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Jiggs McGee · 12-27-2021, 12:52 PM

May 27, 1940

CHARGING CANNONS CLIMB CONTINENTAL

The Continental Association of late has become one for dream performances from previously struggling teams. Two years ago it was the Toronto Wolves who went from a decade of obscurity in the depths of the second division to within an October weekend of knocking off the then mighty Brooklyn Kings for a Continental Association pennant. Last year the New York Stars took the underdog role to new heights, rising from 4 straight sub-.500 seasons to win not only the Continental crown but also the World Championship Series. Flash forward to the present and now we have perhaps the most unlikeliest of all teams riding at the top of the Continental wave. The Cincinnati Cannons have found a new home, both literally and figuratively as the franchise moved from Baltimore to Cincinnati and after six straight last place finishes in which they never won more than 65 games in a season the Cannons suddenly have been shot to the top of the Continental Association table. It is far too early to crown them champions but it is clear the franchise is back to being at least competitive once more, rescued from the brink of oblivion by an owner with a family legacy tracing back to the dawn of the sport, a Hall of Famer manager who has won more games than any other skipper in baseball history, and a new cast of veterans led by a much travelled slugger who seems to enjoy success wherever he goes but is never kept around long enough to put down roots in any one city.

The owner, soap magnate John E. Tice, was the most popular man in Cincinnati ever since news broke he had brought big league baseball back to the Queen City for the first time since 1891. With the early success the club has enjoyed Tice has taken on deity-like status in Cincinnati while at the same time baseball fans in Baltimore cannot believe the insult of seeing the franchise prosper in it's new home on them on top of the illness they felt at losing their beloved ballclub, one that had been in Maryland since 1890.

The manager is George Theobald, a 77 year old who just has a way of turning teams around. The Hall of Famer won three world championships in Boston, added another in Detroit and nearly turned the current version of the Dynamos into World Champions after being a club that resembled the old Cannons before he took over. Theobald charges beat Philadelphia 4-1 yesterday for their 19th win in the past 24 games and the 2,450th win of 'Toothpick' Theobald's career, which is nearly 200 more than the next man on the all-time wins list. His easygoing manner seems to be exactly what a team that could do nothing right for nearly a decade needed and the handpicked staff that includes fellow Hall of Famer Big George Johnson as the pitching coach has done wonders to turn the franchise around.

Nearly as much as Theobald's arrival, the impact of veteran additions to the youthful core has been key to the Cannons resurgence. Moxie Pidgeon (.352,8,38) is challenging for the lead in all three triple crown categories and has carried the team on his back at times and is fresh off a World Championship win with the Stars. Pidgeon, who has hit at least 20 homers in a season for four different teams, also was a key piece of world title clubs in Cleveland and with the New York Gothams. Veteran Larry Brown (4sv, 0.67), like Pidgeon on his fifth team, has been outstanding in relief and has assumed a leadership role in the clubhouse. Catcher Jack Flint's (.295,1,11) work ethic has been contagious while William Jones (4-3, 2.74), Doc Love (.344,0,12) and former Brooklyn Kings Joe Perret (.317,2,14) and Doug Lightbody (.235,0,5) have also helped changed the losing culture the permeated the Cannons clubhouse in the past. Young stars Rufus Barrell II (5-1, 2.86), Rusty Petrick (4-2, 3.36) and Fred Galloway (.349,1,26) suddenly seemed refreshed now that the weight of all of those last place finishes has been eased with the new beginning in Cincinnati.

The season is a marathon, so only time will tell if the Cannons can continue to perform as they have in their quick sprint to the front this month, but it certainly appears this is a much different franchise than Continental Association rivals kicked around for most of the past decade.

FEDERAL ASSOCIATION
The Chicago Chiefs continue to lead the way in the Federal Association despite dropping two of three to the New York Gothams at home over the weekend. Fortunately for the Chiefs the Pittsburgh Miners, who split a 2-game set with Chicago earlier in the week, also had a rough weekend against one of the second division clubs by falling twice in Washington. The Chiefs lead on the Miners sits at 3.5 games with the Boston Minutemen sitting in third place.

ADWELL AWARD NOMINEES ANNOUNCED

Here are the finalists for the 1940 Adwell Award, presented to the athlete judged to be the best high school baseball player in the nation. Last year's winner, New York City high school pitcher Hiram 'The Undertaker' Steinberg is the odds on favourite to win the award for the second consecutive season and join current New York Gotham Walt Messer as the only player to win a pair of Adwell Awards.

The Adwell Award, first presented following the 1934 prep season, is named after Red Adwell, who was the winningest pitcher in high school history under the old feeder league system, pitching for Birmingham High School from 1910 thru 1913 before going on to spend a decade in FABL with the Pittsburgh Miners, Chicago Chiefs and Philadelphia Keystones.

1940 NOMINEES FOR THE ADWELL AWARD

BILL BARNETT - Senior: Brunswick (NJ) HS: Selected 5th overall by the New York Stars in January, Barnett has been named to the All-American team for the third time after a .495,10,35 season. He tied with Otto Christian for the highest WAR in the nation and his 1.643 OPS was second only to fellow Adwell nominee Dick Blaszak. A 4 year starter at Brunswick High School, in the post-feeder era only Rick York and Bill Murnane drove in more runs in their high school career than Barnett did and only Walt Messer hit more career homeruns

DICK BLASZAK - Senior: Morris HS (Bronx, NY): Like Barnett, Blaszak makes his third consecutive appearance on the All-American team and his .516/.574/.1.086 slash numbers compare favorably with his previous two seasons at Morris High. Was recently selected first overall by the Cincinnati Cannons in the January phase of the draft. Blaszak led the nation in OPS (1.660), tied for second in homeruns (12), third in rbi's (37) and his .520 batting average was sixth highest in the nation. Third in WAR behind Bill Barnett and Otto Christian.

OTTO CHRISTIAN - Junior: Walla Walla (WA) HS: Another one of the growing list of talented players coming out of the Pacific Northwest, Christian equaled the non-feeder league single season High School homerun mark this season with 15. An All-American selection each of his three seasons at Walla Walla High, Christian hit a career best .482 this season while also leading the nation with 47 rbi's. His OPS was third in the nation, trailing only fellow Adwell Award nominees Bill Barnett and Dick Blaszak.

HIRAM STEINBERG - Junior: Washington HS (New York City): The 1939 Adwell winner is still just a junior and the odds on favourite to be the first pitcher selected in the 1941 FABL draft. His numbers this season: 11-0 with a 0.23 era and a FIP of 0.00 (no, that is not a misprint). Led nation with 222 strikeouts which is a new all-time single season High School record (including feeders), smashing Donnie Jones 1936 mark of 215. Only 6 times has a pitcher topped 200 K's in a high school season and three of them belong to Steinberg. His 0.23 ERA this season is also a new record, topping Rufus Barrell's 1935 mark of 0.38. He 'only' won 11 games this season after going 12-0 each of his first two years and he has a chance to graduate as the only high school pitcher to win at least 30 games without a loss. At this time next year we will likely be celebrating Steinberg as the career leader among High School pitchers in wins, strikeouts and era.

CHARLIE WADDELL - Senior: Central Catholic (Toledo, OH): It's too bad for Waddell that Hiram Steinberg exists otherwise we would be talking about the incredible numbers posted by the Cleveland born righthander. Waddell was a perfect 12-0 with a 0.68 era and 216 strikeouts, which would have been a new national record for K's were it not for Steinberg's totals this season. Opposing hitters batted just .133 against Waddell, but again he was second to Steinberg's .124 opposition batting average. Waddell was drafted by the Philadelphia Keystones in the regional round in January.

Code:

	PREVIOUS ADWELL AWARD WINNERS
YEAR	NAME		  POS	CLASS	SCHOOL
1934	Walt Messer	  1B	SO	McKinley Tech (Washington DC)
1935	Rufus Barrell II   P	SR	Macon (GA) HS
1936	Walt Messer	  1B	SR	McKinley Tech (Washington DC)
1937	Pete Casstevens	   C	SR	Syracuse (NY) HS
1938	Bill Barrett	  OF	SR	Vineland (NJ) HS
1939	Hiram Steinberg	   P	SO	Washington HS (New York City)

1940 HIGH SCHOOL ALL-AMERICANS UNVEILED

Plenty of familiar names dot the list of High School All-American selections as seven of the 18 players to compromise the 1940 group had been named to the select list in at least one previous season. Seniors Bill Barnett and Dick Blaszak, along with juniors Otto Christian, Jesse Alvardo and Hiram Steinberg are all making their third consecutive appearance on the All-American team while senior pitcher Hal Hackney and junior catcher Eddie Howard are each selected for a second time.

The six seniors who were named to the squad all were selected in the January phase of the FABL draft led by Bronx, New York outfielder Dick Blaszak, who was taken first overall by the Cincinnati Cannons. The Philadelphia Keystones selected pitcher Joe Quade third overall, Brooklyn drafted John Moss - cousin of current Chicago Chiefs outfielder Cliff Moss, with the 4th selectin, Bill Barnett was taken fifth by the New York Stars and Joe Rutherford was the 7th overall selection of the Chicago Chiefs. Pitchers Charlie Waddell and Hal Hackney each were regional selections in the third round with the Keystones drafting Waddell and Hackney going to the St Louis Pioneers.

Code:

	  1940 HIGH SCHOOL ALL-AMERICAN TEAM
POS	    NAME/CLASS		   SCHOOL
C	Eddie Howard – JR (2)	St Joseph (LA) HS
C	Bob Crowley- SO		Framingham (MA) HS
1b-3b	Otto Christian  -JR (3)	Walla Walla (WA) HS
1b-3b	Bill Barnett – SR (3)	Brunswick (OH) HS
1b-3b	Lorenzo Samuels- JR	West HS (Cleveland, OH)
2b-SS	Bob Schmelz- SO		Dravosburg (PA) HS
2b-SS	Bob Montgomery- JR	Synder (TX) HS
2b-SS	Gordie Perkins – JR	Trumbauersville (PA) HS
OF	Dick Blaszak – SR (3)	Morris HS, (Bronx, NY)
OF	Jesse Alvardo – JR (3)	Canarsie HS (Brooklyn)
OF	John Moss – SR		Lexington (KY) HS
OF	Joe Rutherford – SR	Chillicothe (OH) HS
OF	Hal Renard – JR		Pittsfield (ME) HS
P	Hiram Steinberg –JR (3)	Washington HS (New York City)
P	Charlie Waddell – SR	Central Catholic (Toledo OH)
P	Joe Quade – SR		West Chester (PA)
P	Hal Hackney – SR (2)	Fulton (MO) HS
P	Tom Buchanan – JR	Waterloo (IA)
		 
	    HONOURABLE MENTION	
P	Bert Cupid – JR		Wilson HS (Youngstown OH)
P	Frank Sears – SR	Burlington (WI) HS
P	Bobby Mills – SO	Marlington HS (Alliance, OH)
C	Ed Haynes Jr. - FR	Austin (TX) HS
INF	Joe Davis – FR		Copley HS (Boston MA)
INF	Maurice Carter – JR	Meridian (MS) HS
INF	Win Hamby – JR		Morrisonville (IL) HS
OF	Rudy Ellison – JR	Evanston (IL) HS
OF	Paul Porter – JR	Devine (TX) HS

QUICK HITS

Cincinnati Cannons first round picks will be expensive to sign. Picking first and second overall after the deal that sent Gus Goulding to the New York Gothams the Cannons selected New York City high school outfielder Dick Blaszak first overall followed immediately by Lane State pitcher Bill Sohl with the number two pick. Blaszak (.516,12,37) finished among the nation's leaders in all three triple crown categories and has accepted an offer the attend North Carolina Tech so it will reportedly cost the Cannons over $25,000 to convince him to join their minor league system. Sohl (10-4, 2.60) was a finalist for College Baseball's Christian Trophy and while it is unlikely he would return to the Oregon school for his senior season he is said to be asking for a $19,000 signing bonus to turn pro. Those two players will eat up most of the Cannons draft budget which perhaps is another benefit of the trade that brought Moxie Pidgeon to the Queen City in exchange for the 5th overall pick (also acquired from the Gothams in the Goulding deal) and Cincinnati's second rounder. Had the Cannons kept both those picks they would likely have been hard pressed to find the cash to sign each of their top four selections.
The move to acquire Pidgeon (.352,8,38) and Larry Brown (4 sv, 0.67 era) is looking like the most important in a series of changes made by the new management team in Cincinnati but don't overlook the waiver signing of 37 year old Joe Perret over the winter. Perret (.317,2,14) always performed when called upon by the Kings but was a victim of the number's game in Brooklyn. He is still having a tough time getting in the lineup every day in Cincinnati but the way Perret has performed he is giving the Cannons no choice but to play him regularly.
On the topic of signing high school draft picks it looks like the Washington Eagles second round pick Johnny Thacker has made his mind up to attend Columbia Military Academy instead of turning pro. The 17 year old hit .429 this past season for Portsmouth (OH) High School but recently told his high school coach that the current state of the world has made enrolling at Columbia Military a priority for him. Thacker, who's father served in the World War, was the third catcher selected in the draft, going to the Eagles with the fifth pick of the second round.
Good news, bad news as far as the New York Gothams are concerned. On a positive note, the Gothams, with 3/5 of a rotation, appear to have reached boring mediocrity. Unfortunately it may be a year too late. Fan interest is down, attendance is down. It may take a bit more to create some excitement in Queens. For now Bunny Edwards and Sam Hodge are being sent to the bullpen, with Harry Carter and John Douglas with get some starts. Manager Ed Ziehl explained the teams thought process, "We're trying to avoid the pitching chaos of the past few seasons, with guys coming and going weekly. We believe Bunny and Sam are major leaguers, who haven't quite found their way. We hope they can round into form with some innings out of the pen. Also, Carter and Douglas have been with the team and have prior starting experience. We're looking for continuity."
Across town the New York Stars are growing increasingly concerned with the play of catcher Johnny Hopper (.205,0,15). The 26 year old has had a terrible drop-off at the plate this season compared with his previous three years and the club is also privately worried his defense is suffering as well. It sounds like the Stars, at 19-19, are worried the season is slipping away from them and may be close to pulling the trigger for an elite catcher. Problem is they are in short supply.
If you ask me the Stars need to ride it out with Hopper. Might just be a down season and he has been just too good a player the past three seasons to give up on. But if they are set on a change behind the plate perhaps Montreal's Adam Mullins might be a good fit if the Stars are willing to throw enough young talent at the Saints. Or if things don't pick up soon for the Cougars, perhaps they would part with veteran Mike Taylor and trust the starting job to backup Harry Mead until top prospect Solly Skidmore is ready.
The Chicago Cougars are another club that entered the season with high hopes but feel like this is shaping up to have the potential to be another wasted season. The Cougars, favoured by many to win the CA pennant this season, are 2 game below .500 and dealing with injury troubles. Aart McDonald, who was filling in as an outfielder for the injured Carlos Montes is now hurt and shortstop Billy Hunter will be sidelined for 6 weeks. That does mean rookie Skipper Schneider will see some time at short.
It was a decent week for each of the Schneider boys. Skipper hits .320 in his debut week and gets his first big league hit - a single off the Cannons Glenn Payne. Buddy, a FABL veteran in comparison, goes 10-for-24 including his first big league homer last week. It was dramatic, coming off Sergio Gonzales to lead off the ninth and tie the game at 3, but the Minutemen ultimately fell 4-3 in 11 in that contest with Detroit. Buddy is hitting .327 with 6 extra base hits in his first 12 games in the majors.
Tough break for the Montreal Saints who suffer yet another injury to a young arm. Shortly after losing top pitching prospect Pat Weakley for the year with elbow troubles Wally Doyle suffers elbow problems of his own. Fortunately no where near as serious but Doyle, who was 2-2 on the year, will be nursing his sore wing for about a month. Earlier this season the Saints also lost 2nd year man Bill Stewart for the year. The 24 year old was 8-6 last year in his Montreal debut.
Wild game between the Miners and the Chiefs last week. The Miners somehow prevailed 7-6 to earn a split of their two game set. The Chiefs had 3 men thrown out at home, including the last out of the game. The Miners also had a player thrown out at home and had two more guys caught stealing.
Big series for the Cannons - been a while since that phrase was uttered - as they host Toronto in a 3 game set for top spot in the CA. The two clubs met early in the season in Toronto with the visitors taking 2 of 3 at Dominion Field.
Breakout week for Walt Pack in Toronto…overdue according to Wolves fans. Yes Pack has broken out of his slump, now if the Wolves could find him a glove to cure his fielding woes... Wolves had a tough loss against the Kings blowing a 7-0 early lead, hopefully a lesson learned about not taking their collective foot off the gas. Toronto's week WLWLWL.
The Keystones road woes continue. 15-4 at Broad Street Park but just 5-15 away including 1-5 last week and are now 6 games back of front running Chiefs in the Fed.

The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 5/26/1940

The German drive across France veered toward the English Channel, apparently with the aim of isolating Britain and destroying her army. Nazis estimate a successful drive to the coast would split Allied forces and isolate 300,000 British soldiers.
The German march towards the Channel continued after French forces were crushed near Abbeville and their commanding officer was taken prisoner. French Premier Reynaud blamed the Nazi advance on "unbelievable faults" but promised that the Allies yet would conquer, even if a miracle is needed to save them.
Britain declares "Dictatorial Rule" to give government full control over all men and material resources in the country to meet the German threat.
As the week ends the Germans were pushed out of Abbeville but have surrounded Calais. German planes are also bombing large areas of the English coast in what many believe might be the prelude to an early blitzkrieg on the British Isles by air and sea.
Italy prepares for war after Mussolini is reported to have rejected President Roosevelt's plea that he keep out of it. French owned Corsica in the Mediterranean may be the goal of the first Italian move.
The Senate Appropriations Committee approved nearly $2 billion in defense spending, an unprecedented amount in peace time. US Military bosses are calling for a speedy realization of President Roosevelt's goal of an air armada of 50,000 planes.

12-27-2021, 12:52 PM	#315
Jiggs McGee All Star Reserve Join Date: Dec 2019 Posts: 677	May 27, 1940 May 27, 1940 CHARGING CANNONS CLIMB CONTINENTAL The Continental Association of late has become one for dream performances from previously struggling teams. Two years ago it was the Toronto Wolves who went from a decade of obscurity in the depths of the second division to within an October weekend of knocking off the then mighty Brooklyn Kings for a Continental Association pennant. Last year the New York Stars took the underdog role to new heights, rising from 4 straight sub-.500 seasons to win not only the Continental crown but also the World Championship Series. Flash forward to the present and now we have perhaps the most unlikeliest of all teams riding at the top of the Continental wave. The Cincinnati Cannons have found a new home, both literally and figuratively as the franchise moved from Baltimore to Cincinnati and after six straight last place finishes in which they never won more than 65 games in a season the Cannons suddenly have been shot to the top of the Continental Association table. It is far too early to crown them champions but it is clear the franchise is back to being at least competitive once more, rescued from the brink of oblivion by an owner with a family legacy tracing back to the dawn of the sport, a Hall of Famer manager who has won more games than any other skipper in baseball history, and a new cast of veterans led by a much travelled slugger who seems to enjoy success wherever he goes but is never kept around long enough to put down roots in any one city. The owner, soap magnate John E. Tice, was the most popular man in Cincinnati ever since news broke he had brought big league baseball back to the Queen City for the first time since 1891. With the early success the club has enjoyed Tice has taken on deity-like status in Cincinnati while at the same time baseball fans in Baltimore cannot believe the insult of seeing the franchise prosper in it's new home on them on top of the illness they felt at losing their beloved ballclub, one that had been in Maryland since 1890. The manager is George Theobald, a 77 year old who just has a way of turning teams around. The Hall of Famer won three world championships in Boston, added another in Detroit and nearly turned the current version of the Dynamos into World Champions after being a club that resembled the old Cannons before he took over. Theobald charges beat Philadelphia 4-1 yesterday for their 19th win in the past 24 games and the 2,450th win of 'Toothpick' Theobald's career, which is nearly 200 more than the next man on the all-time wins list. His easygoing manner seems to be exactly what a team that could do nothing right for nearly a decade needed and the handpicked staff that includes fellow Hall of Famer Big George Johnson as the pitching coach has done wonders to turn the franchise around. Nearly as much as Theobald's arrival, the impact of veteran additions to the youthful core has been key to the Cannons resurgence. Moxie Pidgeon (.352,8,38) is challenging for the lead in all three triple crown categories and has carried the team on his back at times and is fresh off a World Championship win with the Stars. Pidgeon, who has hit at least 20 homers in a season for four different teams, also was a key piece of world title clubs in Cleveland and with the New York Gothams. Veteran Larry Brown (4sv, 0.67), like Pidgeon on his fifth team, has been outstanding in relief and has assumed a leadership role in the clubhouse. Catcher Jack Flint's (.295,1,11) work ethic has been contagious while William Jones (4-3, 2.74), Doc Love (.344,0,12) and former Brooklyn Kings Joe Perret (.317,2,14) and Doug Lightbody (.235,0,5) have also helped changed the losing culture the permeated the Cannons clubhouse in the past. Young stars Rufus Barrell II (5-1, 2.86), Rusty Petrick (4-2, 3.36) and Fred Galloway (.349,1,26) suddenly seemed refreshed now that the weight of all of those last place finishes has been eased with the new beginning in Cincinnati. The season is a marathon, so only time will tell if the Cannons can continue to perform as they have in their quick sprint to the front this month, but it certainly appears this is a much different franchise than Continental Association rivals kicked around for most of the past decade. FEDERAL ASSOCIATION The Chicago Chiefs continue to lead the way in the Federal Association despite dropping two of three to the New York Gothams at home over the weekend. Fortunately for the Chiefs the Pittsburgh Miners, who split a 2-game set with Chicago earlier in the week, also had a rough weekend against one of the second division clubs by falling twice in Washington. The Chiefs lead on the Miners sits at 3.5 games with the Boston Minutemen sitting in third place. ADWELL AWARD NOMINEES ANNOUNCED Here are the finalists for the 1940 Adwell Award, presented to the athlete judged to be the best high school baseball player in the nation. Last year's winner, New York City high school pitcher Hiram 'The Undertaker' Steinberg is the odds on favourite to win the award for the second consecutive season and join current New York Gotham Walt Messer as the only player to win a pair of Adwell Awards. The Adwell Award, first presented following the 1934 prep season, is named after Red Adwell, who was the winningest pitcher in high school history under the old feeder league system, pitching for Birmingham High School from 1910 thru 1913 before going on to spend a decade in FABL with the Pittsburgh Miners, Chicago Chiefs and Philadelphia Keystones. 1940 NOMINEES FOR THE ADWELL AWARD BILL BARNETT - Senior: Brunswick (NJ) HS: Selected 5th overall by the New York Stars in January, Barnett has been named to the All-American team for the third time after a .495,10,35 season. He tied with Otto Christian for the highest WAR in the nation and his 1.643 OPS was second only to fellow Adwell nominee Dick Blaszak. A 4 year starter at Brunswick High School, in the post-feeder era only Rick York and Bill Murnane drove in more runs in their high school career than Barnett did and only Walt Messer hit more career homeruns DICK BLASZAK - Senior: Morris HS (Bronx, NY): Like Barnett, Blaszak makes his third consecutive appearance on the All-American team and his .516/.574/.1.086 slash numbers compare favorably with his previous two seasons at Morris High. Was recently selected first overall by the Cincinnati Cannons in the January phase of the draft. Blaszak led the nation in OPS (1.660), tied for second in homeruns (12), third in rbi's (37) and his .520 batting average was sixth highest in the nation. Third in WAR behind Bill Barnett and Otto Christian. OTTO CHRISTIAN - Junior: Walla Walla (WA) HS: Another one of the growing list of talented players coming out of the Pacific Northwest, Christian equaled the non-feeder league single season High School homerun mark this season with 15. An All-American selection each of his three seasons at Walla Walla High, Christian hit a career best .482 this season while also leading the nation with 47 rbi's. His OPS was third in the nation, trailing only fellow Adwell Award nominees Bill Barnett and Dick Blaszak. HIRAM STEINBERG - Junior: Washington HS (New York City): The 1939 Adwell winner is still just a junior and the odds on favourite to be the first pitcher selected in the 1941 FABL draft. His numbers this season: 11-0 with a 0.23 era and a FIP of 0.00 (no, that is not a misprint). Led nation with 222 strikeouts which is a new all-time single season High School record (including feeders), smashing Donnie Jones 1936 mark of 215. Only 6 times has a pitcher topped 200 K's in a high school season and three of them belong to Steinberg. His 0.23 ERA this season is also a new record, topping Rufus Barrell's 1935 mark of 0.38. He 'only' won 11 games this season after going 12-0 each of his first two years and he has a chance to graduate as the only high school pitcher to win at least 30 games without a loss. At this time next year we will likely be celebrating Steinberg as the career leader among High School pitchers in wins, strikeouts and era. CHARLIE WADDELL - Senior: Central Catholic (Toledo, OH): It's too bad for Waddell that Hiram Steinberg exists otherwise we would be talking about the incredible numbers posted by the Cleveland born righthander. Waddell was a perfect 12-0 with a 0.68 era and 216 strikeouts, which would have been a new national record for K's were it not for Steinberg's totals this season. Opposing hitters batted just .133 against Waddell, but again he was second to Steinberg's .124 opposition batting average. Waddell was drafted by the Philadelphia Keystones in the regional round in January. Code: PREVIOUS ADWELL AWARD WINNERS YEAR NAME POS CLASS SCHOOL 1934 Walt Messer 1B SO McKinley Tech (Washington DC) 1935 Rufus Barrell II P SR Macon (GA) HS 1936 Walt Messer 1B SR McKinley Tech (Washington DC) 1937 Pete Casstevens C SR Syracuse (NY) HS 1938 Bill Barrett OF SR Vineland (NJ) HS 1939 Hiram Steinberg P SO Washington HS (New York City) 1940 HIGH SCHOOL ALL-AMERICANS UNVEILED Plenty of familiar names dot the list of High School All-American selections as seven of the 18 players to compromise the 1940 group had been named to the select list in at least one previous season. Seniors Bill Barnett and Dick Blaszak, along with juniors Otto Christian, Jesse Alvardo and Hiram Steinberg are all making their third consecutive appearance on the All-American team while senior pitcher Hal Hackney and junior catcher Eddie Howard are each selected for a second time. The six seniors who were named to the squad all were selected in the January phase of the FABL draft led by Bronx, New York outfielder Dick Blaszak, who was taken first overall by the Cincinnati Cannons. The Philadelphia Keystones selected pitcher Joe Quade third overall, Brooklyn drafted John Moss - cousin of current Chicago Chiefs outfielder Cliff Moss, with the 4th selectin, Bill Barnett was taken fifth by the New York Stars and Joe Rutherford was the 7th overall selection of the Chicago Chiefs. Pitchers Charlie Waddell and Hal Hackney each were regional selections in the third round with the Keystones drafting Waddell and Hackney going to the St Louis Pioneers. Code: 1940 HIGH SCHOOL ALL-AMERICAN TEAM POS NAME/CLASS SCHOOL C Eddie Howard – JR (2) St Joseph (LA) HS C Bob Crowley- SO Framingham (MA) HS 1b-3b Otto Christian -JR (3) Walla Walla (WA) HS 1b-3b Bill Barnett – SR (3) Brunswick (OH) HS 1b-3b Lorenzo Samuels- JR West HS (Cleveland, OH) 2b-SS Bob Schmelz- SO Dravosburg (PA) HS 2b-SS Bob Montgomery- JR Synder (TX) HS 2b-SS Gordie Perkins – JR Trumbauersville (PA) HS OF Dick Blaszak – SR (3) Morris HS, (Bronx, NY) OF Jesse Alvardo – JR (3) Canarsie HS (Brooklyn) OF John Moss – SR Lexington (KY) HS OF Joe Rutherford – SR Chillicothe (OH) HS OF Hal Renard – JR Pittsfield (ME) HS P Hiram Steinberg –JR (3) Washington HS (New York City) P Charlie Waddell – SR Central Catholic (Toledo OH) P Joe Quade – SR West Chester (PA) P Hal Hackney – SR (2) Fulton (MO) HS P Tom Buchanan – JR Waterloo (IA) HONOURABLE MENTION P Bert Cupid – JR Wilson HS (Youngstown OH) P Frank Sears – SR Burlington (WI) HS P Bobby Mills – SO Marlington HS (Alliance, OH) C Ed Haynes Jr. - FR Austin (TX) HS INF Joe Davis – FR Copley HS (Boston MA) INF Maurice Carter – JR Meridian (MS) HS INF Win Hamby – JR Morrisonville (IL) HS OF Rudy Ellison – JR Evanston (IL) HS OF Paul Porter – JR Devine (TX) HS QUICK HITS Cincinnati Cannons first round picks will be expensive to sign. Picking first and second overall after the deal that sent Gus Goulding to the New York Gothams the Cannons selected New York City high school outfielder Dick Blaszak first overall followed immediately by Lane State pitcher Bill Sohl with the number two pick. Blaszak (.516,12,37) finished among the nation's leaders in all three triple crown categories and has accepted an offer the attend North Carolina Tech so it will reportedly cost the Cannons over $25,000 to convince him to join their minor league system. Sohl (10-4, 2.60) was a finalist for College Baseball's Christian Trophy and while it is unlikely he would return to the Oregon school for his senior season he is said to be asking for a $19,000 signing bonus to turn pro. Those two players will eat up most of the Cannons draft budget which perhaps is another benefit of the trade that brought Moxie Pidgeon to the Queen City in exchange for the 5th overall pick (also acquired from the Gothams in the Goulding deal) and Cincinnati's second rounder. Had the Cannons kept both those picks they would likely have been hard pressed to find the cash to sign each of their top four selections. The move to acquire Pidgeon (.352,8,38) and Larry Brown (4 sv, 0.67 era) is looking like the most important in a series of changes made by the new management team in Cincinnati but don't overlook the waiver signing of 37 year old Joe Perret over the winter. Perret (.317,2,14) always performed when called upon by the Kings but was a victim of the number's game in Brooklyn. He is still having a tough time getting in the lineup every day in Cincinnati but the way Perret has performed he is giving the Cannons no choice but to play him regularly. On the topic of signing high school draft picks it looks like the Washington Eagles second round pick Johnny Thacker has made his mind up to attend Columbia Military Academy instead of turning pro. The 17 year old hit .429 this past season for Portsmouth (OH) High School but recently told his high school coach that the current state of the world has made enrolling at Columbia Military a priority for him. Thacker, who's father served in the World War, was the third catcher selected in the draft, going to the Eagles with the fifth pick of the second round. Good news, bad news as far as the New York Gothams are concerned. On a positive note, the Gothams, with 3/5 of a rotation, appear to have reached boring mediocrity. Unfortunately it may be a year too late. Fan interest is down, attendance is down. It may take a bit more to create some excitement in Queens. For now Bunny Edwards and Sam Hodge are being sent to the bullpen, with Harry Carter and John Douglas with get some starts. Manager Ed Ziehl explained the teams thought process, "We're trying to avoid the pitching chaos of the past few seasons, with guys coming and going weekly. We believe Bunny and Sam are major leaguers, who haven't quite found their way. We hope they can round into form with some innings out of the pen. Also, Carter and Douglas have been with the team and have prior starting experience. We're looking for continuity." Across town the New York Stars are growing increasingly concerned with the play of catcher Johnny Hopper (.205,0,15). The 26 year old has had a terrible drop-off at the plate this season compared with his previous three years and the club is also privately worried his defense is suffering as well. It sounds like the Stars, at 19-19, are worried the season is slipping away from them and may be close to pulling the trigger for an elite catcher. Problem is they are in short supply. If you ask me the Stars need to ride it out with Hopper. Might just be a down season and he has been just too good a player the past three seasons to give up on. But if they are set on a change behind the plate perhaps Montreal's Adam Mullins might be a good fit if the Stars are willing to throw enough young talent at the Saints. Or if things don't pick up soon for the Cougars, perhaps they would part with veteran Mike Taylor and trust the starting job to backup Harry Mead until top prospect Solly Skidmore is ready. The Chicago Cougars are another club that entered the season with high hopes but feel like this is shaping up to have the potential to be another wasted season. The Cougars, favoured by many to win the CA pennant this season, are 2 game below .500 and dealing with injury troubles. Aart McDonald, who was filling in as an outfielder for the injured Carlos Montes is now hurt and shortstop Billy Hunter will be sidelined for 6 weeks. That does mean rookie Skipper Schneider will see some time at short. It was a decent week for each of the Schneider boys. Skipper hits .320 in his debut week and gets his first big league hit - a single off the Cannons Glenn Payne. Buddy, a FABL veteran in comparison, goes 10-for-24 including his first big league homer last week. It was dramatic, coming off Sergio Gonzales to lead off the ninth and tie the game at 3, but the Minutemen ultimately fell 4-3 in 11 in that contest with Detroit. Buddy is hitting .327 with 6 extra base hits in his first 12 games in the majors. Tough break for the Montreal Saints who suffer yet another injury to a young arm. Shortly after losing top pitching prospect Pat Weakley for the year with elbow troubles Wally Doyle suffers elbow problems of his own. Fortunately no where near as serious but Doyle, who was 2-2 on the year, will be nursing his sore wing for about a month. Earlier this season the Saints also lost 2nd year man Bill Stewart for the year. The 24 year old was 8-6 last year in his Montreal debut. Wild game between the Miners and the Chiefs last week. The Miners somehow prevailed 7-6 to earn a split of their two game set. The Chiefs had 3 men thrown out at home, including the last out of the game. The Miners also had a player thrown out at home and had two more guys caught stealing. Big series for the Cannons - been a while since that phrase was uttered - as they host Toronto in a 3 game set for top spot in the CA. The two clubs met early in the season in Toronto with the visitors taking 2 of 3 at Dominion Field. Breakout week for Walt Pack in Toronto…overdue according to Wolves fans. Yes Pack has broken out of his slump, now if the Wolves could find him a glove to cure his fielding woes... Wolves had a tough loss against the Kings blowing a 7-0 early lead, hopefully a lesson learned about not taking their collective foot off the gas. Toronto's week WLWLWL. The Keystones road woes continue. 15-4 at Broad Street Park but just 5-15 away including 1-5 last week and are now 6 games back of front running Chiefs in the Fed. The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 5/26/1940 The German drive across France veered toward the English Channel, apparently with the aim of isolating Britain and destroying her army. Nazis estimate a successful drive to the coast would split Allied forces and isolate 300,000 British soldiers. The German march towards the Channel continued after French forces were crushed near Abbeville and their commanding officer was taken prisoner. French Premier Reynaud blamed the Nazi advance on "unbelievable faults" but promised that the Allies yet would conquer, even if a miracle is needed to save them. Britain declares "Dictatorial Rule" to give government full control over all men and material resources in the country to meet the German threat. As the week ends the Germans were pushed out of Abbeville but have surrounded Calais. German planes are also bombing large areas of the English coast in what many believe might be the prelude to an early blitzkrieg on the British Isles by air and sea. Italy prepares for war after Mussolini is reported to have rejected President Roosevelt's plea that he keep out of it. French owned Corsica in the Mediterranean may be the goal of the first Italian move. The Senate Appropriations Committee approved nearly $2 billion in defense spending, an unprecedented amount in peace time. US Military bosses are calling for a speedy realization of President Roosevelt's goal of an air armada of 50,000 planes. __________________ Lead Columnist of The Figment Sporting Journal The Scripture of Sports Last edited by Jiggs McGee; 12-27-2021 at 02:57 PM.