DECEMBER 1, 1941
THE BLOOM IS OFF THE ROSE
The honeymoon period for St. Louis Pioneers owner Dee Rose is apparently over.
City officials in the Gateway to the West have openly derided Rose's purported plans to uproot the club and move it to California. While these are little more than rumors and nothing official has come from Rose's office, the mayor of St. Louis bluntly stated "where there's smoke, there's fire."
Rumors over the past few weeks have been that Rose's stated intention of building a "palace" for his ballclub was not in fact one that included a promise that said palace would be built in St. Louis. And a review of Rose's statements does confirm that the Hollywood big shot did not say the stadium would be built in St. Louis. Of course, Rose also did not say it would be built elsewhere.
With the Pioneers in a funk and having finished tied for last in the Federal Association in the recently concluded 1941 campaign, the feelings of the fans in St. Louis are already bruised. Now fear of losing their team has increased their anxiety. About two dozen people marched outside the offices of the ballclub, carrying signs reading "Save Our Team" and "The Pioneers Belong in St. Louis" despite the fact that Rose, the man upon whose shoulders such a decision would rest, has not been seen in the city since his press conference upon taking ownership.
Statements from Rose himself have been scarce. He was however quoted in a Los Angeles newspaper as saying, "Distance is no longer a barrier in professional sports. Air travel has shrunk the country to the point where it is not inconceivable that a FABL club could not be placed here in Los Angeles." That particular quote has thrown much fuel on the fires of speculation in St. Louis and Los Angeles that Rose was specifically talking about the Pioneers moving to the City of Angels.
Another potentially disturbing sign (in the eyes of St. Louis partisans) is that Rose has reportedly approached the New York Stars about purchasing the rights to the Los Angeles market, which the Stars currently own, and in which the Stars operate their Triple-A affiliate (the LA Stars). This rumor has not been confirmed, with neither Rose's office nor that of Stars owner Alfred Mielke available for comment.
"I'll tell you this much," said one St. Louis council member on condition of anonymity, "this Rose smells like a skunk."
One thing is certain: both the cities of St. Louis and Los Angeles will be watching this situation closely.
NO OLYMPICS? NO MATTER SAYS BOSTON
Still in the afterglow of their world championship victory by the Boston Minutemen last month, Boston officials announced that despite the possibility of the 1944 Olympic Games being canceled (as the 1940 Games already have been), they will go ahead and start construction on the city's Olympic Stadium.
Boston won the bid for the '44 Games back in 1939 but the war in Europe and the empire of Japan's war in China have already canceled the 1940 Games (scheduled for Tokyo originally, then reassigned to Helsinki before being canceled entirely). The fear is that the 1944 Summer Games in the Hub are also likely to be scrapped as the war has already expanded to Soviet Russia and tensions between Japan and the U.S. have been rising inexorably towards a Pacific showdown.
Ground was broken on the stadium in June and the steel framework has already begun to be fleshed out in concrete. Winter weather will likely slow the construction but according to Francis Denny, owner of the construction company that bears his name and is the primary contractor on the project, the stadium's construction will continue during the winter. "A little snow won't stop Bostonians," Denny stated.
The new stadium is going up beside Denny's namesake arena, where his Boston Bees hockey club plays.
Boston mayor Maurice Tobin has been an outspoken proponent of the Games and the stadium, noting that the project, partially backed by Federal funds through the WPA, has brought many jobs to the city. When asked about the potential canceling of the Games due to the war, Tobin replied, "Well, we'll just turn the stadium over to our champion Minutemen a little early then, won't we?" before adding that the city's football club (the Boston Americans) would also call the new venue home.
QUICK HITS
- The news out of St Louis, unconfirmed as it may be and still in the rumour stage, does not come as a surprise to many observers. More than one reporter has speculated, if not in print at least privately, about the sincerity of new St Louis owner Dee Rose. The Hollywood bigshot did talk a good game in his press conference in St Louis announcing the purchase but has not been seen since, even by the Pioneers front office team, which led some, even weeks ago, to question whether his talk of a new stadium for the club was a smoke and mirrors Hollywood trick designed to lull everyone into a false sense of security while he secretly planned something different. I am not sure if a California move is even feasible, nor do I think the rest of the Federal Association owners would be willing to go along with it. Still, it leaves you wondering if like Dorothy in Rose's big move, will fans soon be saying about the Pioneers "we are not in St Louis anymore."
- The Washington Eagles continue their General Manager search but whoever the new head man is he will start with some bad news as word came this week that outfielder Don Miller's torn calf muscle is healing slower than expected. The club still expects the 27 year old who was limited to just 37 games last season to be ready by spring camp.
- Joe Hancock is a happy man as the Toronto Wolves ace just inked himself a new contract with a hefty raise starting in 1942. Hancock will get $20,000 in the upcoming season, same as he made last year, but that number will go up to $35,000 by the time 1944 rolls around. The three time all-star and winner of the 1939 Allen Award went 15-11 in 1941 and boasts a career mark of 104-72. He was a key cog in the Wolves 1940 WCS winning squad.
WILDCATS CLINCH WESTERN DIVISION TITLE
The Chicago Wildcats earned their second trip to the AFA Championship Game in three years thanks to a 49-7 win in Philadelphia over the Frigates. The resounding victory completes an incredible turnaround for the Wildcats, who appeared out of contention at the midway point of the season when they fell to 3-2 including a loss at home to Detroit, who was 6-0 at the time. Five straight victories, coupled with 3 Detroit losses in a 4 game stretch reversed the Wildcats fortunes.
The Maroons needed a win and a Chicago loss to keep their quest for a second consecutive Western Division win intact. Chicago denied them but Detroit did finish strong with a 16-0 win over a pesky Pittsburgh Paladins club that made the Maroons earn every yard. Detroit dominated the time of possession in the game but the Paladins defense stood strong on numerous occasions, holding Detroit to just 1 touchdown.
A 43 yard touchdown pass from Warren David to Tony Sanders with less than a minute remaining in the game set off a wild celebration on the St Louis sideline as the visiting Ramblers won for the first time this year, nipping the Washington Wasps 24-21. The final game of the day saw Boston trim Brooklyn 7-3.
Code:
AFA STANDINGS
EASTERN W L T PCT
New York 8 2 0 .800
Boston 7 3 1 .700
Brooklyn 4 6 0 .400
Washington 3 7 0 .300
Philadelphia 1 9 0 .100
WESTERN W L T PCT
Chicago 8 2 0 .778
Detroit 8 3 0 .727
Cleveland 7 4 0 .636
Pittsburgh 4 6 0 .400
St Louis 1 9 1 .100
RESULTS
Sunday November 30
Detroit 16 Pittsburgh 0
Chicago 49 Philadelphia 7
Boston 7 Brooklyn 3
St Louis 24 Washington 21
UPCOMING GAMES
Sunday December 7
Brooklyn at New York
Chicago at Pittsburgh
Philadelphia at Washington
End of Regular Season
- There is a push from several AFA owners to move the league's annual draft of college players until at least April. Traditionally held immediately following the championship game, there is thought that the draft should be postponed to simplify matters for the owner who, in drafting 1941 college stars now, run the risk of losing them to the Army. If the draft meeting was held in April it would give teams time to look into the selective service status of the incoming college players.
- The big news in college football was Darnell State's 23-13 win over Travis College, improving the Legislators record to 10-0 while knocking the 9-1 Bucks from the list unbeaten teams. Annapolis Maritime wrapped up a perfect 9-0 season with a decisive 27-0 win over rival Rome State in the annual military game played at Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Stadium in Philadelphia before a capacity crowd. It is the end of the season for Annapolis Maritime as the school has announced the Navigators will not play in a New Year's Classic game. It had been hoped the Navigators could compete in either the East-West Classic against West Coast Athletic Association champion Lane State or a showdown with Travis College in the Lone Star Classic.
- Rival fans got out of hand the night before the big game as Dallas police were forced to use tear gas bombs in an effort to break out the rally. The Travis College fans staged a midnight pep rally on downtown streets and plenty of Darnell State fans showed up as well. They blocked downtown traffic, set off a fire alarm in a hotel that sent nine fire trucks from four stations racing into the mix-up. Eventually the tear gas was needed to disperse the boisterous throng.
- Miami State is also no longer unbeaten as the Gulls dropped to 9-1 after absorbing a 34-0 thrashing from Alabama Baptist in their biggest test of the season. The victorious Panthers improve to 8-1 on the year.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL SCOREBOARD
Provo Tech 54 Cache Valley 0
Payne State 10 Arkansas A&T 3
Eastern Oklahoma 20 Topeka State 3
Darnell State 23 Travis College 13
Alabama Baptist 34 Miami State 0
Valley State 55 Eastern Kansas 20
Opelika State 13 Coastal State 13
St. Patrick's 16 Commonwealth Catholic 14
Redwood 17 Northern California 3
Mobile Maritime 31 St. Andrews College 0
Brooklyn State 34 Bigsby College 0
Georgia Baptist 16 Noble Jones College 7
Abilene Baptist 33 Edward Howard 6
Baton Rouge State 30 Bayou State 3
Ruston Tech 31 Shreveport State 17
Wisconsin Catholic 23 Iowa A&M 6
Huntington State 10 St. Ignatius 10
Mississippi A&M 13 Northern Mississippi 0
Annapolis Maritime 27 Rome State 0
Oklahoma City State 21 College of Omaha 17
South Valley State 45 Wyoming A&I 0
Richmond State 26 Charleston Tech 0
Lane State 14 Portland Tech 7
Liberty College 10 Columbia Military Academy 7
Pittsburgh State 41 Edgerton-Phillips 6
Lubbock State 14 Red River State 6
Laclede 24 Perry State College 0
Sunnyvale 37 Golden Gate University 3
Cumberland 24 Bluegrass State 14
Amarillo Methodist 21 Texas Gulf Coast 13
College of Waco 14 Cowpens State 7
Texas Panhandle 27 Flagstaff State 24
Chesapeake State 17 Petersburg 3
Rainier College 14 Coastal California 9
St. Francis (OH) 20 St. Matthew's College 14
California Catholic 30 Kit Carson University 0
The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 11/30/1941
- Washington fears Japan is preparing to attack Thailand within the next few days as a response to American demands that Japan withdraw from the Axis and get out of China. In hopes of diffusing the Far East situation a little the United States did announce today that they have no plans under existing circumstances to arm merchant ships in the Pacific.
- However tensions between Washington and Tokio heated up all week, with news this morning that while the Americans wait for Japan's decision on war or peace, the entire Far East from Vladivostok to the Netherlands East Indians, stood to arms awaiting the decision.
- US Troops are on the ground in South America as a contingent of the Army has been sent to Dutch Guiana on the northeast coast of the continent "to co-operate with the Netherlands forces in assuring the protection of the bauxite mines in that territory."
- A gigantic non-stop tank battle that may decide control of Libya is raging in the desert southwest of Tobruk. "The Jerries have everything at stake and are fighting like hell," said a British spokesman following the announcement that the British had taken Gambut, an important Axis oil supply depot.
- Berlin says it has forced the Russians back and has taken a town just 31 miles from Moscow.
- United States Secretary of Navy Knox reveals that Navy enlistments are down 15 percent since news of the torpedoing of the destroyers Kearny and Reuben James and as a result he will not rule out the need for the Navy to draft men. "Up to the present time we see no need for selectees in the Navy," said Knox, "but we can't foretell the future."