyweight Scott 'The Chef" Baker (21-4-3) vs Joe White (27-13-3)
• Feb 26- San Francisco, Ca- HW contender Tommy Cline (16-2) vs Mark Green (15-2)
• Feb 27 - Richmond, Va - veteran Boston heavyweight Roy Crawford (30-5) vs Denny Smith (11-8-3)
• Feb 28- Bigsby Garden, New York - Welterweight contender Artie Neal (27-8-1) vs Jammer McDonald (13-11-3)
• Mar 24- Bigsby Garden, New York - John Edmonds will face Bill Boggs for the world middleweight title, made vacant by the tragic death of former champ Edouard Desmarais in an October plane crash.
• Apr 8- Lake Erie Arena, Cleveland- World Welterweight champion Mac Erickson (21-0) defends his title in a rematch with Mark Westlake (27-5-1)

• More than 60,000 soft coal miners refused to return to work despite Union head John J. Lewis' suggestion they get back on the job after a 1-week strike. Most of the holdouts are in Western Pennsylvania.
• The United Auto Workers have handed Chrysler a notice to strike after rejecting the company's $100-a-month pension offer.
• President Truman said he could not comment on the subject of a hydrogen superbomb, prompting speculation that production of the weapons will be ordered.
• Soviet bloc delegates walked out of the United Nations in a protest against Nationalist China.
• Korea's Ambassador to the United States says it will be very difficult to keep his country from falling into Communist hands if American economic aid was stopped.
• Alger Hiss, once a fair-haired boy of the State Department was convicted of perjury and branded by a Federal Court jury as a liar and a spy.
• Representative Richard Nixon, Republican of California, says he intends to give the House information that proves a "deliberate effort on the part of certain high officials" to hide the facts in the Alger Hiss case.
  
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January 30, 1950
 

JANUARY 30, 1950

WHEELER AND LONARDO HEAD LIST OF CANDIDATES FOR BOONE COUNTY

The ballot for candidates to join baseball's hallowed Hall of Fame have been made public with the voting results expected in two weeks' time. Heading the list for induction into the Boone County, Il. baseball museum is a pair of first-time eligible players in Al Wheeler and Jim Lonardo.

Wheeler played with four teams during a twenty-year career that saw him win 5 Whitney Awards and become one of just three players to accumulate more than 500 homers and 3,000 career hits. He won World Championship Series titles with three different teams in Detroit, Brooklyn and Cincinnati and also was the very first player ever drafted in the human GM portion of FABL. Lonardo is one of just 13 pitchers to record at least 300 career victories and is the only pitcher to win four Whitney Awards.

Each are expected appear on the 75% or greater of the ballots needed for enshrinement but with all voting members allowed to name no more than 5 players on their list the competition for additional spots will be fierce. Last year, no one received enough support to be inducted with Jack Cleaves coming closest. The second baseman who starred for the Philadelphia Sailors and Pittsburgh Miners before finishing his career as a teammate of Wheeler's in Cincinnati, was selected on 62% of the ballots. Only catcher Tom Bird, who was named to 10 all-star teams during his career, joined Cleaves in appearing on more than half of the ballots.

The Hall did induct one new member last year. That was John Cook, a second baseman who played for Boston and Brooklyn from 1902-1919 and logged more than 2,500 career hits. Cook was named by the Veteran's Committee, which is also expected to add at least one former player to the Hall this time around. In total there are 41 men currently in the Hall including 4 former executives and 37 who played and/or were managers.

CASTING MY HALL OF FAME BALLOT

This is one of the toughest ballots I've had to submit as a writer for the "Chicago Daily News", and now "This Week in Figment Sports", there are far more than five deserving candidates available for the vote. But I am forced to select just five players to earn baseball's highest honor. There should be at least two new members voted in, with additional players expected to be selected in the veteran's committee. As much as I am a small hall guy, I am hoping ours expands plenty this time around. Here's who I picked, and how likely I expect them to get in:

RF Al "Wonder Wheel" Wheeler (1st Ballot)
Teams: Detroit Dynamos, Brooklyn Kings, Chicago Chiefs, Cincinnati Cannons
Drafted: 1st Round, 1st Overall (1925) by the Detroit Dynamos
Career Stats: .295/.383/.496 (139 OPS+), 2,951 G, 2,846 PA, 1,953 R, 422 2B, 124 3B, 516 HR, 2,014 RBI, 1,623 BB, 64 SB, 139 WRC+, 83.7 WAR
Accolades: 5 All-Star Selections, 5 Whitney Awards, 3 Championships
All-Time Leaderboard: Runs (2nd, 1,953), Hits (9th, 3,248), Homers (3rd, 516), RBIs (3rd, 2,014), Walks (4th, 1,623)
Dynamos Records: OBP (2nd, .407), Slugging (1st, .549), OPS (1st, .956), Runs (3rd, 828), Homers (3rd, 204), RBIs (4th, 821), Walks (5th, 607)
Dynamos Single Season Records: Average (3rd, .372, 1930), OBP (3rd, .447, 1930), Slugging (1st, .670, 1930; 3rd, .631, 1932), OPS (1st, 1.117, 1930; 2nd, 1.055, 1932), Runs (4th, 129, 1930), Hits (4th, 219, 1930), Homers (4th, 38, 1932), RBIs (1st, 146, 1932)
Kings Records: Slugging (4th, .493), OPS (4th, .872), Homers (1st, 227), RBIs (3rd, 862), Walks (1st, 682)
Kings Single Season Records: OBP (4th, .444, 1936), Slugging (1st, .649, 1935; 3rd, .604, 1936), OPS (1st, 1.087, 1935; 3rd, 1.048, 1936), Homers (1st, 38, 1936; 4th, 34, 1935), RBIs (1st, 145, 1936; t-2nd, 130, 1935)
Association Season Highs: Runs (2; 1932, 1936), Homers (5; 1932, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1938), RBIs (6; 1932, 1935, 1936, 1937, 1938), Average (1; 1935), OBP (4; 1930, 1932, 1935, 1936), Slugging (4; 1932, 1935, 1936, 1937), WRC+ (4; 1932, 1935, 1937, 1945), wOBA (4; 1932, 1935, 1936, 1945), WAR (3; 1930, 1932, 1936)

When a player is taken first overall, expectations are sky high.

Al Wheeler still managed to shatter them.

It took just two minor league seasons for Al Wheeler to make the Detroit Dynamos Opening Day roster, and even at twenty it was clear that the "Wonder Wheel" was truly gifted. As you can see, his name is all over the record books, from being top five all time in runs, homers, walks, and RBIs to leading both the Kings and Dynamos All-Time for OPS. He then won 5 Whitney's and 3 Championships, and if the All-Star game was around when he debuted, I can't imagine him having less then ten All-Star selections. I'm not going to bore you with all the numbers -- that can go on his Hall of Fame plaque -- but plain and simple Al Wheeler is a Hall of Famer, and any hall without him isn't one worth being in. Not many hitters have walked 500 times more then he struck out, or hit 500 homers, or recorded 3,000 hits. And he's done all of that. And more!

RHP Jim Lonardo (1st Ballot)
Teams: New York Gothams, Chicago Chiefs, Chicago Cougars, Detroit Dynamos
Drafted: 10th Round, 147th Overall (1925) by the New York Gothams
Career Stats: 312-233, SV, 5,031.1 IP, 3.56 ERA (115 ERA+), 1.28 WHIP, 1,019 BB, 1,483 K, 1.5 K/BB, 3.72 FIP (91 FIP), 93.0 WAR
Accolades: 3 All-Star Selections, 4 Allen Awards, 2 Championships
All-Time Leaderboard: Innings (8th, 5,031)
Gothams Records: Wins (2nd, 202), WAR (1st, 65.9), Games (1st, 430), Stars (2nd, 413), Complete Games (4th, 209), Shutouts (4th, 23), Innings (2nd, 3,292), BB/9 (4th, 1.8), Strikeouts (3rd, 1,082), rWAR (1st, 66.9)
Gothams Single Season Records: K/BB (3rd, 3.29, 1931; 4th, 3.26, 1930)
Association Season Highs: Wins (3; 1930, 1931, 1933), ERA (1, 1938), Strikeouts (2; 1930, 1931), WHIP (2; 1930, 1931), K/BB (4; 1930, 1931, 1934, 1935), WAR (2; 1930, 1934)

A member of the same draft class as Al Wheeler, it took 145 other selections before the Gothams finally made Jim Lonardo the 147th pick. Looking back, you can pretty confidently say that Lonardo should have been picked in the same place he is on my ballot, right after Al Wheeler. Lonardo defied all expectations just by making the majors, so to cap off a 312-win career is the 99th percentile outcome regardless. After a subpar rookie season (13-14, 4.90, 91), he quickly became one of the best and most reliable pitchers, producing above average ERA+ and FIP- from his aged 24 season through his aged 35 season. That's a run of dominance worth recognition, and it earned him 4 Allens and 2 Rings. Most of this came from his time as the Gotham's ace, where he had 8 5-WAR seasons, six 15-Win seasons, five sub-3.40 ERA seasons, and 14 appearances on the tops of the leaderboard. But his most impressive season may have been the one that came after his 19-loss campaign in 1937.

The Gothams have been known to have no issue trading for or away stars, and Lonardo was no exception. Sure, he came back a few times, but this time the Gothams regretted letting him go, as Lonardo bounced back and led the Chiefs to a championship. He went 25-7 with a league low 2.68 ERA (158 ERA+) and league high 7.1 WAR. He also won both of his starts in the finals over the Kings, which at the time made him 7-2 in the World Championship series. That asserted Lonardo's legacy, but he was long a top pitcher before, and he continued that into his 40s. His longevity has made him the 11th most winning FABL pitcher, which is more then five Hall-of-Famers. It can be said that those worthy of the Hall are the ones you want pitching with the game on the line, and Lonardo proved time and time again that he could come up clutch when the occasion called for it.

C Tom Bird (2nd Ballot, 54%)
Teams: St. Louis Pioneers, Montreal Saints, Chicago Chiefs, Cincinnati Cannons
Drafted: Undrafted (1929)
Career Stats: .308/.416/.470 (145 OPS+), 1,451 G, 6,113 PA, 874 R, 325 2B, 27 3B, 146 HR, 805 RBI, 958 BB, 3 SB, 150 WRC+, 56.5 WAR
Accolades: 10 All-Star Selections, 3 Championships, 1 World Championship Series MVP
Chiefs Leaderboard: Average (5th, .313), OBP (1st, .422), Slugging (5th, .481), OPS (1st, .903), Homers (5th, 127), Walks (3rd, 797)
Chiefs Single Season Records: OBP (1st, .458, 1937; 2nd, .457, 1938), Slugging (5th, .552, 1937), OPS (3rd, 1.010, 1937; 4th, 1.007, 1938), Walks (3rd, 116, 1937; 4th, 111, 1938)
Association Season Highs: Walks (1; 1937), OBP (1; 1938), OPS (1; 1938), WRC+ (1; 1938), wOBA (1; 1938)

One of, if not the most, controversial players on any ballot yet, there has been plenty of debate on whether Tom Bird is Hall of Fame worthy or not. I've written on Tom Bird plenty before, so I'll keep this short and sweet. Bird is one of the few players who has had an 11-year span where in 10 seasons he had a WRC+ above 125, something a few Hall-of-Famers and even the great Bobby Barrell haven't managed. And like Barrell, he's had 8 straight with one above 135. Very few players can even come close to that, let alone his career 150 WRC+, which means that for the entirety of his career, he was 50% better then the average hitter. And when it comes to catchers, you'll be lucky to grab one who's just average. Bird is a 10-Time All-Star who was on two occasions deserving of a Whitney, and among catchers he ranks top five in average (3rd), OBP (1st), slugging (3rd), OPS (2nd), and walks (3rd).

The thing is, this year there are a lot of deserving candidates, and it's going to be tough to change the minds of other voters who left him off last season. His career was short, just 8 seasons with more then 125 games played, leaving him with just 1,451 career games and 6,113 plate appearances. His counting stats don't match up to others, but when it comes to a catcher, especially one with a peak like Bird, I don't think it matters. He was a top hitter for ten years and you can say he was the reason the Chiefs won the 1936 World Championship Series. When he was playing, he was always one of the best catcher's in the league, and whether its now or on the veteran's ballot, he deserves to be recognized for his historic career.

2B Jack "Three Bagger" Cleaves (2nd Ballot, 62%)
Teams: Philadelphia Sailors, Pittsburgh Miners, Cincinnati Cannons
Drafted: 1st Round, 10th Overall (1925)
Career Stats: .300/.380/.457 (129 OPS+), 2,368 G, 10,046 PA, 1,327 R, 428 2B, 216 3B, 167 HR, 1,380 RBI, 1,111 BB, 5 SB, 132 WRC+, 71.6 WAR
Accolades: 4 All-Star Selections, 4 World Championships
Sailors Leaderboard: Slugging (2nd, .480), OPS (2nd, 861), WAR (5th, 49.7), Runs (5, 876),Triples (3rd, 173), Homers (2nd, 113), RBIs (4th, 949), Walks (2nd, 358)
Sailors Single Season Records: Slugging (4th, .549, 1929), OPS (4th, .974, 1929), Triples (3rd, 24, 1929; t-4th, 23, 1932), Homers (5th, 17, 1929)
Association Season Highs: Triples (3; 1929, 1932, 1933), Walks (1; 1928)

As crazy as it might sound for someone who's name is on a Hall-of-Fame ballot, Jack Cleaves may not end up the best Cleaves to play baseball. I'd already argue that his former teammate George Cleaves is already a far superior and surefire Hall-of-Famer, but half-brother Roger Cleaves is looking to take the crown from George as the game's top catcher when he inevitably hangs up the cleats.

But if you want counting stats, he certainly has them! Everything but steals!

Even for someone who doesn't care too much about those, I'm in awe of some of these. Over 10,000 plate appearances with 1,327 runs, 2,590 hits, 428 doubles, 216 triples, 1,380 RBIs, and 1,111 walks. He's even got 71.6 WAR for those who like that, and looking past the counting stats, the rate stats back up the work. He produced a 132 WRC+ with a 11.1 BB% and just a 8.6 K%. He hit .300/.380/.457 (129 OPS+) in an impressive 19-year career. He surpassed 600 PAs eight times, including four of those where he had a WRC+ above 140. His bat was perfect for the Sailors Park, where he made his name and one the first two of his four championships. He was always able to find the gaps, and as a Sailor he hit 551 extra base hits while walking two percent (10.5-8.5) more often then he struck out.

At the back end of his career, he won back-to-back titles with the Cincinnati Cannons, who acquired him at the 1943 deadline. He was more of a part-time player at that time. and ironically the only two seasons he didn't have a WRC+ above 100 were the two years he won with the Cannons. He was much better on the team that lost in 1945, and Cleaves ended his career by hitting .301/.409/.426 (141 OPS+) in 105 games. Despite the long career, he fought injuries even before his debut at 20, and its hard not to wonder if he could have been first ballot had he stayed healthy his whole career. He came close in his first try last season, as 62% of the vote isn't too far from qualifying. He'll have to hope a strong class doesn't push him down, but I think Cleaves has the best chance of the repeat guys on the ballot.

LHP Dick Lyons (2nd Ballot, 15%)
Teams: Chicago Cougars
Drafted: 2nd Round, 23rd Overall (1921)
Career Stats: 237-187, 3,972 IP, 3.80 ERA (107 ERA+), 1.35 WHIP, 848 BB, 970 K, 1.5 K/BB, 3.75 FIP (92 FIP), 67.6 WAR
Accolades: 5 All-Star Selections, 4 Allen Awards, 2 Championships
Cougars Leaderboard: Wins (2nd, 237)
Cougars Single Season Leaderboard: Winning Percentage (3rd, .769, 1938)
Association Season Highs: ERA (1; 1938), WHIP (1; 1938), HR/9 (1; 1928)

Go ahead, call me a homer. But after two decades of covering Dick Lyons, I just cannot take the longtime Cougar of my ballot. If it's just me voting, I think he'll fall off, but Dick Lyons was a truly remarkable pitcher. The only player on the ballot who spent his entire career with one organization, Dick Lyons was drafted in the fall of 1921, and threw his final pitch in the fall of 1945. A FABL veteran of twenty years, Dick Lyons retired and remains the Cougars second most winningest pitcher, and is believed to be the oldest pitcher to win a FABL game at 45 years and 64 days. That was the 237th in his career, as the soft tossing southpaw won 50 more games then he lost.

There weren't many instances when he was the best pitcher on his team, but he was always reliable. In his first 13 seasons with 150 or more innings pitched, he had a FIP- of 96 or lower, and in nine of those seasons, he had the above average ERA+ to match. In his later career, he did the reverse, as in just one of his last five seasons he had a FIP- below 96, but he had ERA+ from 101 to 123. As impressive as that is, he had just one 20 win season and only one additional season with more then 17. He had an extremely unlucky 1935 season with a 5.50 ERA (79 ERA+) despite a 4.09 FIP (93). If he came up earlier, he could have had his name on the FABL record books, as he won almost 200 games after turning 30. But what made Lyons most impressive is that he never once missed a star, as Lyons is one of the few lucky pitchers to leave baseball without so much of a scratch on his arm.

LHP Dean Astle (1st Ballot): A 6-Time All-Star and 2-Time Champion, Dean Astle threw 3,048 innings, all with the Foresters and Minutemen. When he was 36, he was still at the top of his game, 11-6 with a 1.57 ERA (213 ERA+) and 1.04 WHIP in 149.1 innings pitched. But a ruptured tendon in his finger ended his season, and his spring was cut short with a ruptured UCL. That caused him to miss all season, before eventually hanging up the cleats. Had he not been hurt, he likely would have won the '46 Allen, and with 187 wins it's not outlandish to think he would have gone well past 200. Combine that with a career 3.34 ERA (119 ERA+) and 1.29 WHIP, he had rate stats that would have backed up the counting stats. That and pitching for some really bad Foresters teams, as he had some tough seasons in terms of wins and losses.

1B Bud Jameson (3rd Ballot, 23%): The longtime Gotham first basemen and their current manager, even if "Saint Bernard" doesn't get in as a player, he could once he finishes his managing career. Along with a career .316/.383/.487 (131 OPS+) career batting line, the 45-year-old is already 402-368 as a manager and he's coming off back-to-back second place finishes. I don't see him leaving anytime soon, as he's been with them ever sense they took him 3rd Overall back in 1925. What hurts his case is his lack of starts, as he made more then 140 just one time. After he turned 32, he started 100 games just twice, and he had only three 600 PA seasons.

LHP Del Lyons (2nd Ballot, 8%): Relievers don't get much love, but Del Lyons was the best when there weren't many, and he was as important to the Kings as David Molina was to the Sailors. Molina will be the guy to eventually break Del's FABL record 182 saves, all of which came with the Brooklyn Kings. He went 98-80 in 1,200 innings with a strong 3.23 ERA (122 ERA+) and 1.38 WHIP. He did have some command issues, with 465 strikeouts and 456 walks, but the Kings stopper was ahead of his time, and in a way, worthy of some consideration for his impact on the game.

RHP Charlie Stedman (2nd Ballot, 38%): I voted for Stedman last year, but this time "Hard Luck Chuck" won't be getting my vote. I don't think he has much of a chance to get in, but he's had an excellent career. A bit of a journeyman, he made 70 or more starts with each of his four teams, and won exactly 250 games in 560 starts. He had a strong 3.60 ERA (116 ERA+) and 3.62 FIP (86 FIP-) with 1,799 strikeouts in 4,360.1 innings pitched. He did win the 1929 Allen Award with the Saints, but there's always been the argument he was never the best pitcher in a given season. And it may be right. His longevity gives him a chance to stick on the ballot for another year, but I can't see him getting the jump needed to secure a nomination this go around.

1B Dick Walker (1st Ballot): Longtime Sailor first basemen who is the reason Jack Cleaves doesn't have a few Sailors records. Walker appeared in 2,784 games, 1,911 with the Sailors and the other 873 with the Cougars, and hit .272/.379/.426 (123 OPS+). He walked 1,769 times and struck out just 816 times, tallying 1,840 runs, 433 doubles, 272 triples, 193 homers, 1,262 RBIs, and 422 steals. He walked too much to reach 3,000 hits, but still managed 2,742 of them. Unless next year's ballot is stacked, or Lonardo and/or Wheeler don't get in, Dick Walker will be on my Hall-of-Fame ballot.

NAHC RESULTS FROM LAST WEEK

WEDNESDAY JANUARY 25

Detroit 0 at Boston 6: Boston may be struggling against other teams but they shut out Detroit for the second straight game, blanking the Motors 6-0 behind a 3-point night from Tommy Hart and a perfect 21-save evening out of Oscar James.

Toronto 2 at New York 5: The Shamrocks moved into a first place tie with the Dukes after a 5-2 win at Bigsby Garden. Orval Cabbell scored once and added two assists for the Greenshirts, who stretched their unbeaten streak to six games. Jack Barrell's Dukes are heading in the opposite direction as Toronto has just one win to show for their last 8 games.

THURSDAY JANUARY 26

Chicago 3 at Boston 2: Marty Mahoney, with his second of the game, and Moose Vezina each scored early in the third period to lift the visiting Packers to a 3-2 victory in a game that Boston had led 2-0. The victory ends a 6-game winless skid for Chicago.

Montreal 4 at Detroit 3: Adam Sandford scored the game winner and added two assists to lift last place Montreal past the Detroit Motors 4-3.

SATURDAY JANUARY 28

Boston 2 at New York 6: The streaking Shamrocks won their third in a row and are unbeaten in 8 games after downing Boston 6-2. Simon Savard scored twice for New York while Orval Cabbell had his second straight 3 point night.

Montreal 3 at Detroit 1: The Valiants completed a sweep of back-to-back games in Detroit with a 3-1 victory. All of Montreal's scoring came in the second period on goals from Clarence Skinner, John McDonald and Paulie Mosca. The Motors have dropped 3 games in the past four nights while Montreal has won 3 in a row and is closing in on Boston and Chicago in the battle for fourth place and the final playoff berth.

Toronto 7 at Chicago 4: Lou Galbraith scored 3 times and added 2 assists while linemates Les Carlson (1G, 3A) and Quinton Pollack (1G,2A) also had big evenings as the Dukes got back on track with a big win over Chicago. The victory keeps Toronto tied with the New York Shamrocks for first place.

SUNDAY JANUARY 29

Boston 2 at Detroit 2: The Motors snapped a 3-game losing streak but had to settle for a single point against Boston. Eno Sclisizzi and Hank Walsh scored for the Motors with former Detroit rearguard Bryant Williams and Joe Morey replying for the Bees.

Chicago 3 at Toronto 5: Back-to-back wins for the Dukes over Chicago has allowed Toronto to regain sole possession of first place. Lou Galbraith followed up a 5-point effort the previous night with another big game as 22-year-old winger scored his 20th goal of the season while adding 3 assists. Quinton Pollack also had 3 helpers for the winners. Chicago squandered a big game from Tommy Burns as the Packers star scored all 3 of his team's goals including his 20th of the campaign.

New York 1 at Montreal 5: The Valiants won for the fourth consecutive game and now trail Chicago and Boston by just a single point in the fight for fourth place following a 5-1 win over the New York Shamrocks. For New York, the loss ended an 8-game unbeaten streak and left them 2 points behind Toronto in the race for first place in the NAHC. Brett Lanceleve scored twice to pace the Montreal attack while Tom Brockers had one of his better outings with 26 saves.

DUKES TAKE TWO OF THREE TO RETAIN NAHC LEAD

Toronto's frozen pond team in the NAHC surged to finish January with a .500 record of 5-5-2 allowing them to maintain a 2 point lead in the standings over the New York Shamrocks who went 6-3-4 during the month. The two met at Bigsby Garden on Wednesday night but it was the Shamrocks that came out flying, firing pucks relentlessly at Gordie Broadway in the Toronto net. They were successful on 2 of 12 attempts in the first period. Tommy Brescia open the scoring on the power play when he took a pass from Trevor Hooton in the slot then buried it behind Broadway at 11:41 and Simon Savard double the lead less than five minutes later on a play setup by one the league's premier puck handlers in Orval Cabbell, who picked his 32nd assist of the year.

Following the slow opening stanza the Dukes did manage to put a little more pressure on Alex Sorrell in the New York cage but could not get anything by him until the last minute of play in the middle frame when Quinton Pollack reached double digits in goals with a man advantage after Rusty Mullins had been kicked out of the game for a high sticking major that cut the Toronto player. Unfortunately before the Dukes goal the Shamrocks had lit the lamp twice on goals by Cabbell and George Collingsworth while short handed to go to the dressing room up 4-1 after two. The final period was uneventful with Jim Macek making it 5-1 before Bobbie Sauer made the score respectable at 5-2 with his 16th as the Dukes headed to Grand Central station to board their coach to head to Chicago.

Most of the 15,107 in attendance at the Lakeside Aud Saturday would have come expecting a tight checking, low scoring game between the Dukes and Packers. The first period went to that script with the only two goals being scored, both in the last 4 minutes of the period. With Charlie Brown serving time for what Barrell was heard to scream at the official a "cheap" unsportsmanlike call Jarrett Glynn slammed home a Max Lavigne rebound. Exactly 2 minutes later Lou Galbraith tied the score at 1 on a pretty 3-way passing from Pollack and Carlson. That was to be start of big night for that line. During the second period the line sored all 4 goals registered by the Dukes, Galbraith has 2 to complete his hat trick along with 2 helpers, Carlson had a goal plus an assist, Pollack also had a marker along with a helper. Ed Delarue scored Chicago's only goal in the period to make it 3-2 at the time. Max Ducharme, on an end to end rush made it 5-3 with 13 and a half minutes remaining in the game. Clyde Lumsen restored the 3 goal lead only to have Mark Brooks cut it to two with 105 seconds left in the game. J.C Martel's empty netter secured the 7-4 victory in a game that neither Broadway nor the combination of Norm Hanson, who was pulled after allowing 5, and Michael Cleghorn distinguished themselves in goal.

The two teams met again Sunday in Ontario in another game that started out as a high scoring affair. Spencer Hoffard was put in the sin bin before all of the 14,627 on hand had to a chance to find their seats. Tommy Burns scored at 0:39 mark, his 18th of the season. The Carlson, Pollack, Galbraith line continued to torment Hanson when Carlson tied it at 1 with both linemates picking up a point. Burns scored his 2nd of the game again with the man advantage at 12:43 only to be matched 4 minutes later when Trevor Parker scored on the power play with help from Pollack and Galbraith to end the first stanza at 2-2.

The second period was a little tighter for the first half until Hanson's nightmare with the Galbraith, Pollack, Carlson trio continued when Carlson found the twine, assisted by both his linemates. Burns complete his hat trick, this time 5 on 5, to tie the games at 13:03 but Galbraith scored again giving him 9 points for the weekend to restore the Dukes' lead. Featherstone had a shot elude Hanson to put the Dukes up 2 the last minute of the middle fame. That was to be all the scoring this night as both teams settled down to their normal tight checking form after five periods of high-octane offense. Toronto completed the weekend sweep holding on to a 5-3 advantage until the final bell.

Coach Barrell: "We came out flat in New York, for reasons I cannot understand, the Shamrocks sensed it and then took it to us. The score was flattering to our team. We had a team meeting on the train out of New York. I usually don't that. I usually let the players rest on the train, but I did not like what I saw in the game so decided to lay it out while it was still fresh in everyone's mind. One hard practice in the Windy City seemed to help us on the offensive end. Nineteen total goals in two games against Chicago is not something that I thought would be in the cards. Pollack's line was almost unstoppable, not that we did a good job containing Tommy Burns. With him you have to take him with the body, you look at the puck you are done, he will make you look silly."

"We finished January with an even record which was probably better than we deserved given our play. Time to start knuckling down when we don't have the puck. It is going to be dog eat dog the last third of the season. When there are only 12 points between first and last you know you are in for a battle every night. I keep telling the team to look at the Shamrocks, they are moving up the standings by mainly preventing goals. We have a team that can play that way if everyone buys in to defense first.

• A second Statesmen starter has been knocked out with a multi-week injury. SF Willie Wright is out for 2-3 weeks with a hyperextended knee after suffering the injury in Washington's loss in Boston. Wright's injury, paired with Blake Brooks's hip injury, will leave Washington without 40% of its starting lineup for the next two weeks. In Brooks's absence, Washington has used Don Brito with Erich Smith playing a large role off the bench. Smith was the Player of the Game against New York in an 100-82 win, scoring 16 points in 23 minutes with four steals. In all, Washington won two of three to stay in front in the East.
• The Baltimore Barons have won 11 of 15, marked by two separate four-game winning streaks to climb into a tie for second place in the Eastern Division with Philadelphia, 1-1/2 games behind Washington. A costly stumble against St. Louis this past week, 88-86, might say more about the Steamers than it does on the Barons. Baltimore has had a balanced attack, with four players averaging in double figures, led by C Jack Hirst and his 16.1 points per game. PG Bobby Ray Cornett is arguably the team's most valuable player over the first half of the season, with season averages of 12.3 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 9.0 assists. The team is first in the FBL in assists at 24.2 per game while their sharpshooters are second in the league in field goal percentage at 33.9%.
• Don't look now, but the St. Louis Steamers are on a five-game winning streak and have won six of seven to push its record to 7-27. After a dreadful start that made a lot of people wonder if the franchise would survive past its inaugural season, the team has picked up its scoring pace. St. Louis is still last in the league in scoring at 71.2 points per game, but the team has scored more than 80 points in four straight. Journeyman SF Mitchel Budd, on his third team in three years, has scored 20+ points in two straight, scoring 21 points against Buffalo and 26 against Pittsburgh. Isaac Luck is also one rebound short of achieving a double-double in each of the last five games. Also, likely the most positive news is #1 pick Cyril Worley had a huge game in the 83-77 win in Chicago, scoring a career high with 20 points and matching a career high with 13 rebounds.
• A quiet week for the West Division leading Detroit Mustangs who only played once. That was Thursday night when they went to Chicago and dumped the Panthers 75-56 for their 10th consecutive victory. Despite the Mustangs success on the court, where they continue to own the best record in the league, there is said to be some tension in the clubhouse. Center Jack Kurtz is said to be unhappy at sharing the spotlight with Ward Messer. The youngster has garnered much of the attention but the duo playing together has been a benefit to both of them and Kurtz has been one of the top scorers in the league this season.

CARDINALS FALL TO ALEXANDRIA IN SAC PLAY

The Carolina Poly Cardinals are the latest club to fall from the ranks of the unbeaten, after dropping a 58-41 decision on the road at Alexandria in South Atlantic Conference action. The Thursday evening loss to the Generals ended the Cardinals 16 game winning streak to start the season and left only three unbeaten schools remaining in the entire AIAA. Carolina Poly did rebound with a 56-41 win at home over Chesapeake State Saturday afternoon led by 14 points from forward Bill Florence but that did not prevent them from slipping from second to third in the weekly national rankings.

Liberty College remains in the top spot, a position the 22-0 Bells have held all year. The independent school had a pair of easy victories last week with a 32-point win over West Corners followed by a 79-39 drubbing of Topeka State. Noble Jones College, which has yet to start play in the Deep South Conference but is 17-0 after beating Michigan Lutheran 57-47 Friday night, bounces up a spot and replaces Carolina Poly at #2 in the latest college cage poll.

The third unbeaten team is Indiana A&M and the Reapers, at 17-0 overall and 4-0 in Great Lakes Alliance play, are coming off a very impressive week that saw them win back-to-back games against ranked opponents. On Thursday in Detroit, four Reapers scored in double-figures to beat the DCC Knights 55-44 while two nights later sophomore guard Von Bowyer led the way with a career best 18 points in a 60-49 victory at home over Whitney College. The Reapers are 6th in the rankings but trail another GLA school in Western Iowa (14-3, 3-1), as the Canaries hold down the fourth slot.

RECENT KEY RESULTS

• On Monday in Galveston, Tx. former welterweight contender Ben 'Baby Face' Bishop was disqualified for repeated violations in his 10-round bout with George Crawford. Bishop, a 31-year-old Atlanta native, was once considered one of the rising stars in the sport and even beat former champ Harold Stephens but lost 4 straight fights including two by disqualification and has been in frequent trouble with various state boxing boards.
• Wednesday in Hartford another once promising welterweight by the name of George Gibbs (26-5) scored a majority decision over Bob Thomas (27-8-1). Gibbs began his pro career with 14 straight knockouts, earning him the moniker 'Mr. Sandman" but he struggled against elite competition in taking successive losses to Jamie Rotz, Carl Taylor and Ira Mitchell a few years back and the 31-year-old native of Colorado is no longer considered a factor in the weight class.
• Friday night in Montreal former world middleweight champion Adrian Petrie lost in a bid take the Canadian title when he came up on the short end of a decision against Kevin Rawlings. Petrie has now gone 3 fights without a victory including his title loss to the late Edouard Desmarais followed by a draw against Bill Boggs in September. Rawlings, a 28-year-old Oshawa native, gained a measure of revenge for his loss to Petrie two years ago.

UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS

• Feb 9 - Washington DC - welterweight contender Ira Mitchell (24-4) vs Ronald Head (26-12-1)
  {*]Feb 11- Hartford, CT- welterweight contender Danny Rutledge (18-1-1) vs Stuart White (32-15-3)
• Feb 17- Youngstown, Oh- Veteran heavyweight Cannon Cooper (29-4-1) vs Bob Moore (19-14-1)
• Feb 18- Keystone Arena, Philadelphia- World Heavyweight champ Hector Sawyer (62-3-1) defends his title against Englishman Ben Budgeford (21-1)
• Feb 18- Keystone Arena, Philadelphia -Italian middleweight Hugo Caino (16-0-2) vs Chris Cummins (19-5-2)
• Feb 26- Lakeside Auditorium, Chicago- Heavyweight Scott 'The Chef" Baker (21-4-3) vs Joe White (27-13-3)
• Feb 26- San Francisco, Ca- HW contender Tommy Cline (16-2) vs Mark Green (15-2)
• Feb 27 - Richmond, Va - veteran Boston heavyweight Roy Crawford (30-5) vs Denny Smith (11-8-3)
• Feb 28- Bigsby Garden, New York - Welterweight contender Artie Neal (27-8-1) vs Jammer McDonald (13-11-3)
• Mar 24- Bigsby Garden, New York - John Edmonds will face Bill Boggs for the world middleweight title, made vacant by the tragic death of former champ Edouard Desmarais in an October plane crash.
• Apr 8- Lake Erie Arena, Cleveland- World Welterweight champion Mac Erickson (21-0) defends his title in a rematch with Mark Westlake (27-5-1)

• President Truman asked Congress for $1 billion in new revenue through a two-point tax revision program that would raise corporation, estate and gift rates.
• Truman also asked Congress for a three-year extension of the draft act, which expires in June.
• The Atomic Energy Commission didn't learn until 1948 that the Army's wartime effort to corner all uranium supplies had failed, learning that Russia had received 1,000 pounds of uranium compound in 1943.
• 89,000 auto workers went on strike last week against Chrysler.
• Officials of the United States Steel Corp blame pensions and insurance benefits won by the Steel Workers Union for the recent increase in the price of steel. Steel plants are presently dealing with massive layoffs due to the ongoing soft coal shortage. The coal situation has now reached the national emergency stage.
• Peace talks in the soft coal dispute resumed on the weekend but most miners are expected to remain off the job at least to start the week.
• Eight Western European nations formally agreed to use American arms aid to "promote an integrated defense" of the North Atlantic area.
• Alger Hiss says he will appeal his 5-year sentence following his conviction on two perjury counts.
  
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February 6, 1950
 

FEBRUARY 6, 1950

CONTINENTAL LOOP FOLDS - 3 TEAMS JOIN AFA

The long expected news became official this week with confirmation from the American Football Association that it will expand from ten to thirteen clubs for the 1950 season with the addition of three teams from the now defunct Continental Conference. AFA President Jack Kristich, in a rare moment when both were in agreement, made the announcement at a joint news conference with now former CFC head, retired Navy Lt. Commander Ben Montgomery.

The two confirmed that the CFC is finished with only the three time league champion Kansas City Cowboys, along with the San Francisco Wings and New Orleans Crescents living on. The remaining four Continental Conference owners were convinced to accept a payment in settlement for an agreement to fold up shop on their franchises. The deal was similar to an arrangement that seemingly was in place a year ago until Crescents owner William "Bill" Beauregard threatened to sue both leagues as his club was not included in original merger plans.

Beauregard, the New Orleans shipping magnate, is fiercely loyal to his city and his decision to challenge both leagues paid off in the inclusion of his team in the final decision. The AFA had previously been adamant it only wanted 12 teams but eventually Beauregard's preseverance won it and the league will be a 13 team loop next season.

Kristich went on to explain the AFA will retain its two division format but rather than an East and a West Division, the clubs will be divided into an American and a Continental Conference presumably as a nod to Sutherland's loop. Only one of the three former Continental league clubs will end up in the new Continental Conference. That will be the Pat Chappell led Kansas City Cowboys, who recently beat San Francisco in what proved to be the final game of the 4-year-old loop.

In addition to the Cowboys, the Continental Conference will also feature the Boston Americans, Cleveland Finches, New York Stars, Philadelphia Frigates and St Louis Ramblers. The American Conference will be comprised of the defending AFA champion Chicago Wildcats along with the Detroit Maroons, Los Angeles Tigers, Pittsburgh Paladins and Washington Wasps as well as former CFC members the San Francisco Wings and New Orleans Crescents.

Kristich also announced that with the expansion the league will for the first time admit four teams to the playoffs as the top two finishers in each conference will play for the right to compete in the AFA championship game.


As we apporach the fresh promise of the first spring training of a new decade, whispers of uncertainty echo through the corridors of baseball, casting a shadow over the future of the Great Western League. In the aftermath of the Continental Conference's demise on the gridiron, could baseball's upstart, the GWL, be next to tumble?

The tremors began at a New Year's Eve soiree, where Colonel Thomas Bigsby, the influential owner of the Los Angeles Knights and the figurehead of the coast league, was spotted in Boston, rubbing elbows with players from the Boston Minutemen and the daughter of Minutemen owner Jesse Barton. Shortly thereafter, he traversed to New York, engaging in discussions with Al Mielke, the owner of the formidable New York Stars.

Whispers abound about Bigsby's intentions. Some speculate that he seeks a merger akin to the amalgamation that occurred in football. Others suggest a grander scheme: the Colonel aiming to purchase an existing FABL club and transplant it to the sun-kissed shores of the West Coast, with his newly constructed stadium in Los Angeles serving as the home grounds.

Rumors swirl that Mielke is entangled in a heated dispute with Robert Moses, the authoritative Commissioner of the New York City department of Parks and Recreation. Moses, it is said, contemplates transforming Dyckman Stadium, the cherished abode of the Stars, into a sprawling state park. In this tangled web, there are murmurings that the Philadelphia Sailors, possibly weary of sharing a city with the formidable Bobby Barrell and the Philadelphia Keystones, entertain the idea of a transcontinental move.

Could a scenario unfold where both the Sailors and the Stars relocate to the golden shores of California? Such a move could render the GWL obsolete, or at the very least, consign it back to a minor league status, a designation it held prior 1946.

While Sam Belton, the unwavering president of FABL, dismisses these rumblings as sheer fabrication, skeptics remain. Why, then, did Bernie Millard, outspoken owner of the Toronto Wolves and a staunch critic of the GWL, issue a statement urging his fellow owners to maintain the status quo?

The Toronto Mail & Empire quoted Millard rallying his peers to "let the upstarts fail" and cryptically teased a mysterious plan. When pressed for elaboration, Millard demurred with a curt "No Comment" but tantalizingly added, "Wait and see, the west coast fans will be the winners with our plan."

In the words of the venerable Brett Bing, a scribe of considerable renown, this statement from Millard indicates a probable westward move by one or more existing FABL ballclubs. While it may be too late for such shifts this season, the unfolding drama demands our keen attention in the coming months. The winds of change are blowing, and baseball's compass may soon point to the Pacific shores.

DUKES, SHAMROCKS DISTANCE THEMSELVES FROM PACK AS MOTORS STALL

The Toronto Dukes and New York Shamrocks are quickly making the battle for top spot in the North American Hockey Confederation a two-horse race, while the Detroit Motors are tumbling from contention in a hurry. Toronto had a January stumble with just one win in eight games but the Dukes seem back on track with four wins in their last five games while the Shamrocks have been on a tear, gaining points in 11 of their last 12 games. The result has Toronto, winners of the last two Challenge Cups, hanging on to a slim one point lead on the hard-charging Greenshirts with twenty games to play.

The Detroit Motors were the surprise team of the first half of the season, but the Motors have stalled of late, and although they did manage to earn a tie in New York yesterday, Badger Rigney's young squad is winless in its last seven outings and has now fallen seven points behind the Dukes. Detroit had better look over its shoulder as the Montreal Valiants, who spent most of the season in last place, are now in fourth and just 4 points behind the Motors. The Vals have played their best hockey of the season lately, going 6-1-1 in their last 8 games.

NAHC RESULTS FROM LAST WEEK

Boston 1 at New York 3: Shamrocks center Orval Cabbell celebrated being named the NAHC player of the month for January by scoring once and adding an assist as the New York Shamrocks scored 3 times in the third period to beat Boston 3-1.

Chicago 1 at Toronto 2: Chicago's struggles against the Dukes continued as the Packers, despite 37 saves from Norm Hanson, fell 2-1 in Toronto. Trevor Parker notched the game winner early in the third period after Alex Cameron had given the hosts an early 1-0 lead. Marty Mahoney, with his 18th of the season, was the Chicago goalscorer. The Packers have lost 3 times to the Dukes in the past two weeks and are 2-6-2 on the season against Toronto.

Detroit 1 at Montreal 2: Pat Coulter scored both Montreal goals to lead the Valiants to a 2-1 victory over the visiting Detroit Motors. Montreal has played Detroit three times in the past week and won all three meetings.

Montreal 1 at New York 3: Orval Cabbell had 2 assists and the Shamrocks snapped a tie entering the final frame with third period goals from Robert Sharpley and Simon Savard to rally past Montreal 3-1. The win allows the Shamrocks to pull even with Toronto for top spot in the league.

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 4

Montreal 1 at Chicago 1: Jarrett McGlynn scored in the first period for Chicago but Arlen Doherty tied it up in the middle stanza to account for all the scoring in a 1-1 tie at Lakeside Auditorium.

Toronto 4 at Detroit 3: Clyde Lumsen had 3 assists as the Toronto Dukes held off slumping Detroit 4-3. The victory moves the Dukes two points ahead of idle New York and into sole possession of first place.

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 5

Boston 3 at Toronto 1: Garrett Kauffelft had a goal and an assist as the Bees scored once in each period to beat Toronto by a 3-1 count. The victory moves the Bees out of the NAHC cellar, placing them one point ahead of Chicago.

Chicago 2 at Montreal 5: Montreal continued its lead on Boston and Chicago for the final playoff spot with a dominating performance in a 5-2 victory over the Packers. The Valiants outshot the Packers 41-21 with Adam Sandford enjoying a 4-point night while Brett Lanceleve scored twice for the winners. The Vals remain two points up on Boston and three ahead of slumping Chicago for the final playoff spot.

Detroit 1 at New York 1: The Motors claimed a much needed point with a 1-1 tie at Bigsby Garden. Tyson Beddoes scored in the second period for the visitors, but Mark Theriault pulled the Shamrocks even with just over 5 minutes remaining in the game. The tie leaves New York just a single point behind Toronto in the fight for first place while the Motors, who have won just two of their last twelve games, remain 6 points behind the second place Greenshirts.

• The Chicago Packers signed veteran winger Tommy Brescia after he was cut loose by New York last week. The 28-year-old, who had 8 goals and 15 points in 42 games with the Shamrocks this season, played in both of the Packers weekend meetings with the Montreal Valiants but was held off the scoresheet.
• Boston suffered a big blow when the Bees learned that veteran center Wes Chandler will miss about 5 weeks after suffering a fractured jaw in a game against New York last week. The 31-year-old, who has had more than his share of injuries in recent years, was leading the Bees in scoring with 13 goals and 38 points after scoring 60 points last season.
• Scoring is down as a whole in the NAHC. The Toronto Dukes lead the league averaging 2.80 goals per game with Boston at the other end of the spectrum as the Bees score at just a 2.41 clip. A year ago four of the six clubs averaged more than 3 goals per contest led by the Detroit Motors 3.30. Combined teams averaged 5.96 goals a game last year compared to 5.14 this season.
• Penalties on the other hand are up with teams combined for nearly 17 minutes a game this year as opposed to a little under 13 last season. With an average of 9.32 pim/game the Toronto Dukes have committed the most infractions.
• The Dukes penalty killing has struggled, killing off just 78% of opposition powerplays- worst in the league. But Toronto has the most effective powerplay, scoring at a 22% clip. Detroit is the reverse with the league's best shorthanded unit, but the Motors are clicking on barely 15% of their chances with the man advantage.
• Les Carlson of Toronto leads the league in scoring and he has done much of his damage on that mighty Toronto powerplay. The 22-year-old winger has 12 powerplay goals and 23 of his 57 points came with the man advantage. Robert Walker of Boston is second in powerplay goals with 8.
• Tommy Burns of Chicago reached the 20 goal mark on the season recently and Burns has been the most active shooter in the game this season, taking 194 shots on goal. Toronto's Quinton Pollack, who has scored just 11 times, is second in shots with 176. Burns led the league in goals last season with 39 but was very efficient in taking just 172 shots on the campaign, scoring at a 22.7% clip.
• The most efficient shooter, among players with at least 5 goals, will come as quite a surprise. Toronto defenseman Frank Featherstone has taken just 46 shots but he has scored on 8 of them, good for a 17.4% average.
• You have to wonder what Jimmy Backus has to do to get a shot in Montreal. The 25-year-old was the Vals first round pick (5th overall) in the 1945 draft but has spent his entire pro career with Springfield of the HAA. The Vals own his rights but he has yet to play in an NAHC game. He had more than 40 points each of the past two years (in a 50 game season) and this season Backus has found a new gear. The center from Vancouver leads the HAA in goals with 34 and points with 69 after 55 games. Led by Backus, the Springfield Hornets have 85 points in 57 games, tops in the minor league loop.

DUKES STAY ON TOP WITH TWO WINS AND A LOSS

In a scheduling quirk the Dukes met the Chicago Packers for the third straight game on Wednesday at Dominion Gardens. The final score indicated the games was a tight checking, limited chance affair but the 13,430 on hand witnessed a more wide-open affair that was marked by outstanding saves by both Ned Hanson and Gord Broadway. The first period was up and down the ice with each team taking 10 shots on the opposing puck stopper with most of the shots coming from the outside as both teams minimized shots from dangerous areas. Toronto opened the scoring at 4:07 when Alex Cameron's shot hit a defender's skate to deflect past Hanson as he was moving across the crease.

The Dukes controlled the play in the second in which Hanson turned away all 14 shots he faced from the home team. Even though they spent most of the frame hemmed in their own zone the Packers managed to tie the score with Marty Mahoney's 18th when he got to a loose puck in the crease before the Dukes could clear it away from the goal. Toronto continued to carry the play in the third, testing Hanson time and again. Trevor Parker took an early feed from Bobbie Sauer to beat Hanson high to the stick side in a shot that squeezed through between the goaltender's arm and body before the two-minute mark. That was the final, 2-1 Dukes with Hanson making 37 saves, 15 more than Broadway. Hanson was probably happiest that he was not lit up by the Galbraith, Pollack, Carlson line as he was the previous two meetings.

Next the Dukes went into Detroit to face the Motors on Saturday. The game between the rivals, where no love is lost. was a much calmer affair than most of the almost 17,000 on hand anticipated going to their seats. There were only two minor penalties assessed in the game, both going to the Motors. That did not mean there was a lack of hitting. Following their usual game plan against the Dukes of taking the man first the second man can pick up the puck. Dukes were on the receiving end of many bone jarring hits during the 60 minutes.

Lou Galbraith returned to form after a one game absence from the score sheet when he beat Detroit netminder Henri Chasse with a wrist shot from the high slot from Clyde Lumsen and Sauer at 4:43. Luke Brisebois managed his 3rd of the year when he pounced on a loose puck from a scramble less than 3 minutes later. The visitors dominated the puck possession in the first, but the second became a more even period with both teams testing the other team's netminder with high quality chances in a fast-paced period. The only goal of the period was a Francis McKenzie's 13th from a wild scramble in front of Broadway.

Trailing 2-1 entering the third the Motors pressed from the puck drop, and they were rewarded less than a minute in when Nick Tardif lifted a shot past a down and out Broadway to tie the score. The Dukes seemed more conscious of their backchecking only pushing deep when they had the chance. Spencer Hoffard pinched in from the point to tap in a loose puck to give the Dukes a 3-2 lead on a play that Barrell did not look initially pleased with when Hoffard started in from his point position. Les Carlson increased the lead to two when he found another loose puck after a Pollack deflection of a Lumsen shot at 16:53. Only 7 seconds after the puck drop Vincent Arsenault cut into the lead in half when cruised into to take a Joe Todd pass after Francis McKenzie had won the draw back to Todd. Detroit pressed but could not find the equalizer even after calling Chasse to the bench. Final 4-3 Toronto.

The Dukes were home to the Bees Sunday in what became, as it often does between these two, a chippy affair with a constant parade to the penalty box. Philippe Dubois' floater from the point deflected past Oscar James to open the scoring at 10:28 of the opening period but in the last minute of the frame and Boston on the powerplay Joe Morey put his 12th of the season past Broadway which from all reports sent Barrell off on a between period rant in the room.

After Alex Cameron flattened a Bees winger in front of the Toronto goal the refs arm went up to give Boston another power play. Just over a minute later Tommy Hart gave the visitors a goal advantage from Robert Walker and Garrett Kauffeldt. Up by one with 20 minutes to go the Bees went with a single forechecker with the other four picking up any rushers that constantly frustrated the Dukes. Toronto never did break through the defensive wall to tie the game. Boston added an empty netter to make the final 3-1 Boston.

Coach Barrell: "Good week although we ran out of gas Sunday against Boston after a tough game the night before in Detroit. Still a little too wide open for me, we have to still some coverage work to do in our own zone. Rob Painchaud is coming back off the injury list this week, he will need a number of practices before he returns to lineup. Boston again Wednesday, I expect them to put a run together which could start after our next game. I keep telling the players that it appears that the New York Shamrocks are the real deal. Don't count on them to fade. The Motors are still a good team that is slumping at the moment. Shamrocks have a allowed 16 fewer goals than we have, the team has been given a target of the least goals against for the season."

FAMILIAR FOES SET FOR CUBAN TITLE GAME

For the third time in the four-year history of the Cuban Winter League the championship game will feature the Havana Sharks playing against the Manzanillo Palms. Each finished atop their respective divisions as the 1950 winter league season came to its conclusion last week and they will square today in a 1-game winner take all championship.

The league, designed to give valuable experience against high level competition for top minor league talent, made its debut in 1946. The Sharks, which are supplied players by the Cincinnati Cannons and Detroit Dynamos, finished atop the Western Division each of the first two seasons while the Palms, their roster filled by the New York Stars and Philadelphia Keystones, led the Eastern Division both of those seasons. Havana triumphed in both of those playoff games and will be looking to make it three straight but the Sharks will have their work cut out for them as the Palms finished with a Cuban League best 31-11 record, winning the Eastern Division by a full 10 games over the second place Santiago Scorpions.
RECENT KEY RESULTS

• Carl Taylor, who twice came up short in welterweight title shots, was knocked out by Billy Boyd (29-11-2) in the 7th round of a bout slated for 10 frames in Houston Friday evening. The Baltimore native fell to the Jacksonville Jackhammer Dennis O'Keefe in 1946 and then to Harold Stephens a year later after Stephens had become the titleholder. Taylor has fought most of the great welterweights of his era but came up short against the all except for Mark Westlake, who he did split his two fights with.
• Saturday in New York, veteran heavyweight Gil Hilliard (29-11-2) scored a unanimous decision over young Philadelphia fighter Carl Washington (12-5-1).

UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS

• Feb 9 - Washington DC - welterweight contender Ira Mitchell (24-4) vs Ronald Head (26-12-1)
• Feb 11- Hartford, CT- welterweight contender Danny Rutledge (18-1-1) vs Stuart White (32-15-3)
• Feb 17- Youngstown, Oh- Veteran heavyweight Cannon Cooper (29-4-1) vs Bob Moore (19-14-1)
• Feb 18- Keystone Arena, Philadelphia- World Heavyweight champ Hector Sawyer (62-3-1) defends his title against Englishman Ben Budgeford (21-1)
• Feb 18- Keystone Arena, Philadelphia -Italian middleweight Hugo Caino (16-0-2) vs Chris Cummins (19-5-2)
• Feb 26- Lakeside Auditorium, Chicago- Heavyweight Scott 'The Chef" Baker (21-4-3) vs Joe White (27-13-3)
• Feb 26- San Francisco, Ca- HW contender Tommy Cline (16-2) vs Mark Green (15-2)
• Feb 27 - Richmond, Va - veteran Boston heavyweight Roy Crawford (30-5) vs Denny Smith (11-8-3)
• Feb 28- Bigsby Garden, New York - Welterweight contender Artie Neal (27-8-1) vs Jammer McDonald (13-11-3)
• Mar 24- Bigsby Garden, New York - John Edmonds will face Bill Boggs for the world middleweight title, made vacant by the tragic death of former champ Edouard Desmarais in an October plane crash.
• Apr 8- Lake Erie Arena, Cleveland- World Welterweight champion Mac Erickson (21-0) defends his title in a rematch with Mark Westlake (27-5-1)

• President Truman said that he will name a fact-finding board to go into the soft coal dispute, as he called on operators and United Mine Workers to maintain normal production for 70 days beginning today. Lewis turned down the offer and has called for an all-out strike by all 400,000 soft coal miners.
• A top-ranking British physicist, who worked on atomic bombs in the United States for 3 years, was charged in London with giving away atomic secrets to Russia.
• David E. Lilienthal, outgoing chairman of the Atomic Energy Commission insists his decision to resign has nothing to do with the development of a hydrogen bomb, noting he is not opposed on general principle to the development of any weapon.
• The Atomic Commission also reported major advances along the whole front of atomic research to Congress in its semi-annual report.
• Secretary of State Acheson told the House Foreign Affairs Committee that the Republic of Korea "can take care of any disturbance" that might beset it from the Soviet-controlled northern part of the Korean peninsula. Acheson was making a plea for continued financial assistance to the young nation.
• A sharply divided conference of Senate Republicans failed to take any party stand on the new method of deciding presidential elections. The plan calls for a constitutional amendment to abolish the Electoral College and apportion the electoral vote of each State according to the ratio of popular votes.
  
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February 13, 1950
 

FEBRUARY 13, 1950

BALL HALL WELCOMES THREE

Wheeler, Lonardo, Cleaves Elected

Baseball's Hall of Fame will swell by three members after election results were tabulated and news released that Al Wheeler, Jim Lonardo and Jack Cleaves will all be enshrined at the FABL museum in Boone County, Ill. Wheeler and Lonardo were both on the ballot for the first time while Cleaves fell just short in his effort a year ago but secured enough support to be included this time around.

Wheeler was a unanimous choice, appearing on all of the ballots. Lonardo and Cleaves also gained sufficient support for induction with catcher Tom Bird leading the non-qualifiers with 47% support. Bird will likely be a front-runner on next year's ballot. The Veteran's Committee declined to elect an addition to the Hall this year.
Wheeler made history even before he played his first professional game as the native of Decatur, Il. was the first overall selection of the 1925 FABL draft, ushering in the birth of the human General Manager era for the league. He was a dominant force for his high school club as a senior and two years later he was handling AAA pitching, belting 19 homers as a 19 year old in 86 games for Newark. That would be the last of the minor leagues for Wheeler who made his Detroit debut at the age of 20 on opening day 1928. He hit .306 as a rookie with 18 homers and 101 rbi's, numbers that would surely have won him a Kellogg Award as top rookie in the Federal Association had it existed back then.

A year later Wheeler and fellow future Hall of Famer Frank Vance led the Dynamos to a 91-win season and a Federal Association pennant. Wheeler's 37 homers and 125 rbi's were fourth most in the Fed but only third highest on a power-laden Detroit club that also featured Vance and Henry Jones. Wheeler struggled in the postseason but his club triumphed over the Philadelphia Sailors in 7 hard-fought games giving Wheeler the first of his 3 WCS titles.

That was the zenith of the Dynamos run as the club began to fade but Wheeler was just starting to shine. He won the first of his five Whitney Awards in 1930 and then claimed another two years later when his 38 homers and 146 rbi's led his league for the first time. Detroit was struggling as a team and by 1935 the club was in a freefall leading to one of the most famous trades in FABL history when Wheeler, along with Vance and pitcher Jack Beach were dispatched to Brooklyn for five prospects and five draft picks.

The Kings had won 97 games the previous season but finished second to Cleveland in the Continental Association and they were hoping Wheeler and Vance would be the final pieces they required. Wheeler dominated from the moment he arrived in Brooklyn and, despite spending the first 26 games of the season in the Federal Association, he would go on to lead the CA in homers, rbi's and batting average to become the first Continental Association hitter ever to win the triple crown.

Brooklyn again fell one game short of Cleveland in 1935 but led by Wheeler the Kings would win the next three Continental Association flags and he would earn his second World Championship Series ring in 1937. Wheeler remained with the Kings until 1943, leading the Continental Association in homers 3 more times and rbi's four times. He would win three consecutive Whitney Awards beginning in 1935 to bring his total to five - a number only surpassed by Max Morris and Bobby Barrell.

1943 brought a career worst slump for Wheeler and while hitting just .224 but with 10 homers through 65 games, he was dealt to the Chicago Chiefs in late June of that year. The Chiefs had pennant hopes but fell short as Wheeler's struggles continued. In a ballpark that should have suited his power swing perfectly, Wheeler hit just 19 homers and batted only .221 in 173 games over two seasons with the Chiefs before they gave up on him and dispatched him to Cincinnati for the lowly price of a seventh round draft pick.

The Cannons were a veteran team that had won it all in 1943 and Wheeler suddenly felt right at home when he joined the club for the pennant run in 1944. He hit .256 with 11 homers in 68 games with the Cannons that season and then smacked 3 more homers in the World Championship Series as he won his third title with his third different team. He would hit 28 homers and bat .296 in 1945, helping the Cannons to their third straight pennant in what was his last outstanding season. Wheeler spent two more years in Cincinnati before retiring at 39 at the end of the 1947 campaign.

He is one of only three men to hit 500 career homers and his 516 roundtrippers are part of Wheeler's 3,248 career hits. He is 9th all-time in hits, second in runs scored and third in career rbi's. No one has played in more than the 36 WCS games Wheeler has appeared in scattered over 6 post-seasons.

Jim Lonardo was also a product of that very first human GM draft in 1925 but almost an afterthought as the former St Blane Fighting Saints righthander lasted until the tenth round when the New York Gothams finally called his name. Like Wheeler, Lonardo made his big league debut in 1928, posting a middling 13-14 record with a 4.90 era for the Gothams. It would be the highest ERA total of his career as he would have a dominant sophomore season, going 21-11 to win the Allen Award and help the Gothams win the Federal Association pennant in 1930. He won his only post-season start, and would go on to win 7 WCS games in his career, but the Gothams fell in seven games to the Philadelphia Sailors.

Lonardo won 20 games the following season and his second straight Allen Award, following that up by going 2-0 in the WCS but the Gothams lost in six to the Chicago Cougars. He would win a third Allen Award with the Gothams in 1933 when he enjoyed the third twenty-plus win season of his young career. The Gothams won back to back pennants in 1934 and 1935 and finally won their first WCS since 1896 when Lonardo went 2-0 including a game seven victory over the Cleveland Foresters in 1935.

In 1936 the bottom fell out as New York got off to a terrible start prompting management to blow up the team. Nearly all of the big stars, except for Lonardo were dealt away in the fire sale. The team stumbled through an awful season in 1936 anad again in '37. With the outlook no better the following year, Lonardon was shipped to the Chicago Chiefs prior to the start of the 1938 campaign where he joined a former teammate from the Gotham pennant wins in Hall of Famer Rabbit Day.

It was with the Chiefs that Lonardo won his fourth and final Allen Award, posting a season for the ages with a 25-7 record and a Federal Association best 2.68 era in 1938. The Chiefs won the WCS that year with Lonardo running his postseason record at the time to 7-2 (he would finish 7-4) in a thrilling comeback to beat Brooklyn in seven games.

Despite still being a pretty good pitcher -Lonardo would win twenty for the fifth time in his career in 1944- he bounced around to the Chicago Cougars, Gothams, Detroit and finally back to the Gothams to finish out his career at the age of 42 in 1947. His career record stands at 312-233, making Lonardo one of just 13 players in FABL history to surpass the 300 victory mark.

Jack Cleaves had baseball in his blood. His grandfather is Hall of Famer George Thoebald and his brother George Cleaves, still active with the Gothams, is also a certain Hall of Famer and the greatest catcher of all-time this side of T.R. Goins. Jack was born in 1907, six years ahead of his brother, in New Jersey but left home at a young age to play high school ball in Louisville during the old feeder league era.

His talent was obvious early and the Philadelphia Sailors selected Jack 10th overall in that rich 1925 draft- the same one that produced Hall of Famers Al Wheeler and Jim Lonardo. He was immediately considered one of the top prospects in the sport and made his big league debut in 1927 at the age of 20. He would spend a decade with the Sailors, be part of a pair of WCS winning teams and thrice led the Continental Association in triples, prompting the nickmame "Three Bagger" that followed him throughout his career.

In 1937 the Sailors had lost a 1-game playoff to the Brooklyn Kings to decide the Continental Association pennant and Cleaves was an all-star that year. Many were shocked when news broke on the eve of opening day 1938 that Jack had been dealt, traded to the Pittsburgh Miners for a can't miss pitching prospect who clearly did miss by the name of Ray McCarthy. McCarthy did go 41-38 over the next 8 seasons with the Sailors and is still active in the Lone Star Association but Cleaves found a second wind playing alongside his brother in Pittsburgh.

Jack was an all-star again in 1938 and hit .330 for the Miners that season and then helped Pittsburgh to back to back pennants beginning in 1939. He would remain a teammate of George's until midway through the 1943 season when, at age 36, he was dealt to the Cincinnati Cannons. He would be a part of three straight pennant winners in Cincinnati and win two more WCS titles, to go with the pair he won with the Sailors early in his career. Cleaves final season was 1945 and he went out an all-star, hitting .301 that season to finish his career with a nice round .300 career batting average. A 4-time all-star and a 4-time World Championship Series winner, Cleaves played in 34 WCS games with 3 teams over 7 seasons.

IT'S OVER! GREAT WESTERN LEAGUE DROPS MAJOR LEAGUE CHALLENGE

The four-year experiment of big league baseball on the West Coast is over. The Great Western League will return to its erstwhile Triple-A status and affiliation with the Federally Aligned Baseball Leagues. Negotiations for the ending of the mostly peaceful "baseball war" between the GWL and FABL took several months according to anonymous sources privy to those negotiations.

Now-former GWL President Thomas X. Bigsby was key in the negotiations and will remain in pro baseball, as his purchase of the New York Stars will be made official at the next meeting of the Board of Governors on February 20th. Bigsby announced that the Stars would move their AAA affiliate to Los Angeles, restoring what had been the highest rung on the Stars' minor league ladder to its former state.

Other details of the deal are emerging but they include a 45% ownership stake in the Philadelphia Sailors for GWL San Francisco Hawks owner Red Perrone. Matilda Johnson, the Sailors current owner, will retain a majority 55% ownership share. As with the Stars, the Sailors will return the AAA affiliate to San Francisco. Both LA and SF recently opened large, big-league ready ballparks and rumors that both the Stars and Sailors might move west themselves are picking up steam though no announcements have been made.

The GWL's former affiliated leagues: the Lone Star Association, Western Baseball League and Transborder Association are also impacted. The LSA will return to Double-A status and the WBL to Single-A. The TBA will be folded.

The biggest news, and shock to fans, will likely be that several hundred former FABL ballplayers have been permanently barred from FABL and/or FABL-affiliated teams. The anonymous source indicated that this was a prerequisite for approval of the deal by Board of Governor members Bernie Millard of Toronto and Jesse Barton of Boston. Millard and Barton were the hard-liners among the BoG membership during the GWL's four-year run as direct competitor to FABL. Chicago's William Whitney III and Cincinnati's John E. Tice were more flexible.

The deal was signed by outgoing FABL President Sam Belton, whose tenure is due to expire on March 1st. The anonymous source indicated that a new candidate has been offered the position but has not yet accepted. The source did not name this individual, but rumors are that the candidate is a former FABL player who is currently working in an administrative role under the FABL umbrella, which is an intriguing tidbit of information.

PALMS WIN CUBAN LEAGUE TITLE

The third time was the charm for the Manzanillo Palms as after losing the Cuban Winter League championship game to the Havana Stars twice in the previous three seasons, the Palms finally got their revenge with a 6-5 win over the Sharks last Monday to cap a wildly successful season for the squad.

Manzanillo, which is supplied players by FABL's New York Stars and Philadelphia Keystones, went 31-11 during the season to finish with the best record in the league and just one win shy of their own single season mark set in 1947. Former OSA number one prospect Ralph Hanson, who made his big-league debut with the Stars last season, led the way in the championship game with a pair of hits including a 2-run homer off losing pitcher Johnny Whitter in the sixth inning. Highly touted Keystones pitching prospect Sam Ivey went six innings for the victory with Frank Nichols finishing off for the save.

MY HALL OF FAME BALLOT

Its once again that time of year where the baseball writers take to their typewrites and select up to 5 names to be sent to the official voting office of the FABL. Last season no one was voted in by the writers as no candidate received the 75% of the vote needed for enshrinement. Was it a weak crop? The answer is a resounding 'No".. There were several quality candidates that did not get in on their first ballot. Will catcher Tom Bird and second baseman Jack Cleaves get in this year? That is something we will see soon. For what it is worth here is my ballot.

RF Al "Wonder Wheel" Wheeler - Detroit, Brooklyn, Cincinnati
Wheeler's stats are known and printed in various forms so we will no go in and bore you with those details. Of all the candidates on this ballot, Wheeler has to be the strongest of the group. Wheeler won 3 World Series titles, one in each city he played in and Detroit fans have to be wondering why he was ever traded to Brooklyn back in 1934. But that is a discussion for another day. Very few #1 overall selections in a draft (1925) ever live up to the hype, but Wheeler certainly did and then some.

SP Jim Lonardo - New York Gothams X3, Chicago Cougars, Chicago Chiefs, and Detroit
Lonardo over the course of his 20 year career pitched for 4 different clubs but always seemed to find his way back to New York where he was a 10th round draft pick in 1925. Lonardo amassed over 300 wins and finished with a career record of 312-233 winning 4 Allen Awards and finished 3rd in 2 other seasons. Some will say he just had a long career and while that is true, he was a very good pitcher even into his early 40's. He deserved everything he got on the mound and was a World Series Champion twice. Lonardo is without a doubt a Hall of Fame pitcher and we will see if anyone in the future has the ability to be as consistent, play long enough and stay healthy to win 300 games again.

While the first two choices were easy, the next 3 were not as easy. There is has been great debate about that and will likely continue to be. My next choice I expect will get in this year, but it might take another shot next season.

2B Jack "Three Bagger" Cleaves - Philadelphia Sailors, Pittsburgh and Cincinnati
Cleaves was a first round draft pick by the Sailors (#10 overall) in 1925 draft. He arrived to play his first games in a Sailors uniform at the age of 20 in 1927. In his 19 seasons he amassed 2,590 with 428 doubles, 216 triples and even hit 167 home runs. He had a lifetime slash line of 300/380/837. While not flashy with his glove he played very solid defense during his career. He was a 4 time All-Star and won 4 World Series titles (2 with the Sailors and 2 with the Cannons).

SP Tom Barrell - Chicago Cougars, Brooklyn Kings, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh
Tom a member of the famous Barrell sports family was draft #1 overall in the 1929 draft by the Chicago Cougars. He made his debut for Chicago in the 1932 season and pitched just 24 innings for the Cougars before he was involved in a big news swap with Brooklyn in a deal that some Tommy Wilcox traded to the Cougars. Unfortunately both pitchers dealt with injuries after success but Barrell managed to earn 179-111 in his 13 season career. The odds are strong that he would have easily won over 200 games if not for his injury and 3 woeful seasons following a trade to Pittsburgh. He rebounded with Cincinnati going 27-13 in his last 2 seasons winning his 2nd World Series title with the Cannons in 1944 after winning his first with the Kings in 1937. Now the Manager of the Brooklyn Kings where he spent most of his career. While I don't feel Barrell will garner enough support this season, I feel strongly that he should be included to ensure he is on another ballot.

I debated a long time if I would include a 5th person on my ballot. I had honestly strongly considered submitting only 2 names. Then I added Jack Cleaves who will likely someday be joined by his brother George when the younger Cleaves decides to call it a career. I then added Tom Barrell and decided to add another starting pitcher who I felt was often overshadowed by "bigger" names during his career.

SP Ed Wood - Cleveland, Boston
Wood was a 1927 2nd round draft choice of the Cleveland Foresters and someone who's career I followed from the very beginning having been the Cleveland beat writer in those days. Woods won an Allen Award in 1943 and was a strong top 3 candidate in four other seasons. A lot of people felt he maybe should have gotten a 2nd one. He won a World Series with Boston after being a part of 4 players going to Boston from Cleveland for CF Dan Fowler. The Foresters paid a lot of Fowler but it ended up being worth it making 2 World Series appearances and winning the 1934 Series. Wood's had to wait until the Minutemen won the 1941 Series. In his career he won 242 games and had a career ERA of 3.43.

There were several other candidates that deserve recognition and while I will only talk about the 5 on my ballot, I don't want to deal with saying why I didn't think someone was good enough, this time around. I am sure there are several other guys who will garner enough support down the road who did not make it on this ballot and maybe they will earn enough votes elsewhere. If not there is always next year.

MINOR LEAGUE SHUFFLING IMPACTS COUGARS

With the folding of the Great West League, shockwaves were sent through the baseball world, as a backroom agreement that did not involve FABL's most recent owner, Mack Dalmer, finally extinguished the rebel league that the Wolves' Bernie Millard has campaigned so adamantly against.

Most FABL clubs were unaffected by the move, other then the fact that any GWL player would no longer be eligible to play for a FABL organization, but most of the teams themselves were welcomed back into FABL's affiliation structure. This caused some team shuffling, which ended a four decade partnership between the Chicago Cougars and the Mobile Commodores of the Dixie League. Mobile will no longer be a part of the Dixie League, moving to the Gulf States League where they will become the Class C affiliate of the New York Stars. This was done for geographical regions, as Mobile best fits that league, and was rather farm from Chicago, Milwaukee, and Lincoln. Replacing them in the Dixie League is the Cougars new affiliate, the Little Rock Governors, who were in the Great West League from 1904 to 1945, before moving to the Western Baseball League to serve as the AA affiliate of the Houston Bulls. The Governors were once one of the top GWL teams, winning 7 titles in the span of 11 seasons (1911-1922), but they haven't won one before or after.

The Commodores, however, have had some recent success, winning the Dixie League in 1948. They also had a threepeat from 1941 to 1943, and since the the 1928 season the Commodores have matched the seven titles the Governors own. Some of the best Cougar prospects have come through Mobile, including Leo Mitchell, who put up 7.3 WAR in his lone season with the Commodores, longtime infielder Bill Ashbaugh, longtime FABL backstops Fred Barrell and Harry Mead, legendary Cougar Dick Lyons, all four of the five current rotation members, and 23 of the 34 members of the 40-man roster. It's the unexpected end to a long and peaceful relationship, but from a travel standpoint, the Cougars will save plenty of money on travel as Little Rock is about 400 miles closer to Lincoln and Milwaukee, and about 300 miles closer to Chicago then Mobile.

• Few details have come out, but you have to think the owners in Oakland, Portland, Seattle and San Diego are livid right now at being abandoned by Bigsby and Perrone. Maybe there was a settlement of some sort agreed upon, but if not, you have to think they are planning legal action for retribution from Bigsby. To me, this move - although perhaps there are more details yet to come out- makes the Colonel seem to be painted with the same brush as the rest of the Bigsby clan. And maybe FABL and the league’s new President should be very wary of dealing with any member of the Bigsby family again.
• It is interesting how the careers of the 3 recent Hall of Fame additions intertwined. Al Wheeler, Jim Lonardo and Jack Cleaves were all drafted in that deep 1925 class that ushered in the human GM era. Wheeler and Cleaves were teammates in Cincinnati and won a WCS together late in their careers with the Cannons. Lonardo and Wheeler were rivals in the 1938 WCS.
• FABL Scouting Directors will be a little disappointed to hear Charlie Barrell is now starting at guard for the Noble Jones College Colonels. An injury to Carrol Larkin has given the sophomore 3-sport college star a chance to showcase his hardwood skills for the Colonels, who are 21-0 and ranked #3 in the nation. Barrell, who almost assuredly would have been a first round FABL draft pick as a second baseman out of his DC high school two years ago had he not gone the college route, is believed to still be weighing his pro sport options. In addition to his baseball skills and his basketball prowess, Charlie is also thought to be a pro football prospect as a quarterback. The Colonels football team struggled through a 4-6-1 campaign last fall.
• I am sure there are others playing all 3 sports at the AIAA level but Charlie is likely our first with legitimate pro aspirations since Pat Chappell. The Kansas City Cowboys star quarterback was never a draft candidate for FABL but was a first team All-American as a guard on the St Magnus basketball team and obviously a pretty good college quarterback as well.
• The Great Western League is not the only one going through changes. Japanese baseball has rebranded its league, which will now be known as the Baseball Association of Nippon and has expanded to 12 teams.
  
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MONTREAL RESURGANCE. VALS ON HOT STREAK

Montreal Valiants coach Norb Hickey will be the first to admit that the first half of the NAHC season his club was awful. The Vals stumbled to an 11-20-11 start and were mired in the basement of the NAHC with goaltending and defensive zone coverage taking most of the blame. As of January 17 the Vals had scored a league low 101 goals but surrendered 133, by far the most in the loop. However, that quickly changed beginning with a 3-1 victory over the Boston Bees on January 18.

That night was the beginning of a 5-game winning streak that has seen the Vals go 8-1-1 over their last ten games and outscore their opponents 36-15. Veteran Tom Brockers, acquired more than a year ago to stabilize the Montreal netminding, had a slow start to the season but has shown flashes of the form he displayed early in his career in Boston when he won the Juneau Trophy four times.

Montreal has still struggled to find secondary scoring behind the big three of Adam Sandford, Clarence Skinner and Brett Lanceleve but fans are hoping that recent signing Jimmy Backus may be the answer. The 25-year-old spent five seasons in Springfield before his contract was purchased by the Valiants last week. At the time he was leading the Hockey Association of America in both goals (35) and points (73) and he did not skip a beat changing into the bleu, blanc and rogue of the Valiants as the newcomer scored twice and added an assist in his debut, a 6-1 victory over Boston last night.

A playoff spot, something that has eluded Montreal each of the past two seasons, seemed unlikely just a few short weeks ago, but the hot stretch as Montreal securely in fourth place and closing in on the third place Detroit Motors, who have stumbled of late. There is a long way left to play - the Valiants have 18 more games- but the season has certainly turned around for Hickey, whose job was in jeopardy not that long ago, and his charges.

NAHC RESULTS FROM LAST WEEK

WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 8

Boston 2 at Toronto 5: Four second period goals lifted the first place Toronto Dukes to a 5-2 victory over the visiting Boston Bees. Les Carlson, with his league-leading 24th and 25th goals of the season, paced the Toronto attack.

Detroit 2 at Chicago 5: Newcomer Tommy Brescia, signed by the Packers after being released by New York recently, scored twice and added to assists to lead his new club to a 5-2 win over slumping Detroit. Norm Hanson had a strong game in the Chicago net, facing 40 Detroit shots. The Motors are 0-6-2 in their last eight games.

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 9

Chicago 2 at New York 5: 5-2 scores are becoming a trend as the Shamrocks, with 5 different goal scorers, continued to put the heat on Toronto with a win over the Packers. The Shamrocks are just one point behind the front-running Dukes.

SATURDAY FEBRUARY 11

Boston 0 at Detroit 2: Oscar James made 40 saves in the Boston net but was overshadowed by Millard Touhey's first shutout of the season. The Detroit netminder was not busy, he faced just 21 shots, but stopped them all as Detroit snapped an 8-game winless skid. It was scoreless until just over seven minutes into the third period when Anthony Jaques scored for the Motors. Nick Tardif added a late insurance marker. The victory came at a price for Badger Rigney's squad as Francis McKenzie, Detroit's promising 22-year-old center, left the game with a knee injury that is likely to sideline him for the rest of the regular season. McKenzie had 28 points in 51 games this season.

Toronto 1 at Montreal 4: The Dukes failed to build on their one point first place lead over New York, falling 4-1 on the road in Montreal. Brett Lanceleve and Adam Sandford each had two points for the Vals while Tom Brockers made 37 saves in one of the veteran's better efforts this season. The Vals are on a roll, with a 7-1-1 record in their last nine games and they have built a three-point cushion on fifth place Chicago in the battle for the final playoff berth.

SUNDAY FEBRUARY 12

Boston 1 at Montreal 6: The Valiants increased their hold on a playoff spot to five points over Chicago and six on Boston after a 6-1 win over the Bees. The hero for Montreal, aside from goaltender Tom Brockers who had another strong game, was 25-year-old rookie forward Jimmy Backus. Just signed out of Springfield where he was leading the HAA in scoring, the 1945 first round pick, scored twice and added an assist in his NAHC debut.

Chicago 0 at Toronto 5: Backup goaltender earned his second shutout of the season with 17 saves in an easy 5-0 Toronto win over Chicago. The Dukes, who fired 45 shots on Norm Hanson in the Chicago net, were paced by Bobbie Sauer's 2 goals and an assist along with Lou Galbraith, who collected four helpers on the evening. With the Shamrocks losing in Detroit, Toronto's lead on New York for first place is up to 3 points.

New York 1 at Detroit 7: A quick start in which they scored four times before the game was 15 minutes old lifted the Detroit Motors to their second win in as many nights, dumping New York 7-1. Ben Witt and Vincent Arsenault each scored twice and added an assist for the winners while rookie defenseman Brock Ternovatsky chipped in with 3 assists. The victory keeps the Motors four points up on Montreal, which is closing in on the third place Detroit squad.

DUKES LEAD ON SHAMROCKS IS 3 POINTS AFTER WINNING TWO OF THREE LAST WEEK

The Toronto Dukes won both their home games last week but dropped their lone road contest to red-hot Montreal as the NAHC heads into the final six weeks of the regular season.

Toronto renewed pleasantries with Boston at home on Wednesday, facing the Bees at Dominion Gardens for the second straight game. The game was probably much more wide open than Jack Barrell wanted with the two teams registering 67 shots total but unlike Sunday evening the Dukes came away with two points in this one following a 5-2 victory. Boston peppered 34 shots on Gordie Broadway, which was one more than Oscar James faced in the Boston net. After Garrett Kauffeldt quickly opened the scoring just over 3 minutes into the opening period tensions that had been building between the two teams boiled over when Brisebois squared off with Boston's enforcer Willis Beane in a spirited tilt in front of of Boston goal.

In what was a surprising return, Rob Painchaud, just back from injury after being cut by a skate before Christmas, tied the game after pinching in from the point then being found on passes from Lou Galbraith and Chad Roy. The Dukes stretched the lead to 3-1 before the second frame was 5 minutes old on goals by Les Carlson, 18 seconds in, then Bob Crone on the power play at 4:17. Tommy Hart brought the visitors back with in one when he beat Broadway from the slotbut that was as close as the game would get. Toronto added two before the ice was resurfaced after 40 minutes. Trevor Parker from Bobbie Sauer and Rob Painchaud at 14:59 then Carlson's 25th in the last minute of the period made 5-2 after two. The third period was a chippy 20 that many on hand thought was going to out of hand at any minute as the ref seemed to put his whistle away to get the game over with a minimum of stoppages in play. There was no scoring in the third.

If Barrell was not impressed with the style of play against Boston he was even less so with the checking shown by his troops Saturday in Montreal. The game was wide open for the entire 60 minutes, not the style Barrell wants from his team. The goaltenders kept the score down in the first as the only goal was scored by the Vals Alex MacDonald with only 2 ticks remaining on the clock. Shots in the first were Montreal 16, Toronto 15. Montreal scored on their first of 20 shots in the second when Pat Coulter beat Broadway in the opening minute of the middle frame. At the Montreal end Tom Brockers was unblemished through 40 minutes turning away 26 attempts. The Dukes pressed in the final frame cutting the lead to one at 15:47 when Maurice Charette finally beat Brockers from Quinton Pollack and Carlson. The Dukes continued to press hoping for equalizer then got trapped sending the Vals in 2 on 1 with Clarence Skinner deflecting a Adam Sanford pass into a wide open cage after being sprung by Brett Lanceleve. Sanford picked up his 20th into an empty net making the final 4-1 Montreal.

Barrell decided to give Broadway a rest against Chicago at home on Sunday. This may have been the catalyst to have the team to think defense first. Whatever it was the Dukes ran away with a 5-0 whitewash of the Packers in front of 14,160 fans. Sauer and Carlson scored in the first followed by Pollack and Sauer again in the second. Clyde Lumsen finished the scoring down a man in the third as the Packers were never in the game. Terry Russell only was tested 17 times in recording his second shutout of the season in 6 starting appearances. Norm Hanson, who has seen quite enough of the Dukes lately, faced 45 in the Packers crease.

Coach Barrell: "Sunday was the way we have to play going forward, not the style shown on Wednesday or Saturday. My only fear is that we got 5 against Chicago. I do not want the players thinking that we can just out score the opponent, that will lead to disastrous results. Our thinking has to be getting the puck out of our own zone push their wingers to the outside watch for a pinch from the point. One disturbing thing I have seen lately is that we are being outhit on a consistent basis. I want the Dukes to be on the giving end of more hits than they are taking in a game. Three teams Boston, Chicago and Detroit seem to think they can run us out of the rink...unacceptable to me. We have to show more grit in our game. That will be the focus before the 3 games this week, defensively take the man first."

• In a meeting of division leaders, there was not much of a contest between East-topper Washington and West-leader Detroit. Detroit entered the game on a three-game losing streak, and though the Mustangs got right in their next game at home against Cleveland, don't be surprised if this four-game skein represents rock bottom for the Mustangs. Washington came in winners in three of four with some injuries, but the team has found their stride. It's all about timing. If they met a few weeks ago, the result would probably have been different, but in early February, Washington - specifically star C Ivan Sisco - ran over them like a steam locomotive. Washington won, 99-76, behind 37 points and 16 rebounds from Sisco, completing a three-game run where he averaged 39.0 points and 16.3 rebounds a game.
• The Toronto Falcons are for real. At the All-Star Break, Toronto is gaining on the Detroit, now sitting in second place by itself, three games behind the Mustangs. The Falcons' latest winning streak of four games has been achieved by beating up on the lesser lights south of the border, with wins on the road against St. Louis, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, and Chicago. Toronto continues its nine-game road trip with the final three games this week in Philadelphia, Buffalo, and Detroit before returning to the cavernous confines of Dominion Gardens. The front court of PF Max Lucia and C Lon Porter is the engine that fuels the Falcons, along with impressive rookie PG Major Belk. Lucia leads the team in scoring at 21.0 points per game, including his current active streak of nine straight games with 20 or more points.
• The All-Star Game was held in Toronto and the homestanding Western Division All-Stars defeated their Eastern foes, 103-95. Buffalo's Larry Yim was named the Player of the Game, scoring 18 points, blocking four shots, and leading all players with 27 rebounds. Ward Messer led all scorers with 20 points in 28 minutes. Hometown starter SG James Chew was ice cold on his home court, going 1-for-13 with four points and five turnovers. However, C Lon Porter came off the bench to spell Yim and scored 10 points in 15 minutes for a boost, as the West dominated the middle in the game. Most of the game was played in the paint, as Brooklyn's Benton Legault led the East with 19 points in 27 minutes off the bench. The East was down 60-41, and made its charge in the third quarter to close the gap to eight entering the fourth quarter.

PANTHERS FINALLY HEALTHY, BUT LIKELY TOO LATE FOR PLAYOFF PUSH

The Chicago Panthers welcome back Richard Campbell after the All-Star break, but at 14-25, they seem likely to miss the playoffs for the first time in team history. Campbell leads the FBL in scoring with 23.3 points per game, and leads the Panthers with 14.4 rebounds per game. In his absence, the team lost 9 of 12, and for the first time since December 18th, the Panthers starting five will all play in the game.

In better news, star point guard Joe Hampton was recognized for his season, named to the All-Star game for the third time. Hampton is averaging a career low 9.9 points per game, but it comes with 10 rebounds and 8.6 assists. Hampton played 20 minutes in the East's win, scoring 8 points with 7 assists and 6 rebounds. He was the lone Panther to be selected to play in the game, held in Toronto.

LIBERTY COLLEGE ON VERGE OF UNDEFEATED SEASON

The Liberty College Bells have a chance to do something that has not been accomplished in a decade - enter the AIAA tournament with a perfect record. The last team to do so was the 1939-40 Ivan Sisco led Carolina Poly Cardinals who entered the year end showcase that season with a 30-0 record but would fall short of a National Title when they fell to Chicago Poly in the quarterfinals. The Bells ran their record to 26-0 with wins over Kansas Agricultural and Penn Catholic last week and seem a lock for a number one seed when the tournament tips off in mid-March. Prior to that the independent school out of Philadelphia has three more games to win if they want to enter the tournament with a perfect record. All three are at home and they are against Conwell College (9-14), Pittsburgh State (12-15) and finally 18th ranked Frankford State (20-5).

Luther Gordon, who is a lock to be the first overall selection in the June Federal Basketball League draft and the favourite to win his second consecutive Barrette Trophy as the top collegiate player in the nation, continues to dominate. The senior center is average a nation best 20.6 points per game and is only 67 points shy of tying his own single season record of 602 points set last year. Gordon is not the only scoring threat on the deep Liberty College roster as fellow senior Scott Basile is scoring at a 12.7 ppg clip while junior forward Edgar Stillwell is also in double-digits with a 10.9 average.

Noble Jones College and Indiana A&M also remain perfect this season. The Colonels and Reapers are each 21-0 and ranked third and fourth in the nation. Noble Jones College is tied for the Deep South Conference lead at 3-0 with Alabama Baptist despite being a very young team. The top scorer on the Colonels is center Mike Miller, who is averaging over 11 points per game, but the other four starters are all underclassmen including freshman forward Jim Graybeal and sophomore guard Charlie Barrell, who has stepped seamlessly into a starting role with the injury to Carrol Larkin. The Reapers are 8-0 in Great Lakes Alliance play, one game up on #2 ranked Western Iowa with the two schools set to stage their only meeting on March 9. The leaders for the Reapers, who have not won a section crown since 1929, are the forward duo of senior J.C. Mitchell (14.3 ppg) and sophomore Ollie Courville (9.2 ppg).

Complete AIAA conference standings and results can be found here

SAWYER LOOKING TO ADD TO LEGACY SATURDAY AT KEYSTONE ARENA

The great heavyweight force that is Hector Sawyer will be on display once more this Saturday at Philadelphia's Keystone Arena when the champion makes his first-ever title defense in the City of Brotherly Love. It is not expected to be much of a challenge for the champ, who will face Englishman Ben Budgefod, brought across the Atlantic for just this occasion.

Sawyer, with a career record of 62-3-1 including 55 victories by stoppage, will be defending the title he won over a decade ago for the 15th time. Little is known about his opponent as Budgeford, while sporting an impressive 21-1 career record, has never appeared on this side of the Atlantic Ocean before. He is a Liverpool native with what is said to be a particularly quick right hook but is not expected to provide much of a test for The Cajun Crusher.

Budgeford does have the advantage of having seen Sawyer fight before as he was in the audience when Sawyer knocked out Brit Grant Knowles on his European sojourn in the fall of 1948. The champ has not witnessed Budgeford in person but it will be the fourth time he defends his crown against a British fighter having previously disposed on Leo Carmichael and Irish Pat Harber on American soil before the aforementioned meeting with Knowles in London, England.

Tony Weeks, whose only previous title fight that he refereed was the thrilling Frank Melanson-John Edmonds middleweight rematch, will be the adjudicator.

RECENT KEY RESULTS

• Thursday in Washington DC welterweight contender Ira Mitchell ran his record to 25-4 with a unanimous decision in a 10-round tussle with Ronald Head (26-13-1). Mitchell has fought with mixed results many of the top welterweights but lost his only title shot two years ago when he came up on the shortend of a decision against Harold Stephens.
• Saturday in Hartford Danny Rutledge, who was one of the welterweights to beat Mitchell and suffered his only career loss in a title fight against Mac Erickson last July, improved his record to 19-1-1 with an 8th round knockout of ring veteran Stuart White (32-16-3)

UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS

• Feb 17- Youngstown, Oh- Veteran heavyweight Cannon Cooper (29-4-1) vs Bob Moore (19-14-1)
• Feb 18- Keystone Arena, Philadelphia- World Heavyweight champ Hector Sawyer (62-3-1) defends his title against Englishman Ben Budgeford (21-1)
• Feb 18- Keystone Arena, Philadelphia -Italian middleweight Hugo Caino (16-0-2) vs Chris Cummins (19-5-2)
• Feb 26- Lakeside Auditorium, Chicago- Heavyweight Scott 'The Chef" Baker (21-4-3) vs Joe White (27-13-3)
• Feb 26- San Francisco, Ca- HW contender Tommy Cline (16-2) vs Mark Green (15-2)
• Feb 27 - Richmond, Va - veteran Boston heavyweight Roy Crawford (30-5) vs Denny Smith (11-8-3)
• Feb 28- Bigsby Garden, New York - Welterweight contender Artie Neal (27-8-1) vs Jammer McDonald (13-11-3)
• Mar 24- Bigsby Garden, New York - John Edmonds will face Bill Boggs for the world middleweight title, made vacant by the tragic death of former champ Edouard Desmarais in an October plane crash.
• Apr 8- Lake Erie Arena, Cleveland- World Welterweight champion Mac Erickson (21-0) defends his title in a rematch with Mark Westlake (27-5-1)

• President Truman invoked the Taft-Hartley Act against the coal strike and appointed a board of inquiry to look into the dispute and report back to him this week.
• On the weekend the Government obtained a 10-day court order designed to end the soft coal strike and set a hearing for February 20 on turning the order into an 80-day Taft-Hartley injuction. John Lewis directed the miners to go back to work today in compliance of the order, but few are expected to obey. The nation's coal supply is at its lowest level in history.
• British scientist Klaus Fuchs has confessed that since 1942 he has knowingly and continuously passed on to Soviet Russia vital British-American atomic secrets.
• The Federal Government handed the Nation a grim primer in construction problems of the atomic age, issuing a report entitled "Damage From Atomic Explosion and Design of Protective Structures" which dealt in mater-of-fact language with requirements for buildings which might have to undergo the tremendous force of a nearby atomic bomb blast.
• A crew member was sucked out the door that opened during an Eastern Air Lines plane flying at 2,000 feet over Tampa but he survived by grabbing the plane as he went through the door and held on until the big ship landed.
  
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