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Jiggs McGee · 01-25-2022, 03:04 PM

OCTOBER 10, 1940

OH CANADA! WOLVES WIN SERIES

Champs of the baseball world are the Toronto Wolves as they downed the Federal Association pennant winning Pittsburgh Miners in convincing fashion, claiming both Game Five and the Series by identical 4-1 margins. With three WCS losses in the past 4 years there likely will be a tendency to make this all about how the Pittsburgh Miners failed once again in an October pressure situation - for the 8th time in 9 appearances in baseball's ultimate series. However, that would do an injustice to a Toronto squad ripe with talent, much of it still quite young, throughout it's roster. As much as one might be tempted to say Pittsburgh lost another WCS, the story should be how the combination of pitching and Fred McCormick, perhaps the most talented hitter in the game, willed the Wolves to the World Title.

McCormick, who hit .500 in the series and was justly rewarded with his first post-season MVP award to go along with the two Whitney Awards he claimed over the past couple summers spent on the shores of Lake Ontario, was once again key to the victory. Toronto, as it did in all four of it's victories, struck quickly with a pair of runs in the opening frame when McCormick, with lead-off man Juan Pomales on base, took Pittsburgh starter and regular season ace Lefty Allen deep for a 2-run homer. In their 4 wins Toronto outscored the Miners 10-0 in the opening inning and as it turned out on this day McCormick's homerun was all the offense Wolves starting pitcher Bernie Johnson would need. However, McCormick would drive in his third run of the game with a sacrifice fly to score Pomales and make it 3-0 in the third inning.

Johnson, who topped Allen 5-2 in Game Two, was at his best on this day, scattering just 4 hits and allowing one run, unearned, in going the distance. A case could easily have been made that Johnson was the one deserving of the MVP bauble after the 30 year old tossed a pair of complete game victories, beating Allen both times.

Johnson sat down the first 10 Miners batters in order before Pablo Reyes singled. It got dicey for a moment as George Cleaves followed and worked Johnson for his only free pass of the day but the veteran Toronto lefthander struck out Mahlon Strong and induced a fly ball from Ed Stewart to keep the Toronto lead at 3-0. Pittsburgh also had an opportunity in the bottom of the fifth when Jack Cleaves hit a lead-off double and moved to third on a one-out ground out by Wally Flowers. Pittsburgh manager Dan Andrew elected to leave Lefty Allen in the game at this point, rather than lift him for a pinch-hitter and Allen popped out to Toronto shortstop Charlie Artuso to end the inning with Pittsburgh once again unable to get on the scoresheet.

Pittsburgh finally scored a run in the 6th inning as dropped fly ball by Larry Vestal allowed Joe Owens to reach base as the lead-off man. He advances to second on a Pablo Reyes single and then scored thanks to back to back deep fly ball outs including Mahlon Strong's run scoring sac fly. That run cut the Pittsburgh deficit to 3-1 but it only served to make Johnson more determined on the Toronto mound as he retired the next 8 Miners in order. Mahlon Strong ended that streak with a one out single in the bottom of the ninth but he was still standing on first base when pinch-hitter Whit Williams popped out to Toronto second sacker Tom Frederick to end the series and a Toronto title drought that had last 29 years.

JIGGS MCGEE'S WCS THOUGHTS

Not a bad game for Lefty Allen but for the second time in the series he was out pitched by Bernie Johnson, who came up very big with a 4 hitter.
As for Lefty Allen. He wasn't bad this year in the Series. Last year he was awful but this year he was acceptable as a pitcher. Problem is your ace can't merely be ‘not bad’ if you expect to win a Series. Same for most of their hitters. Not bad but Toronto's big stars carried their club to the win. McCormick of course but Johnson and Garrison were great in their starts and Hancock was very good in his.
As much as pitching let the Miners down you have to ask where was their vaunted offense. Not that anyone was truly horrible at the plate - although Guzzo hit just .118- where were Mahlon Strong, the Cleaves boys, Reyes or even Ed Stewart when a big hit was needed. Only lead off man Joe Owens can be truly happy with his play but even then Owens went 0-for-4 in the finale.
None of the big Pittsburgh hitters had a truly bad series but none stepped up. On the other hand McCormick hit .500 with a huge homer to get the Wolves off to a quick start in the finale and lesser lights like Tom Frederick had a great series. Toronto pitching, likely as expected, certainly lived up to its billing too.
Pittsburgh manager Dan Andrew getting second guessed again. Down 3-0 in the bottom of the 5th and with only one hit entering the inning, the Miners got a lead off double from Jack Cleaves. After Guzzo struck out Flowers grounded out but Cleaves moved to third. With 2 away Andrew elected to leave Allen in the game and the result was an inning ending pop up so it stayed 3-0. The Miners would finally score 1 run the next inning thanks to an error but 3-1 was the closest they got. Could a pinch hitter have delivered in a run and if so would it have made a difference to Bernie Johnson's confidence on the mound? Even in the bottom of the 8th trailing 3-1 Andrew was asleep at the switch, letting Allen lead off and strike out.
Many still blame Andrew for a poor pitching change choice three years ago that turned the tide of the 1937 series with Brooklyn and sent the Miners on their modern day Series spiral.
The first inning certainly told the tale in this WCS. Toronto outscored Pittsburgh 10-1 in the opening frame over the 5 games.
1-8 in WCS play with 5 straight defeats since their lone title in 1901. With Detroit continuing to knock on the door and a rapidly improving Keystones club you have to wonder how many more chances this group in Pittsburgh will get. Zero-for-3 in Series and losing 12 of 14 WCS games is not the legacy this club envisioned. As amazing as Lefty Allen is will the inability to perform well on the brightest stage always define his career? Allen's young and should have a lot of opportunity left but pennants are not easily come by for most teams and the window, while still open next year, may start to close quickly on Pittsburgh.
Miners Series failures make for great theatre but you have to be a pretty good team just to have the opportunity to lose 3 WCS in 4 years especially with how good all of us believe the top half of the Fed is.

CHICAGO HERALD-EXAMINER HANDS OUT DEFENSIVE AWARDS

While FABL itself does not recognize defensive achievements Percy Sutherland of the Chicago Herald-Examiner has been a long time proponent of the importance of quality glovework. Sutherland often identifies players he feels excel with the leather and this season convinced his employer to officially sponsor an award for the top defenders at each position. As a result we have the first of what may become an annual presentation of the all defense team.

Code:


   CHICAGO HERALD EXAMINER PREMIER DEFENDER AWARD WINNERS
POS	WINNER		HONORABLE MENTION
 C - John Wicklund (DET) (Honorable mention: Pete Casstevens (NYG), Woody Stone (NYS))
1B - Ron Rattigan (CHI)  (Honorable mention: Ray Ford (CHC), Bob Donoghue (BOS))
2B - Clark Car (NYS)     (Honorable mention: Charley McCullough (CIN), Walt Layton (BRK))
3B - Tommy Wilson (STL)  (Honorable mention: Hank Koblenz (PHI), Frank Vance (DET))
SS - Harry Barrell (BRK) (Honorable mention: Charlie Artuso (TOR), Rip Lee (PHS))
LF - Hub Parks (NYS)     (Honorable mention: Bobby Barrell (PHI), Bert Lass(MON))
CF - Sal Pestilli (DET)  (Honorable mention: Carlos Montes (CHC), Fred Galloway(CIN))
RF - Leon Drake (NYG)    (Honorable mention: Hank McKay (PHI), Bill Burkett (BOS))
 P - Milt Fritz (CHC)    (Honorable mention: Al Miller (CHI))

CHIEFS SEND MOSS CROSS-TOWN TO COUGARS AS TRADING IS UNDERWAY

It did not take long for the first trade to be made following the conclusion of the WCS. The Toronto Wolves were still on the train from Pittsburgh back to Canada, likely nursing championship size hangovers, when word came from the Windy City that the Chicago Chiefs were sending veteran outfielder Cliff Moss across town to the Chicago Cougars in exchange for a pair of 22 year old pitching prospects in Lou Eaker and Ralph Kendall. Moss finishes his 6-year run with the Chiefs with a line of .295/.377/.495 (OPS+ 132) and 116 home runs.

Chiefs skipper Joe Ward admitted it was difficult to trade Moss but "if we are trading our draft picks (Chiefs already dealt their first and second rounders for Frank Davis and Alf Pestilli), then we need to get new talent in the system somehow. I'm rolling the dice that between Jim Hampton, Alf Pestilli, and converted third baseman Bill Jones we can absorb the loss of Moss" in the Chiefs outfield. Ward added that " Jones is the key. He looked okay out there in a trial run last September. And it doesn't look like Hampton is quite ready to pack it in yet."

It seems to be a growing relationship between the two Chicago clubs as they made a deal a year ago that brought veteran pitcher Jim Lonardo to the Cougars in the deal that sent Ducky Jordan the other way. They had not traded with each other much before that although there were a pair of big deals in 1935 that sent veteran Chief Joe Masters to the Cougars and another that moved Dave Rankin to the Continental side.

JIGGS MCGEE'S TAKE: Eaker would be the big prize for the Chiefs in this deal. A top 60 prospect he went 10-8 with a 3.54 ERA this season at Class A after starting the year in B. A 1939 fifth round pick out of Miami State and a groundball specialist, which is something the Chiefs always covet. Moss put up some pretty good numbers this year (.278,23,69) and is a .295 hitter over his six seasons with the Chiefs. The Chiefs do need to get some young talent, as Ward correctly pointed out, but they are banking heavily on a 39 year old Jim Hampton still being a valuable contributor. The Chiefs are also counting on local product Bob Jones to hit like he did last season when the 29 year old batted .298 with 7 homers in 79 games. As for the Cougars they continue to use their wealth of prospect talent to help in their quest for a pennant as they add another talented veteran and it is easy to see Moss replacing Orlin Yates (.228,2,26) in the platoon with Rich Langton (.266,3,34) in right field or perhaps winning the job outright.

GOTHAMS DEAL FOR PETRICK MADE OFFICIAL

As previously reported the New York Gothams have sent their first round draft choice to the Cincinnati Cannons for the second year in a row. Last year it was pitcher Gus Goulding who made the trip east while this season it is another pitcher and former first round selection in Rusty Petrick joining the Gothams. Petrick was originally drafted by the Gothams 10th overall out of high school in 1933 but was dealt to the then Baltimore based Cannons 3 months later in the trade that brought Rabbit Day to New York. Petrick had loads of potential, and at just 24 likely still does, but he never seemed to put it together in Baltimore, going 33-56 over 4 seasons with the organization including 6-7, 4.81 in Cincinnati this year.

PERCY SUTHERLAND'S TAKE:I like Petrick, the hard throwing right hander who has struggled with control issues so far in his career. But Petrick is just 24 and particularly with hard throwers, you need to have patience while their control develops. The Gothams organization is not particularly well known for its patience with young pitching. But overall I like the pickup for New York. With Goulding, Sutton, and Petrick the Gothams have a young rotation with some good potential. As for Cincinnati, with their deep collection of young arms the Cannons are dealing from a position of strength, so getting a first round pick back for Petrick is good.

TRADE RUMOURS

The Pittsburgh Miners are going to wring every win they can out of this group and attempt to get beat in a few more WCS before they transition into a new era. At the top of their shopping list is a desire to add 2 solid SP's this offseason. They are dangling their first round pick and a couple of decent prospects but say they are also willing to move Lew Seals or Pinky Pierce to get a mid-rotation guy.
The rebuilding Brooklyn Kings have had some interest in Art White but nothing that would convince them to part with the 29 year old two-time all-star who went 16-12 this season. White is the type of player you can build a pitching staff around, not necessarily an Allan Award candidate but still a very dependable #2, maybe even a #1 on a number of teams so it would be very surprising to see the Kings part ways with him.
After striking out at the trade deadline Boston Minutemen are still said to be shopping for an upgrade on Bill Van Ness at catcher and/or a power bat. Boston fans are feeling some frustration as the club just can't seem to get over the hump and make a serious pennant run.
The Cannons are considering moving Joe Rainbow primarily as a favour to the soon to be 27 year old catcher. Rainbow spent parts of 5 seasons in Baltimore, hitting .245 in 406 big league games but with the move to Cincinnati the club added veterans Jack Flint and Ben Richardson, relegating Rainbow back to AAA for the first time in 5 years. He had a strong season at that level and did not complain about the demotion, but the Cannons feel they don't want to hold him back.

FUTURE WATCH - EARLY LOOK AT THE 1942 AND 1943 DRAFT CLASSES

LOOK AHEAD TO THE 1942 DRAFT CLASS
At an early glance the 1942 draft appears to have much more college talent that the '41 class is expected to produce. The player everyone will be talking about as the draft approaches might well be Bob Arman. The 19 year old has elite command and control, with OSA feeling Arman has "the makings of a future ace." A Brooklyn native, the righthander went 9-2 with a 2.80 era in his freshman season at Bluegrass State.

Arman is one two Bluegrass State players who crack TWIFB way-too-early top ten for the 1942 draft as he is joined by outfielder Ernie McCoy, who was a second team AIAA All-American selection as a freshman. In all, half of the top ten comes from the college ranks which is quite a departure from the recent 1941 mock draft, which had just one AIAA player among the 16 projected to go in the first round.

Other All-Americans include Three Rivers State third baseman Johnny Weisz, who hit .317 with 8 homers as a freshman and was named first team AIAA All-American. Bob 'Crab' Crowley was a high school All-American selection last season as a sophomore at Framingham High in Massachusetts. A Rhode Island native, Crowley heads a deep crop of catchers, one which features a very familiar name in Roger Cleaves. The Hoboken (NJ) High Schooler might not belong in the top ten based on current OSA scouting reports but we slide him into the tenth spot due to his pedigree. He is the half brother of current Pittsburgh Miners Jack and George Cleaves, and his grandfathers are George Theobald and Rufus Barrell so certainly a royal baseball lineage with the youngster.

Code:

      WAY TO EARLY 1942 DRAFT TOP TEN RANKINGS
 #   NAME	   AGE POS    SCHOOL		  HOMETOWN
 1  BOB ARMAN      19  RHP  Bluegrass State	  Brooklyn, NY
 2  HOWIE HARRIS   17  RHP  Ross HS, Hamilton,OH  Hamilton, OH
 3  CRAB CROWLEY   16  C    Framingham (MA) HS	  North Providence, RI
 4  JOHN JACKSON   16  RHP  Salem (NJ) HS	  Baltimore, MD
 5  ERNIE MCCOY    19  CF   Bluegrass State	  Albion, NE
 6  PETE WOODWARD  19  CF   Cleveland College     Lansing, MI
 7  MILT RADER     16  LF   Stroud (OK) HS	  Seminole, OK
 8  JOHNNY WEISZ   19  3B   Three Rivers State    Morristown, NJ
 9  NELLIE WALTERS 19  SS   Oklahoma City State   Philadelphia, PA
10  ROGER CLEAVES  16  C    Hoboken (NJ) HS       West New York, NJ

1943 DRAFT PREVIEW
This one is mainly just a look at the high school players that will be eligible as the only college players presently in the pool are ones that refused to sign with a team following the 1940 draft. That group does include a player who was selected in the second round in 1940 and might just be the first college player taken in 1943. He is Johnny Thacker, a catcher that decided to pass up a big signing bonus from the Washington Eagles and enroll at Columbia Military Academy. Of course if the United States ends up entering the war in Europe it is quite likely Thacker will not sign in'43 either and join the war effort instead.

Thacker is one of two very highly touted catchers with Ed Haynes Jr, who was an honourable mention for the High School All-American team as a freshman, being the other. His dad played 4 years of feeder league ball at Austin High but was not drafted and never played in the pros. There are very few pitchers that are highly touted and certainly no one at this point projected to challenge for the first overall selection with Ted Davis, a high school lefthander from Pittsburgh, perhaps being the best available at this point. There is one dominant talent in this draft and that is Sid "The Kid" Kling, a 15 year old who is already 6'4" tall and OSA feels if he fufills his potential, the Buffalo born outfielder "could make multiple trips to the All-Star Game."

Here is a very early look at the potential top ten of the 1943 draft.

Code:

          WAY TO EARLY 1943 DRAFT TOP TEN RANKINGS
 #   NAME	   AGE  POS      SCHOOL		       HOMETOWN
 1  SID KLING	    15  LF   McKinley HS Buffalo, NY   Buffalo, NY		
 2  ED HAYNES JR    16  C    Austin (TX) HS	       Austin, TX
 3  JOHNNY THACKER  18  C    Columbia Military Acad.   Charleston, WV 
 4  BILL GALLMAN    15  RF   Perry HS, Massillon, OH   Canton, OH
 5  RUDY MINTON     15  3B   Pana (IL) High School     Pana, IL
 6  TED DAVIS       15  LHP  Northgate HS, Pittsburgh  Pittsburgh, PA
 7  JOE DAVIS	    15  1B   Copley (MA) HS	       Medford, MA
 8  IRA KENNEY      15  CF   Texico (NM) HS	       Texico, NM
 9  BENNY EVERIDGE  15  CF   Samdusky (OH) HS	       Sandusky, OH
10  DIXIE WHITE     15  SS   Mooresville (NC) HS       Mooresville, NC

The Week That Was
Current events from 10/10/1940

The United States advised Americans to return home from the Far East and the British Ambassador to the US said that his nation feared a 'general crisis' in that area after Prime Minister Churchill announced that Britain will reopen the Burma war supply road to China in answer to Japan's pact with Germany and Italy.
The United States Navy brings it's Pacific fleet up to full strength but when asked if the Administration feared war with Japan in the near future, Secretary of the Navy Knox replied "No," but added "I don't think anybody knows."
British and Nazi forces continue to wage war in the air over both England and Germany with both sides claiming successful results.

01-25-2022, 03:04 PM	#340
Jiggs McGee All Star Reserve Join Date: Dec 2019 Posts: 677	1940 WCS winners crowned OCTOBER 10, 1940 OH CANADA! WOLVES WIN SERIES Champs of the baseball world are the Toronto Wolves as they downed the Federal Association pennant winning Pittsburgh Miners in convincing fashion, claiming both Game Five and the Series by identical 4-1 margins. With three WCS losses in the past 4 years there likely will be a tendency to make this all about how the Pittsburgh Miners failed once again in an October pressure situation - for the 8th time in 9 appearances in baseball's ultimate series. However, that would do an injustice to a Toronto squad ripe with talent, much of it still quite young, throughout it's roster. As much as one might be tempted to say Pittsburgh lost another WCS, the story should be how the combination of pitching and Fred McCormick, perhaps the most talented hitter in the game, willed the Wolves to the World Title. McCormick, who hit .500 in the series and was justly rewarded with his first post-season MVP award to go along with the two Whitney Awards he claimed over the past couple summers spent on the shores of Lake Ontario, was once again key to the victory. Toronto, as it did in all four of it's victories, struck quickly with a pair of runs in the opening frame when McCormick, with lead-off man Juan Pomales on base, took Pittsburgh starter and regular season ace Lefty Allen deep for a 2-run homer. In their 4 wins Toronto outscored the Miners 10-0 in the opening inning and as it turned out on this day McCormick's homerun was all the offense Wolves starting pitcher Bernie Johnson would need. However, McCormick would drive in his third run of the game with a sacrifice fly to score Pomales and make it 3-0 in the third inning. Johnson, who topped Allen 5-2 in Game Two, was at his best on this day, scattering just 4 hits and allowing one run, unearned, in going the distance. A case could easily have been made that Johnson was the one deserving of the MVP bauble after the 30 year old tossed a pair of complete game victories, beating Allen both times. Johnson sat down the first 10 Miners batters in order before Pablo Reyes singled. It got dicey for a moment as George Cleaves followed and worked Johnson for his only free pass of the day but the veteran Toronto lefthander struck out Mahlon Strong and induced a fly ball from Ed Stewart to keep the Toronto lead at 3-0. Pittsburgh also had an opportunity in the bottom of the fifth when Jack Cleaves hit a lead-off double and moved to third on a one-out ground out by Wally Flowers. Pittsburgh manager Dan Andrew elected to leave Lefty Allen in the game at this point, rather than lift him for a pinch-hitter and Allen popped out to Toronto shortstop Charlie Artuso to end the inning with Pittsburgh once again unable to get on the scoresheet. Pittsburgh finally scored a run in the 6th inning as dropped fly ball by Larry Vestal allowed Joe Owens to reach base as the lead-off man. He advances to second on a Pablo Reyes single and then scored thanks to back to back deep fly ball outs including Mahlon Strong's run scoring sac fly. That run cut the Pittsburgh deficit to 3-1 but it only served to make Johnson more determined on the Toronto mound as he retired the next 8 Miners in order. Mahlon Strong ended that streak with a one out single in the bottom of the ninth but he was still standing on first base when pinch-hitter Whit Williams popped out to Toronto second sacker Tom Frederick to end the series and a Toronto title drought that had last 29 years. JIGGS MCGEE'S WCS THOUGHTS Not a bad game for Lefty Allen but for the second time in the series he was out pitched by Bernie Johnson, who came up very big with a 4 hitter. As for Lefty Allen. He wasn't bad this year in the Series. Last year he was awful but this year he was acceptable as a pitcher. Problem is your ace can't merely be ‘not bad’ if you expect to win a Series. Same for most of their hitters. Not bad but Toronto's big stars carried their club to the win. McCormick of course but Johnson and Garrison were great in their starts and Hancock was very good in his. As much as pitching let the Miners down you have to ask where was their vaunted offense. Not that anyone was truly horrible at the plate - although Guzzo hit just .118- where were Mahlon Strong, the Cleaves boys, Reyes or even Ed Stewart when a big hit was needed. Only lead off man Joe Owens can be truly happy with his play but even then Owens went 0-for-4 in the finale. None of the big Pittsburgh hitters had a truly bad series but none stepped up. On the other hand McCormick hit .500 with a huge homer to get the Wolves off to a quick start in the finale and lesser lights like Tom Frederick had a great series. Toronto pitching, likely as expected, certainly lived up to its billing too. Pittsburgh manager Dan Andrew getting second guessed again. Down 3-0 in the bottom of the 5th and with only one hit entering the inning, the Miners got a lead off double from Jack Cleaves. After Guzzo struck out Flowers grounded out but Cleaves moved to third. With 2 away Andrew elected to leave Allen in the game and the result was an inning ending pop up so it stayed 3-0. The Miners would finally score 1 run the next inning thanks to an error but 3-1 was the closest they got. Could a pinch hitter have delivered in a run and if so would it have made a difference to Bernie Johnson's confidence on the mound? Even in the bottom of the 8th trailing 3-1 Andrew was asleep at the switch, letting Allen lead off and strike out. Many still blame Andrew for a poor pitching change choice three years ago that turned the tide of the 1937 series with Brooklyn and sent the Miners on their modern day Series spiral. The first inning certainly told the tale in this WCS. Toronto outscored Pittsburgh 10-1 in the opening frame over the 5 games. 1-8 in WCS play with 5 straight defeats since their lone title in 1901. With Detroit continuing to knock on the door and a rapidly improving Keystones club you have to wonder how many more chances this group in Pittsburgh will get. Zero-for-3 in Series and losing 12 of 14 WCS games is not the legacy this club envisioned. As amazing as Lefty Allen is will the inability to perform well on the brightest stage always define his career? Allen's young and should have a lot of opportunity left but pennants are not easily come by for most teams and the window, while still open next year, may start to close quickly on Pittsburgh. Miners Series failures make for great theatre but you have to be a pretty good team just to have the opportunity to lose 3 WCS in 4 years especially with how good all of us believe the top half of the Fed is. CHICAGO HERALD-EXAMINER HANDS OUT DEFENSIVE AWARDS While FABL itself does not recognize defensive achievements Percy Sutherland of the Chicago Herald-Examiner has been a long time proponent of the importance of quality glovework. Sutherland often identifies players he feels excel with the leather and this season convinced his employer to officially sponsor an award for the top defenders at each position. As a result we have the first of what may become an annual presentation of the all defense team. Code: CHICAGO HERALD EXAMINER PREMIER DEFENDER AWARD WINNERS POS WINNER HONORABLE MENTION C - John Wicklund (DET) (Honorable mention: Pete Casstevens (NYG), Woody Stone (NYS)) 1B - Ron Rattigan (CHI) (Honorable mention: Ray Ford (CHC), Bob Donoghue (BOS)) 2B - Clark Car (NYS) (Honorable mention: Charley McCullough (CIN), Walt Layton (BRK)) 3B - Tommy Wilson (STL) (Honorable mention: Hank Koblenz (PHI), Frank Vance (DET)) SS - Harry Barrell (BRK) (Honorable mention: Charlie Artuso (TOR), Rip Lee (PHS)) LF - Hub Parks (NYS) (Honorable mention: Bobby Barrell (PHI), Bert Lass(MON)) CF - Sal Pestilli (DET) (Honorable mention: Carlos Montes (CHC), Fred Galloway(CIN)) RF - Leon Drake (NYG) (Honorable mention: Hank McKay (PHI), Bill Burkett (BOS)) P - Milt Fritz (CHC) (Honorable mention: Al Miller (CHI)) CHIEFS SEND MOSS CROSS-TOWN TO COUGARS AS TRADING IS UNDERWAY It did not take long for the first trade to be made following the conclusion of the WCS. The Toronto Wolves were still on the train from Pittsburgh back to Canada, likely nursing championship size hangovers, when word came from the Windy City that the Chicago Chiefs were sending veteran outfielder Cliff Moss across town to the Chicago Cougars in exchange for a pair of 22 year old pitching prospects in Lou Eaker and Ralph Kendall. Moss finishes his 6-year run with the Chiefs with a line of .295/.377/.495 (OPS+ 132) and 116 home runs. Chiefs skipper Joe Ward admitted it was difficult to trade Moss but "if we are trading our draft picks (Chiefs already dealt their first and second rounders for Frank Davis and Alf Pestilli), then we need to get new talent in the system somehow. I'm rolling the dice that between Jim Hampton, Alf Pestilli, and converted third baseman Bill Jones we can absorb the loss of Moss" in the Chiefs outfield. Ward added that " Jones is the key. He looked okay out there in a trial run last September. And it doesn't look like Hampton is quite ready to pack it in yet." It seems to be a growing relationship between the two Chicago clubs as they made a deal a year ago that brought veteran pitcher Jim Lonardo to the Cougars in the deal that sent Ducky Jordan the other way. They had not traded with each other much before that although there were a pair of big deals in 1935 that sent veteran Chief Joe Masters to the Cougars and another that moved Dave Rankin to the Continental side. JIGGS MCGEE'S TAKE: Eaker would be the big prize for the Chiefs in this deal. A top 60 prospect he went 10-8 with a 3.54 ERA this season at Class A after starting the year in B. A 1939 fifth round pick out of Miami State and a groundball specialist, which is something the Chiefs always covet. Moss put up some pretty good numbers this year (.278,23,69) and is a .295 hitter over his six seasons with the Chiefs. The Chiefs do need to get some young talent, as Ward correctly pointed out, but they are banking heavily on a 39 year old Jim Hampton still being a valuable contributor. The Chiefs are also counting on local product Bob Jones to hit like he did last season when the 29 year old batted .298 with 7 homers in 79 games. As for the Cougars they continue to use their wealth of prospect talent to help in their quest for a pennant as they add another talented veteran and it is easy to see Moss replacing Orlin Yates (.228,2,26) in the platoon with Rich Langton (.266,3,34) in right field or perhaps winning the job outright. GOTHAMS DEAL FOR PETRICK MADE OFFICIAL As previously reported the New York Gothams have sent their first round draft choice to the Cincinnati Cannons for the second year in a row. Last year it was pitcher Gus Goulding who made the trip east while this season it is another pitcher and former first round selection in Rusty Petrick joining the Gothams. Petrick was originally drafted by the Gothams 10th overall out of high school in 1933 but was dealt to the then Baltimore based Cannons 3 months later in the trade that brought Rabbit Day to New York. Petrick had loads of potential, and at just 24 likely still does, but he never seemed to put it together in Baltimore, going 33-56 over 4 seasons with the organization including 6-7, 4.81 in Cincinnati this year. PERCY SUTHERLAND'S TAKE:I like Petrick, the hard throwing right hander who has struggled with control issues so far in his career. But Petrick is just 24 and particularly with hard throwers, you need to have patience while their control develops. The Gothams organization is not particularly well known for its patience with young pitching. But overall I like the pickup for New York. With Goulding, Sutton, and Petrick the Gothams have a young rotation with some good potential. As for Cincinnati, with their deep collection of young arms the Cannons are dealing from a position of strength, so getting a first round pick back for Petrick is good. TRADE RUMOURS The Pittsburgh Miners are going to wring every win they can out of this group and attempt to get beat in a few more WCS before they transition into a new era. At the top of their shopping list is a desire to add 2 solid SP's this offseason. They are dangling their first round pick and a couple of decent prospects but say they are also willing to move Lew Seals or Pinky Pierce to get a mid-rotation guy. The rebuilding Brooklyn Kings have had some interest in Art White but nothing that would convince them to part with the 29 year old two-time all-star who went 16-12 this season. White is the type of player you can build a pitching staff around, not necessarily an Allan Award candidate but still a very dependable #2, maybe even a #1 on a number of teams so it would be very surprising to see the Kings part ways with him. After striking out at the trade deadline Boston Minutemen are still said to be shopping for an upgrade on Bill Van Ness at catcher and/or a power bat. Boston fans are feeling some frustration as the club just can't seem to get over the hump and make a serious pennant run. The Cannons are considering moving Joe Rainbow primarily as a favour to the soon to be 27 year old catcher. Rainbow spent parts of 5 seasons in Baltimore, hitting .245 in 406 big league games but with the move to Cincinnati the club added veterans Jack Flint and Ben Richardson, relegating Rainbow back to AAA for the first time in 5 years. He had a strong season at that level and did not complain about the demotion, but the Cannons feel they don't want to hold him back. FUTURE WATCH - EARLY LOOK AT THE 1942 AND 1943 DRAFT CLASSES LOOK AHEAD TO THE 1942 DRAFT CLASS At an early glance the 1942 draft appears to have much more college talent that the '41 class is expected to produce. The player everyone will be talking about as the draft approaches might well be Bob Arman. The 19 year old has elite command and control, with OSA feeling Arman has "the makings of a future ace." A Brooklyn native, the righthander went 9-2 with a 2.80 era in his freshman season at Bluegrass State. Arman is one two Bluegrass State players who crack TWIFB way-too-early top ten for the 1942 draft as he is joined by outfielder Ernie McCoy, who was a second team AIAA All-American selection as a freshman. In all, half of the top ten comes from the college ranks which is quite a departure from the recent 1941 mock draft, which had just one AIAA player among the 16 projected to go in the first round. Other All-Americans include Three Rivers State third baseman Johnny Weisz, who hit .317 with 8 homers as a freshman and was named first team AIAA All-American. Bob 'Crab' Crowley was a high school All-American selection last season as a sophomore at Framingham High in Massachusetts. A Rhode Island native, Crowley heads a deep crop of catchers, one which features a very familiar name in Roger Cleaves. The Hoboken (NJ) High Schooler might not belong in the top ten based on current OSA scouting reports but we slide him into the tenth spot due to his pedigree. He is the half brother of current Pittsburgh Miners Jack and George Cleaves, and his grandfathers are George Theobald and Rufus Barrell so certainly a royal baseball lineage with the youngster. Code: WAY TO EARLY 1942 DRAFT TOP TEN RANKINGS # NAME AGE POS SCHOOL HOMETOWN 1 BOB ARMAN 19 RHP Bluegrass State Brooklyn, NY 2 HOWIE HARRIS 17 RHP Ross HS, Hamilton,OH Hamilton, OH 3 CRAB CROWLEY 16 C Framingham (MA) HS North Providence, RI 4 JOHN JACKSON 16 RHP Salem (NJ) HS Baltimore, MD 5 ERNIE MCCOY 19 CF Bluegrass State Albion, NE 6 PETE WOODWARD 19 CF Cleveland College Lansing, MI 7 MILT RADER 16 LF Stroud (OK) HS Seminole, OK 8 JOHNNY WEISZ 19 3B Three Rivers State Morristown, NJ 9 NELLIE WALTERS 19 SS Oklahoma City State Philadelphia, PA 10 ROGER CLEAVES 16 C Hoboken (NJ) HS West New York, NJ 1943 DRAFT PREVIEW This one is mainly just a look at the high school players that will be eligible as the only college players presently in the pool are ones that refused to sign with a team following the 1940 draft. That group does include a player who was selected in the second round in 1940 and might just be the first college player taken in 1943. He is Johnny Thacker, a catcher that decided to pass up a big signing bonus from the Washington Eagles and enroll at Columbia Military Academy. Of course if the United States ends up entering the war in Europe it is quite likely Thacker will not sign in'43 either and join the war effort instead. Thacker is one of two very highly touted catchers with Ed Haynes Jr, who was an honourable mention for the High School All-American team as a freshman, being the other. His dad played 4 years of feeder league ball at Austin High but was not drafted and never played in the pros. There are very few pitchers that are highly touted and certainly no one at this point projected to challenge for the first overall selection with Ted Davis, a high school lefthander from Pittsburgh, perhaps being the best available at this point. There is one dominant talent in this draft and that is Sid "The Kid" Kling, a 15 year old who is already 6'4" tall and OSA feels if he fufills his potential, the Buffalo born outfielder "could make multiple trips to the All-Star Game." Here is a very early look at the potential top ten of the 1943 draft. Code: WAY TO EARLY 1943 DRAFT TOP TEN RANKINGS # NAME AGE POS SCHOOL HOMETOWN 1 SID KLING 15 LF McKinley HS Buffalo, NY Buffalo, NY 2 ED HAYNES JR 16 C Austin (TX) HS Austin, TX 3 JOHNNY THACKER 18 C Columbia Military Acad. Charleston, WV 4 BILL GALLMAN 15 RF Perry HS, Massillon, OH Canton, OH 5 RUDY MINTON 15 3B Pana (IL) High School Pana, IL 6 TED DAVIS 15 LHP Northgate HS, Pittsburgh Pittsburgh, PA 7 JOE DAVIS 15 1B Copley (MA) HS Medford, MA 8 IRA KENNEY 15 CF Texico (NM) HS Texico, NM 9 BENNY EVERIDGE 15 CF Samdusky (OH) HS Sandusky, OH 10 DIXIE WHITE 15 SS Mooresville (NC) HS Mooresville, NC The Week That Was Current events from 10/10/1940 The United States advised Americans to return home from the Far East and the British Ambassador to the US said that his nation feared a 'general crisis' in that area after Prime Minister Churchill announced that Britain will reopen the Burma war supply road to China in answer to Japan's pact with Germany and Italy. The United States Navy brings it's Pacific fleet up to full strength but when asked if the Administration feared war with Japan in the near future, Secretary of the Navy Knox replied "No," but added "I don't think anybody knows." British and Nazi forces continue to wage war in the air over both England and Germany with both sides claiming successful results. __________________ Lead Columnist of The Figment Sporting Journal The Scripture of Sports Last edited by Jiggs McGee; 01-25-2022 at 03:05 PM.