FEBRUARY 22, 1943
WARTIME BASEBALL LIKELY TO PROVIDE GREAT PENNANT SCRAMBLES
By Jiggs McGee
It is becoming more and more evident that all pennant races for this season, big league or minor, will provide possibly the greatest title scramble that baseball ever has known. Not even the boldest or the goofiest of all prophets can pick this team or that team to win since no one can tell you how many will be left from week to week or month to month. Teams that open their training season around the middle of March with 35-40 men, many of which will be previously untested in FABL circles, may find 5, 10 or 15 more absentees during the season as they answer the roll call of the armed forces. If there are enough left to finish the season, this will gives us at least one of the most interesting FABL campaigns since William Whitney had his ancient dream.
I don't believe any spectator will notice any big slump in class, as long as most of the teams are fairly well matched. The plater can look just as good as the stake horse, until he runs against the stake horse. He can give you just as much excitement - and as many thrills. A year ago around this spot there were 16 big league clubs getting ready for the 1942 show. You could throw out about 9 of these teams as it was the Cougars and Stars in the Continental Association and the big four or five in the Fed. The other nine clubs might as well have gone in for table tennis, or the hop, skip and jump. They never had a chance. The winning material in both leagues was all picked, concentrated in those half dozen clubs.
*** LINE-UPS ARE UNCERTAIN ***
But it is all different today. No manager can tell you how many men he will have left by April's starting date or through the summer run. Bill Barrett is gone, the Gothams double-play duo have left, no more George Cleaves in Pittsburgh. Sal Pestilli appears next out the door. There will be no feeling of any certainty until the War Department and Congress decide about the matter of married men with children. If all able-bodied men between the ages of 18 and 38 are to be called, regardless of dependents, I can't see how baseball or any other sport can survive, outside of Army and Navy competition. This is a problem that belongs strictly to the War Department and Congress. They must have an answer for this arrangement.
*** TEAMS COULD BE CRIPPLED ***
The Cougars seem like the favourite at the moment in the Continental Association but if all such men are called into some form of war service, they could lose Harry Parker, Hank Barnett and Leo Mitchell. The same thing will happen to all other clubs, major and minor. There still are many fine ballplayers left who have wives and children on the dependent list. It is always tough to pick a team to beat in the Fed but darn near impossible this year. The Chiefs lost the least to the war effort among the eight clubs, but the trading of Barnett to the cross-town Cougars creates a big question mark. And much like their Windy City neighbors, the Chiefs stand to lose big-time if those with dependents are summoned by Uncle Sam. Take away Bob Martin, Ron Rattigan and Tom Bird and what would Chicago be left with? If it stays status-quo, the mid-season loss of someone like Al Miller could cripple the club quickly.
The proper allotment of manpower is, of course, far more important than any single sport. The final decision involving married men with wives and children will have a far greater sweep than sports will face. It will affect many millions. This happens to be a problem, one of many other problems, that is far over our heads. If is something for the Government to handle for a war-winning effort. Until the problem is decided in Washington, baseball must wait to know it's fate.
RUN ON PITCHERS IN SECOND ROUND OF FABL DRAFT
While the top half of the first round of the annual FABL draft did not have it's usual glut of pitchers being selected, that was not the case in round two as six of the first 9 choices of the second round were hurlers. In all 13 of the 32 players selected in the first two rounds were pitchers with 10 of them being high schoolers. 21 of the 32 selections overall came from the high school ranks with the state of Pennsylvania being the top producer of talent. Six of the 32 selections hailed from the Keystone State including #1 overall pick Jim Adams Jr., who was born in Philadelphia but played his college ball in Michigan at St. Ignatius. Here are the second round selections:
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1943 SECOND ROUND SELECTIONS
PK TEAM PLAYER POS AGE SCHOOL HOMETOWN
17 CLE Benny Everidge OF 18 Sandusky(OH) HS Sandusky, Oh
18 WSH Ted Davis LHP 18 Northgate HS Pittsburgh, Pa.
19 BKN Hi Davis RHP 20 Oklahoma City St. Houston, Tx.
20 DET Eddie Reynolds RHP 18 Turtle Creek(PA) HS Tarentum, Pa.
21 PHS Les Cunha SS 20 Detroit City Coll. North Adams, Ma.
22 STL Bill Parker OF 18 Oak Ridge (NC) HS Oak Ridge, NC
23 CIN Johnny Whitter RHP 17 Rodeo (CA) HS San Francisco, CA\a.
24 CHI Paul Byler RHP 17 Amherst (NH) HS Amherst, NH
25 MON Bernie Hamilton RHP 17 Sheboygan(WI) HS Sheboygan,Wi.
26 PHK Rudy Minton 3B 18 Pana (IL) HS Pana, Il.
27 TOR Fred Miles OF 17 St Paul (MN) HS Minneapolis, Mn.
28 PIT Fred Beckum 1B 18 Oakdale (PA) HS Oakdale, Pa.
29 CHC Al Clement SS 17 De Pere (WI) HS De Pere, Wi.
30 BOS Dick Allen SS 21 Freemont State Denver, Co.
31 NYS Jack Shea LHP 18 Story City (IA) HS Story City, Ia.
32 NYG John Elston OF 17 Picayune (MS) HS New Orleans, La.
CANNONS INTRODUCE DRAFT PICKS
From the Cincinnati Post
The 1943 FABL draft did not go quite as the Cincinnati Cannons had planned but in the end the local nine was very happy with the players they ended up with following the opening two rounds of FABL's annual high school and college player draft. It was no secret the player the Cannons coveted most in this group of young talent was Homer Mills, a 21 year old shortstop from just up the road at Weston College. The two-time first team All-American selection was one the Cannons desperately tried to trade up for, especially as he began to slide in the first round.
"I thought we were close at one point," explained Cannons Assistant General Manager Red Franklin, "but it just didn't quite work out. We talked to a few teams but the price it would have taken to land Mills was just a little more than we could justify spending. In the end it worked out as we are thrilled with who we did select."
Franklin is referring to Brooklyn born high school pitcher Hal Friedlander, who the club selected 11th overall. Not a lot is known of the 18 year old as he did not play high school ball in previous season but will this year for Pelham High in New York state. OSA feels the 5'11" righthander has the ability to front a rotation some day. Cannons scouting director Bill Boshart, in his first draft as the head birddog in the organization after taking over for the retired Rufus Barrell is a little more tempered in his assessment, perhaps not wanting to put undue pressure on the teen.
"Hal has great control and four pitches, three of which can be very good", explained Boshart. "He won't walk a lot of guys and we see him as a mid-rotation starter with the Cannons in a few years."
Cincinnati also went with a pitcher in the second round, giving up a 5th round selection to Toronto in order to move up 4 spots in the draft. They used that pick, #7 of the round, on another pitcher. This time they reached to the west coast and took towering 6'4" Johnny Whitter, a San Francisco born righthander. Like Friedlander, Whitter will be making his high school debut this season.
"We actually have to give Mickey Beavers credit for pointing us in Whitter's direction," said Boshart of the 38 year old pitcher from the Cannons AAA club in Indianapolis. "Mickey worked out with Johnny the past couple of winters back home in California and alerted our scouting staff to take a look at him. All I can say is I think Mickey has a career as a scout when he eventually decides his pitching days are over."
Whitter is raw and needs to bulk up but the Cannons see him perhaps hitting the mid-nineties with his fastball as he matures which could be devastating when combined with an already outstanding change of pace.
CHIEFS DRAFT RECAP
By Percy Sutherland Chicago Herald-Examiner
We spent some time with the Chiefs talking about the draft. GM Ed Peluso: "For a while it looked like the shortstop--Homer Mills--might drop to the Chiefs pick at 8. And then there were some discussions about trading out of that spot, but in the end we went with the player we had targeted all along in 18-year-old first baseman Joe Davis. Davis understands the strike zone very well and is difficult to strike out. He showed the ability to hit doubles in high school, and as he is a big kid at 6'1", 200 lbs, we feel the potential is there to develop some home run power as he grows. The scouts who watched him said he reminded them of Ron Rattigan, which would be a tremendous outcome for Davis."
Scouting Director Hoyt Schmidt had this to say: "We ranked 32 players for the first two rounds. and 7 of those were pitchers. When our spot came up in the 2nd round, 17-year-old Paul Byler was the last pitcher remaining on that list, and so we decided to take him. He has good command and features a cut fastball that limits hard contact. He is obviously young and has plenty of room to grow, but we are excited to have him."
IS LONG ANSWER TO DETROIT PITCHING WOES?
The Detroit Dynamos pitching staff imploded last season but there might be hope this year in the form of a 24 year old former 12th round draft pick. Jimmy Long has risen from the sandlots of Boise, Idaho to being on the cusp of perhaps becoming the ace of the Dynamos staff. An after-thought as a 12th round pick out of Lane State in 1939, where he was overshadowed by 1940 second overall pick Bill Sohl, Long has thrived at each level of the minors the past four seasons and is expected to be in the Detroit rotation when the season begins in mid-April. Certainly there are openings in the Dynamos rotation, just as there are with nearly every team in both Associations, but even if this was a normal year Detroit would have had a tough time keeping Long in Newark.
Players selected after the 10th round rarely appear in the top 25 prospect list but there is Long right now, sitting between Billy Bryant and Bert Cupid -both former first round selections - as the 22nd ranked prospect according to OSA despite the fact FABL clubs liked 190 players better than him when they gathered to call out the 1939 draft class.
The draft has been around since 1911 but in all that time only 6 pitchers selected after the 10th round have gone on to win 50 career games. Milt Fritz is clearly the poster-child for late round mound success but the 50 win club may one day soon have a new member if Long can continue his pattern of success.
PRO FOOTBALL OF SOME KIND SEEN BY KRISTICH
AFA officials were all smiles after Jack Kristich, President of the American Football Association, emerged from a meeting with War Manpower boss Paul McNutt and Transportation Tycoon Joe Eastman this week. The news seemed to be taken as very positive and the expectation is there will be professional football next fall.
While he said little about the meeting specifics, Kristich emerged from his conference with the two Government officials looking happier than a guy who has just inherited a new rubber tire. Yes, the pros might have to curtail travel further, dig deeper for talent to replace drafted men and practice at night with players working in war industry jobs during the day, but thus far Kristich has found nothing to prevent the game from continuing. Neither McNutt nor Eastman met with reporters citing the need to move on to other important business.
While Kristich said little about the outcome of talks, Washington Wasps owner Homer Bentley, who also participated in the meeting, was much more talkative and appeared certain the AFA would be active in 1943.
"The Wasps definitely will have a football team unless there is some specific law against it," said Bentley, who quickly added "Football is no business for a coward. Anybody who would quit now would quit anytime. We can't let the people of Washington down, nor can our league do that to fans in other cities. All industries are having labor problems but I think the fans need football now more than ever and we'll lick our problems to give it to them."
Both Bentley and Detroit Maroons boss Rollie Barrell, who was also present for the meeting, were confident that both the Manpower and Transportation chiefs were in acceptance of the AFA's plan to operate next season.
*** MANY COLLEGES ARE VERY WORRIED ABOUT GRID PROGRAMS****
At the rate college athletes are being summoned to service there won't be enough sturdy specimens around by next fall to stir up a table tennis tiff. Those college authorities who had been waiting to see which way the breeze was going to blow recently have received their answer. Most of the schools are still clinging to their perches on the fence regarding the prospects of football for 1943. They can come down now, for if recent events haven't convinced them they were optimistic they're hard to convince. They haven't tossed in the towel yet, but it would be discrete to be ready for the final fling.
In the past week alone several top football schools have had their rosters raided with North Carolina Tech perhaps being the worst hit with 12 football players, along with 2 basketball players, leaving for the service. Maryland State is another school expecting to have a wholesale turnover on the grid next year. While basketball should survive due to the small roster size, it will not be without pains of it's own. Close to 100 current hardwood participants at various colleges scattered across the country have left school since the New Year to join the war effort. Fortunately, none of the teams with their sights set on a championship run have been seriously affected as of yet, but seems just a matter of time. AIAA baseball is also a worry as teams scramble to ensure they will have enough student-athletes to fill out a lineup card come spring.
Twelve thousand men a day are entering the armed forces. Collegiate sports seems unlikely to be able to stand up against that pace.
TOURNAMENT WATCH
Six Great Lakes Alliance Schools Locks To Make AIAA Tourney
A total of six of the ten schools from the Great Lakes Alliance seem assured to make the AIAA basketball championship tournament, which tips off next month. Those six are Central Ohio (19-5), Minnesota Tech (19-5), St Magnus (19-4), Western Iowa (18-5), Detroit City College (17-6) and Whitney College (16-7). A 7th school, St Ignatius (16-7) also has a strong chance of cracking the 32 team field. If all seven schools make the cut, it would be a new record for a single conference.
Others all but assured berths are top ranked Coast California (22-2), Rainer College (19-5) and CC Los Angeles (19-6) from the West Coast Athletic Association; defending National Champion Liberty College (21-3) and St Patrick's (18-6) from the Northeast Conference; South Atlantic Conference powers North Carolina Tech (20-3), Carolina Poly (20-3) and Chesapeake State (22-2); Alabama Baptist (22-2) from the Deep South and independent Great Plains State (26-3).
15 of the 32 berths in the event go to the champions of each conference with the remainder of the field filled out by at-large invitations. Among the schools that look to have a strong case for inclusion are St Ignatius (16-7), Annapolis Maritime (24-6), St Andrew's College (18-5), Lane State (17-7), Brooklyn State (17-6) and Elyria (22-5).
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AIAA TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL RANKINGS
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
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1. Coastal California (72) 22-2 1800 1 West Coast Athletic Association
2. Liberty College 21-3 1725 2 Northeast Conference
3. North Carolina Tech 20-3 1644 8 South Atlantic Conference
4. Great Plains State 26-3 1583 7 Independent
5. Chesapeake State 22-2 1498 4 South Atlantic Conference
6. Detroit City College 17-6 1425 5 Great Lakes Alliance
7. CC Los Angeles 19-6 1332 3 West Coast Athletic Association
8. Carolina Poly 20-3 1267 12 South Atlantic Conference
9. Alabama Baptist 22-2 1133 13 Deep South Conference
10. Central Ohio 19-5 1130 9 Great Lakes Alliance
11. Rainier College 19-5 1125 10 West Coast Athletic Association
12. St. Ignatius 16-7 947 6 Great Lakes Alliance
13. Western Iowa 18-5 942 11 Great Lakes Alliance
14. Brooklyn State 17-6 927 15 Northeast Conference
15. St. Magnus 19-4 844 16 Great Lakes Alliance
16. Minnesota Tech 19-5 821 17 Great Lakes Alliance
17. St. Patrick's 18-6 655 14 Northeast Conference
18. Annapolis Maritime 24-6 497 18 Independent
19. Whitney College 16-7 466 22 Great Lakes Alliance
20. Garden State 17-7 439 19 Northeast Conference
21. Chicago Poly 23-6 372 21 Independent
22. Lane State 17-7 327 20 West Coast Athletic Association
23. Elyria 22-5 284 23 Independent
24. St Andrews College 18-5 124 NR Deep South Conference
25. St. Blane 20-8 63 25 Independent
Others Receiving Votes:
Darnell State 17-6 14 Southwestern Alliance
Brooklyn Catholic 21-8 10 Independent
Rome State 21-8 4 Independent
Mobile Maritime 16-8 1 South Atlantic Conference
Gates University 17-6 1 California League
LAST WEEK'S RESULTS INVOLVING RANKED TEAMS AND OTHER MAJOR SCHOOLS
MONDAY FEBRUARY 15
#14 Brooklyn State 39 Commonwealth Catholic 48
#18 Annapolis Maritime 41 Kansas Agricultural 39
#23 Elyria 55 Strub College 39
West Corners (NY) 38 #25 St Blane 29
TUESDAY FEBRUARY 16
#4 Great Plains State 56 North Central(NE) 41
#21 Chicago Poly 45 Springfield State 32
WEDNESDAY FEBRUARY 17
#2 Liberty College 50 Frankford State 44
#9 Alabama Baptist 40 Northern Mississippi 18
#20 Garden State 50 St Martin's College 43
#24 St Andrew's College 41 Baton Rogue State 40
Georgia Baptist 58 Bluegrass State 54
THURSDAY FEBRUARY 18
#3 North Carolina Tech 50 Columbia Military Academy 48
#5 Chesapeake State 41 Coastal State 28
#8 Carolina Poly 53 Richmond State 44
#16 Minnesota Tech 59 #6 Detroit City College 52
#19 Whitney College 52 #12 St Ignatius 41
#13 St Magnus 49 #10 Central Ohio 47
#14 Brooklyn State 44 Huntington State 36
#23 Elyria 37 Bardney 24
#25 St Blane 39 Harper College 31
FRIDAY FEBRUARY 19
#1 Coastal California 59 #7 CC Los Angeles 53
#11 Rainier College 48 Portland Tech 33
#22 Lane State 46 Spokane State 38
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 20
#2 Liberty College 55 #17 St Patrick's 48
#3 North Carolina Tech 53 Richmond State 30
#6 Detroit City College 44 #12 St Ignatius 34
#8 Carolina Poly 51 Charleston Tech 28
Lincoln College 43 #10 Central Ohio 28
#9 Alabama Baptist 54 Mississippi A&M 29
#15 St Magnus 70 Wisconsin State 64
#16 Minnesota Tech 38 #13 Western Iowa 37
#19 Whitney College 62 Indiana A&M 45
#20 Garden State 52 Frankford State 41
#24 St Andrew's College 53 Opelika State 52
#25 St Blane 54 Huntington State 37
Georgia Baptist 47 Western Florida 53
Noble Jones College 39 Northern Mississippi 33
SUNDAY FEBRUARY 21
#1 Coastal California 50 #22 Lane State 31
Redwood 45 #7 CC Los Angeles 37
Spokane State 47 #11 Rainier College 44
#25 Elyria 57 Needham 43
Another 1-1 week for Detroit City College as the Knights were beaten 59-52 at home by Minnesota Tech before rebounding with a 44-34 win over St Ignatius at Lansing. Roman Sollars had an 18 point game against the Lakers and then added 11 in the win over the Lancers. The senior guard sits third in the nation in scoring with 15.2 ppg, trailing only Western Florida's Kevin Davis (15.7) and Joseph Kellerman (15.2) of Charleston Tech.
THE WEEK AHEAD
Next up for the Knights is a game they should win easily against 11-12 Indiana A&M before the visiting St Magnus on Saturday. The Vikings are 19-4 on the season and lead the GLA with an 8-2 conference record. The Knights are a very disappointing 5-5 and tied for 6th in the ten team loop.
The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 2/21/1943
- In a last ditched stand in North Africa, Rommel's tank forces have pushed US troops back 35 miles in Tunisia.
- The Nazi Kharkov Army is fleeing in disorder as the Soviets continue their advance and are close to cutting off all of Hitler's armies remaining east of the Dnieper River.
- Pope Pius XII is being urged to leave the Vatican as quickly as possible and establish temporary headquarters in Latin America.