[Jiggs McGee]

JUNE 24, 1940

KINGS AND STARS HEATING UP

The Brooklyn Kings and New York Stars both are making a move in the Continental Association and it is coming at the right time as the front-running Cincinnati Cannons seem to be getting a dose of reality. The often streaky Kings have won 10 of their last 11 games and are 16-7 in June after entering the month 5 games under the break even mark. At 35-31 the Kings are four games over .500 for the first time since August 10 last year but between then and May 30th this year the Kings were awful, posting a 36-78 mark over that time. However, back to back series sweeps of Cincinnati and Philadelphia, combined with taking two of three from the Toronto Wolves over the weekend have Kings fans dreaming of the team perhaps being ready again to more closely resemble the squad that won three straight pennants from 1936-38. Stars fans are also happy once more as their club is showing signs of shaking off their World Championship Series hangover. The Stars have won 7 straight with home sweeps over the Ohio based clubs and are seem to be rebounding after a 9-21 from early May until they won back to back games June 6th and 7th.

At the same time the Cincinnati Cannons finally seemed to realize they have no business being in first place as they have gone 3-11 recently after a very unexpected 38-14 start in their new home. Cincinnati is much improved of course, but one must remember this is a franchise that has spent the past 5 seasons in last place in the Continental Association.

FEDERAL ASSOCIATION
The Federal Association has it's own surprise team as the Philadelphia Keystones continue to challenge for top spot despite owning a terrible 11-18 road record. Going 27-10 at home certainly helps as done finally figuring things out a little bit away from home recently as the Keystones actually have won 6 of their last 9 games on the road but have a very big test ahead of them this week. First up for Philadelphia is an end to their most recent road trip with a 3 game series in Detroit against the third place Dynamos followed by a weekend series at Broad Street Park against the Pittsburgh Miners, a team the second place Keystones trail by just half a game.

With news that the Cincinnati Cannons are cutting him loose, Doug Lightbody's days as a FABL ballplayer appear to have reached their end. Sure there is always a chance another club signs Lightbody and gives him a chance to get the 37 more hits he needs to reach the 2,000 plateau before he hangs up his glove and spikes for good, but the likelihood of that happening is very slim. It was actually a mild surprise that the Cannons picked him up at all when the Brooklyn Kings decided Lightbody's days as a useful ballplayer were over at the conclusion of spring training. But new Cannons head man Tiger Fan, the former architect of the Kings recent dynasty, always had a special place for 'The Mississippi Mouth' in his heart and decided to give the 36 year old a second lease on baseball life.

It looked like the perfect marriage when Lightbody proceeded to go 10-for-21 in his first 6 games as a Cannon but the honeymoon phased ended quickly and since May 10th he has hit just .160. With some talented youngsters at AAA just clamoring to be called up and the Cannons embroiled in a pennant race even Tiger Fan's affection for the man that was his very first FABL draft choice way back in 1925 was not enough to save Lightbody's career.

If this indeed is the end for Lightbody he finishes with some pretty impressive totals: 1,967 career hits in 1,607 games, a lifetime .341 batting average which would presently rank as the 11th best all-time. There are also 2 batting titles and the 1927 Whitney Award that dot Lightbody's resume but despite all of the accomplishments in his 14 years with the Kings plus this brief dalliance as a Cannon his will be a career that forever shall leave many wondering "What if?" What if Lightbody did not suffer that devastating elbow injury on Independence Day in 1926 - one that likely cost the Kings the '26 pennant. It was a precursor to the many ailments he would suffer on the diamond: to his shoulder, his back, his foot, hamstrings - you name the body part and odds are that Doug Lightbody probably missed some time due to an injury to it.

An estimate a couple of seasons back suggested had he remained healthy Lightbody would have played in another 500 games and if so that would mean he would be closing in on his 2,600th hit right now and perhaps more as, if he could hit as well as he did with a broken down body just imagine what he might have accomplished with a healthy one. 3,000 hits. Perhaps a stretch but we will never know what a healthy Doug Lightbody could have accomplished in the sport.

What will his legacy be? Ask any Kings fan who followed the club the past decade and a half and they will tell you that Doug Lightbody is quite likely the greatest Brooklyn ballplayer of all-time. Others have done it since but in 1926 it was unheard of for a player to skip the minor leagues entirely and go straight from the college campus to the big leagues, but Lightbody not only did that but he did it with flair - batting .356 in his first 79 games as a pro against the best competition in the world. The Kings, who finished last in the Continental the year before, were suddenly looking like a championship club and led the way until that dreadful 'pop' was heard in Lightbody's elbow on July 4th that season. He came back next year and enjoyed one of the greatest seasons ever for a Kings hitter (at least until Al Wheeler eclipsed it with a triple crown in 1935) and led Brooklyn to the pennant. Then seven years later, after two straight seasons in which he missed half the year with injury, Lightbody put it all together again and won another batting title despite the fact that most nights his body was wrapped in more tape than Boris Karloff in his recent film "The Mummy".

It was not all rosy with Lightbody. He garnered the nickname "The Mississippi Mouth" because he just wouldn't stop talking, to the point that it did irritate some teammates early in his career. Then there was the famous collapse in the 1927 Series when Lightbody went just 1-for-17 and the Kings were shellacked by the Philadelphia Keystones in 5 games. Lightbody's back was bothering him that series and had made even bending over to tie his shoes difficult for much of the stretch run that year but he never used it as an excuse. The Kings would win 3 more pennants with Lightbody on the roster and finally erased the Curse of Ferdinand Hawkins in 1937 but Doug played sparingly in each of those Series although his pinch-hit double in the 8th inning of Game Two of the '37 Series did help propel Brooklyn to a victory that evened the series and many point to that inning as the moment the Kings took control of the Series away from Pittsburgh. Still critics can easily point to Lightbody's 3-for-25 career WCS batting line as a reason to discredit him.

Did Lightbody do enough to make the Hall of Fame one day? Unfortunately not, in that aspect of his career he probably falls short but he will always have a place in the hearts of Brooklyn. Good luck Doug, where ever the future might take you. You may have finished your career as a Cincinnati Cannon, but you will always be remembered as the heart, and mouthpiece, of the Brooklyn Kings.

EDITOR'S NOTE: This marks the debut column in the Post for our newest columnist, former pro ball player Ernie Herr. A Cincinnati native, Herr was a catcher at Taft High School before going on to be a 3 year starter at Academia Alliance member Grafton College. Selected in the 6th round of the 1919 draft by the Brooklyn Kings, Herr did not break camp with the Kings organization but did sign with the Chicago Cougars, for whom he played one season of Class A ball for Lincoln of the Heartland League before retiring to finish his degree in English at Grafton. He joins the Cincinnati Post after over a decade covering sports for various papers on the east coast.

Hey, Queen City baseball fans! Are you as excited as I am about the newest crop of Cincinnati Cannons? You are probably already through the moon over the amazing season the Cannons have put together so far but I have to tell you, after this draft the future is even brighter for our darlings of the diamond. Picking first and second in the draft, something that has never happened before in the 30 odd years the FABL draft has been around, makes it pretty hard to mess things up but I have to say Cannons Scouting Director Rufus Barrell socked a homerun in his first time actually making the picks, after decades of telling everyone else who they should select as head man at the OSA, the league's scouting agency.

Number one on the Cannons wish list was a power hitter, someone who could take over for Moxie Pidgeon at some point down the road or perhaps arrive even sooner and compliment the veteran slugger by manning first base. Mission accomplished with the selection of 'The Polish Hammer' Dick Blaszak, a New York City high schooler built like a tank who hit .519 with 35 homeruns in 67 career games and was a three-time High School All-American. The Cannons see him very much as a Moxie Pidgeon type player and feel there is an outside chance he may be ready for Monarchs Field by September of 1941.

Number two on the Cannons wish list was a high quality pitcher to replace Gus Goulding, who was dealt to the Gothams over the winter, and compliment Deuce Barrell, Rusty Petrick and the soon to arrive Vic Carroll in the Cannons rotation of the next decade. That mission also appears accomplished with the announcement that AIAA All-American Bill Sohl of Lane State University in Oregon was the Cannons second selection. Sohl came darn close to winning the Frank Christian Trophy as the top college ballplayer in the nation after an impressive 3 year career with the Emeralds that included a 10-4, 2.60 campaign this past season.

Anything after those two is just icing on the draft cake for the Cannons and they decided to stock up with young pitchers in the early rounds of the draft. Rufus Barrell explained the idea was to add some talent to an area that was very thin in the low minors and also nothing adds to an organization's trade capital like a bunch of high ceiling young arms. To that end they added 3 talented high school pitchers in Troy Crockett, Frank Sears and Red Hampton along with college righthander Sam Goodwin. Sears was an honorable mention selection for the All-American team this past season and had committed to Central Ohio University. Who knows, one or two of them may end up in Cincinnati one day but the more likely scenario is the Cannons trade at least some of them over the next two seasons to plus holes at the FABL level in order to aid with a pennant push.

In between those young pitchers the Cannons also went with another power bat, selecting Vern Wilson out of City College of Los Angeles. Wilson, like Bill Sohl was a first team All-American selection and his 17 homeruns this year were the second most ever hit by a college player in the post feeder league era.

The Cannons also drafted a player with a Hall of Fame pedigree by selecting outfielder Fred Waggoner in the 10th round. The 19 year old is the grandson of the legendary John Waggoner. Fred's father Joe Waggoner also played college ball and briefly in the minor leagues.

DRAFT NOTES: Sources within the Cannons confirm the organization at some disappointment on missing out on the opportunity to select Cincinnati born pitcher Ralph Millsap. There was much debate with their own 6th round pick on whether they should use it on Hampton or Millsap, who while born in Cincinnati grew up and played his high school ball in Louisville. In the end the decision was made to go with Hampton and hope Millsap would be available with their second pick of the sixth round but the Philadelphia Keystones derailed that plan, snatching Millsap immediately after the Cannons claimed Hampton. The Keystones, ironically, say they almost grabbed Hampton in the fifth round and had planned on taking him but settled for Millsap after the Cannons drafted Hampton. Louisville is home to the Keystones top farm team and as the story goes, Keystones scouting director Harry Dunn was in town scouting around the Union League and visiting the AAA Derbies and heard scuttlebutt about this lanky lefty from Trinity High School.

          1940 CINCINNATI CANNONS DRAFT CLASS
RD PICK  NAME	       POS  AGE    SCHOOL		HOMETOWN
 1   1  Dick Blaszak	OF  18  Morris HS, Bronx	New York City, NY
 1   2  Bill Sohl	P   21  Lane State		Portland, OR
 3  34  Troy Crockett   P   17  Anderson (IN) HS	Bloomington, IN
 4  50  Frank Sears     P   18  Burlington (WI) HS      Burlington, WI
 5  66  Vern Wilson     OF  20  CCLA			Boston, MA
 6  82  Red Hampton     P   17  Corning (NY) HS		Auburn, NY
 6  89  Sam Goodwin     P   21  Shenandoah Valley State Greensboro, NC
10 146  Enos Shank      C   18  Bristol (PA) HS	        Philadelphia, PA
10 159  Fred Waggoner   OF  19  Trinity HS, New York    San Francisco, CA

Perhaps used to the habit of making his draft lists public from his days at the OSA, following the draft Rufus Barrell agreed to release the players he had listed as his personal top ten from this draft class. The list is as follows:

RUFUS BARRELL'S 1940 TOP TEN DRAFT LIST
 #  NAME	 POS	DRAFTING POSITION AND TEAM
 1 Dick Blaszak	  OF    1st  Cincinnati Cannons
 2 John Moss      OF    4th  Brooklyn Kings
 3 Bill Sohl	  P     2nd  Cincinnati Cannons
 4 Bill Barnett   1B    5th  New York Stars
 5 Joe Quade      P     3rd  Philadelphia Keystones
 6 John Graves    OF    6th  Toronto Wolves
 7 George Wynn    P     8th  Montreal Saints
 8 Tucker Ness    C     9th  St Louis Pioneers
 9 Joe Rutherford OF    7th  Chicago Chiefs
10 Newt Cooper    OF   17th  New York Stars

AROUND THE LEAGUE

Jiggs McGee takes a quick tour of the 16 FABL ballclubs and provides an observation or two about each of them. Nothing specific, this column is all about whatever catches Jiggs eye:

BOSTON- Is John Edwards (7-5, 3.02) starting to put it altogether on the mound. Now 24, the Minutemen acquired the 1933 third overall pick from the Cannons prior to the 1938 season and Edwards was .500 each of his first two years in the Fed. He was slightly above average if you trust ERA+ as the judge in '38 and slightly below last year. But this season, especially the last 6 weeks, it seems like Edwards may finally be taking the next step. The stretch of solid outings began May 18th with his first shutout of the season and a gem of an outing in a 2 hitter against St Louis. He lost the next start 6-1 to Detroit despite surrendering only 6 hits, although 3 of them were longballs. His record is only 4-4 during that stretch but in 9 starts I would consider 8 of them to be pretty solid outings and 4 to be excellent including a pair of road wins last week, blanking the Pioneers 3-0 on a 6 hitter and then topping Detroit 6-3 while allowing just 1 earned run in 8 innings of work.

We have often touched on the great 1933 Hartford High School rotation that saw Edwards, the Chiefs Al Miller and Pepper Tuttle of the Keystones all get drafted very high (Edwards 3rd overall, Miller 4th overall and Tuttle in the 4th round) but what is mentioned less often is the 1932 Hartford HS staff was fronted by Lefty Allen, who was taken 4th overall by Pittsburgh the year before the other three were selected.

How about this for a high school rotation

         19332 HARTFORD HIGH BLUE SOX
NAME		 CL  RECORD	DRAFTED
Lefty Allen      SR 3-0, 1.85   1932 4th overall Pittsburgh
Al Miller	 JR 4-0, 4.85   1933 4th overall Chiefs
Pepper Tuttle    JR 2-0, 3.95   1933 4th round Brooklyn
John Edwards     JR 3-4, 3.86   1933 3rd overall Baltimore

Ron Randall	 JR 3-5  7.11  never drafted went to Cumberland
Bob Aldredge     FR 2-3  8.31  never went anywhere beyond HS
Tom Leonard	 FR 2-3  2.91  never went anywhere beyond HS
William Campbell SR 1-5  5.24  never drafted went to Brooklyn State

Amazingly, despite having Lefty Allen, Al Miller, John Edwards and Pepper Tuttle at his disposal, Manager Sam Vreeland could only guide the Blue Sox to a 20-20 finish that season, and they failed to make the playoffs the following year with all but Allen back. Fortunately Vreeland, who still sits in the available staff pool to this day, has never managed to secure another job after the demise of the feeder leagues. Vreeland did enjoy a brief big league career, not surprisingly as a pitcher, so he probably had a pretty good influence on those four but how he kept trotting Randall, Aldredge and Campbell out on the mound in 1932 is beyond me. Perhaps a great pitching coach but just an awful manager.

BROOKLYN- While Tom Barrell (4-9, 5.00) struggles the young guns have taken over on the Brooklyn mound. Art White (8-3, 2.69) was expected. He has been pretty good for a couple of years now as has Bob Cummings (6-6, 3.50) and Stumpy Beaman (6-4, 2.43) has been a top prospect for a while. It is the 5th man in the rotation that is the big surprise. Just who is Eddie Hite (4-1, 2.16). Certainly far from being young, the 36 year old was originally a 7th round pick of the Baltimore Cannons way back in 1922. Hite spent a bunch of time with independent teams but finally made his FABL debut in 1927 as a 23 year old, going 14-15. He spent parts of 4 seasons with the Pioneers and led the Fed in losses with 19 in 1929. He had brief stops with the Sailors and Keystones before Brooklyn claimed him off waivers two years ago, primarily to be used as depth at AAA. After being claimed on waivers twice, a rule 5 pickup once and released 8 times in his career Hite finds himself in the Brooklyn rotation. He has pitched primarily out of the pen but joined the rotation a couple of weeks ago. All he has done since is win all three of his starts. While one was not a very good outing - he allowed 6 runs on 12 hits over 6 innings but got plenty of run support in an 11-6 win over the Sailors - the other two have been gems. He beat Toronto 8-1 on a complete game 6 hitter in which the only run he allowed was unearned and then yesterday he took care of the Wolves with another complete game 6 hitter, a 6-1 win. It is highly unlikely he has suddenly at age 36 become an above average FABL starting pitcher but Hite and the Kings will enjoy the ride while they can.

CHIEFS- Rabbit Day is 8-5 with a 2.88 era so far this season. At this pace he might just end up with his 6th 20-win season in his great career. He is come within a whisker of twenty two other times winning 19 in back to back yeas for the Cannons starting in 1931 and had an 18 win season for the Chiefs in 1937. Only once in his career has Day had a losing season. That was last year when he fell to 14-16 for the Chiefs. It would be great to see the 36 year old have a couple more 20 win seasons left in him and even better to see him get the 43 more W's he needs to reach 300 for his career. Day also has 6 career WCS victories, trailing only Jim Golden, former teammate (in 2 locations) Jim Lonardo, Hall of Famer Woody Trease and 19th century star Charlie Wilson in that category.

COUGARS- The Cougars sure do love to draft and they have made an art of acquiring extra picks. 16 in all over the first 10 rounds this year by my quick count and that has been a trend in Chicago for years. Smart thinking to as they get those extra lottery tickets in hopes of landing a guy or two that pays off and for those that don't, well they simply move them a year or two later for more picks in rounds 6-10 so they can rinse and repeat the process.

CINCINNATI- There has always been plenty of publicity around the Cannons pitchers taken in the first round like Rufus Barrell, Rusty Petrick and about to be promoted Vic Carroll but it is the much less heralded Butch Smith who is leading the Continental Association in ERA. The 28 year old Smith has always been pretty stingy at giving up runs but only had 16 career FABL starts under his belt entering this season. He has done well with his starting opportunity this year and at 8-4, 2.37 has been Cincinnati's most effective starter in a season full of solid pitching performances from the Cannons.

CLEVELAND-You really have to feel for Mel Carrol. He was on some bad teams in Washington and now Cleveland, despite a solid second place finish a year ago, is looking like a team in need of a rebuild. Despite the lack of team success over the years, Carrol's club's could always count on the 28 year old third baseman to hit the ball. He is doing it again this year, batting .381 with 7 homers, numbers very much in line with his career average totals of a .361 batting average and 17 homers per 154 games.

DETROIT- Some of my contemporaries in the newspaper business have been quick to condemn Sal Pestilli because he does not walk enough. While I can't argue that fact, as Sal has only walked 18 times this season, I can say that is not something I personally care about because of what else he brings to the table. I, and I am sure those sitting in the big chairs in Detroit would agree, prefer to see Sal swing for the fences. He has already connected for 17 homers this season, and 125 in less than 500 games so far in his career. Sal does not strike out either, just 10 this year and only 46 in over 2200 plate appearances in his 4 seasons in Detroit. So he makes contact, quite often very big contact. While I would love to see his .268 batting average be over .300 like it was the first two seasons of his career I still say if I had my pick of any position player in the game right now to start a team with there is no one I would take ahead of Sal Pestilli.

MONTREAL- Taking two of three games over the weekend from Cleveland managed to lift the Saints out of last place but it was still a losing week (2-4) thanks to starting it off with 3 losses to the Cannons. There are some positives in Montreal such as catcher Adam Mullins (.313,2,26) having another strong season and Red Bond's (.339,14,42) continued ascension toward being considered one of the best players in the game but there are also a lot of worries beyond the fact the Saints appear destined for their 5th straight finish in the second division. Pitching health in particular as top prospect Pat Weakley - their 1938 first rounder - blew out his elbow early in the season while the 19 year old was pitching in an A ball game. Second year man Bill Stewart (0-1, 2.84) ended his season practically before it began when the 24 year old former 3rd round pick suffered a devastating injury in just his second start of the year. Then last month Wally Doyle, the Waco Kid who was their 1936 first rounder - hurt his elbow and has not pitched since May 23rd. Doyle is said to be close to returning but now it's Bill Ross's turn to suffer an elbow injury. Hardly a top prospect, the 27 year old Ross (3-8, 4.92) is a serviceable back of the rotation arm for Montreal but he is expected to be out for 2 months.

NY STARS- The Stars had a week worthy of a team called the defending champions, winning all 7 of their games including a sweep of the first place Cincinnati Cannons in 4 games over the weekend. With 10 wins in their last 13 contests, things might be looking up for the Big Apple boys. They are likely still very concerned about the catching situation. Johnny Hopper is back from two very successful weeks in L.A. where he hit .333, but he did not bring his hitting stick with him as Hopper went just 2-for-22 with the Stars last week and in the process lowering his season average back under the .200 mark.

NY GOTHAMS- The Gothams just seem like a team destined to have pitching problems. Even when things go well issues, often in the form of injuries, occur. Nate Spear's (3-6, 3.96) injury woes are well documented. Now it is 26 year old Bob Adams (2-3, 3.72) that is cause for concern. He missed the final month of the season last year and had already made two different trips to the injured list this year when, in just his third start back from a shoulder injury, he tweaked his back and will likely need to miss at least two starts. Adams is the final tie to the trade that sent Max Morris from the Gothams to the Foresters in 1932. The other three players New York received in return are long gone. John Turner is in Pittsburgh after spending time with the Keystones and in the Great West League with independent Hollywood. Pete Thomas never made it to New York but did play briefly in Detroit and is now with the Indy entry in Syracuse while Alex Thompson is retired but did appear in 177 games for the Gothams over several seasons following the deal.

KEYSTONES- The Keystones finally got some road wins, going 6-3 so far on this trip and within a half game of top spot in the Fed. They are also challenging for the league lead in great nicknames with Blue Collar Billy Woytek, Hard Boiled Henry Koblenz, Bobby 'The Georgia Jolter' Barrell, Sig 'The Boardwalk Bopper' Stofer, Walt 'Dinosaur' Potter and Bob 'Zombie' Land. I can't wait until Davey 'Crawfish' Robicheaux and John 'Rut the Nut' Rutter eventually get the call from the minors to join them.

SAILORS- 32 year old Walt Wells is quietly putting together what is shaping up to be the best season of his career. A late bloomer - he was a 1926 6th round pick but did not make his FABL debut until 1935 at the age of 27 - Wells leads the CA in wins after a very solid outing in a 4-2 complete game victory over the Chicago Cougars yesterday.

PITTSBURGH- Lefty Allen is well on his way to a 4th straight season with 200 plus strikeouts. The pride of Hartford High School has 94 already this season to go with a 10-4 record. Must have been a bit of a scare in Pittsburgh when Mahlon Strong left yesterday's game with an injury. Minors training staff say it is nothing serious, just a tweaked back but it ends a very impressive string for Strong as he went almost a full calendar year without an injury - which is a very rare accomplishment for the often hurt slugger.

ST LOUIS- This is quickly becoming a year to forget in St Louis. Sam Sheppard (4-5, 2.45) finally starts to pitch well again but Buddy Long (4-10,4.35) has had a complete collapse and Jake Smith (0-5, 6.46) is in even worse shape. Add in yet another injury to David Abalo (6-4, 4.21) and it is easy to see why the Pioneers are at the bottom of the Fed.

TORONTO- The Wolves seem to have no shortage of offense this year but you have to think they will find room for Ockie Holliday in their outfield very soon. Now 24, the 1937 second team AIAA All-American is having another great season at AAA Buffalo (.332,8,53) and deserves to make his FABL debut soon.

WASHINGTON- Harry Shumate (.219,2,24) is off to a rough start. A .310 career hitter has seen his on base percentage dip by close to 100 points from a year ago and with just 2 homers (after career best 20 last season) the 30 year old has seen his slugging percentage fall by over 200 points. He is still listed as one of the Eagles top players but if this continues you have to wonder how long he can stay in the middle of the batting order, or the starting lineup at all.

QUICK HITS

• Time to get the All-Star ballots in. This year's game will be held at Thompson Field in Detroit and is just a day over two weeks away. The Continental stars prevailed 6-3 last year in Cleveland with the Toronto Wolves Fred McCormick winning his second straight player of the game award.
• The Keystones have been great this season, and everyone knows about their pitching, but did any non-Keystone fan know about Chuck Hood? An under the radar prospect, he never cracked the top 100, but the former 4th Rounder got two games in 1938. He was a perfect 1-for-1 with an RBI single, but last year hit just .253/.368/.287 (83 OPS+) with 3 doubles and 9 RBIs in a few more then 100 trips to the plate. This season, the 24-year-old seems to have broken out, hitting .355/.432/.480 (155 OPS+) and leading the FA batting race by almost a full 30 points. He added 10 doubles, 3 triples, 3 homers, and 34 RBIs with an impressive 26-to-10 strikeout-to-walk ratio. Sure, hitting ahead Blue Collar Billy, the Georgia Jolter, and Hard Boiled Henry might help a bit, but without such a great season from the Keystones two hitter, they may not be in striking distance of another FA pennant
• Gene Stevens, the veteran castoff, has now thrown 2 shutouts in a row for the Pittsburgh Miners. The 34 year old, who last pitched in FABL with the New York Stars in 1938, is 3-0 with a 0.74 and 1 save since being promoted from AAA St Paul in May. He joined the Miners rotation June 5th and beat the Gothams 4-3 before throwing shutouts over St Louis and the Chicago Chiefs.
• Toronto moves rookie Juan Pomales to the 'pen after four less than satisfactory starts, he will continue to patrol RF versus LH starters. Ockie Holliday is on a 20 game hitting streak, Giordano continues to hit in Buffalo, these two players are going to lead to some tough decisions, sooner rather than later, for Wolves management . The Nickels are leading the Union for the first time in recent memory.
• With Vic Carroll now 7-2, 3.48 at Indianapolis and Glenn Payne struggling his last two starts it looks like the 1939 top draft pick will make his FABL debut this week. To clear room for the 21 year old in Cincinnati the Cannons sent rule 5 pickup Art Black back to the Chicago Cougars. The 30 year old was 1-0 with a 6.57 era in 7 relief appearances this season.
• The Brooklyn Kings have always been a streaky team and they have a real positive one going right now. With 10 wins in their last 11 outings the Kings move into third place and at 4 games over .500 (35-31) have hit a high water mark for the season.
• We see a lot of pitchers that passed through Detroit the last few seasons having very good seasons and/or starts to their careers. Burns, Wallace, Robertson, Beaman, Walls, Jack Wood, Jones, “Superstar” Murphy and Slaney.
• One of those, Lou Robertson is having an explosive entry into FABL with the New York Stars. 3-0, 8 K, 1.93 ERA in his first 3 outings.
• Freddie Farhat of the Detroit World raised this question about Cleveland's struggles. "Is it the lack of success on the field for the Foresters this year or the early decline of his skills that is seeing SS George Dawson have the worst season of his career? His fielding numbers have been in a serious decline for the last two years."
• To which a couple of other Federal scribes weighed in. Bob Stewart of the Washington Times Herald feels more research is necessary but his initial speculation is perhaps since the league as a whole has taken a defense first approach for shortstops, and since ZR is vs average at that position, then it makes sense that Dawson's defense has lost some value compared to the rest of the league. You can see a similar drop in Harry Barrell's ZR, actually, including the randomly amazing 1937. Long-time Chicago Herald-Examiner editor Percy Sutherland concurs, adding "I think it's less Dawson's skills deteriorating (although at 29 he is likely losing a step), but that there has been an influx of good shortstops who are only 23 or 24 years old (Charlie Artuso, Jim Hensley, Lew McClendon, Frank Davis) and this is pushing Dawson down to the middle of the pack. He is not hitting at all this season which hurts his value more than a little defensive decline. Harry Barrell, by the way, is still far ahead of any other shortstop in the league.
• Sutherland also feels a big part of the St Louis Pioneers woes this season can be blamed on their infield defense as shortstop Ivan Cameron's sophomore season is a bit of a mess defensively.

The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 6/23/1940

• New French Premier Marshal Philippe Petain says his country must lay down it's arms and ask Germany for peace. Petain declared that he spoke "with heavy heart" in an address of surrender that came just hours after he replaced Paul Reynaud, who had pledged to fight to the finish, as Premier of the beaten nation.
• Britain pledges to carry on the war with Germany alone but British sources believe that despite the French offer to sue for peace, France will carry on the war in the theaters outside French soil.
• Prime Minister Winston Churchill proclaimed to his Parliament and people the beginning of "the battle for Britain" and declared direly that its loss would plunge even the United States "in the abyss of a new dark age."
• As Hitler and Mussolini meet to discuss response to French request for peace, they are also said to be finalizing joint plans that would break forever British influence on the European continent.
• Hands off, U.S. warns Axis serving notice to Germany and Italy that it will enforce the Monroe Doctrine by refusing to recognize any change in sovereignty of the French, British and Dutch possessions in the western hemisphere.
• President Roosevelt seeks to form a Western Trade front, uniting the 22 nations of the western hemisphere, including Canada, in a tight economic union to present a solid front against the economic upheavals in the rest of the world.