MARCH 8, 1943
PESTILLI TAKES PAY CUT - FROM $24,000 TO $50 A MONTH
JOINS AIR CORPS WITHOUT NOTIFYING DYNAMOS OF DECISION
Sal Pestilli's entry into the Air Corps came as no great surprise. He had been talking of enlisting for many months now. That he would not see action for the Detroit Dynamos in 1943 became certain some time ago, when he told a reporter in his hometown of Narragansett, RI, "I am not going to play professional baseball next season." Word quickly spread to Detroit where club owner Powell Thompson wrote to the centerfielder, asking for immediate word as to his plans. But for some reason, Pestilli did not communicate with the front office. The first word that Pestilli had asked for immediate induction came through the newspaper.
It is conceivable that Pestilli did not like the $24,000 salary he was to receive this season in it's last of a 4 year deal. Some say he is upset that teammate Red Johnson was inked to a deal that will pay the young first baseman over $31,000 this season. Others point to the talk that Pestilli has not got along with Powell Thompson ever since he assumed ownership of the club following his brother's death in 1939.
A third possibility is Pestilli was just sick of baseball. He endured an awful season in Detroit last year as the club -considered by many to be a contender once again in the Fed - sank to the depths of the second division and Pestilli himself hit low points for homers, rbi's and slugging percentage as a 26 year old in his 6th big league season.
Regardless of the reason, Pestilli has now left the Dynamos and for the second time in just over a week a Federal Association club is struggling with how to fill a hole in centerfield. The Pittsburgh Miners lost 6-time all-star Pablo Reyes to Selective Service last week and now Pestilli, who is married with a child and had been classified 3-A, is also in the Army.
*** DIDN'T ASK ANY FAVORS ***
But Sal threw aside the opulent contract; another season in baseball. He threw it aside for immediate service, refusing even the customary furlough after induction. Detroit's big chapeau is off to the man, to whom it had already doffed it's hat so often - although not as much in recent years as it did the first three seasons of his big league career - for his powerful swing and smooth stride in the outfield.
Pestilli had been considering enlisting for some time now and two of his three brothers are already in the service. He had talked often about the off-shore duty which his brother Joe had gone into. He talked about air service and ground crews, retelling tales Joe had passed along in letters. Most in Narragansett had known for some time that Sal's heart was guiding towards an air corps uniform instead of Dynamos garb. He will join Joe, a Cincinnati Cannons farmhand, in the air corps. Brother Tony, who had spent some time with the Keystones prior to enlisting, is in the Navy. That leaves just Alf, at 31 the oldest of the quartet of Pestilli's, in baseball. Alf is with the Chicago Chiefs but struggled last season, batting just .220 although he did contribute 13 homers in 364 at bats.
- If you are a FABL club with more than one quality centerfielder on your roster you might get a nice return talking trade with either Pittsburgh or Detroit, as both those clubs are likely in shock after the news of the past couple of weeks. The Miners especially, as any hopes they had of contending once more in the Fed now likely hinge on getting a replacement for Reyes.
- No rationing in Moxie Pidgeon's mind as the veteran outfielder says he is certainly not out of gas. However, the numbers would disagree. Pidgeon will be given a lot of spring reps in a bid to keep his job but the 36 year old hit just .196 with 4 homers last season and while they won't say it publicly, Cannons brass do not expect to see Pidgeon as part of the group that opens the season at home against Philadelphia on April 21.
- It's a pitchers world. The latest OSA prospect rankings drop Cincinnati outfielder Dick Blaszak from 1st to 6th on the scouting service list. Blaszak does remain the top position player according to OSA but the head of the list is dominated by pitchers with St Louis lefthander Tom Buchanan leading the way. followed by Montreal's Pat Weakley, Hiram Steinberg of Cleveland, the Cougars Duke Bybee and Jerry York of Toronto. We won't see many of them soon as all but Weakley are in the service.
- 8 of the top ten OSA prospects are in the military. Here is a top ten list only containing players that are expected to play this season (barring more Selective Service handiwork)
Code:
RK POS NAME ORG AGE
2 RHP Pat Weakley MON 22
9 1B Bill Barnett NYS 20
10 LF Wally Hunter NYS 21
12 RHP Jimmy Long DET 24
13 SS Gordie Perkins MON 20
17 RHP Jackie James MON 20
19 RHP Ben Fiskars STL 21
20 RHP Bert Cupid MON 20
22 RHP Wally Reif MON 23
23 RHP Charlie Gordon PHS 20
- All I can say about the above is you certainly need to be aware of the Montreal Saints going forward.
- While we are at it, here is a list of the top twenty position players and pitchers. 6 of them, as noted below, are presently in the military.
WASPS SUDDENLY OPTIMISTIC ABOUT FUTURE OF AFA
The Washington Wasps are jubilant these days over the prospects of their season ahead. Six weeks ago the club brass wasn't even sure the American Football Association should operate next fall because of the apparent lack of playing talent necessary to hold up the circuit's high standard of play. But the letters are flying in lately. "I have never seen such a response from boys that want to play pro ball," said Wasps owner Homer Bentley.
The story goes like this. About a month ago the AFA turned over the names of 1,000 college seniors to the various league members. Each club was given permission to write to all of them, in order to have as much information as possible when the circuit hosts it's postponed "draft" in April.
"We wrote to every one of them," said Bentley. "Usually the college seniors wait until at least May to get interested, but not this year. We heard from all types - seniors waiting to be called into the service and those who had been deferred. We are getting back 100 letters a day and the vast majority are excited about the opportunity to play."[list][*]AFA President Jack Kristich has set April 6,7 and 8 as the dates of the league's annual business meeting. The three-day session, which will be held in the Palmer House, Chicago, will open with the drafting of players, an item of business postponed from last December.[*]Another big topic at the April meeting will be discussions about lowering of the present 33-player limit to 25. Last season several teams finished with less than 33 and, in the early days of the league, clubs operated with as few as 20 men and played on successive days.[*]They owners will also try to firm up plans to have players work in nearby defense industry jobs, practice at night or whenever the men are not at work, and play on weekends.[*]With football games at military stations open without charge to members of the armed forces, Great Lakes Alliance athletic directors and coaches immediately promised to make as many gridiron trips to these camps as possible next fall. These men, meeting in Chicago last week, also began arrangements for ten-game schedules and less travelling substituting games with Great Lakes, Camp Grant and Iowa Pre-Flight instead.[*]Several representatives from independent schools, including St Blane and Strub College, also attended the GLA pow-wow. St Blane was first to cancel a major intersectional game, that against Redwood set for September while Coastal California officials also expressed doubt that their contest against the Saints at Tyrone in November would be played.[*]Cumberland University is concerned it may not be able to field a grid team next September. This after a 10-1 season that included a win in the Cajun Classic. The Chairman of the University just doesn't see how Cumberland could possibly have a team on the field next fall and says he wouldn't want it continued "if it interfered with the war effort in the slightest degree." The Cumberland coaching staff says they have 45 men undergoing spring training but more than half are Army or Naval Reserves who will be gone by the fall. Despite the Chairman's concern, coaches with the Explorers say they can continue even if they only have 20-25 men left.
COLLEGE CAGERS IN SCRAMBLE FOR TOURNEY INVITES
As we enter the final week of the college basketball season there are still plenty of spots up for grabs in the 32-team field that will compromise the AIAA championship tournament. Most of the battles are at the conference level as the champion from each of the 15 sections will earn a berth but there are also a number of teams in a struggle to claim the last of the remaining 17 at-large bids.
Only one of the conferences - the Academia Alliance - holds a post-season conference tournament, so for the remaining 15 groups the regular season champ will earn the invite. All of those with the exception of the Deep South Conference where 7th ranked Alabama Baptist is a perfect 10-0 in section play (25-2 overall) remain up for grabs heading into the final week.
One of the most anticipated games of the coming week will be held in Washington where Rainier College plays Coastal California. The Majestics are 12-3 in West Coast Athletic Association play, one game better than the Dolphins, who have dropped three of their last 4 games and fallen out of the top spot in the national rankings. Both are a lock to make the National Championship Tournament but for the Majestics they have their sights set on a conference title- which, if successful, would be their first WCAA crown since 1915.
Code:
AIAA TOP-25 COLLEGE BASKETBALL RANKINGS
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. Liberty College (56) 23-5 1778 2 Northeast Conference
2. Chesapeake State (3) 25-3 1678 6 South Atlantic Conference
3. Coastal California (7) 23-5 1665 1 West Coast Athletic Association
4. Carolina Poly (1) 24-3 1589 7 South Atlantic Conference
5. Great Plains State (5) 26-3 1550 4 Independent
6. North Carolina Tech 21-6 1345 5 South Atlantic Conference
7. Alabama Baptist 25-2 1293 8 Deep South Conference
8. Brooklyn State 21-6 1285 14 Northeast Conference
9. St. Ignatius 19-8 1203 10 Great Lakes Alliance
10. Detroit City College 20-7 1200 3 Great Lakes Alliance
11. Rainier College 22-6 1123 11 West Coast Athletic Association
12. Central Ohio 21-7 1040 9 Great Lakes Alliance
13. Western Iowa 20-7 985 15 Great Lakes Alliance
14. Minnesota Tech 21-7 840 13 Great Lakes Alliance
15. CC Los Angeles 20-9 813 16 West Coast Athletic Association
16. St. Magnus 20-7 732 12 Great Lakes Alliance
17. Garden State 19-8 586 17 Northeast Conference
18. Annapolis Maritime 24-6 557 19 Independent
19. St. Patrick's 20-8 540 18 Northeast Conference
20. Elyria 24-5 466 23 Independent
21. Whitney College 17-10 352 22 Great Lakes Alliance
22. Chicago Poly 23-6 336 21 Independent
23. Lane State 18-10 212 20 West Coast Athletic Association
24. St. Blane 21-8 147 24 Independent
25. Rome State 21-8 42 NR Independent
Others Receiving Votes:
Brooklyn Catholic 21-8 17 Independent
Texas Gulf Coast 19-8 15 Southwestern Alliance
Gates University 20-7 6 California League
Mobile Maritime 18-9 5 South Atlantic Conference
LAST WEEK'S RESULTS INVOLVING RANKED TEAMS AND OTHER MAJOR SCHOOLS
MONDAY MARCH 1
Daniel Boone College 52 College of Omaha 43
TUESDAY MARCH 2
Hamman 54 Wisconsin Catholic 53
WEDNESDAY MARCH 3
Commonwealth Catholic 44 #1 Liberty College 43
#7 Alabama Baptist 51 Opelika State 42
#8 Brooklyn State 53 #19 St Patrick's 42
Noble Jones College 50 Bluegrass State 42
Northern Mississippi 47 Georgia Baptist 38
THURSDAY MARCH 4
#2 Chesapeake State 57 Maryland State 30
#4 Carolina Poly 48 Coastal State 47
Charleston Tech 55 #6 North Carolina Tech 48
#9 St Ignatius 54 Indiana A&M 48
#10 Detroit City College 63 #21 Whitney College 46
#13 Western Iowa 67 #12 Central Ohio 58
#14 Minnesota Tech 60 Wisconsin State 35
Lincoln 57 #16 St Magnus 50
#20 Elyria 42 Grant(IN) 37
FRIDAY MARCH 5
Portland Tech 40 #3 Coastal California 47
#11 Rainier College 52 Idaho A&M 42
Custer College 50 #15 CC Los Angeles 38
Redwood 43 #23 Lane State 31
SATURDAY MARCH 6
#1 Liberty College 41 #17 Garden State 39
#2 Chesapeake State 41 #6 North Carolina Tech 39
#4 Carolina Poly 38 Mobile Maritime 37
#8 Brooklyn State 59 Frankford State 37
#9 St Ignatius 56 #13 Western Iowa 52
Wisconsin State 56 #10 Detroit City College 47
#12 Central Ohio 40 Indiana A&M 31
Lincoln 38 #14 Minnesota Tech 37
#21 Whitney College 44 #16 St Magnus 39
#19 St Patrick's 49 St Pancras 42
#20 Elyria 47 North Carolina Atlantic 38
Georgia Baptist 58 Cumberland 49
Western Florida 55 Noble Jones College 46
SUNDAY MARCH 7
Redwood 51 #3 Coastal California 48
#11 Rainier College 51 Custer College 38
#15 CC Los Angeles 37 #23 Lane State 36
The Knights extended their winning streak to 4 games with a 63-46 win over Whitney College despite playing without starters Roman Sollars or Andrew Bennett. Bennett will be out at least two more weeks with an injury while Sollars spent last Thursday getting himself settled in at Great Lakes Naval Academy. The win over the Engineers, keyed by a big 21-point effort from center Jack Krutz, was the third straight defeat for Whitney College and put their tournament hopes in jeopardy. The Engineers did rebound with a win Saturday over St Magnus to improve their post-season chances slightly.
DCC should still be a lock for the tournament even after losing 56-47 to Wisconsin State on Saturday. The Knights have two games remaining, playing at Lincoln on Thursday and at Western Iowa on Saturday. The Knights are 20-7 overall, but just 8-6 in GLA play, so a tournament spot seems assured but their hopes of a number one seed are quite possibly gone. There is great worry without Sollars and likely missing Bennett if DCC can survive it's opening round matchup in the tourney.
THE WEEK AHEAD
A share of the conference title is still potentially within Detroit City College's grasp but that is unlikely. St Ignatius with games at Central Ohio and Wisconsin State is the co-leader along with St Magnus with the Vikings also having a pair of road games left, against Western Iowa and Indiana A&M. Here are the conference standings and schedule for the final week:
Code:
TEAM CW CL
--------------------------------------------
#16 St. Magnus Vikings 9 5
#9 St. Ignatius Lancers 9 5
#12 Central Ohio Aviators 8 6
#10 Detroit City College Knights 8 6
#13 Western Iowa Canaries 8 6
#21 Whitney College Engineers 7 7
#14 Minnesota Tech Lakers 7 7
Wisconsin State Brewers 6 8
Lincoln Presidents 5 9
Indiana A&M Reapers 3 11
THURSDAY'S GAMES
Minnesota Tech at Whitney College
Indiana A&M at Wisconsin State
St Magnus at Western Iowa
Detroit City College at Lincoln
St Ignatius at Central Ohio
SATURDAY'S GAMES
St Ignatius at Wisconsin State
Detroit City College at Western Iowa
Minnesota Tech at Central Ohio
St Magnus at Indiana A&M
Lincoln at Whitney College
The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 3/07/1943
[LIST][*]Hundreds of British bombers blasted the German U-boat base of St. Nazaire, France as speculation grows that the Allies had begun softening Hitler's European fortress for an invasion. A day later Berlin is the target, as bombers wage their heaviest raid of the war on the German capital.[*]The Reich has reportedly sought the Vatican's aid to halt the Allied bombardment of Axis cities.[*]Russian troops continue to retake ground on the Eastern Front but their progress has been slowed this week due to thaw.[*]Fears abound that the Japanese are massing forces in an arc of islands north of Australia in preparation for a major attack on the nation. Allied Flying Fortresses concentrated bombing attacks on Japanese convoys in an effort to disrupt possible invasion preparation.[*]Late in the week the Allies scored a major sea victory, destroying every ship in a 22-vessel Japanese convoy with an estimated 55 Japanese planes and 15,000 troops also destroyed.[*]War Manpower Chief Paul McNutt says that a labor draft bill is not needed at this time and he is determined to solve the manpower problem through voluntary measures. His views are in conflict with those of Secretary of War Stimson, who has endorsed a more robust draft bill.[*]Housewives struggling with the intricacies of the stamp currency which must go with money in purchasing most foods, now face the prospect of the next stage in point rationing as meats (excluding poultry), cheese and butter will be subject to rationing beginning April 1.
