[Jiggs McGee]

JUNE 23, 1941

PAPENFUS LEADING COUGARS TO TOP OF CONTINENTAL

Pete Papenfus is certainly making the most of what might be the final couple of months of his FABL season. The 23 year old, who is expected to get the call from his local draft board in August, has won his last 6 starts, going the distance in each of them and posting a era of 2.0 while fanning 39 over that period. On the season he has already set a career best in wins with an 11-4 start, a FABL leading 108 k's and an impressive 2.93 era. He is also a big reason the Chicago Cougars have overtaken the New York Stars for top spot in the Continental Association and why Chicago fans are dreaming of a another pennant. The Cougars have been very consistent through the years, never going more than 9 seasons between CA crowns, and with this being the 8th season since they last celebrated in 1933 it feels like they are due for another title.

The New York Stars got off to an incredible start, with wins in 15 of their first 17 games, and it is not like they have lifted their foot off the gas with 12 wins in their last 17 games but the Cougars have been just as strong. Chicago's 18-7 start, while still very impressive, left them with some ground to make up on the New Yorkers and they did so by claiming 4 wins in the five game set between the two at the end of May. Since the beginning of that series the Cougars have played at a .759 clip (22-7) which includes a current winning streak of 6 games. The Stars, meanwhile, had to settle for just 5 wins in their last 6 games and as a result New York now trails the Cougars by a game as the two continue to run away with the CA.

FEDERAL ASSOCIATION
The Boston Minutemen continue to lead the way in the Federal Association thanks to a rising young star pitcher of their own and a career year out of a backup infielder. The pitcher is Ray Dalpman, a 24 year old rookie the Minutemen acquired from Detroit in a deal that sent veteran catcher John Wicklund to the Dynamos three years ago. Dalpman won his big league debut last September and is 10-0 with a 2.24 era this season, so he has yet to suffer a loss in the big leagues. In fact the Minutemen won 12 of Dalpman's 13 starts this year with the lone defeat coming in early May when the Boston bullpen let a game against St Louis get away from them. The other big surprise in Beantown is Art Spencer, who is making fans say Bob Who? after taking over at first base for the injured Bob Donoghue much of the season. Spencer (.376,4,29) has improved his average each month and is presently batting .419 in 21 June games after the slugging Donoghue went down with knee troubles. Spencer has always been a decent hitter - the 29 year old owns a .294 career average - but he has spent most of his career as a backup infielder but if he keeps it up the Minutemen will have no choice but to make room for him somewhere in the lineup everyday even after Donoghue returns in late July.

STEVENS WITHDRAWS DEFERMENT REQUEST

Lloyd Stevens, the 25 year old Philadelphia Keystones pitcher, today made himself available for immediate induction into the army as a draftee, announcing in a formal statement that he had withdrawn his request for a 60-day deferment. Stevens original request for deferment was granted by his local draft board but an appeal from the local board's order was taken immediately by Paul Armstrong, Virginia Director of Selective Service, on the ground the ball player should be given no more consideration than any one else eligible to be drafted. Stevens is expected to leave the Keystones sometime in the next week or two.

McCULLOUGH TO RECEIVE APPEAL HEARING TUESDAY

Charley McCullough, Cincinnati Cannons second baseman, has a final appeal to receive a deferment from immediate military service. His first hearing was declined but pushed up to a higher level. The hearing is granted to allow McCullough to place "new" evidence before the board. It will be held in Cincinnati rather than his hometown of Newark so McCullough is not likely to miss any game action while attending the hearing as the Cannons are home to Montreal to start the week.

QUICK HITS

• It certainly is looking like we are entering a Golden Age for young arms. There is Pete Papenfus (11-4, 2.93) with the Cougars plus fellow 23 year olds Harry Sharp (8-5, 4.53) in St Louis and Jim Douglass (9-5, 4.80) in Washington. Cincinnati's Deuce Barrell (9-3, 4.17) seems like a seasoned veteran in his fourth season at just 24 years of age. The 25 year olds are headlined by Boston's Ray Dalpman (10-0, 2.24) but there is also Ike Keller (7-2, 1.81) in Washington, the Gothams Bunny Edwards (7-3, 3.19) and Rusty Petrick (6-6, 3.91) and the well seasoned Al Miller (7-6, 3.18) is also still just 25 despite being in his 6th full season with the Chicago Chiefs. And then there is the baby of the group in Montreal's Wally Doyle (9-5, 3.98), who has stumbled a bit of late after a 7-0 start, but is still a very impressive pitcher.
• A lot of talk around the league this week about Charlie Stedman's Hall of Fame chances. The 39 year old Pittsburgh pitcher is enjoying a strong season with a 7-3 start after topping the 20 wins mark for just the second time in his career a year ago. Stedman is 225-200 for his career and owns an Allan Award and a pair of all-star game appearances but in my book "Hard Luck Chuck" is dealt another setback and falls just short, at least right now. If he can win another 40 games over the next two and a half seasons (assuming he sticks around that long) my opinion would likely change but he has the albatross of some poor WCS starts hanging around his neck and while he did not get the run support many years, I just find it hard to vote for him when there are so many great pitchers who won over 250 games that deserve a spot in Boone County before Stedman. He is close, and it may change if he can channel his inner Dave Trowbridge and be dominant in his early forties, but right now he doesn't make my ballot.
• Bob Stewart of the Washington Times Herald disagrees saying of Stedman "He deserves to get in - Stedman's a legend of the game who has remained consistently one of the league's best pitchers for the last decade." Stewart added "Stedman deserves to get in because he was the best pitcher of the 30's. He may not have been the best in any individual year during that stretch, but he was consistently one of the top 5 pitchers in the leagues in most stats, year in, year out."
• Red Wedge of the New York World Telegram counters "Day led the league in Ks 8 times. And in a lot of other categories, a lot of times. Definite HoFer. Far better than Stedman."
  And Archie Irwin of the Chicago Daily News concurs with Wedge noting "Stedman was great in the 30s, but Day was definitely the best pitcher of the decade."
• From Percy Sutherland: "I'll preface this by saying at this point I still think Stedman is just outside of the Hall--a very good, but not quite great pitcher. However, with 3954 IP, he is 36th all time. There are 32 pitchers with 4000 or more IP (Day just crossed that threshold this season). Stedman will make it 33. It's actually striking how similar Day and Stedman are:
  H/9: Day 8.7, Stedman 9.6
  HR/9: Day 0.3, Stedman 0.3
  RA/9: Day 12.4, Stedman 12.5
  K/BB: Day 1.4, Stedman 1.4
  ERA+: Day 124, Stedman 120
  Of course, Day has a big leg up on Allen Awards, wins, WCS wins, and championships."
• Finally, Doc Shaw of the Boston Globe: "While I do not feel Stedman is a Hall of Fame pitcher myself I don't think a person is crazy for making the argument."
• All the Stedman talk got Percy Sutherland focusing on another player. "Mention of Thomas Watkins triggered me to go and look, and yes Big Tom absolutely needs to be in the Hall. Of the members of the 3,000 hit club, Watkins picked up his hits in the fewest number of games--2,337, which works out to be 1.3 hits/game. He had 5 straight years with 200 or more hits--and this was with a 140 game schedule. He picked up 212 hits in a 134 game schedule during 1902. A 5-time batting champion. He also had 624 stolen bases in his career.
• Lew Seals wasn't horrible at 2B this past week for the New York Stars, so he'll get the majority of the playing time there again this week according to club sources. Howie Smith, the solid full time bench bat, started the season off strong and will play another week in LF (after missing weeks with a broken thumb). Its a shame since Clark Car started hot then just kind of went cold, and the Stars would much rather have his glove at 2B. But they feel they cant afford dead weight in the lineup as the race with the Cougars is far too close and its not even the all star break yet.
• It's only June, but the Cougars Billy Hunter has already sprained his knee 5 times and will now miss another three weeks
• At the risk of sabotaging it, it looks like the Chiefs pitching is finally stabilizing. A big part of that has been waiver pickup Les Zoller. And of course, Al Miller's June: 4-0, 2.82 in 4 starts and 2 shutdown relief appearances. And catcher Tom Bird is finally looking like Tom Bird, hitting .368/.420/.529 in June.
• All the Stedman talk got Percy Sutherland focusing on another player. "Mention of Thomas Watkins triggered me to go and look, and yes Big Tom absolutely needs to be in the Hall. Of the members of the 3,000 hit club, Watkins picked up his hits in the fewest number of games--2,337, which works out to be 1.3 hits/game. He had 5 straight years with 200 or more hits--and this was with a 140 game schedule. He picked up 212 hits in a 134 game schedule during 1902. A 5-time batting champion. He also had 624 stolen bases in his career.

The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 6/22/1941

• President Roosevelt ordered closure of all German consular and propoganda offices in the United States and the expulsion of their German employees on charges of improper activities "inimical to the welfare of this country." Only the German Embassy in Washington was allowed to remain open. In response, Hitler closes all American consulates in Germany and German-occupied territory.
• Mussolini ordered freezing restrictions on assets of Americans in Italy today and banks refused to release money from American held bank accounts. It was in response to a similar ban imposed by FDR on Italians in America and affects more than 6,000 Americans across Italy. The US also announced the closure of all Italian consulates and expulsion from the country of it's Italian employees.
• US Secretary of War Stimson warns Congress the the United States "must prepare for a very long emergency."
• The British are making headway in Africa, as the slash forward in the desert across the Libyan frontier with what has been described as "enormous forces."
• Turkey and Germany are reported to have agreed to a non-aggression pact and it has been initialed by both sides but not yet formally signed.
• Russia is creating a 'zone of ruin' along the Nazi border, destroying bridges and railroads and burning or blowing up houses and entire villages to create it's "devastation zone."
• As the week came to a close there was news that hundreds of British and German fighters and bombers were engaged in what is being called one of history's greatest aerial battles as they clashed all day Sunday and into the night over the English Channel and French "invasion coast."