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Jiggs McGee · 07-27-2022, 12:29 PM

APRIL 19, 1943

INTEREST KEEN AS FANS AWAIT THE BELL

MINERS, EAGLES LIFTING LID TOMORROW, ALL TO PLAY WEDNESDAY

Baseball opens another war-shrouded season this week with the Federal and Continental Associations both confident that fans are as interested as ever in the national pastime, that the pennant races will be as entertaining as ever, and that the schedules will be carried through to their normal conclusion.

No one is overlooking the difficulties ahead including the fact that star performers constantly are being called to military service. But the reception the FABL clubs have received this spring during their transplanted training programs has convinced all observers that interest has not been eclipsed by sterner issues. The curtain will be raised tomorrow in Washington with the Eagles playing the Pittsburgh Miners at Columbia Stadium a day ahead of the getaway for other clubs. That follows the custom of having a ceremonial opener in the Nation's Capitals. President Roosevelt has been invited to throw out the first ball, but there has been no indication whether he would be available for such duties. Last year he turned the pitching over to Vice President Wallace.
*** ALL DUE TO PLAY WEDNESDAY ***

On Wednesday all 16 clubs are carded for action with this schedule:
FEDERAL ASSOCIATION - New York at Detroit, Washington at Philadelphia, Boston at Pittsburgh and Chicago at St Louis.
CONTINENTAL ASSOCIATION - New York at Brooklyn, Toronto at Cleveland, Philadelphia at Cincinnati and Montreal at Chicago.

The pair of New York nines in the Gothams and Stars are the defending champs, but with numerous contributions to the war effort by each the race for the '43 flag is wide-open in both associations. All teams have seen many of their important players enter the armed forces, but none have been tapped more heavily that the defending CA champion New York Stars. The Stars will be without Bill Barrett, Lew Seals, Joe Angevine, Chuck Cole and Lou Robertson and will clearly have their work cut out for them if they wish to a third pennant in the past five seasons. TWIFB will publish it's annual prediction issue tomorrow.

Doubleheader season starts early this year. The regular Federal and Continental Association campaigns don't open for a couple of days yet but the first twin bills waste no time appearing on the schedule as 6 Fed sides will play doubleheaders next Sunday. Get used to it as there will be a lot of them as just about every Sunday this year will see 16 games FABL games played, barring weather issues.
There may be a few waiver-wire related deals and quite likely several waiver claims tomorrow as teams finalize their 24-man rosters. The first trade has occurred with the Cincinnati Cannons sending a 10th round pick to the Chicago Chiefs in exchange for veteran outfielder Alf Pestilli. Pestilli began his career with the current Cannons GM when both were in Brooklyn and had some solid seasons early in his career but has struggled the past few years. The Cannons needed a lefthanded bat and some power in the outfield so they felt he was worth taking a chance on.
Gothams fans can rest a little easier after their club won it's final 5 spring games to escape the cellar and finish with an 11-13 mark.
Another player lost to the war effort as Montreal farmhand Zachary Clark was drafted into the army. The 23 year old third baseman was an 18th round pick in 1938 and hit .265 at Class A Evansville last season.
It was touch and go for a while but both the Lone Star Association and the Western Baseball League will proceed with their seasons. There had been some great concern neither loop would have enough players to field teams but in the end all 16 clubs in the two independent leagues say they are going to be able to compete. Play gets underway in each of those leagues a week and a half from now.

BERJARANO NAMED PLAYER OF THE YEAR

Jimmy Berjarano of Great Plains State was named the AIAA college basketball player of the year. The senior from Fort Worth, Tx., averaged 15.0 points per game in leading the Buffaloes to a 26-4 record. The season ended in disappointment for the Wichita, Ks., school as they fell to Lane State in the opening round of the year end tournament.

Berjarano and his Great Plains State teammate Regis Lamoureux were both named to first team All-Americans and were joined by a pair of Detroit City College teammates in Roman Sollars and Andrew Bennett on that squad. Rounding out the first team All-Americans was Alabama Baptist forward Lon Porter. Sollars led the nation in scoring average with 15.3 ppg but left his team before the season was completed to enlist in the Navy.

Code:

		ALL-AMERICAN SELECTIONS
FIRST TEAM	   CL	SCHOOL		  HOMETOWN
C Lon Porter	   SR  Alabama Baptist      Ringgold, Ga.
F Jimmy Bejarano   SR  Great Plains State   Fort Worth, Tx.
F Andrew Bennett   SR  Detroit City Coll.   Delta, Oh.
G Roman Sollars    SR  Detroit City Coll.   Denver, Co.
G Regis Lamoureaux SR  Great Plains State   Hope, Ar.

SECOND TEAM	   CL	SCHOOL		  HOMETOWN
C Charles Hooper   SR  St Ignatius	    Dwight, Il.
F Tommy Patton     SR  Rome State 	    Lafayette, Tn.
F Joe Kellerman    SR  Charleston Tech      Jacksonville, Fl.
G Izzy Slusher     SR  Brooklyn State	    New York, NY
G Darrell Powers   SR  Opelika State	    Loganville, Ga.

HAMPTON NAMED TO FROSH ALL-AMERICAN SQUAD

It certainly appears Joe Hampton made the right decision to give up a minor league baseball career in order to go to school and play college basketball. The 19 year old former St Louis Pioneers farmhand, and son of ex-big league ball player Jim Hampton, capped a terrific freshman season at Western Iowa by being named the top freshman in the Great Lakes Alliance and selected as one of the five members of the Freshman All-American team. Hampton, a 6'2" guard, started all 31 games for the Canaries and helped them reach the semi-finals of the year end tournament while averaging 5.1 ppg and 3.3 assists.

Code:

	    FRESHMAN ALL-AMERICAN SELECTIONS
POS NAME	   SCHOOL		  HOMETOWN
C  Al Todd	   Pueblo State		Littletown, Co.
F  Tony Gallup	   Hamman		Sevierville, Tn.
F  David Bobo	   Garden State		Kettle Falls, Wa.
G  Marion Lally    Dickson College      Holmdel, NJ
G  Joe Hampton     Western Iowa	 	Chicago, Il.

The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 4/18/1943

War Manpower Chief Paul McNutt said today that every able-bodied man between 18-38 will be in the armed forces by Dec. 31 except for the 3.2 million in agriculture, the ministry and vital industries. The announcement comes as Selective Service has announced the virtual elimination of dependency as a reason for deferment.
Allied forces bombed Naples while the Pacific there are reports the US destroyed 52 Japanese planes in a single day as they work to 'check' the ememy's air offensive. There are concerns the Japanese fleet is massing for a new offensive.
France tops the list as the site for the expected invasion of Europe because it is the enemy territory closest to a major allied base but the perimeter is heavily fortified.
The Allies continue pressure to drive Rommel into the sea.

07-27-2022, 12:29 PM	#481
Jiggs McGee All Star Reserve Join Date: Dec 2019 Posts: 677	April 19, 1943 Spring Training ends APRIL 19, 1943 INTEREST KEEN AS FANS AWAIT THE BELL MINERS, EAGLES LIFTING LID TOMORROW, ALL TO PLAY WEDNESDAY Baseball opens another war-shrouded season this week with the Federal and Continental Associations both confident that fans are as interested as ever in the national pastime, that the pennant races will be as entertaining as ever, and that the schedules will be carried through to their normal conclusion. No one is overlooking the difficulties ahead including the fact that star performers constantly are being called to military service. But the reception the FABL clubs have received this spring during their transplanted training programs has convinced all observers that interest has not been eclipsed by sterner issues. The curtain will be raised tomorrow in Washington with the Eagles playing the Pittsburgh Miners at Columbia Stadium a day ahead of the getaway for other clubs. That follows the custom of having a ceremonial opener in the Nation's Capitals. President Roosevelt has been invited to throw out the first ball, but there has been no indication whether he would be available for such duties. Last year he turned the pitching over to Vice President Wallace. * ALL DUE TO PLAY WEDNESDAY * On Wednesday all 16 clubs are carded for action with this schedule: FEDERAL ASSOCIATION - New York at Detroit, Washington at Philadelphia, Boston at Pittsburgh and Chicago at St Louis. CONTINENTAL ASSOCIATION - New York at Brooklyn, Toronto at Cleveland, Philadelphia at Cincinnati and Montreal at Chicago. The pair of New York nines in the Gothams and Stars are the defending champs, but with numerous contributions to the war effort by each the race for the '43 flag is wide-open in both associations. All teams have seen many of their important players enter the armed forces, but none have been tapped more heavily that the defending CA champion New York Stars. The Stars will be without Bill Barrett, Lew Seals, Joe Angevine, Chuck Cole and Lou Robertson and will clearly have their work cut out for them if they wish to a third pennant in the past five seasons. TWIFB will publish it's annual prediction issue tomorrow. Doubleheader season starts early this year. The regular Federal and Continental Association campaigns don't open for a couple of days yet but the first twin bills waste no time appearing on the schedule as 6 Fed sides will play doubleheaders next Sunday. Get used to it as there will be a lot of them as just about every Sunday this year will see 16 games FABL games played, barring weather issues. There may be a few waiver-wire related deals and quite likely several waiver claims tomorrow as teams finalize their 24-man rosters. The first trade has occurred with the Cincinnati Cannons sending a 10th round pick to the Chicago Chiefs in exchange for veteran outfielder Alf Pestilli. Pestilli began his career with the current Cannons GM when both were in Brooklyn and had some solid seasons early in his career but has struggled the past few years. The Cannons needed a lefthanded bat and some power in the outfield so they felt he was worth taking a chance on. Gothams fans can rest a little easier after their club won it's final 5 spring games to escape the cellar and finish with an 11-13 mark. Another player lost to the war effort as Montreal farmhand Zachary Clark was drafted into the army. The 23 year old third baseman was an 18th round pick in 1938 and hit .265 at Class A Evansville last season. It was touch and go for a while but both the Lone Star Association and the Western Baseball League will proceed with their seasons. There had been some great concern neither loop would have enough players to field teams but in the end all 16 clubs in the two independent leagues say they are going to be able to compete. Play gets underway in each of those leagues a week and a half from now. BERJARANO NAMED PLAYER OF THE YEAR Jimmy Berjarano of Great Plains State was named the AIAA college basketball player of the year. The senior from Fort Worth, Tx., averaged 15.0 points per game in leading the Buffaloes to a 26-4 record. The season ended in disappointment for the Wichita, Ks., school as they fell to Lane State in the opening round of the year end tournament. Berjarano and his Great Plains State teammate Regis Lamoureux were both named to first team All-Americans and were joined by a pair of Detroit City College teammates in Roman Sollars and Andrew Bennett on that squad. Rounding out the first team All-Americans was Alabama Baptist forward Lon Porter. Sollars led the nation in scoring average with 15.3 ppg but left his team before the season was completed to enlist in the Navy. Code: ALL-AMERICAN SELECTIONS FIRST TEAM CL SCHOOL HOMETOWN C Lon Porter SR Alabama Baptist Ringgold, Ga. F Jimmy Bejarano SR Great Plains State Fort Worth, Tx. F Andrew Bennett SR Detroit City Coll. Delta, Oh. G Roman Sollars SR Detroit City Coll. Denver, Co. G Regis Lamoureaux SR Great Plains State Hope, Ar. SECOND TEAM CL SCHOOL HOMETOWN C Charles Hooper SR St Ignatius Dwight, Il. F Tommy Patton SR Rome State Lafayette, Tn. F Joe Kellerman SR Charleston Tech Jacksonville, Fl. G Izzy Slusher SR Brooklyn State New York, NY G Darrell Powers SR Opelika State Loganville, Ga. HAMPTON NAMED TO FROSH ALL-AMERICAN SQUAD It certainly appears Joe Hampton made the right decision to give up a minor league baseball career in order to go to school and play college basketball. The 19 year old former St Louis Pioneers farmhand, and son of ex-big league ball player Jim Hampton, capped a terrific freshman season at Western Iowa by being named the top freshman in the Great Lakes Alliance and selected as one of the five members of the Freshman All-American team. Hampton, a 6'2" guard, started all 31 games for the Canaries and helped them reach the semi-finals of the year end tournament while averaging 5.1 ppg and 3.3 assists. Code: FRESHMAN ALL-AMERICAN SELECTIONS POS NAME SCHOOL HOMETOWN C Al Todd Pueblo State Littletown, Co. F Tony Gallup Hamman Sevierville, Tn. F David Bobo Garden State Kettle Falls, Wa. G Marion Lally Dickson College Holmdel, NJ G Joe Hampton Western Iowa Chicago, Il. The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 4/18/1943 War Manpower Chief Paul McNutt said today that every able-bodied man between 18-38 will be in the armed forces by Dec. 31 except for the 3.2 million in agriculture, the ministry and vital industries. The announcement comes as Selective Service has announced the virtual elimination of dependency as a reason for deferment. Allied forces bombed Naples while the Pacific there are reports the US destroyed 52 Japanese planes in a single day as they work to 'check' the ememy's air offensive. There are concerns the Japanese fleet is massing for a new offensive. France tops the list as the site for the expected invasion of Europe because it is the enemy territory closest to a major allied base but the perimeter is heavily fortified. The Allies continue pressure to drive Rommel into the sea. __________________ Lead Columnist of The Figment Sporting Journal The Scripture of Sports