FEBRUARY 16, 1942
PIONEERS CHANGE SCOUTING DIRECTORS
In what can only be interpreted as dissatisfaction with their recent draft, the St Louis Pioneers have fired long-time Scouting Director Charlie Kinsey and replaced him with another veteran birddog in Rube Carter. Kinsey departure comes as a surprise to the league as he had spent the past 13 years in the role with St Louis. Perhaps it was a mutual decision and the 62 year old was looking to do other things at this stage of his life but the timing seems to indicate that it is something more.
The league has just finished the first three rounds of the 1942 draft and scouting departments are still very much at work in preparation for the start of the 1942 college and high school seasons and finetuning their draft lists in advance of the second stage of the draft in June. If it was a mutual decision one would have expected Kinsey to remain in the role until after the June portion of the draft was completed.
The Pioneers picked third in each of the opening three rounds, selecting high school pitcher Joe Lute in round one followed by outfielder Ralph Parker and finally catcher Artie Smith. By most accounts the Pioneers had themselves a pretty solid draft as Lute is raw but loaded with potential while Parker and Smith seem like solid picks taken at a stage when there were not really a lot of better options, although one scout opined the Pioneers might have erred on their regional round choice of Smith. That scout, associated with a Continental Association club, summed the Pioneers picks up this way:
"They made a great pick in Lute. He is a gamble, like any high school pitcher but has a huge ceiling and could potentially be a number one. Parker is also young and does not have the power component to his game, but I can see him being a .300 hitter if all works out. Only pick I might question is the regional guy. I am a bit surprised they let the Cougars waltz into their backyard and take a young pitcher. Bill Chapman is likely never going to be a top half of the rotation guy, but I can see the lefthander being a very dependable 4-5 starter. And in my opinion a better choice than Smith. Not that Smith is a bad pick, and we all know the Pioneers seem to do very well for themselves in the catcher department, but they may come to regret letting Chapman go."
RUBE CARTER TAKES OVER
The hiring of Rube Carter gives the Pioneers a veteran scout with a long resume that goes back to 1923 with the Brooklyn Kings. Carter spent 8 years in Brooklyn before moving on to the Chicago Chiefs, serving as their scouting director for a decade during which they won a pair of World Championship Series crowns. He was let go following the 1940 season and after a year away from the game takes over the scouting department in St Louis but the question is for how long as Carter is 64 years old. He does have a connection to the Pioneers as former bench coach/new Manager Hugh Luckey was a player and later a coach with the Kings during Carter's tenure with the organization.
LAWSON EYES 3,000TH CAREER HIT
Before the season is out John Lawson expects to get hit No. 3000 - a baseball feat equaled by only ten other players.
"Throwing out injuries, I've got it in the bag," the Chicago Cougars third baseman said when told that a recent checkup showed he needs only 81 base hits to make the grade. "I feel as if I can play in 140-150 games again this year. I didn't have any trouble going through doubleheaders last year, and I'd much rather be in there. I don't like to sit on the bench. But even if I only play 75 games, I still ought to make enough hits. Why, over the course of the year I ought to luck that many."
Four months past his 39th birthday, "Jack the Ripper" feels he has two or three more years of active service left- that he wants to stay in baseball "regardless of the position." Admittedly slower, he said the safe hits come harder now than they did in the years when he was winning the first three of his four Continental Association batting titles with the New York Stars: 1930-32, and he added another in 1937 with the Cougars.
"I used to beat our a lot of infield hits," he added. "I figure being slower means a difference of 20 or 30 points in my batting percentage," although he still manage to hit .315 last year and batted at a .345 clip in 1940. "There is a difference in ambition, too, as you get older. I may not have the energy and pep I did in my New York days, but I think I am smarter at the plate now and that makes all the difference in the world."
"I'm calmer too. Used to drive me crazy when I didn't get two, three hits a game but now I'm satisfied with one hit a day- so long as that one helps win the ball game."
Of all the safeties, Lawson says the hits he cherishes the most are always the ones he gets against the New York Stars. "I know it's been, what seven years, but I still get fired up to play New York. Just feels like they gave up on me and thought I had nothing left. But by the end of this season I will have played nearly as many games for the Cougars as I did for the Stars. I don't know too many guys over there but Trow (43 year old Stars first baseman Dave Trowbridge) and I talk about it every time I am standing on first when he is playing there. We had some good times. Now I just thank him for sticking around and making me seem like a young guy in comparison. Funny how it's come full circle though to be back in Chicago."
Lawson is referring to the fact that he almost made his big league debut with the Cougars instead of the Stars. He was drafted out of Ellery College by St Louis in 1923 but they released him and he eventually caught on with the Cougars Class A club in Lincoln. He hit .328 in 49 games as a 23 year old in 1926 and looked to be on his way to a 1927 FABL debut. It happened but in New York as the Cougars needed pitching help in the summer of '26 and landed Johnny Douglas from New York but at the cost of Lawson, who debuted with the Stars the following September. He may not have celebrated his first hit as a Cougar but sometime this summer there is a pretty good chance all of Chicago will be cheering about his 3,000 FABL hit.
QUICK HITS
- Going far beyond all other ball clubs to support the Nation's war effort, the Brooklyn Kings announced today they would donate their entire receipts from one home game, one road game and many exhibitions to service funds in 1942 and would admit at least 150,000 uniformed men this season free. Kings owner Daniel Prescott said he had tried to get all clubs to collaborate in the broader program that will be in effect at Brooklyn, but he failed. Prescott added that nearly every member of the Kings organization, including the players, has agreed to accept 10% of their pay this year in defense bonds. Prescott had hoped every team would be on board with that initiative but says when he brought up the subject at the owners meeting "there were eight clubs in one league that apposed the plan for accepting part of our salary in Defense bonds." He obviously was referring to the Federal Association.
- Sgt. Fred McCormick, the Toronto Wolves star, knows a little about moving having been dealt from St Louis to the Wolves a number of years ago, but he has become a 'commuter' in Uncle Sam's league. Breaking in at Camp Custer, Sgt. McCormick rejoined the ranks at Camp Dix, later was shifted to the army air corps at Bolling in Washington, and now is doing 'special duties' at MacDill Field near Tampa. Which means he may get a chance to visit his old Wolves teammates during some of their exhibition games.
- Papa and Mama Pestilli, parents of four baseball playing brothers including the Detroit Dynamos star Sal Pestilli, sought American citizenship this week because they feared they might be considered enemies of their adopted country. This after Mr Pestilli ran into trouble while trying to head out on his fishing boat during unseasonably mild weather a couple of weeks ago. He and others were prevented from doing so out of fears they might have been passing information to enemy submarines. The Pestilli's came to the United States from Italy in 1914 and, at the moment anyway, technically are citizens of an enemy nation. Each of the boys, including the eldest Alf who was born in Italy before the family came across, are already American citizens. Little Joe, a Cincinnati farmhand, joined the Army Air Force in December.
- From an authoritative source, we have been told that there is some talk out of Cleveland that the Finches, the city's American Football Association club, might well be on the block and the two business and sportsmen - one from Los Angeles and the other from Baltimore- have each expressed interest in the purchase. The Finches, who finished third in the Western Division last season with a 7-4 record, have a rich history in Cleveland that dates back to the early days of professional football.
With the West Coast Athletic Association conference play more than half complete the CCLA Coyotes are well positioned to claim their fourth title in the past five seasons. The Coyotes, who had their three year run as WCAA champions interrupted last season by their Los Angeles rivals from Coastal California, improved to 9-0 in conference play and 20-2 overall thanks to a pair of road wins in the northwest over the weekend by beating Lane State and Portland Tech. 10th ranked Rainer College trails the Coyotes by 3 games with 7 remaining for each on the conference slate including a March 1st showdown between the two in Puyallup in what will be the only meeting between the two this season. The 10 teams in the WCAA play a 16 game conference schedule.
The top schools in the Northeast Conference and Great Lakes Alliance continue to beat up on each other. Liberty College remains ranked 2nd in the nation thanks to a big 47-35 win over Brooklyn State, dropping the defending National champions to 7th in the polls, but the Bells followed that up with a tight two-point loss in Boston against St Patrick's yesterday. Garden State remains 4th in the nation with a pair of wins of St Pancras and Commonwealth Catholic, perhaps signs the Redbirds mini slump in which they dropped 3 of 4 games is now behind them. Turning to the midwest, the Great Lakes Alliance is always a battle as Detroit City College is finding out once more. The Knights were 12-1 entering GLA play but have gone just 4-4 against conference rivals. They are still in the mix for the conference title as all ten schools are within 4 games of each other, with Western Iowa this week's leader at 6-2 in conference action thanks to wins over the Knights and Indiana A&M last week.
Code:
AIAA BASKETBALL TOP TWENTY FPV REC LW
1. CC Los Angeles (45) 20-2 1 West Coast Athletic Association
2. Liberty College (26) 20-3 2 Northeast Conference
3. Great Plains State (1) 24-3 3 Independent
4. Garden State 18-4 4 Northeast Conference
5. Detroit City College 16-5 6 Great Lakes Alliance
6. Annapolis Maritime 24-4 7 Independent
7. Brooklyn State 17-5 5 Northeast Conference
8. Western Iowa 17-5 13 Great Lakes Alliance
9. Central Ohio 15-6 8 Great Lakes Alliance
10. Rainier College 19-4 12 West Coast Athletic Association
11. North Carolina Tech 17-6 10 South Atlantic Conference
12. Miami State 20-5 18 Independent
13. Coastal California 15-7 11 West Coast Athletic Association
14. St. Patrick's 15-7 NR Northeast Conference
15. Minnesota Tech 16-5 14 Great Lakes Alliance
16. Chesapeake State 15-6 15 South Atlantic Conference
17. Whitney College 16-5 9 Great Lakes Alliance
18. St. Ignatius 13-8 16 Great Lakes Alliance
19. Ohio Poly 19-8 17 Independent
20. Lambert College 19-4 NR Midwestern Association
LAST WEEK RESULTS INVOLVING TOP TEN SCHOOLS
MONDAY FEBRUARY 9
#3 Great Plains State 54 Payne State 38
TUESDAY FEBRUARY 10
#6 Annapolis Maritime 56 Hartford Wesleyan 29
WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 11
#2 Liberty College 47 #7 Brooklyn State 35
#4 Garden State 42 St Pancras 37
THURSDAY FEBRUARY 12
#8 Western Iowa 47 #5 Detroit City College 38
St Magnus 44 #9 Central Ohio 42
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 13
#1 CCLA 52 Lane State 43
#6 Annapolis Maritime 61 Springfield State 34
#10 Rainier College 37 Idaho A&M 32
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 14
#14 St Patrick's 36 #2 Liberty College 34
#4 Garden State 39 Commonwealth Catholic 35
#5 Detroit City College 59 #17 Whitney College 43
#8 Western Iowa 33 Indiana A&M 28
#9 Central Ohio 69 #15 Minnesota Tech 51
SUNDAY FEBRUARY 15
#1 CCLA 49 Portland Tech 41
#10 Rainier College 49 Spokane State 23
STANDINGS FROM SOME OF THE MORE PROMINENT CONFERENCES
Code:
West Coast Athletic Association CW CL Pct W L Pct
#1 CC Los Angeles Coyotes 9 0 1.000 20 2 .909
#10 Rainier College Majestics 6 3 .667 19 4 .826
#13 Coastal California Dolphins 5 4 .556 15 7 .682
Redwood Mammoths 5 4 .556 12 10 .545
Custer College Calvary 5 4 .556 12 10 .545
Lane State Emeralds 5 4 .556 14 8 .636
#22 Portland Tech Magpies 4 5 .444 16 7 .696
Spokane State Indians 4 5 .444 11 11 .500
Northern California Miners 1 8 .111 7 15 .318
Idaho A&M Pirates 1 8 .111 10 12 .455
Code:
Northeast Conference Standings CW CL Pct W L Pct
#2 Liberty College Bells 8 1 .889 20 3 .870
#24 St. Martin's College Crusaders 6 2 .750 13 8 .619
#4 Garden State Redbirds 6 3 .667 18 4 .818
#7 Brooklyn State Bears 6 3 .667 17 5 .773
St. Pancras Lions 5 4 .556 15 7 .682
#14 St. Patrick's Shamrocks 4 5 .444 15 7 .682
Frankford State Owls 3 6 .333 10 11 .476
Commonwealth Catholic Knights 2 7 .222 10 12 .455
St. Matthew's College Senators 0 9 .000 4 18 .182
Code:
Great Lakes Alliance Standings CW CL Pct W L Pct
#8 Western Iowa Canaries 6 2 .750 17 5 .773
St. Magnus Vikings 5 3 .625 13 8 .619
#9 Central Ohio Aviators 5 3 .625 15 6 .714
#15 Minnesota Tech Lakers 4 4 .500 16 5 .762
Wisconsin State Brewers 4 4 .500 14 7 .667
#5 Detroit City College Knights 4 4 .500 16 5 .762
#17 Whitney College Engineers 4 4 .500 16 5 .762
Lincoln Presidents 3 5 .375 11 10 .524
Indiana A&M Reapers 3 5 .375 7 14 .333
#18 St. Ignatius Lancers 2 6 .250 13 8 .619
Code:
South Atlantic Conference Standings CW CL Pct W L Pct
Coastal State Eagles 5 1 .833 11 10 .524
#11 North Carolina Tech Techsters 5 2 .714 17 6 .739
Mobile Maritime Middies 5 2 .714 14 8 .636
Central Carolina Lions 5 2 .714 12 9 .571
Charleston Tech Admirals 5 2 .714 16 6 .727
#21 Carolina Poly Cardinals 5 2 .714 16 6 .727
Richmond State Colonials 3 3 .500 11 10 .524
Maryland State Bengals 3 3 .500 10 11 .476
Cowpens State Fighting Green 3 4 .429 9 12 .429
Petersburg Patriots 3 4 .429 11 11 .500
#25 Columbia Military Academy Cadets 3 4 .429 15 7 .682
#16 Chesapeake State Clippers 2 4 .333 15 6 .714
Lexington State Colonials 1 5 .167 12 10 .545
Alexandria Generals 1 5 .167 9 12 .429
Bulein Hornets 0 6 .000 5 16 .238
Code:
Deep South Conference Standings CW CL Pct W L Pct
#23 Noble Jones College Colonels 5 0 1.000 16 5 .762
Georgia Baptist Gators 4 1 .800 14 8 .636
Western Florida Wolves 3 1 .750 13 8 .619
Central Kentucky Tigers 3 1 .750 12 10 .545
Alabama Baptist Panthers 2 2 .500 16 5 .762
Cumberland Explorers 2 3 .400 15 7 .682
Baton Rouge State Red Devils 2 3 .400 8 14 .364
Bayou State Cougars 2 3 .400 12 10 .545
St Andrews College Barons 2 3 .400 9 13 .409
Northern Mississippi Mavericks 2 3 .400 13 9 .591
Opelika State Wildcats 2 3 .400 12 9 .571
Mississippi A&M Generals 1 3 .250 7 14 .333
Bluegrass State Mustangs 0 4 .000 10 11 .476
Code:
Academia Alliance Standings CW CL Pct W L Pct
Ellery Bruins 7 2 .778 14 9 .609
Brunswick Knights 7 2 .778 13 11 .542
Grafton Scholars 5 3 .625 9 15 .375
Dickson Maroons 4 4 .500 13 10 .565
Pierpont Purple 3 5 .375 14 9 .609
Sadler Bluecoats 3 5 .375 8 15 .348
George Fox Reds 3 6 .333 8 15 .348
Henry Hudson Explorers 2 7 .222 7 16 .304
The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 2/15/1942
- The British are forced to abandon Singapore after being overrun by Japanese forces. News of the Singapore disaster shook Britain more than anything since the fall of France and symptoms appeared of far-reaching Parliamentary repercussions. Word is if Burma and Java follow in the wake of Singapore the personal position of Prime Minister Winston Churchill might be jeopardized.
- To make things worse for Churchill, news comes that Britain somehow allowed two large German battleships and a cruiser to work their way thru the the Straits of Dover under an umbrella of aerial protection and arrive in safe harbor at a German island in the North Sea. They had an escort of well over 300 Messerschmitt's coming from French bases. Churchill has ordered a probe to determine what went wrong as the Brits were caught off guard with the ships moving under the cover of night in dense fog.
- The war department announced that an army transport ship was torpedoed and sunk by a Japanese submarine in Hawaiian waters. The same communique reported that General MacArthur's troops remain engaged in savage operations against the Japanese.
- Reinforcement was the word for the day Sunday as Allied forces poured into the Indians to bolster Dutch defense while in Burma the Allies are getting help from Chinese troops. American flying fortresses, 12 of them, have arrived to attack enemy shipping in the Macassar area. Finally in the Philippines, some British troops have joined General MacArthur's defense but they remain greatly outnumbered by Japanese forces.
- Every able-bodied man and woman in Russia's urban centers was brought under a government decree mobilizing them for work in essential war industries. The decree completes legislation enrolling every one in the total war effort.