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Jiggs McGee · 12-29-2021, 03:43 PM

JUNE 10, 1940

HARD TIMES IN CHICAGO

The Chicago Chiefs were flying high atop the Federal Association for a decent part of May but since Memorial Day it seems little has gone right for the Chiefs, or for their cross-town neighbors the Cougars either. The Chiefs entered play on the Memorial weekend Sunday with a 3.5 game cushion on second place Pittsburgh atop the Federal Association. However, things went south quickly as the Chiefs fell 5-3 to Gus Goulding and the Gothams that day in what would be the start of a seven game losing streak and a stretch that now includes 13 losses in their last 15 contests. Meanwhile the Pittsburgh Miners continue to chug along as they normally do and have moved back into top spot in the Federal Association with the Philadelphia Keystones, back at home so back to winning thanks to the best home record (and worst road record) in the Fed, sitting in second place.

The Chicago Cougars are also in a downward spiral with 7 losses in their last 11 games and they are suddenly 11.5 games back of the front-running Cincinnati Cannons in the Continental Association. The Cougars did manage to sweep the Cannons on the road but lost any momentum that might have generated very quickly as they went to Toronto and dropped 3 straight before finishing the week by losing three of four games in Cleveland. Injuries have crippled the Cougars all season and last week was particularly bad as pitcher Eddie 'Caveman' Quinn (2-5, 3.98) was lost for the season while veteran second sacker Freddie Jones (.258,0,10) dislocated his shoulder and will miss two months. They join shortstop Billy Hunter (.286,0,10) on the injured list but Hunter is at least close to returning from the elbow strain that has sidelined him the past couple of weeks.

The Keystones struggled in their 12-game road trip, going 2-10 to cut them down to size. But, since wading around .500 and treading water, the magic has come back, winning 11 of 15 in their 18-game stay at Broad Street Park. The Keys are heading into the final home series, a three-game set against the rival Gothams, before embarking another 12-game road trip.

Philadelphia will have to learn how to play on the road, as a 5-15 record away from the friendly environs of Broad Street Park will not cut the mustard. The Keystones are an outstanding 26-8 while eating home cooking, while the season numbers do not look bad. The Keys are second in the Federal Association in most runs scored (258) and also in fewest runs allowed (213). But, Manager Bill Libby is most proud of run prevention by way of their starting pitching, whose earned run average ranked second in the Fed at 3.15 earned runs per nine innings.

"We have gotten contributions up and down the rotation", Libby said. "[Lloyd] Stevens and [Pepper] Tuttle have taken the next step and both have been hot lately. [Herman] Patterson pitched like an ace for the first month of the season and we know he can pitch like that regularly."

Jim Whiteley is about to return from a sore elbow and the Keystones can be cautious, as Gene White (3-1, 2.57 E.R.A.) has pitched well since replacing Whiteley in the starting rotation. In fact, White will stick with the big club while Henry Shaffer (3-4, 3.68 E.R.A.) was optioned to AAA Louisville for some additional seasoning.

Long-time catcher and captain Carl Ames stands at 1,999 hits. His next hit will enter him into the exclusive 2,000-hit club, in which only three Keystones belong. Ames will join Zebulon Banks (3,307 hits), Rankin Kellogg (2,770), and Fred Roby (2,280). Bobby Barrell (1,875) is fast on Ames's tail and should join the club next season.

In other news, Zebulon Banks was part of the class inducted into the newly-conceived Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939. But, the Keystones franchise were still bamboozled by the sudden retirement of Rankin Kellogg, who was also inducted by committee decision, and a proper celebration for Banks was never put on the calendar. For the Banks family and the fans of the all-time great, August 25th will be the date they can circle. Before the Keystones home game against the Chicago Chiefs, the Banks family will be feted, as will the unveiling of a special tribute to the former first baseman and manager.

GREEN SOX SUCCESS MAKING OREGON A HOTBED FOR BASEBALL TALENT

Folks in the east and midwest feel they have a monopoly on quality baseball but truth be told the state of Oregon is probably producing as much or more quality talent per capita than any other area. The Great Western League is certainly a step down from the big boys in the Continental and Federal Association's but the success of the Portland Green Sox over the years has given birth to a vibrant high school baseball scene in the state of Oregon. While the Green Sox were winning title after title - 11 in all, easily the most in the GWL - the college game also began to prosper, first with nearby Rainier College in Washington and more recently with the emergence of Lane State as a west coast power. The Emeralds joined the AIAA in 1934 and are quickly becoming of the most prestigious college programs in the west. Portland Tech and Stratton University also field teams at the AIAA D1 level while Willamette Valley College and Davidson University of Monmouth play in Division Three. In addition there are 33 high schools competing in the Oregon Prep League and it is clear that the Green Sox presence has made baseball the most popular sport in the region.

The AAA club has been around since 1904 and among the many great players who hail from Oregon and grew up Green Sox fans you can count former Chicago Chiefs great Pete Layton, Dave Trowbridge of the New York Stars, Boston's Art Spencer, Les Tucker of Pittsburgh and young Detroit star Red Johnson. It is Johnson, who was a High School All-American in his junior season at Portland's Central Catholic in 1934 and received honourable mention the following year just prior to be selected 2nd overall by the Detroit Dynamos in the 1935 draft, that now carries the torch for Oregon high school ballplayers but he has company as fellow second overall FABL draft selection Bill Sohl played his high school ball in Portland before starring at Lane State. The Cincinnati Cannons made Sohl the second pick of this year's draft.

Despite only being at the Division One level since 1934 Lane State has already had two players named to the First Team All-American list and counting Sohl and shortstop Jimmie James, who was a fourth round selection of the Chicago Cougars this week, a total of 15 Emeralds have been drafted including first rounders Sohl, Biff Henson and Joe Henry. Porland Tech has seen 9 of it's players drafted including two from their powerful 1937 squad that were lottery picks. Even tiny Willamette Valley College got into the act this year when George Wynn was taken 8th overall by the Montreal Saints after a standout season that saw the Walla Walla, Washington native receive consideration, along with Sohl, for the Christian Trophy.

Code:


LANE STATE ALL-AMERICANS
1937  Joe Henry     C  
1940  Bill Sohl	    P  

LANE STATE FABL DRAFT PICKS
YEAR POS NAME		  RD  TEAM
1934 OF  Harry H Smith 	   7  Toronto
1934 OF  Herb Loflin       9  Detroit
1935 SS  Biff Henson	   1  Montreal
1935 2B  Wayne Henderson  17  Toronto
1936  P  Danny Gomez      13  Brooklyn
1936  C  Andy Crouch	  18  Montreal
1937  C  Joe Henry	   1  St Louis
1938 OF  Cal Holmes        7  Detroit
1938  P  Rube Finegan	  11  Cougars
1939  P  Bobby Larry      10  Detroit
1939  P  Jimmy Long	  12  Detroit
1939 2B  Ralph Stone      18  Cleveland
1939 OF  Aaron Cunningham 23  Boston
1940  P  Bill Sohl	   1  Cincinnati
1940 SS  Jimmie James      4  Cougars

PORTLAND TECH FABL DRAFT PICKS
YEAR POS NAME		  RD  TEAM
1935 OF George Cantwell	  14  Brooklyn
1936  P Joe Stuart	  20  Cougars
1937 OF Eddie Haley	   *  Boston
1937 OF Marv Smith	   *  Cougars
1937 OF Tom Miller	   4  Cleveland
1937  P Lee Cole	  12  Cougars
1938 1B Hank Furlong	  14  Baltimore
1938  P Jack Donaghy	  15  NY Stars
1939 OF Art Humann	  16  Baltimore
  * Lottery pick (first two rounds)

WILLAMETTE VALLEY COLLEGE FABL DRAFT PICKS
YEAR POS NAME		  RD  TEAM
1934 OF Charlie Nunnery    8  Montreal
1935  P Jim Stout	  11  Toronto
1940  P George Wynn	   1  Montreal

DAVIDSON UNIVERSITY FABL DRAFT PICKS
YEAR POS NAME		  RD  TEAM
1934 OF Tommy Sandstrom    8  Keystones

It is just north of the Oregon border but Walla Walla, Washington is also building quite the reputation for providing premier baseball talent. There is of course the previously mentioned George Wynn, the pitcher known as the 'Walla Walla Winner' who starred at Portland's Willamette Valley College before being selected 8th overall by Montreal in January. Perhaps an even bigger star out of the tiny city is a third baseman at Walla Walla High School by the name of Otto Christian. The 17 year old is just a junior for the Warriors but has been named a High School All-American three years running and is expected to be one of the first names called in January when the 1941 FABL draft begins. With Red Johnson, Biff Henson, Bill Sohl, George Wynn and soon Otto Christian the level of baseball talent in the Northwest has never looked better.

AROUND THE LEAGUE

It seems a number of teams rarely get mentioned in This Week in Figment Baseball so a new column from Jiggs McGee will be a quick comment or two on each of the 16 clubs. Just whatever catches Jiggs eye:
BOSTON- What is wrong with Dick Higgins (3-9, 4.67). The Minutemen ace was not great last season, but at least a slightly above average pitcher. This season he has been bad with some truly awful starts. He did pitch well, but took the loss anyway in a 2-1 defeat to St Louis last time out so hopefully that effort gets him started in the right direction.

BROOKLYN- Kings are at a crossroads. Just struggling along trying to get to .500 after an awful collapse last season for the former Continental powerhouse. Is it perhaps time to go into a full rebuild move and look at getting whatever prospects they can for the likes of Al Wheeler (.225,7,23), Tom Barrell (3-7, 5.06) and Fred Barrell (.227,0,14)? None of the three have looked that impressive but there likely is still a market at least for Wheeler and Tom.

CHIEFS- I just have a feeling the Chiefs recent slump is simply balancing things out on their season. I do not believe they are as good as they were for the first month and a half of the season but they are also certainly not as bad as they have been lately. Yes prolonging that even number title string is nice to talk about but the feeling around much of the league is the Chiefs will settle in as a third or fourth place club as the weather warms.

COUGARS- The one positive of the Billy Hunter injury is at allowed rookie Skipper Schneider to strut his stuff. The 19 year old has done more than the Cougars brass could have even hoped for in his first 3 weeks in the big leagues. Schneider is batting .338 with 7 extra base hits and 12 rbi's while doing a pretty decent job of playing shortstop as well.

CINCINNATI- We just keep waiting for the clock to strike midnight on the Cinderella Cannons, but so far at least they just keep on winning. This season has been a coming out party for a number of Cannons especially Rufus Barrell (7-2, 2.71), Butch Smith (7-3, 2.47) and Glenn Payne (7-3, 2.21). The scary thing is the organization has a pair of potentially very good pitchers in AAA in 1939 first overall pick Vic Carroll and 24 year old Jim Anderson. Then there is also second overall draft pick this year Bill Sohl. Who knew? There actually was some real talent in the organization despite what it looked like the past few seasons.

CLEVELAND- Despite the Foresters struggles there is no slowing down Mel Carrol at the plate. The 28 year old, who was perhaps overshadowed last year by the Wolves Fred McCormick's push to hit .400, but it was Carrol who led the CA in hits a season ago with 230. He is at it again this season, batting .382, which is the second best mark in the CA.

DETROIT- The 1935 Keystones, led by Bobby Barrell and Rankin Kellogg, hold the major league record for homeruns in a season with 163. The Dynamos came two homers shy of that mark two years ago and are close to being on that pace again this season as a full year of Frank Vance (.301,9,29) is added to the Dynamic Duo of Sal Pestilli (.266,15,37) and Red Johnson (.320,11,40).

MONTREAL- I don't think there is a more exciting player to follow right now that Saints outfielder Red Bond (.348,11,32). Bond is finally getting his due after receiving little attention because he played in Montreal and had been, at least until last year, overshadowed by Pablo Reyes in the Saints outfield. Not a lot of positives for Saints fans of late, but watching Red Bond play everyday has to be one.

NY STARS- The Stars sent struggling catcher Johnny Hopper to Los Angeles and the California sun must have agreed with him as the 26 year old hit .381 (8-for-21) in his first 6 games in the Great Western League. Mike Burkholder (.238,0,5) is now the starter behind the plate in New York but I can't see that lasting very long. Burkholder is not, nor has he ever been, a number one catcher and the Stars need to get Hopper back in the Big Apple, unless they are going to pull the trigger on a big deal.

NY GOTHAMS- Not a bad debut for rookie catcher Pete Casstevens but there are worries about the Million Dollar infield as the exchange rate on offensive production is very low out of the quartet right now with third baseman Billy Dalton's (.239,3,10) numbers especially troubling. The good news is they are getting solid pitching out of Gus Goulding, Nate Spear and Harry Carter but now Carter is hurt. Fortunately it is said to be nothing serious.

KEYSTONES- The challenge for Keystones manager Bill Libby is how does he trick the squad into believing they are playing in Philadelphia when they are actually on the road. FABL has seen a few weird home/away splits in past seasons but none as dramatic as the Keystones have been so far this season. 26-8 at Broad Street Park, best in either association but they are the worst team in the majors on the road at 5-15.

SAILORS- I find it amazing how year after year the Sailors farm system is consistently among the most successful in baseball. That is the case again through the first third of this season as three of the 5 Sailors affiliates are in first place in their league, while the other two are in second.

PITTSBURGH- Have the Miners discovered another veteran gem in Gene Stevens? The 34 year old washed out with the Stars a couple of years ago and bounced around with a few organizations but looks like a mirror image of Lefty Allen if his first two FABL starts in over 2 years are all we look at. Stevens beat the Gothams 4-3 early last week and followed it up with a 6-hit complete game shutout of St Louis on Saturday. It was just the second big league shutout of his career in 201 starts and the first since 1936.

ST LOUIS- Don't look now but the best starter at the moment for the struggling Pioneers is none other than Sam Sheppard. You might remember he won an Allan Award in 1935 when he went 28-7 with a Fed best 3.13 era and followed that up with two more twenty-win seasons. Then he fell apart and was awful the past two years but suddenly, at age 32, Sheppard seems to have figured out how to pitch again and is 3-3 with a 2.40 era, second lowest in the Federal Association.

TORONTO- Everyone knew the Wolves pitching was top notch, and it hasn't disappointed but entering the season there were plenty of questions about the offense - outside of Fred McCormick of course. Well, believe it or not the Wolves lead all of FABL in runs scored, even more than the Pittsburgh Miners.

WASHINGTON- Pitching again continues to be a big problem in the nation's capital but that has been the case for years. Jack Elder (3-8, 4.91) looks like the latest in a long line of Eagles hurlers to follow up a twenty win season with a terrible year. Bill Anderson did it and never did recover. Eddie Quinn's year by year W-L record in Washington was like watching a yo-yo. Karl Johnson was another victim but he got out of Washington and back on track last season with the Miners. No idea what the cause might be but it just seems like Eagles pitchers are incapable of stringing together multiple strong seasons.

Code:


NAME   		YEAR     REC         YEAR  REC
Jack Elder  	1939  20-20, 3.63    1940  3-8,   4.91* to date
Eddie Quinn     1939  20-10, 3.31    1940  traded to Cougars/injured
Karl Johnson	1937  20-9,  4.15    1938  13-19, 4.63
Bill Anderson   1936  22-14, 4.48    1937  10-13, 4.97
Dick Dennis	1932  20-12, 3.84    1933  14-13, 5.30
Ivy Newsom	1929  19-14, 4.18    1930  11-19, 4.25
Cap McDonald	1926  21-9,  3.85    1927  5-4, 3.31 hurt most of year
  McDonald returned in 1928 	     1928  8-22,  5.33
Ed Morse	1926  14-5,  3.63    1927  13-14, 4.15
Tommy Homick	1919  20-10, 2.24    1920   9-13, 5.00
Al Bachman	1916  22-17, 2.93    1917  15-24, 2.92
Bill West	1915  30-14, 2.23    1916   1-4 hurt most of year

To find the last Washington pitcher that actually strung a few good season together you really have to go back to Dick Dennis, who was 164-136 for his career that included 13 seasons with the Eagles but Dennis, like so many other Eagles had a terrible one year drop-off in 1933 - although he was 36 years old at that point. Harry Horn is the only Washington starter in the last 20 years to not follow up a twenty-win season with just an awful one. Horn did post back to back twenty win seasons starting in 1922 and although he did have some ups and downs late in his career, they took some time to materialize, not like the immediate woes that seemed to befuddle each of the others. Bottom line is that it simply is not easy being a Washington Eagles starting pitcher for more than one season.

QUICK HITS

Bad time for the Chicago Chiefs to have to face Pittsburgh. The Chiefs are playing possibly their worst baseball of the season right now and are really struggling through their current road trip which concludes with 3 games at Fitzpatrick Park, where the Miners are a solid 21-13.
Very nice big league debut for Juan Pomales. The 26 year old native of Cuba was acquired from the Cougars over the winter and his big league debut was a complete game 5-4 win over Montreal in 10 innings. A two-way player in the minors, Pomales batted second in the game but did not have much success at the plate, going 0-for-5. He did get his first big league hit a couple of games later when playing in the outfield this time, he laced a 7th inning rbi double off of Montreal reliever Lou Ellertson to help the Wolves prevail 12-10 over the Saints.
The Wolves have won 9 of their last 10 games but needed the hot streak to keep up with the Cannons, who are on a 15-5 run but were slowed by Chicago last week when the Cougars swept a 3 game series at Monarchs Field. That evened the Cannons season record with Chicago at 4-4, the only team the Cannons are not over .500 against. Cincinnati has had it's way with the two Big Apple clubs, going 7-2 vs the Kings so far and 6-1 against the Stars.
Doug Lightbody had a great start for Cannons but has fallen off the map after first couple of weeks. He is sitting at 1962 career hits and the Cannons brass would love to see him reach 2,000 but as Denny Andrews continues to heat up in AAA it is looking more and more like Lightbody will have to be shown the door.
21 year old Vic Carroll is now 7-1 at Indianapolis and we can't hold him back much longer. Problem is everyone on the mound in Cincinnati is pitching well so there is no room for Carroll, the 1939 top pick, or Jim Anderson who has also looked very strong in AAA. Perhaps Rusty Petrick (5-4, 4.44), who had pitched well until big hiccups his last two starts, better start looking over his shoulder.
A lot of Cannons stuff this week but here is one more - the Cannons went 24-5 in May. Records only go back to 1930 but that is the highest single month win total for a Cannon club that we can find and the last time they won even 20 games in a month was July of 1931 when the then Baltimore Cannons went 20-11.
Home cooking again doing wonders for Keystones. Back from a disastrous road trip and they go 11-4 at home to close on a Pittsburgh team that is also playing well. Keystones are now 26-8 at Broad Street but just 5-15 elsewhere.
Having Tom Bird still battling a nagging injury is hurting the Chiefs. Bird is batting just .194 so far this month but the most telling reason for the club's struggles of late is despite being second in nearly every major offensive category in the Federal Association, the Chiefs rank only 6th in runs scored.
Shortstop is a big problem for the Chiefs. An unnamed team source was quoted in the Chicago Herald-Examiner this way: "I want to say we are getting no production from short stop, but it's worse than that--we are getting negative production. Ducky Jordan has a WPA of -0.72 and Tony White -0.14. Rabbit Mudd's glove is not what it once was, but he looks like he can still handle the bat. He'll be getting more starts are short."
tough road trip for Detroit. Drop 2 of 3 on Pittsburgh to start and finish it by getting swept over weekend by Keystones. Dynamos did win 2 of 3 in Washington in between the rough treatment they received in Pennsylvania

The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 6/09/1940

At least 45 are dead after Paris was bombed for the first time in the now 9-month old war. In response Allied airplanes bombed a suburb of Munich.
Berlin reports 330,000 Allied troops cut off when surrounded were captured in Belgium.
As the Nazis capture Dunkirk and Great Britain fears their next move will be to cross the English Channel, Prime Minister Winston Churchill told the House of Commons Britain will fight from Canada if the Isles fall.
By the weekend Nazi forces have advanced to within 48 miles of Paris as they continue to push forward through France.
A pointed warning that five English cities would be bombed for every Italian city attacked by Allied bombers in the event Italy enters the war was published in a Rome newspaper just while foreign observers were expressing belief Italy would enter the conflict next week.
Worried about fifth column activities in Latin America, the focus became the Panama Canal and fears of the possibility of a "Trojan ship" sinking herself while in transit through the canal, thereby putting the key passageway to defense of the Western Hemisphere out of commission.
Congressional isolationists are preparing to fight President Roosevelt's 'trade-in' program of furnishing military equipment to the Allies, with many observers feeling FDR's campaign was foredoomed.

12-29-2021, 03:43 PM	#317
Jiggs McGee All Star Reserve Join Date: Dec 2019 Posts: 677	June 10, 1940 JUNE 10, 1940 HARD TIMES IN CHICAGO The Chicago Chiefs were flying high atop the Federal Association for a decent part of May but since Memorial Day it seems little has gone right for the Chiefs, or for their cross-town neighbors the Cougars either. The Chiefs entered play on the Memorial weekend Sunday with a 3.5 game cushion on second place Pittsburgh atop the Federal Association. However, things went south quickly as the Chiefs fell 5-3 to Gus Goulding and the Gothams that day in what would be the start of a seven game losing streak and a stretch that now includes 13 losses in their last 15 contests. Meanwhile the Pittsburgh Miners continue to chug along as they normally do and have moved back into top spot in the Federal Association with the Philadelphia Keystones, back at home so back to winning thanks to the best home record (and worst road record) in the Fed, sitting in second place. The Chicago Cougars are also in a downward spiral with 7 losses in their last 11 games and they are suddenly 11.5 games back of the front-running Cincinnati Cannons in the Continental Association. The Cougars did manage to sweep the Cannons on the road but lost any momentum that might have generated very quickly as they went to Toronto and dropped 3 straight before finishing the week by losing three of four games in Cleveland. Injuries have crippled the Cougars all season and last week was particularly bad as pitcher Eddie 'Caveman' Quinn (2-5, 3.98) was lost for the season while veteran second sacker Freddie Jones (.258,0,10) dislocated his shoulder and will miss two months. They join shortstop Billy Hunter (.286,0,10) on the injured list but Hunter is at least close to returning from the elbow strain that has sidelined him the past couple of weeks. The Keystones struggled in their 12-game road trip, going 2-10 to cut them down to size. But, since wading around .500 and treading water, the magic has come back, winning 11 of 15 in their 18-game stay at Broad Street Park. The Keys are heading into the final home series, a three-game set against the rival Gothams, before embarking another 12-game road trip. Philadelphia will have to learn how to play on the road, as a 5-15 record away from the friendly environs of Broad Street Park will not cut the mustard. The Keystones are an outstanding 26-8 while eating home cooking, while the season numbers do not look bad. The Keys are second in the Federal Association in most runs scored (258) and also in fewest runs allowed (213). But, Manager Bill Libby is most proud of run prevention by way of their starting pitching, whose earned run average ranked second in the Fed at 3.15 earned runs per nine innings. "We have gotten contributions up and down the rotation", Libby said. "[Lloyd] Stevens and [Pepper] Tuttle have taken the next step and both have been hot lately. [Herman] Patterson pitched like an ace for the first month of the season and we know he can pitch like that regularly." Jim Whiteley is about to return from a sore elbow and the Keystones can be cautious, as Gene White (3-1, 2.57 E.R.A.) has pitched well since replacing Whiteley in the starting rotation. In fact, White will stick with the big club while Henry Shaffer (3-4, 3.68 E.R.A.) was optioned to AAA Louisville for some additional seasoning. Long-time catcher and captain Carl Ames stands at 1,999 hits. His next hit will enter him into the exclusive 2,000-hit club, in which only three Keystones belong. Ames will join Zebulon Banks (3,307 hits), Rankin Kellogg (2,770), and Fred Roby (2,280). Bobby Barrell (1,875) is fast on Ames's tail and should join the club next season. In other news, Zebulon Banks was part of the class inducted into the newly-conceived Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939. But, the Keystones franchise were still bamboozled by the sudden retirement of Rankin Kellogg, who was also inducted by committee decision, and a proper celebration for Banks was never put on the calendar. For the Banks family and the fans of the all-time great, August 25th will be the date they can circle. Before the Keystones home game against the Chicago Chiefs, the Banks family will be feted, as will the unveiling of a special tribute to the former first baseman and manager. GREEN SOX SUCCESS MAKING OREGON A HOTBED FOR BASEBALL TALENT Folks in the east and midwest feel they have a monopoly on quality baseball but truth be told the state of Oregon is probably producing as much or more quality talent per capita than any other area. The Great Western League is certainly a step down from the big boys in the Continental and Federal Association's but the success of the Portland Green Sox over the years has given birth to a vibrant high school baseball scene in the state of Oregon. While the Green Sox were winning title after title - 11 in all, easily the most in the GWL - the college game also began to prosper, first with nearby Rainier College in Washington and more recently with the emergence of Lane State as a west coast power. The Emeralds joined the AIAA in 1934 and are quickly becoming of the most prestigious college programs in the west. Portland Tech and Stratton University also field teams at the AIAA D1 level while Willamette Valley College and Davidson University of Monmouth play in Division Three. In addition there are 33 high schools competing in the Oregon Prep League and it is clear that the Green Sox presence has made baseball the most popular sport in the region. The AAA club has been around since 1904 and among the many great players who hail from Oregon and grew up Green Sox fans you can count former Chicago Chiefs great Pete Layton, Dave Trowbridge of the New York Stars, Boston's Art Spencer, Les Tucker of Pittsburgh and young Detroit star Red Johnson. It is Johnson, who was a High School All-American in his junior season at Portland's Central Catholic in 1934 and received honourable mention the following year just prior to be selected 2nd overall by the Detroit Dynamos in the 1935 draft, that now carries the torch for Oregon high school ballplayers but he has company as fellow second overall FABL draft selection Bill Sohl played his high school ball in Portland before starring at Lane State. The Cincinnati Cannons made Sohl the second pick of this year's draft. Despite only being at the Division One level since 1934 Lane State has already had two players named to the First Team All-American list and counting Sohl and shortstop Jimmie James, who was a fourth round selection of the Chicago Cougars this week, a total of 15 Emeralds have been drafted including first rounders Sohl, Biff Henson and Joe Henry. Porland Tech has seen 9 of it's players drafted including two from their powerful 1937 squad that were lottery picks. Even tiny Willamette Valley College got into the act this year when George Wynn was taken 8th overall by the Montreal Saints after a standout season that saw the Walla Walla, Washington native receive consideration, along with Sohl, for the Christian Trophy. Code: LANE STATE ALL-AMERICANS 1937 Joe Henry C 1940 Bill Sohl P LANE STATE FABL DRAFT PICKS YEAR POS NAME RD TEAM 1934 OF Harry H Smith 7 Toronto 1934 OF Herb Loflin 9 Detroit 1935 SS Biff Henson 1 Montreal 1935 2B Wayne Henderson 17 Toronto 1936 P Danny Gomez 13 Brooklyn 1936 C Andy Crouch 18 Montreal 1937 C Joe Henry 1 St Louis 1938 OF Cal Holmes 7 Detroit 1938 P Rube Finegan 11 Cougars 1939 P Bobby Larry 10 Detroit 1939 P Jimmy Long 12 Detroit 1939 2B Ralph Stone 18 Cleveland 1939 OF Aaron Cunningham 23 Boston 1940 P Bill Sohl 1 Cincinnati 1940 SS Jimmie James 4 Cougars PORTLAND TECH FABL DRAFT PICKS YEAR POS NAME RD TEAM 1935 OF George Cantwell 14 Brooklyn 1936 P Joe Stuart 20 Cougars 1937 OF Eddie Haley * Boston 1937 OF Marv Smith * Cougars 1937 OF Tom Miller 4 Cleveland 1937 P Lee Cole 12 Cougars 1938 1B Hank Furlong 14 Baltimore 1938 P Jack Donaghy 15 NY Stars 1939 OF Art Humann 16 Baltimore * Lottery pick (first two rounds) WILLAMETTE VALLEY COLLEGE FABL DRAFT PICKS YEAR POS NAME RD TEAM 1934 OF Charlie Nunnery 8 Montreal 1935 P Jim Stout 11 Toronto 1940 P George Wynn 1 Montreal DAVIDSON UNIVERSITY FABL DRAFT PICKS YEAR POS NAME RD TEAM 1934 OF Tommy Sandstrom 8 Keystones It is just north of the Oregon border but Walla Walla, Washington is also building quite the reputation for providing premier baseball talent. There is of course the previously mentioned George Wynn, the pitcher known as the 'Walla Walla Winner' who starred at Portland's Willamette Valley College before being selected 8th overall by Montreal in January. Perhaps an even bigger star out of the tiny city is a third baseman at Walla Walla High School by the name of Otto Christian. The 17 year old is just a junior for the Warriors but has been named a High School All-American three years running and is expected to be one of the first names called in January when the 1941 FABL draft begins. With Red Johnson, Biff Henson, Bill Sohl, George Wynn and soon Otto Christian the level of baseball talent in the Northwest has never looked better. AROUND THE LEAGUE It seems a number of teams rarely get mentioned in This Week in Figment Baseball so a new column from Jiggs McGee will be a quick comment or two on each of the 16 clubs. Just whatever catches Jiggs eye: BOSTON- What is wrong with Dick Higgins (3-9, 4.67). The Minutemen ace was not great last season, but at least a slightly above average pitcher. This season he has been bad with some truly awful starts. He did pitch well, but took the loss anyway in a 2-1 defeat to St Louis last time out so hopefully that effort gets him started in the right direction. BROOKLYN- Kings are at a crossroads. Just struggling along trying to get to .500 after an awful collapse last season for the former Continental powerhouse. Is it perhaps time to go into a full rebuild move and look at getting whatever prospects they can for the likes of Al Wheeler (.225,7,23), Tom Barrell (3-7, 5.06) and Fred Barrell (.227,0,14)? None of the three have looked that impressive but there likely is still a market at least for Wheeler and Tom. CHIEFS- I just have a feeling the Chiefs recent slump is simply balancing things out on their season. I do not believe they are as good as they were for the first month and a half of the season but they are also certainly not as bad as they have been lately. Yes prolonging that even number title string is nice to talk about but the feeling around much of the league is the Chiefs will settle in as a third or fourth place club as the weather warms. COUGARS- The one positive of the Billy Hunter injury is at allowed rookie Skipper Schneider to strut his stuff. The 19 year old has done more than the Cougars brass could have even hoped for in his first 3 weeks in the big leagues. Schneider is batting .338 with 7 extra base hits and 12 rbi's while doing a pretty decent job of playing shortstop as well. CINCINNATI- We just keep waiting for the clock to strike midnight on the Cinderella Cannons, but so far at least they just keep on winning. This season has been a coming out party for a number of Cannons especially Rufus Barrell (7-2, 2.71), Butch Smith (7-3, 2.47) and Glenn Payne (7-3, 2.21). The scary thing is the organization has a pair of potentially very good pitchers in AAA in 1939 first overall pick Vic Carroll and 24 year old Jim Anderson. Then there is also second overall draft pick this year Bill Sohl. Who knew? There actually was some real talent in the organization despite what it looked like the past few seasons. CLEVELAND- Despite the Foresters struggles there is no slowing down Mel Carrol at the plate. The 28 year old, who was perhaps overshadowed last year by the Wolves Fred McCormick's push to hit .400, but it was Carrol who led the CA in hits a season ago with 230. He is at it again this season, batting .382, which is the second best mark in the CA. DETROIT- The 1935 Keystones, led by Bobby Barrell and Rankin Kellogg, hold the major league record for homeruns in a season with 163. The Dynamos came two homers shy of that mark two years ago and are close to being on that pace again this season as a full year of Frank Vance (.301,9,29) is added to the Dynamic Duo of Sal Pestilli (.266,15,37) and Red Johnson (.320,11,40). MONTREAL- I don't think there is a more exciting player to follow right now that Saints outfielder Red Bond (.348,11,32). Bond is finally getting his due after receiving little attention because he played in Montreal and had been, at least until last year, overshadowed by Pablo Reyes in the Saints outfield. Not a lot of positives for Saints fans of late, but watching Red Bond play everyday has to be one. NY STARS- The Stars sent struggling catcher Johnny Hopper to Los Angeles and the California sun must have agreed with him as the 26 year old hit .381 (8-for-21) in his first 6 games in the Great Western League. Mike Burkholder (.238,0,5) is now the starter behind the plate in New York but I can't see that lasting very long. Burkholder is not, nor has he ever been, a number one catcher and the Stars need to get Hopper back in the Big Apple, unless they are going to pull the trigger on a big deal. NY GOTHAMS- Not a bad debut for rookie catcher Pete Casstevens but there are worries about the Million Dollar infield as the exchange rate on offensive production is very low out of the quartet right now with third baseman Billy Dalton's (.239,3,10) numbers especially troubling. The good news is they are getting solid pitching out of Gus Goulding, Nate Spear and Harry Carter but now Carter is hurt. Fortunately it is said to be nothing serious. KEYSTONES- The challenge for Keystones manager Bill Libby is how does he trick the squad into believing they are playing in Philadelphia when they are actually on the road. FABL has seen a few weird home/away splits in past seasons but none as dramatic as the Keystones have been so far this season. 26-8 at Broad Street Park, best in either association but they are the worst team in the majors on the road at 5-15. SAILORS- I find it amazing how year after year the Sailors farm system is consistently among the most successful in baseball. That is the case again through the first third of this season as three of the 5 Sailors affiliates are in first place in their league, while the other two are in second. PITTSBURGH- Have the Miners discovered another veteran gem in Gene Stevens? The 34 year old washed out with the Stars a couple of years ago and bounced around with a few organizations but looks like a mirror image of Lefty Allen if his first two FABL starts in over 2 years are all we look at. Stevens beat the Gothams 4-3 early last week and followed it up with a 6-hit complete game shutout of St Louis on Saturday. It was just the second big league shutout of his career in 201 starts and the first since 1936. ST LOUIS- Don't look now but the best starter at the moment for the struggling Pioneers is none other than Sam Sheppard. You might remember he won an Allan Award in 1935 when he went 28-7 with a Fed best 3.13 era and followed that up with two more twenty-win seasons. Then he fell apart and was awful the past two years but suddenly, at age 32, Sheppard seems to have figured out how to pitch again and is 3-3 with a 2.40 era, second lowest in the Federal Association. TORONTO- Everyone knew the Wolves pitching was top notch, and it hasn't disappointed but entering the season there were plenty of questions about the offense - outside of Fred McCormick of course. Well, believe it or not the Wolves lead all of FABL in runs scored, even more than the Pittsburgh Miners. WASHINGTON- Pitching again continues to be a big problem in the nation's capital but that has been the case for years. Jack Elder (3-8, 4.91) looks like the latest in a long line of Eagles hurlers to follow up a twenty win season with a terrible year. Bill Anderson did it and never did recover. Eddie Quinn's year by year W-L record in Washington was like watching a yo-yo. Karl Johnson was another victim but he got out of Washington and back on track last season with the Miners. No idea what the cause might be but it just seems like Eagles pitchers are incapable of stringing together multiple strong seasons. Code: NAME YEAR REC YEAR REC Jack Elder 1939 20-20, 3.63 1940 3-8, 4.91* to date Eddie Quinn 1939 20-10, 3.31 1940 traded to Cougars/injured Karl Johnson 1937 20-9, 4.15 1938 13-19, 4.63 Bill Anderson 1936 22-14, 4.48 1937 10-13, 4.97 Dick Dennis 1932 20-12, 3.84 1933 14-13, 5.30 Ivy Newsom 1929 19-14, 4.18 1930 11-19, 4.25 Cap McDonald 1926 21-9, 3.85 1927 5-4, 3.31 hurt most of year McDonald returned in 1928 1928 8-22, 5.33 Ed Morse 1926 14-5, 3.63 1927 13-14, 4.15 Tommy Homick 1919 20-10, 2.24 1920 9-13, 5.00 Al Bachman 1916 22-17, 2.93 1917 15-24, 2.92 Bill West 1915 30-14, 2.23 1916 1-4 hurt most of year To find the last Washington pitcher that actually strung a few good season together you really have to go back to Dick Dennis, who was 164-136 for his career that included 13 seasons with the Eagles but Dennis, like so many other Eagles had a terrible one year drop-off in 1933 - although he was 36 years old at that point. Harry Horn is the only Washington starter in the last 20 years to not follow up a twenty-win season with just an awful one. Horn did post back to back twenty win seasons starting in 1922 and although he did have some ups and downs late in his career, they took some time to materialize, not like the immediate woes that seemed to befuddle each of the others. Bottom line is that it simply is not easy being a Washington Eagles starting pitcher for more than one season. QUICK HITS Bad time for the Chicago Chiefs to have to face Pittsburgh. The Chiefs are playing possibly their worst baseball of the season right now and are really struggling through their current road trip which concludes with 3 games at Fitzpatrick Park, where the Miners are a solid 21-13. Very nice big league debut for Juan Pomales. The 26 year old native of Cuba was acquired from the Cougars over the winter and his big league debut was a complete game 5-4 win over Montreal in 10 innings. A two-way player in the minors, Pomales batted second in the game but did not have much success at the plate, going 0-for-5. He did get his first big league hit a couple of games later when playing in the outfield this time, he laced a 7th inning rbi double off of Montreal reliever Lou Ellertson to help the Wolves prevail 12-10 over the Saints. The Wolves have won 9 of their last 10 games but needed the hot streak to keep up with the Cannons, who are on a 15-5 run but were slowed by Chicago last week when the Cougars swept a 3 game series at Monarchs Field. That evened the Cannons season record with Chicago at 4-4, the only team the Cannons are not over .500 against. Cincinnati has had it's way with the two Big Apple clubs, going 7-2 vs the Kings so far and 6-1 against the Stars. Doug Lightbody had a great start for Cannons but has fallen off the map after first couple of weeks. He is sitting at 1962 career hits and the Cannons brass would love to see him reach 2,000 but as Denny Andrews continues to heat up in AAA it is looking more and more like Lightbody will have to be shown the door. 21 year old Vic Carroll is now 7-1 at Indianapolis and we can't hold him back much longer. Problem is everyone on the mound in Cincinnati is pitching well so there is no room for Carroll, the 1939 top pick, or Jim Anderson who has also looked very strong in AAA. Perhaps Rusty Petrick (5-4, 4.44), who had pitched well until big hiccups his last two starts, better start looking over his shoulder. A lot of Cannons stuff this week but here is one more - the Cannons went 24-5 in May. Records only go back to 1930 but that is the highest single month win total for a Cannon club that we can find and the last time they won even 20 games in a month was July of 1931 when the then Baltimore Cannons went 20-11. Home cooking again doing wonders for Keystones. Back from a disastrous road trip and they go 11-4 at home to close on a Pittsburgh team that is also playing well. Keystones are now 26-8 at Broad Street but just 5-15 elsewhere. Having Tom Bird still battling a nagging injury is hurting the Chiefs. Bird is batting just .194 so far this month but the most telling reason for the club's struggles of late is despite being second in nearly every major offensive category in the Federal Association, the Chiefs rank only 6th in runs scored. Shortstop is a big problem for the Chiefs. An unnamed team source was quoted in the Chicago Herald-Examiner this way: "I want to say we are getting no production from short stop, but it's worse than that--we are getting negative production. Ducky Jordan has a WPA of -0.72 and Tony White -0.14. Rabbit Mudd's glove is not what it once was, but he looks like he can still handle the bat. He'll be getting more starts are short." tough road trip for Detroit. Drop 2 of 3 on Pittsburgh to start and finish it by getting swept over weekend by Keystones. Dynamos did win 2 of 3 in Washington in between the rough treatment they received in Pennsylvania The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 6/09/1940 At least 45 are dead after Paris was bombed for the first time in the now 9-month old war. In response Allied airplanes bombed a suburb of Munich. Berlin reports 330,000 Allied troops cut off when surrounded were captured in Belgium. As the Nazis capture Dunkirk and Great Britain fears their next move will be to cross the English Channel, Prime Minister Winston Churchill told the House of Commons Britain will fight from Canada if the Isles fall. By the weekend Nazi forces have advanced to within 48 miles of Paris as they continue to push forward through France. A pointed warning that five English cities would be bombed for every Italian city attacked by Allied bombers in the event Italy enters the war was published in a Rome newspaper just while foreign observers were expressing belief Italy would enter the conflict next week. Worried about fifth column activities in Latin America, the focus became the Panama Canal and fears of the possibility of a "Trojan ship" sinking herself while in transit through the canal, thereby putting the key passageway to defense of the Western Hemisphere out of commission. Congressional isolationists are preparing to fight President Roosevelt's 'trade-in' program of furnishing military equipment to the Allies, with many observers feeling FDR's campaign was foredoomed. __________________ Lead Columnist of The Figment Sporting Journal The Scripture of Sports Last edited by Jiggs McGee; 12-29-2021 at 03:48 PM.