The New York Gothams announced a pair of trades as the World Championship Series came to an end with the big news being Jim Lonardo was returning to the club he spent the first decade of his 16 year big league career. The 39 year old righthander, who has a lifetime record of 261-189 and won 4 Allan Awards, moves from the Chicago Cougars back to New York in a package for the Gothams talented but inconsistent 27 year old righthander Rusty Petrick.
Joining Lonardo in the move east will be outfielder Bunny Hufford along with minor leaguers Cy Howard and Jimmy Maness. Chicago also receives the Gothams 4th round draft -which will be the first selection in the June portion- next year.
The deal, from the Cougars point of view, hinges on Petrick (70-102, 4.22 for his career) regaining the form he showed in 1942 when we won 20 games -his only winning season in 7 big league seasons. Lonardo went 12-12 with a 3.61 era for the Cougars last season but he will turn 40 next June. Hufford is a soon to be 26 year old centerfielder who split each of the past two seasons between the Cougars and their AAA affiliate in Milwaukee, batting just .198 in 49 career big league games. Howard is 25 year old second baseman selected in the 6th round of the 1940, who spent last season in AA while Maness, a 19 year old 11th round pick from 1942, went 10-4, 2.84 in 27 starts split between Class A & B this past summer.
New York also announced a deal with the St Louis Pioneers to acquire 24 year old minor league pitcher Joe Standish Jr. in exchange for minor league catcher Ben Hand. A former High School All-American Standish, who's father spent 6 big league seasons with Cleveland and Montreal, was a 4th round selection of the Pioneers in the 1937 draft. He spent last season at AAA Oakland, posting a 12-16 record with a 4.26 era. Hand, a 21 year old out of Oklahoma City State, was the Gothams 3rd round selection last January. After signing in July he split the second half of the season between Class C and B.
JIGGS McGEE'S TAKE I do have to admit it is great to see Jim Lonardo return to the Gothams, righting a wrong when New York moved him to the Chicago Chiefs in the fall of 1937. Lonardo would win a WCS and an Allan Award with the Chiefs before being sent across town to the Cougars in the middle of the 1939 season.
The issue is Lonardo will turn 40 next year and is showing signs of age. His ERA+ last season was the lowest he has posted since his rookie season of 1928 and there is no guarantee he will have much left next season. The other pieces coming to the Gothams are not overly impressive: Hufford is likely not a strong enough defender to stay in centerfield and, at least so far, has not proven he can hit at the big league level. Maness is a late round selection out of high school who is young and might have a shot at being a back of the rotation arm according to OSA. Howard can play multiple positions and is decent with the glove but he is 25 and has not yet sniffed the AAA level. I actually thought for a moment it was catcher Eddie Howard and not INF-OF Cy Howard going in the deal and had that been the case I would have felt much better about this trade from a Gothams standpoint.
It is a gamble for the Cougars in they are banking on Petrick finally figuring things out. Yes, he walks a lot of guys, but when he is on he fans a lot and if he gets untracked it would be quite a rotation in Chicago once the war is over with Petrick joining Peter the Heater, Art White, Joe Brown and the Jones brothers. Even if Petrick doesn't pan out the first pick in the June portion of the draft is a very nice asset to have, and perhaps worth the three extra pieces Chicago added in the deal - none of whom they will likely miss. So that leaves sending a 39 year old Jim Lonardo (12-12, 3.61) to get a 27 year old Rusty Petrick (8-15, 4.41). If I am the Cougars I have to feel very happy about that transaction.
Just for comparison let's look at the last 4 players to be drafted with the first selection in the June portion of the draft : Round 4, Pick 1.
1943- Cleveland P Davey Chamberlain: Currently ranked 111th by OSA on their prospect list, Chamberlain - a 21 year old out of Warrensburg State- breezed through three levels of the minors including going 6-1, 3.29 in 7 starts at Class A. He needs to cut down on his walks and maybe gain a little more velocity, but he just had a bump in May and again in September, so he looks like he has the potential to be a solid back of the rotation arm.
1942- Boston OF Jim Pauly: Pauly was a college pick out of Bay State and has struggled in a season and a half at the AA level. Probably a longshot to make it to the majors now, he is looking like a good example of a rare case in which the opening pick in the June portion that failed to pan out.
1941- Cleveland SS Verlin Alexander: Maybe Alexander won't amount to much but look at the 4 players that Cleveland could have had as each was selected in order right after the Foresters tabbed Alexander as the top pick of round 4. How about pitchers Lazaro DeLeon, Wally Reif or 1B-OF Maurice Carter, who went 2-3-4, or Joe Beckstrom as the 5th pick. DeLeon is a top 40 prospect, Reif is a now a decent young arm in Montreal, Carter is just outside the top 100 in Washington's system while Beckstrom is a top 100 arm now in the Miners system.
1940- Cougars P Duke Bybee: And here is why this deal makes me think the Cougars won it handily even if Petrick never pans out. Chicago took Duke Bybee with the first pick of round 4 in 1940 and now, despite being in the marines the past two years, the 21 year old is considered to be one of the best pitching prospects in the game.
The Cougars as an organization draft very well, so one has to think they will land a solid prospect with that 4th rounder from New York. The odds are long of it being another Duke Bybee, but you can see from above that spot more than likely will yield a very good player, perhaps one good enough to one day make the deal seem lobsided in the Cougars favour even if you left Petrick completely out of the equation.
*** GOTHAMS-ST LOUIS DEAL ***
As for the trade with St Louis, it seems like a good move for both clubs. The Gothams already have Pete Casstevens behind the plate in New York -although they certainly will be wanting more out of him than he showed this season- plus a 19 year old catcher in Ray Miller I suspect they like better than Hand so moving Hand makes sense for another arm that perhaps can crack their Opening Day lineup next season.
Hand is just outside the top ten catching prospects according to OSA and with highly touted Tucker Ness likely in St Louis all of next season, Hand gives them a young minor league catcher to continue to groom. The Pioneers have a plethora of young arms so moving Standish was something they could easily accept. He is New York born and the son of a former big leaguer but has yet to really impress the scouts. OSA does not consider him one of the top 400 prospects in the game but perhaps he figures things out in the Big Apple.
WOLVES, MINERS MANAGERS RETIRE
Toronto Wolves fans were shocked to learn that manager Charlie Reed has decided to step down from his role with the club. He is not the only big league manager to decide he has had enough as Dan Andrew made a similar decision in Pittsburgh.
Reed, 63, had spent 3 seasons at the helm in Toronto and led the club to a second place finish in the Continental Association this past season. He was 237-225 for his big league managerial career which began in 1941 after 8 seasons as the Bench Coach of the Cleveland Foresters including 1934 when they won the World Championship Series.
The 65 year old Andrews has spent 16 seasons as a major league manager, first with the Chicago Chiefs and for the last 9 years in Pittsburgh. He guided the Miners to 3 Federal Association pennants and won another one with the Chiefs in 1928 but came out on the losing side in each of his 4 WCS appearances. Andrew posted a career record of 1374-1182 as a FABL skipper -a mark which places him 10th all-time in victories and games managed. Andrew's retirement leaves the Gothams long-time skipper Ed Ziehl as the winningest active manager.
MANAGER'S WITH MOST CAREER WINS
Season End Wolves Report Cards: With the season over here are this writer's full-term grades for the Wolves, 90-64, surprise second place finish for the 1943 season.
CATCHER
Clarence Howerton- A :Howerton continued his fine season with the bat .283/.349/.374 with 55 RBI. His above average handling of the pitching staff and clubhouse presence made Clarence a key cog in the Wolves pennant run.
Homer Betts- B :Although his bat fell off a little in the second half, .268/.347/.342 Betts remained a key ingredient with the number of double headers faced by all teams during the heat of the summer. Having a contributing backup catcher is necessity with the schedule.
INFIELDERS
1B- Walter Pack- A :Leading the CA in both HR, RBI Pack fully rebounded from a sub-par 1942 season, .282/.360/.461 shows there might be more offensive output in his bat. Can Pack lead the wolf pack again in 1944?
1B- Al Jensen- B :Like Betts, Jensen is providing more than adequate statistics in a back-up role. Jensen was another veteran presence in the clubhouse that kept the team steered in the right direction.
2B- Mike Rollinson- B :There was never been a question about ability to put the bat on the ball as evidenced by .296/.355/.385. The first half knock on Rollinson about his play in the field improved in the second half with only 9 errors brought his play to almost FABL level for an important piece of the DP combination. Manager Reed continued to remove him for late inning defense. Rollinson also played some CF in the second half to give him more options.
2B/SS Hal Wood- B+ :Wood continued to force manager Charlie Reed to find a way to put him into the lineup as often as possible, his versatility, 2B, 3B, SS has made it a little easier for Reed. Wood's .288/.343/.340 line was in the lineup on almost a daily basis. He defense at the second sack has made him a late inning replacement for Rollinson.
3B- Ockie Holliday- B :The other player who rebounded this season after a lack luster 1942, .277/.300/.352 is not the level of offensive production expected from Holliday. Holliday had only 24 XBH during the season from a hoped for run producer.
3B- Joe Bell- D :Helping neither with the bat nor the glove. Bell was an insurance policy for Holliday that thankfully was not needed this season. He is one player that could be replaced in 1944.
SS- Charlie Artuso- C+ :His batting woes began in ST and he did not fully recover during the regular season. At .235/.289/.317 left him in the 7 spot in the lineup. His glove was outstanding, as usual, Wolves fans have already began to hope for a bounce back season in '44.
OUTFIELDERS
Juan Pomales- B+ :Pomales provided a slightly above average bat, .285/.352/.382, while patrolling LF with above average defense. Word got around the league not run on him as he only had 1 assist in LF. Pomales will remain as a pitching stats option as sixth starter to ease the load if the 1944 schedule contains the same number of twin bills.
[b}Larry Vestal- C[/b] :Vestal's never had enough bat, .230/.326/.340 to remain a regular in Toronto. He will continue his career as a 4th or 5th outfielder. Vestal can get on base, his glove provides value but not enough to be a regular starter.
Chink Stickels- B :Stickels provided Toronto a boost for the Wolves with a slash line of .261/.341/.333 with 6 OF assists. During 1944 the Wolves hope for more than 50% stolen base success rate.
[b]Reginald Westfall- C[/b} :Had a much better second half after an injury plagued early season. Finishing at .263/.358/360 although more XBH hits would be expected from Westfall at his best.
Gus Hull- B- :Hull finished at .264/.351/.360 which makes him almost a duplicate of Westfall. This would be a perfect platoon for Reed if they both did not bat left-handed.
Frank Huddleston- D :Continued very little playing time along with very little production. Is this another player who may not be with the Toronto squad in '44?
STARTING PITCHERS
Joe Hancock- A- :Hancock continued to lead the staff. 20-9, 2.68. Joe continues to challenge Cincinnati's Barrell II as candidate for the top CA pitcher.
Bernie Johnson- A- :Provided an effective righty/ lefty combination with Hancock. Finished with a 16-10, 3.03 record a slight decline from
Bob Walls- C :An innings eater in the second half 15-12, 3.90 is an option in the rotation if all other options are exhausted, Walls will be under scrutiny in ST.
Chick Wirtz- D : Disappointing season for projected to be the #2 man, 3-16, 4.87 with opponents hitting .302 will mean Wirtz will need to prove himself in 1994 if he wants to remain in any discussions for a rotation spot.
Jimmy Gibbs- A :A very successful start to his FABL career, 14-8, 2.36 in 26 starts. Gibbs must be in the discussion for CA ROY honours. Unless there is a dramatic sophomore jinx Gibbs will provide the Wolves with a fine top 3 spots in the rotation next season.
RELIEVERS
Lou Jayson- A :Lou won 10 games for the team in relief along with 17 saves. He gave Reed an effective option late in the game. He bounced back well from shoulder woes in June.
Bob McRae- B An effective 2 to Jayson's top role in relief, 9 saves, performance suffered somewhat after the ASG.
Bill Crosby- B- :Had a little stronger second half to give Reed other options in the 'pen.
Phil English- A- :Stepped up in the second half finishing with 73.0 IP but effective 0.94 ERA, this wily veteran gave Reed a good matchup against lefty hitting.
All these grades show the Wolves in a position to compete again in 1944 for the CA title but the question in Toronto is the same as in 15 other FABL cities, who and how many will we lose this off-season to the war effort? With the war about to enter its fifth year with no end in sight losses to this noble effort will be the biggest influence on the 1944 FABL season.
- Quite a run in Beantown. Before you go and feel bad for Boston sports fans after their heroes fell just short in the WCS just remember the city has celebrated two AFA championships, two Federal Association pennants and a WCS win since 1939. Not to mention a Classic game appearance for Commonwealth Catholic a year ago.
- It comes as no surprise that the New York Stars have decided to honour Dave Trowbridge by retiring his #25 jersey. Trowbridge, who announced in August that this would be his final season, becomes the third New York Star to have his number retired, joining Hall of Famer John Waggoner and turn of the century pitcher Alvin Hensley.
- The other famous New York first baseman -the Gothams Bud Jameson- has said he plans on retiring as well, calling it quits after 18 seasons with the Gothams.
- Others of note who plan on retiring include the Lightbody brothers, Doug and Frank, as well as catcher Tom Aiello and former Allan Award winner Tommy Wilcox.
AMERICANS GET BACK ON TRACK WITH WIN OVER BROOKLYN
The defending champion Boston Americans blanked the Brooklyn Football Kings 19-0 in American Football Association action this weekend. The win makes up for a surprising loss in Philadelphia to the combined Friglers club a week ago and improves the Boston gridders mark to 3-1 on the season. Running back Brian Clark, who was the third option to carry the ball last season behind Leon Fitzgerald and Steve Kelly, led the way with 91 rushing yards on 14 carries while veteran quarterback Del Thomas threw for 215 yards and two scores.
Clark has been with the Americans since 1940 but always has taken a back seat to the other two in the running game. Kelly has joined the war effort but Fitzgerald remains, and leads the team in carries but is averaging just 2.9 yards per attempt while Clark, at 5.8, gains double that.
Elsewhere, Detroit was forced to settle for a 14-14 tie in Cleveland despite a big game from Marc Orlosky. The Maroons back threw for 150 yards and ran for 123 while also adding an interception on the defensive side of the ball. In Chicago, the hometown Wildcats improved to 3-1 on the campaign with a 28-10 win over visiting New York. Gus Brown keyed the Chicago attack by throwing for 177 yards and 2 touchdowns. Finally in Pittsburgh, Dan Powelson scored a pair of first half touchdowns, including one on a blocked punt, to power Pittsburgh past Philadelphia/St Louis 27-7.
Code:
AFA STANDINGS
EASTERN W L T PCT
Boston 3 1 0 .750
Phil-StL 1 1 0 .500
Brooklyn 1 1 0 .500
New York 0 3 0 .000
WESTERN W L T PCT
Detroit 3 1 1 .750
Chicago 3 1 0 .750
Cleveland 1 2 1 .333
Pittsburgh 1 3 0 .250
AFA SCHEDULE AND RESULTS
Sunday October 17
Pittsburgh 27 Phil-StL 7
Boston 19 Brooklyn 0
Chicago 28 New York 10
Detroit 14 Cleveland 14
Sunday October 24
New York at Brooklyn
Boston at Chicago
Cleveland at Phil-StL
Detroit at Pittsburgh
Code:
AFA LEADERS
SCORING PTS
Vaught Det 58
Gilmore Chi 24
Douglas Chi 18
Schepis Cle 18
Powelson Pit 18
PASSING COMP-ATT YDS TD INT
D Thomas, Bost 65-116 666 5 7
G Brown, Chi 41-83 599 12 4
Orlosky, Det 39-83 561 5 8
Sevier, Cle 33-78 460 2 18
Coleman, Det 31-57 422 2 1
RUSHING YDS TD
Orlosky, Det 514 2
B Clark, Bos 210 1
Schroeder, Chi 205 0
Schepis, Cle 203 2
Coleman, Det 194 0
RECEIVING CAT TD
Vaught, Det 30 6
Martins, Bos 22 2
Sutcliffe, Cle 18 0
Jones, Det 12 1
Littlejohn, Bos 12 2
INERCEPTIONS #
Vaught, Det 5
Coleman, Det 5
G. Brown, Chi 4
Scharfenbe'r,Det 4
Schepis, Cle 4
D. Thomas, Bos 4
GRID PROGRAMS DEPLETED AS MANY TRAINEES DEPART
The Navy Department, which fostered most of the early 1943 football action, is in part responsible for next week's depleted gridiron program. The educational speedup program brought on by the war has changed the close of the first semester in many schools to mid-October. The Navy's trainee program coincides with the school's setup, thus many athletes will be saying farewell to a football season hardly has begun.
The results may further cloud what has been an unpredictable college football season to begin with as players leave and newcomers arrive for the new semester at various schools across the nation.
WEEKEND RESULTS
Henry Hudson 44 Rome State 7
Sadler 21 Ellery 6
Minnesota Tech 37 Camp Grant 0
Annapolis Maritime 17 Liberty College 7
St. Magnus 34 Great Lakes Navy 6
Wisconsin State 17 St. Blane 17
Central Ohio 7 Whitney College 3
Northern California 37 CC Los Angeles 0
San Francisco Tech 49 Coastal California 0
Texas Gulf Coast 17 Red River State 7
Travis College 13 Arkansas A&T 3
Georgia Baptist 43 Fort Benning 21
Pittsburgh State 20 Lincoln 7
Western Iowa 62 Indiana A&M 0
Salt Lake Field 22 Boulder State 6
Mountainview State 10 Kirtland Field 6
Brunswick 10 St. Patrick's 7
North Carolina Tech 27 Carolina Poly 17
Fort Riley 24 Mile High State 6
Daniel Boone College 14 Iowa Pre-Flight 10
College of Omaha 16 Iowa A&M 10
Lawrence State 24 Wichita Baptist 6
Louisiana Army STU 28 Bayou State 10
March Field 26 San Diego Navy 17
Provo Tech 17 Kit Carson University 6
Eastern Oklahoma 28 Norman Naval Air Station 7
North Carolina Pre-Flight 18 Camp Davis 0
Del Monte Pre-Flight 48 College of San Diego 7
Pierpont 16 Lakehurst NAS 10
Alexandria 34 Petersburg 16
Empire State 28 Irondequoit 3
Amarillo Methodist 21 Darnell State 12
College of Waco 10 South Plains Field 9
Oklahoma City State 20 Payne State 7
Lupine 33 Conwell College 3
Penn Catholic 30 Frankford State 7
Cowpens State 27 Charleston Tech 0
Maryland State 20 Huntington State 13
Eastern Kansas 9 Chase College 6
Alameda Coast Guard 30 Golden Gate University 3
Georgia Pre-Flight 30 Edgemoor 9
The college basketball season is just around the corner and, unlike college football, all of the major schools have committed to sending teams out on the hardwood this winter. A number of upper-classmen have either graduated early or paused their schooling to join the war effort so there will be a heavier than usual reliance on freshmen and reports are the top freshman class this season belongs to Detroit City College.
The Knights added center Buddy Eugene and forward Murray Cole as the keys to their incoming class. The two Ohio natives are both ranked in the preseason top 25 freshman list. Rounding out the top five recruiting classes we have Miami State, Liberty College, Mobile Maritime and St. Patrick's with defending national champion Lane State listed 6th.
Only two of the top 25 freshman decided to go straight into the service as John McAuley opted to join the Navy and John Marino enlisted in the Marines. Here are the top twenty-five high school seniors from a year ago and where they will be playing their college basketball when the season starts in early November.
The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 10/17/1943
- The entire Japanese southwest Pacific defense perimeter has been laid open to attack after the smashing of 177 Japanese planes and 123 ships at her great air-sea base of Rabaul, New Britain in the heaviest air blow of the war in the Pacific theater.
- 6 more towns are captured by the Allied 5th and 8th Armies as they continue to push the Germans towards Rome.
- General Dwight D. Eisenhower, supreme Allied commander in the Mediterranean, spent his 53rd birthday at a forward base without a special celebration.
- Ireland is set to invite the Pope and his Vatican entourage to set up in Dublin for the duration of fighting in Italy. It is reported that Pope Pius joined the Jewish community of Rome in paying a ransom of 50 kilograms in gold, which the Germans had demanded for the release of 100 Jewish hostages.
- Despite wildcat strikes at shipping yards in New Jersey, work is said to be progressing normally on construction of crafts for the Navy.
- American film star Ginger Rogers topped all actors with an income of $335,000 last year, placing her among the ten highest paid Americans.