NOVEMBER 16, 1942
ENLISTMENTS, SELECTIVE SERVICE DELIVER ANOTHER BIG BLOW TO FABL CLUBS
Forgive FABL general managers for are starting to wonder if their teams will even have 24 players capable of playing baseball when the season (hopefully) opens next April. The list of players joining the military either by choice or by conscription now numbers 618. Sure many of those are low level minor league players with little to no chance of ever appearing on the FABL stage but there are more than 175 players with previous big league experience now suiting up for Uncle Sam.
That list expanded again this past week, as it seems to do on a now daily basis, with 23 more big leaguers -or big time prospects- leaving this week. Among the top names in the past seven days you can count Donnie Jones, who had an outstanding rookie campaign this past season for the Chicago Cougars and the Chicago Chiefs talented youngsters Joe Rutherford along with the newly acquired Solly Skidmore.
Here is a team by team breakdown of this week's losses:
BOSTON- Fred Nelson and Red Samuel: The 35 year old Nelson spent each of the past 4 seasons in the minors, going 11-12 for AAA Columbus last season. A depth piece, he has not pitched for Boston since 1937 and is 64-77 all-time with the Minutemen. Samuel, 25, is an outfielder who made his big league debut last season, hitting .318 with 4 homers in 70 games with the big club.
BROOKLYN- Stumpy Beamon is the lone departure this week. The 28 year old righthander was 8-16 with a 3.97 era for the Kings last season.
CHIEFS- Joe Rutherford, Solly Skidmore and Sam Vaughan. Rutherford and Skidmore are the big losses here as the former was only 19 last season when he rocketed through the Chiefs system and spent a month in the big leagues. Skidmore was one of the key pieces in the deal that sent Hank Barnett to the Cougars and was penciled in as the Chiefs starting catcher so it appears the shift of Tom Bird from behind the plate to first base will have to wait. Vaughan, 25, has had a few injuries over the years but was still a solid bullpen piece in Chicago, going 4-5 a year ago.
COUGARS- Donnie Jones. It's like a bad dream for the Cougars who lost Pepe Papenfus to the Navy a year ago and now another young ace as Donnie Jones (15-13, 2.48) is off to the Army. The Cougars do have pitching depth but even in Chicago there are worries about just how much more they can take.
CINCINNATI- Levi Redding, Cliff Smith and Charlie Griffith. The loss of the 23 year righthander Griffith to the Navy is the big blow here for the Cannons. He had an outstanding half a season (8-5, 3.92) after getting promoted from AAA and manager Ad Doria had Griffith penciled in as a key rotation piece. Redding (.239,0,9) is a 31 year old backup centerfielder who came over on waivers from Toronto while Smith (,208,0,8) was the Cannons rule five pick a year ago and would have contended for the chance to backup Adam Mullins behind the plate.
CLEVELAND- Walter Morgan is this week's only loss. The 26 year old made his debut in Cleveland last season after coming over in the rule five draft from Cincinnati. He hit .268 and seemed poised to wrestle the starting second base job away from Brooks Meeks, with whom he shared it a year ago.
DETROIT- Charlie Ashmore and Rabbit Mudd. Ashmore, 22, seemed ready to step into the Dynamos rotation and perhaps help solve some of the many troubles it had a year ago. He spent most of the season in the minors before making 3 starts for Detroit late in the year, with very good results. Mudd is 33 and the middle infielder has bounced around quite a bit of late but has been in the minors the past two seasons. He was an insurance policy of sort for Detroit, a player that -had he stuck around- might have got another shot in the big leagues if holes opened because of others enlisting.
MONTREAL- none - a peaceful week in Quebec as the Saints were the only team not to lose a 40-man roster player this week.
NY STARS- Jim Baker and Lou Robertson. As if this off-season has not been bad enough for the Stars with Bill Barrett, Joe Angevine and Andy Gross all leaving recently to join the war effort. Now the Stars learn Lou Robertson (14-12, 2.69) is the next to go. The 27 year old is a college man, from Oklahoma City State, and is now in the Air Force. Fortunately the Stars have some pitching depth - or at least they do at the moment -who knows what next week will bring. Baker is a 24 year old reliever who had a brief stint in New York this season but spent most of the year on the west coast with the Los Angeles Knights and seemed to be a player the Stars were grooming to be a later inning bullpen specialist.
NY GOTHAMS- Bill Murnane. A little easier news to digest this week for the World Champions, who had seen Roosevelt Brewer, Mule Monier and Harry Carter leave recently. Murnane is a 23 year old first baseman who may have been pegged as Bill Jameson's eventual replacement. He looked pretty good in a September call-up after starting the season in AA but now Murnane is a Navy man.
KEYSTONES- Bud Canfield and Jeff Cochran. A pair of younger players in 25 year old pitcher Canfield and 23 year old outfielder Cochran are this week's departures from Philadelphia. Canfield is a former first round pick and has had brief stints with the Keystones each of the past 3 seasons, going 1-5 with a 6.61 era in 6 starts this year. Cochran hit .136 in a very brief trial with the big club during the season and also struggled at AAA Louisville.
SAILORS- Al Duster and Dutch Sheldon. A pair of pitchers in the 33 year old Sheldon and 23 year old Duster. Sheldon was just working his way back into form after a devastating arm injury cost him over a year. He was 1-1 with a 3.05 era in 13 relief appearances this season. Duster is the big loss, a highly touted former 4th overall draft pick who came over from Detroit a few years ago in the William Jones deal. He was eased in to the big leagues this season by pitching out of the pen, going 1-2 with a 2.82 era in 28 appearances and one had to think the Sailors were planning on putting him in the rotation in 1943.
PITTSBURGH- Charlie Potter. Potter is a mid-level pitching prospect who had a brief stint with the big club this past season while going 9-10 with 16 saves used exclusively in relief for AAA St Paul.
ST LOUIS- Zip Sullivan. The 30 year Sullivan had an awful season in St Louis and there was no guarantee he would even have a job come spring. Sullivan, once the player the Pioneers envisioned replacing Fred McCormick and they moved McCormick to make room for him, has been a disappointment most of his career, batting .281 with 23 homers in 651 career FABL games.
TORONTO- Tom Frederick. The 26 year old two-time all-star will be missed. The centerfielder hit .292 last season for the Wolves, his fourth year in the league.
WASHINGTON- Jim Birdwell. Washington has very little pitching to begin with so the news that the 27 year old Birdwell (15-10, 3.50) is off to the Army is tough to take.
Most FABL fans would have believed the most surprising move of the offseason was the trade of Hank Barnett, but that may have just been the cause of something even bigger. After the first bad season of his big league career, the now 40-year-old John Lawson decided his bat is not what it once was, and instead of being a part-time player, he would serve his country and enlist in the United States Navy. There's no chance the surefire Hall of Famer will see conflict, he's likely set for a cushy instructor role, but "Jack the Ripper" may have finished off a historic career. 1942 was the only full season of Lawson's career where he finished with a below average stat line, batting just .274/.314/.353 (92 OPS+) with 15 doubles, 8 homers, and 62 RBIs. Before this season, he had 14 consecutive seasons with an OPS+ and WRC+ above 130, and Lawson completed 12 seasons with a WRC+ above 135 in 150 or more games.
Lawson wasn't always destined to be the star he developed into, as the prolific third basemen was just a 4th Round Pick back in 1923, seeing his drafting team, the Pioneers, make mistakes in Chick Prendergast, Bobby Johnson, and King James go off the board before him. The bigger mistake came before the 1925 season, where they cut Lawson. He spent time with the Independent Portland Maroons and then the Philadelphia Sailors, before signing with the Chicago Cougars on the final day of August. Unfortunately, his Cougar career would not last much longer, and while they didn't release him, the fledgling Cougar GM made the mistake of sending him and Joe Snider to the New York Stars for promising young pitcher Johnny Douglas. At the time it looked like a good trade for both teams, as Lawson wasn't considered a top prospect and Douglas was a very talented, however, often injured, hurler and the Cougars were in desperate need of pitching.
Unfortunately, this turned into one of the most lopsided deals in the human era, as Lawson entered the top 100 at the start of the 1927 season before a cup of coffee in September. Lawson broke out as a 25-year-old, slashing an elite .344/.404/.518 (152 OPS+) with 33 doubles, 4 triples, 22 homers, and 106 RBIs. Lawson was worth an outstanding 7.9 wins above replacement and cracked the 700 plate appearance mark for the first of five times, and he took off from there. In 1930 he won his first of three Whitney Awards, hitting a robust .392/.442/.613 (165 OPS+) with 45 doubles, 5 triples, 28 homers, and 137 RBIs on a very good Stars team. He led the league in average, hits (247), and WAR (8.7), something he did the following year (.359, 231, 6.9) as well as he won the award yet again. 1932 he made it thee batting titles in a row, leading in hits (246), doubles (49), and RBIs (150) as well, slashing .377/.417/.557 (160 OPS+) with 19 homers and an 8.2 WAR. That year still stings for Cougar fans, as they watched the prospect they let get away lead their rivals to a pennant, preventing them from repeating. In 1933 he was selected to the first annual All Star game, and his 8 All Star selections are currently tied for the most of any FABL player, and he would have been a lock for a selection in each of his first five seasons. Lawson spent the next three seasons in New York, but in 1935 their controversial general manager gave their star far less time then he deserved. He started just 94 games and made just 481 trips to the plate, while still hitting a well above average .343/.393/.510 (138 OPS+) with 29 doubles, 4 triples, 12 homers, and 77 RBIs.
Looking to right a past wrong, the now experienced Cougar general manager enquired on the superstar slugger, and managed to bring him back to the Windy City. The Cougars parted with Chick Stickels, Dick Earl, Frank Gordon, and George K. Brooks to bolster a roster in need of a star. Lawson finished his Stars career with a .358/.408/.521 (149 OPS+) with 313 doubles, 33 triples, 133 homers, and 894 RBIs while worth 55.9 wins above replacement in 1,204 games. The trade worked well for the Cougars, as while Stickels has been a regular for the Stars since 1938, Lawson helped bring the Cougars back to relevance. Lawson did not miss a beat in 1936, slashing .330/.391/.491 (136 OPS+) with 39 doubles, 20 homers, and 93 RBIs. It was the first of six seasons worth of elite production, as Lawson took home his fourth batting title (.327) in 1937 and once again led the league in hits (210). That happened again in 1940, where Lawson almost willed the Cougars to the postseason and took home his third Whitney. The then 37-year-old hit an elite .345/.399/.507 (154 OPS+) with 17 homers and a league high 48 doubles and 111 RBIs. He followed that up with another strong season, hitting .314/.368/.515 (146 OPS+) as he led the Cougars to their first World Championship Series since 1933. Lawson again led the league in RBIs (129), and was worth 6.3 WAR with 34 doubles and a career best 29 home runs. Unfortunately his Cougars fell short, as did Lawson's performance.
This most recent was the first bad season Lawson had, as he was worth -0.4 WAR, nearly 5 WAR worse then his previous low of 4.4 in his "shortened" 1935 season. His glove completely vanished, as the generally competent defender had a -20.8 zone rating and .848 efficiency while his bat disappeared as well. Lawson struck out a career worst 87 times with a career low 32 walks, and he failed to crack double digits for homers for the first time, as well as failing to reach 75 RBIs. His 15 doubles were almost half as many as his previous low (29) in '35 and his 141 hits were the first time he failed to hit safely at least 150 times. Unless he returns to the Cougars after the war, he'll finish his Cougar career with a .318/.372/.477 (136 OPS+) line in 1,051 games. He tallied 245 doubles, 136 homers, and 714 RBIs while worth 35.2 wins above replacement.
He will have a spot if he wants it when he returns from service, but unless he takes some tips from "Father Time" Dave Trowbridge, he is likely to hang up the cleats. If he does, it will be the end of a historic 2,255 game career where he tallied nearly 10,000 plate appearances with a superb .339/.391/.500 (145 OPS+) career line. Lawson ended with 558 doubles, 43 triples, 269 homers, 1,431 runs, 1,608 RBIs, 3,060 hits, and 750 walks while worth almost a centuries worth (91.1) in WAR. Lawson is one of just 11 players with over 3,000 career hits, and the only one who debuted after the 1915 season. He's also tied for 8th with Hank Eason for homers and 4th All time in RBIs. He's all over the Stars and Cougars leaderboards, and for the Stars ranks #1 in average (.358), #2 in OBP (.408), slugging (.521), and OPS (.929), 3rd in homers (133), 5th in RBIs (894), 7th in hits (1,709), doubles (313), and total bases (2,487), 9th in WAR (.55.9) and runs (775) all while ranking outside of the top 10 for games. His 1930 slugging (.613), total bases (386), and hits (247) are Stars records, as well as his 1932 singles (172) and RBIs (150). For the Cougars, he's tied with Bill Ashbaugh (136) for the most homers in franchise history, 4th in OPS (.849), 6th in doubles (245) and slugging (.477), 7th in average (.318), 8th in hits (1,351) and RBIs (714), 9th in runs (656), while again, outside the top 10 for games played.
John Lawson will surely be remembered by fans well after he's retired, not just by those who support the Stars and Cougars, but even the casual observers. One of the best sluggers of his generation, Lawson always gave a professional at bat and had a knack for putting the ball and play and hitting it hard. An outstanding career for the pride of Cresskill, New Jersey unfortunately ended on a bit of a sour note, but when he officially retires, the Cougars will be sure to honor him, and while his #16 may not end up in the rafters, Jack the Ripper will never have to pay for drinks in Chicago again. It's just too bad they couldn't give him one more title...
TALES FROM THE WOLVES DEN
WOLVES WAR NEWS CONTINUES TO BE BAD -The news from the global conflict continues to hit home in Toronto. Days after Red More, Hank Giordano enlisted in the US Army the team has received news that two other players have enlisted for service in the war effort. George Garrison, runner up in 1942 for the CA Allen Award, has joined Navy along with two-time All-Star CF Tom Frederick who will now be with the Air Force team.
News of Garrison's decision reach the Wolves' offices first, hot stove league managers thought that although the move would definitely downgrade the pitching staff this could be an opportunity for Juan Pomales to shine as a #2 or #3 man in the rotation. The news that Frederick also will not be returning in 1943 has left the question "Who will patrol CF?", another spot that Pomales has played during his career. Larry Vestal, Ed Marshall both have patrolled CF but neither have consistently covered enough ground to be an adequate full season option. It appears that Pomales value to the team will be the rotation be may play some CF. Other options could be Mike Rollinson or one the Buffalo Nickels, John Graves or Whitey Acton.
When ask about his thoughts on the roster for 1943 manager Charlie Reed's comment was "Look around the league, every day, every team is being told that another player or players have joined the armed services. It is still three months away from spring training, many more players will not be available to all organizations by that time. Once we assemble for the pre-season along with my staff we will put together the best team available to entertain the Toronto fans. At present our thoughts and prayer should be with these brave young men who have decided to serve their countries during this trying time."
The Wolves have also announced the hiring of a new Director of Scouting, Art Willis. His first task will be to provide input on players to be put on the 40-man roster before the upcoming Rule 5 draft. Wolves now have 10 open spots on their secondary roster, will there be more to come in the near future? Willis will also be busy preparing reports on players for the upcoming early phase of the amateur draft.
WILDCATS CLINCH RETURN TO AFA CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
For the second consecutive year and third time in four seasons the Chicago Wildcats are headed to the American Football Association championship game. The Wildcats, who beat New York 10-7 in the title contest last year, clinched the Western Division title with dominating display in a 35-14 win at home over the Detroit Maroons. The victory keeps the Wildcats perfect at 8-0 and puts them three wins up on the second place Maroons. Even if the Wildcats drop their final three games and Detroit is victorious in each of theirs it still won't be enough to dethrone the Wildcats, who hold the tiebreaker with a pair of wins over Detroit.
It once again was Chicago's depth that won out. While Detroit has an almost unstoppable duo in Dewey Burnett and Stan Vaught, they lack the multiple threats the Wildcats throw, and run, at teams every week. Vaught made his catches - 5 for 63 yards and a score- but Chicago controlled the play and dominated the game with their 514 total net yards, more than double what the Maroons could muster. The problem the Maroons, and every other team that faces Chicago, has to deal with is the multiple ways the Wildcats can hurt you. Backs Gus Brown and John Fuchs are equally adept at passing. There are multiple backs who are a threat to run the ball on any given play and five different players have made at least 10 catches so far this season.
The chart below shows how the Wildcats spread things out and how the group has greatly outperformed their opponents this season.
CHICAGO WILDCATS 1942 OFFENSE
Chicago has three more games remaining but they are merely warm-up contests in preparation for the one that really matters, likely a date with the Boston Americans and a chance to get revenge for the 1939 title game when Boston beat the Wildcats 21-14. Just don't try and tell anyone associated with the Wildcats these next three games don't matter. They do, and matter a lot, as the club and in particular new co-coaches Marv Englert and Bill Youngberg, want to continue what the great Carl Boon started this season before he got the call from the Navy. Since the modern era of the AFA began in 1936 no team has ever won 10 games in a season, let alone go undefeated at 11-0 as the Wildcats are aiming to accomplish this year.
The Wildcats title game opponent will likely be the Boston Americans, who are bidding to return to the championship contest for the first time since knocking off the Wildcats in 1939. Boston improved to 7-2 on the season with a 20-14 win over the New York Football Stars, dropping the second place Stars to 5-3 and eliminating their margin for error should they wish to repeat as Eastern pennant winners. Yesterday's loss was a tough pill to swallow for the New Yorkers, who opened a two touchdown lead only to see Boston score the final 20 points of the game to beat the Stars for the second time this season. Leon Fitzgerald was the hero for the Yanks when he returned the opening kick-off of the second half 91 yards breaking a 14-14 deadlock and scoring what proved to be the only points of the second half. New York came close to tying the game -or even winning because the Americans missed their extra point attempt after Fitzgerald's romp- as Tom Jamason piloted a late drive to move the Stars to within 9 yards of the Boston endzone before he ran out of time and the game ended.
In other action Bulldog Stein had a big day leading Brooklyn past Philadelphia 21-17. Stein ran for 144 yards and all 3 Kings touchdowns while also handling the kick duties so he was responsible for all of the Brooklyn points on the day. The final game saw Washington get back on even footing at 5-5 with a 42-7 thumping of the Pittsburgh Paladins. Wasps quarterback Jeff Proos has drawn a fair bit of criticism of late for all the interceptions (35 this season) but he was very good on this day in throwing for 220 yards and 5 scores.
Code:
AFA STANDINGS
EASTERN W L T PCT
Boston 7 2 0 .778
New York 5 3 0 .625
Washington 5 5 0 .500
Brooklyn 4 4 0 .500
Philadelphia 2 8 0 .200
WESTERN W L T PCT
Chicago 8 0 0 1.000
Detroit 5 2 1 .714
St Louis 3 5 0 .375
Cleveland 2 6 0 .250
Pittsburgh 1 7 1 .125
AFA SCHEDULE AND RESULTS
SUNDAY NOVEMBER 15
Chicago 35 Detroit 14
Brooklyn 21 Philadelphia 17
Boston 20 New York 14
Washington 42 Pittsburgh 7
SUNDAY NOVEMEBER 22
Detroit at New York
Brooklyn at Boston
Chicago at Pittsburgh
Cleveland at St Louis
Code:
AFA LEADERS
SCORING PTS
Vaught, Det 116
Stein, Bkn 78
Kelly, Bos 48
Holt, StL 48
Frum, WAS 48
PASSING COMP-ATT YDS TD INT
Thomas, Bos 130-234 1,341 14 11
Burnett, Det 115-222 1,329 18 10
Proos, Was 95-222 1,310 11 35
Boetcher, Cle 110-271 1,207 8 31
J.Taylor, Phi 78-195 920 7 15
RUSHING YDS TD
Holt, StL 777 7
Stein, Bkn 622 6
Fitzgerald, Bos 565 4
Sadowski, Was 524 6
Frum, Was 449 5
RECEIVING CAT TD
Vaught, Det 68 15
Kelly, Bos 30 6
Hooper, Bos 26 3
Douglas, Was 25 2
G.Halladay, Pit 22 2
INERCEPTIONS #
Stein, Bkn 9
Vaught, Det 9
Burnett, Det 7
Murphy. Det 7
BAD DAY FOR BOTH KNIGHTS AS DETROIT CITY AND COMMONWEALTH STUMBLE
It was a week of surprises as 3 of the six teams that entered the weekend with a perfect record did not exit it in the same fashion. The three that survived and remain perfect are Deep South Conference duo Noble Jones College and Cumberland along with independent Miami State. The Colonels ran their record on the season to 9-0 with a resounding 40-0 stomping of Western Tennessee. Cumberland is 8-0 after beating Deep South cellar dwellers Mississippi A&M 24-7 while Gulls took care of their in-state rivals - and another Deep South school- with a 19-14 win over Western Florida. Miami State's record now sits at 7-0.
The big surprise of the week was Commonwealth Catholic falling to Brooklyn State 28-20 as the Knights possibly got caught looking ahead to their season ending showdown with St Patrick's. The Knights are now 6-1 and certainly out of consideration for the East-West Classic. Detroit City College knew it was in for a tough test on Saturday and they fell to 7-1 after suffering a 10-6 loss on the road against St Blane. The Fighting Saints improved their mark to 6-2 with the victory, which was their 6th straight after starting the season with losses to Wisconsin State and Georgia Baptist. Georgia Baptist did not lose on Saturday but the Gators are no longer perfect as they were forced to settle for a 10-10 draw at Alabama Baptist. The 7-0-1 Gators still seem poised to earn an East-West Classic game bid and perhaps a shot at the National Title but it will require them to beat Noble Jones College in their annual showdown in Atlanta two weeks from now.
BAPTIST GOAL NOW TO CRUSH COLONELS HOPES
Greeted by a wildly cheering throng greater than any that had gathered for their victories, the Georgia Baptist Gators returned home following their Alabama Baptist tie to find their supporters confident they would bounce back to beat Noble Jones College in a game they hope still might be for the National Championship. There was a band and many hundreds of followers in the reception and in the speeches Captain Harry Hollis and others made there were vows of victory over Noble Jones, unbeaten and untied and the current leader in the Deep South Conference.
Speculation is running wild over the state of Georgia as to the reaction the Gators will show against the Colonels because of giving up a lead late and settling for a tie against Bama. Many Gators followers believe it will give them a better chance to beat Noble Jones. Of course, followers of Noble Jones College, unbeaten and untied and led by their certain to be All-American back Billy Bockhorst, are quite certain they will prevail in Atlanta on November 28th. They call their boys a "team of destiny" because of their many accomplishments this season.
They both might be putting the cart before the horse as they speak of their big contest, with each needing to survive one more test before their big showdown. That would be this Saturday as Noble Jones needs to be sure not to take Opelika State lightly, lest they fall into the same trap that befall the Gators in the state of Alabama this past weekend. Baptist needs to bounce back had have a strong showing at home against Western Florida to make the contest on the 28th still the likely deciding factor on who the 'East' in East-West Classic will be. The Gators tie with the Alabama Baptist Chargers in Huntsville might have taken a little shine off the big game but it is still shaping up to be one for the ages and, as Baptist boosters surmised, one that if all goes to plan this Saturday a game to declare the National Champion.
NOTES -Quite a step up this season for both Georgia elevens as a year ago Noble Jones posted a 6-3-1 record while the Gators settled for a 4-4-1 tally. Georgia Baptist did get state bragging rights a year ago with a season ending 16-7 win over the Colonels.
Here is a look at the results from the six teams that entered the weekend without a tie or a loss on their record.
WEEKEND COLLEGE FOOTBALL SCOREBOARD
KEY GAMES
Noble Jones College 40 Western Tennessee 0
Brooklyn State 28 Commonwealth Catholic 20
Georgia Baptist 10 Alabama Baptist 10
St. Blane 10 Detroit City College 6
Cumberland 24 Mississippi A&M 7
Miami State 19 Western Florida 14
Rome State 24 Chesapeake State 13
Annapolis Maritime 21 Henry Hudson 7
North Carolina Pre-Flight 14 Bronx Tech 0
Jacksonville Naval Air Station 7 Coastal State 0
Great Lakes Navy 38 Camp Grant 0
Baton Rouge State 20 Georgia Pre-Flight 10
Great Lakes Navy 24 Wisconsin Catholic 7
Opelika State 19 Bayou State 10
Carolina Poly 24 North Carolina Tech 3
Central Ohio 30 Lincoln 20
St. Ignatius 28 Whitney College 16
Western Iowa 13 Minnesota Tech 3
Wisconsin State 21 St. Magnus 10
Sadler 16 George Fox 14
Pierpont 10 Liberty College 0
Coastal California 34 Portland Tech 6
Redwood 30 Lane State 0
OTHER RESULTS
Kirtland Field 34 El Paso Methodist 3
Cowpens State 10 Potomac College 0
Northern California 15 Custer College 0
St. Pancras 20 Empire State 20
Boulder State 34 Utah A&M 0
Colorado Poly 34 Pueblo State 13
Grafton 20 Brunswick 14
College of Waco 14 Fremont State 6
Central Carolina 34 Lexington State 3
Penn Catholic 10 Northern Minnesota 7
Columbia Military Academy 21 Bulein 6
Charleston Tech 7 St. Matthew's College 0
Abilene Baptist 20 Valley State 7
Dickson 29 Ellery 0
St. Patrick's 23 Conwell College 0
Indiana A&M 40 Eastern Kansas 7
Iowa A&M 31 Lawrence State 17
Maryland State 20 Eastern State 16
Northern Mississippi 16 Strub College 0
Daniel Boone College 21 Oklahoma City State 7
Eastern Oklahoma 24 Laclede 0
Pittsburgh State 23 College of Omaha 14
Hampden-Sydney 14 Petersburg 10
Rainier College 34 Golden Gate University Pre-Flight 0
San Francisco Tech 35 San Clemente 7
Sunnyvale 14 Golden Gate University 0
Texas Gulf Coast 20 Arkansas A&T 6
Red River State 3 Darnell State 0
Travis College 6 Amarillo Methodist 3
Texas Panhandle 44 Tempe College 3
Payne State 34 Lubbock State 13
Provo Tech 17 Wyoming A&I 6
Mile High State 20 Cache Valley 3
Bluegrass State 27 Alliance (TN) 13
Perry State College 24 Lambert College 14
Spokane State 21 Idaho A&M 7
South Valley State 7 Canyon A&M 0
Central Kentucky 13 Huntington State 13
Alexandria 18 Richmond State 7
Santa Ana Field 7 California Catholic 6
WHAT OF THE NEW YEAR'S CLASSICS?
Now that the Nation's big college football teams are moving down the stretch a plaguing question arises: What will the Washington powers-that-be do about post-season spectacles and the transportation problems in connection with them? From no less a source than President Roosevelt's office came the order to transfer the Rome State-Annapolis Maritime game from it's usual locale in Philadelphia to Annapolis, and to limit the spectators to inhabitants of Maryland. There may be a parallel; again there may not be.
The Rome State-Annapolis Maritime game, after all, is a regularly scheduled game. It does, however, usually draw 104,000 to Philly's big stadium and, in peacetime, it demanded many special trains from the North and South. The Classic games - the Desert, Cajun, Sunshine and of course the big one in the East-West Classic - are extra games. Normally, a team travels Classic-ward unaccompanied except for newspapermen.
*** AS IT WAS IN PEACETIME YEARS ***
But the transportation bugaboo is something with which to reckon and deep down inside sports people admit it. The football pappies have their fingers and toes crossed. The baseball folk are putting up a brave front and speak optimistically of a full season in 1943, but they are be no means certain that there'll be any such sport. And the big reason is fear of a crack-down on civilian travel.
The sports life used to be a wild and gay affair. Special trains---fawning passenger agents---special cars on special trains for ballplayers...special cars for the press...redcaps at the beginning and end of the line...'house' treats at the bar. When is the last time a railroad man poured you a drink and said, "This is our treat, old boy."
It was merely a very fortuitous break that baseball's World Championship Series was spared major concern with both New York entries qualifying. Late in the regular season last September, baseball people became very aware of the true import of the transportation problem. Teams were lucky to get enough seats to move from one city to another and a sleeper car was all but out of the question. Newspaper men and even club personnel had to scour high and low to catch ride, and often on a different train from the players.
Along came the football people to learn how really tough it is becoming to move from section to section. Big-name college teams, accustomed to deluxe stuff, scrambled with millhands and pneumatic-drill beginners of the factories for coach seats. Nationally-know triple-threaters found themselves standing in the aisles.
Makes one wonder just how tough the task of transporting Noble Jones College or Georgia Baptist all the way out to California for a game with the pride of the west might be. Winning the east might not be the tough part for these schools. Figuring out how to get west for New Year's Day is going to be the real challenge.
STRONG START FOR DEFENDING CHAMPS AT EASTON TOURNAMENT
The defending National Champions from Liberty College picked up right where they left off last season as the Bells proved to be too much for the competition in the Jack Easton Tip-Off Classic. Liberty went 3-0 with wins over Columbia Military Academy, Custer College and Central Ohio to win what is arguably the most prestigious of the early season events. Named after the man credited with the invention of the sport, the Easton Classic can trace it's history back to the origins of AIAA basketball.
As was the case last season when he was a second team All-American selection, center Robert Grant did much of the heavy lifting for the Bells. Grant had 15 points to lead the way in the opener, one in which Liberty College struggled to get it's footing and barely held off the Cadets from Columbia Military by a 52-49 count. A day later and the Bells looked much more relaxed in an easy 40-23 win over Custer College - a game in which Grant once more led the scoring parade with 14 points with fellow senior Rob Berner chipping in with 12. Central Ohio was the opponent for the title contest and the Aviators stayed with the Bells all the way, utilizing their balanced scoring attack that saw four fliers hit double-digits on the scoresheet. They contained Grant for much of the contest, limiting him to 9 points but Berner and his backcourt mate Charles Ashley, picked up the slack in combining for 23 points in a 58-54 win for Liberty.
JACK EASTON TIP-OFF CLASSIC (BOSTON)
FIRST ROUND
Liberty College 52 Columbia Military Academy 49
Central Ohio 43 Strub College 25
Ohio Poly 50 Red River State 47
Custer College 63 Lambert College 43
SEMI-FINALS
Liberty College 40 Custer College 23
Central Ohio 58 Ohio Poly 52
CHAMPIONSHIP
Liberty College 58 Central Ohio 54
Elsewhere this week the CCLA Coyotes easily dominated the competition in San Francisco as they won the West Coast Classic preseason event. The closest of the three games for the West Coast Athletic Association champs and runner-up in last year's National Championship tournament was an 8 point win over Bayou State in their opener. CCLA beat it's next two opponents, Quaker College and Canyon A&M, by an average of 24 points to win the event which typically does not attract teams of CCLA's stature. However, citing travel concerns the Coyotes opted to participate in an event closer to their Los Angeles campus.
Chesapeake State topped Noble Jones College 47-38 at the Gardens to win the Bigsby Festival in New York. The Clippers have high hopes this season after missing the end of season championship tournament each of the past two seasons but will have plenty of competition in the South Atlantic Conference from the likes of North Carolina Tech, Carolina Poly and Mobile Maritime.
The last of the early events drew a fairly strong field to Dallas as the Heart of Texas Tournament counted Annapolis Maritime, Daniel Boone College, Pierpont, Georgia Baptist and Minnesota Tech among it's field of 8 schools. Minnesota Tech faced Annapolis Maritime in the finals and the Lakers proved too much for Navigators in a 55-47 Tech victory.
Minnesota Tech might well be a team worth watching this year and are coming off their first appearance in the National Championship Tournament since 1912. The Lakers won 21 games overall last season, second highest in team history, and their 9-7 record in the tough Great Lakes Alliance was their first better than .500 showing in that section since 1924-25. They are guided by Pid Cleaver, a former assistant at Detroit City College who joined the school last season and immediately changed the culture. On the court it is a pair of junior forwards who lead the way in Russell Geisler and Tommy Cozart.
We continue our look at the Detroit City College Knights basketball team with a check at the roster and schedule the club will play.
1942-43 DETROIT CITY COLLEGE KNIGHTS BASKETBALL ROSTER
The biggest challenge for veteran Knights head coach Dick Keegan is to find a replacement for guard Joseph Richburg. The Wisconsin native is now training to be a navy pilot but last season as a senior he was a first team All-American selection and the biggest reason the Knights reached the National Semi-Finals before falling to eventual champion Liberty College. Richburg, who was also recognized as the Great Lakes Alliance's top player last season, became just the sixth Knights player to earn All-American status
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DETROIT CITY COLLEGE ALL-AMERICANS
FIRST TEAM SELECTIONS
1941-42 Joseph Richburg G
1940-41 John Banks G
1934-35 Frank Chafin G
1929-20 Robert McCutcheon F
1913-14 Orlin Nardone G
SECOND TEAM SELECTIONS
1930-31 Harold Nelson F
The task of filling Richburg's shoes will fall to Adolph Duckworth, a junior out of New Jersey who averaged 16 minutes a game off the bench last year. The other four starters all return from last year's squad and will be led by Richburg's back court mate from a year ago -senior Roman Sollers. Sollars started every game as a freshman and was named the National Freshman of the year but missed most of his sophomore season with an injury. He returned to the lineup last year and led the club in scoring, averaging 14.6 ppg. He, along with junior Jack Kurtz, will be the two expected to carry the offense with Tennessee native Hilton Brogden counted on to handle the bulk of the rebounding. Rounding out the starting five will be Andrew Bennett, who scored 21 points in the two pre-season wins a week ago. The first player off the bench is likely to be the lone Detroit native on the team. Olin Catlett is a senior who joined the club last year from a junior college in the area.
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DETROIT CITY COLLEGE KNIGHTS
Player # Pos Yr Ht Wt Hometown
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Jack Kurtz 15 C Jr 6-10 262 Reserve, LA
Hilton Brogdon 0 PF Sr 6-9 250 Woodbury, TN
Andrew Bennett 22 SF Sr 6-6 237 Delta, OH
Roman Sollars 3 SG Sr 6-2 179 Denver, CO
Adolph Duckworth 10 PG Jr 6-1 187 Hopatcong, NJ
Kenneth Ahlers 14 PF So 6-8 241 Vandergrift, PA
Olin Catlett 35 SF Sr 6-7 232 Detroit, MI
Stephen Rubalcava 12 PG Fr 6-1 198 Valley Center, KS
Carroll Ellis 2 PG Jr 6-0 186 Lancaster, CA
Donal Stockdale 55 C Sr 6-6 254 Berne, IN
Lawrence Hughes 20 PG Fr 6-2 174 Norwalk, OH
Jerome Gray 52 SG So 5-11 174 Warsaw, IL
Tony Wonger 54 SF Jr 6-4 208 Wexford, PA
Mac Middaugh 13 C Fr 6-7 222 Thorntown, IN
David Murphey 21 PF So 6-5 245 Raceland, LA
Here is the Detroit City schedule with the conference slate getting underway on January 21st against Whitney College.
THE WEEK AHEAD
Fresh off their win at the Tournament of Champions in New York City the Knights begin the regular season portion of their schedule with a trip to the Youngstown area in order to face the Mahoning Valley State Miners. A small school that plays in the Keystone Alliance, the Miners were just 8-21 a year ago and have only made the year end tournament twice in their history with the most recent appearance coming way back in 1923. They return only two starters from last season's squad with David Whetstone, a center out of Minnesota, being their top player.
Off the court the Knights got some good news with word that Norwood, Ohio high school center Buddy Eugene has decided to attend Detroit City College next season. The 6'7" pivot is considered to be one of the top available high school seniors in the Midwest. His signing is good news and comes on the heels of disappointment, as the school was recently told by forward Ruben Grant - a top ten national prospect- that he preferred Whitney College and will join the Engineers next season
The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 11/15/1942
- American ground forces are moving into position to join the British and New Zealanders in a drive to surround the Nazis in Libya. British troops, with American air support, have driven Rommell's scattered forces out of Egypt and across Tunisia. In a desperate attempt to save Rommell's army, Hitler is rushing air reinforcements to the Mediterranean
- German troops also raced across the demarcation line into unoccupied France and French Corsica in an Armistice Day coup. Hitler's move, a blatant disregard of his his pledges and over the feeble protest of Marshall Pertain, is seen as a desperate bid to counter the American offensive in French Africa.
- Premier Josef Stalin believes the Allied campaign in North Africa has "changed radically" the political and military situation in Europe in favor of the United Nations and soon will relieve pressure on the Russian front.
- There is rioting in the streets of Paris after the radical pro-Nazi Jacques Doriot called on France to declare war on the United States.
- American airmen have struck new blows at the Japanese at both ends of the long Pacific battlefront in the Solomons and the Aleutians.
- The House rejected a call from the Senate to require 18-19 year old draftees to have a full year of training prior to being allowed into combat. The House sent the teenage draft measure back to the Senate, where the year long training amendment is expected to be eliminated.