OOTP Developments Forums - View Single Post - All things Figment - from the pages of The Figment Sporting Journal

Jiggs McGee · 10-10-2022, 11:06 AM

APRIL 10, 1944

WAR TAKES IT'S TOLL ON FABL PROSPECTS

It is not just established big leaguers that have been taken out of big league baseball due to the war. The prospect pipeline has also been heavily drained. For example highly touted players like Hiram Steinberg -who rewrote the high school record book- along with 1940 first overall selection Dick Blaszak or 1937 first round selection Ernie Espanoza -who won 21 games at AA and AAA in 1941 as a 22 year old- all should be in the big leagues right now. None of the players considered to be the top nine big league prospects right now are available to their organizations as each is in one branch or another of the military. In fact 15 of the top twenty prospects are serving leaving just the following five out of OSA's top twenty prospects available this season.

Code:

TOP TWENTY OSA PROSPECTS NOT IN THE SERVICE
RK   NAME	   POS  AGE TEAM
10  Bert Cupid	    P   21  Montreal
12  Jim Carter	    P   22  Toronto
14  Charlie Gordon  P   21  Sailors
16  Gordie Perkins  SS  21  Montreal
19  Pat Petty	    OF  19  Brooklyn

THOSE UNAVAILABLE DUE TO MILITARY SERVICE
 1  Tom Buchanan    P   20  St Louis
 2  Jerry York	    P   22  Toronto
 3  Duke Bybee      P   21  Cougars
 4  Hiram Steinberg P   21  Cleveland
 5  Hal Hackney     P   22  St Louis
 6  Richie Hughes   P   21  Cleveland
 7  Dick Blaszak    OF  22  Cincinnati
 8  Charlie Waddell P   21  Keystones
 9  John Fast       SS  20  Toronto
11  Slick Weslowski P   24  Sailors
13  Bill Barnett    1B  21  Stars
15  Bob Crowley     P   22  Brooklyn
17  Ernie Espanoza  P   25  Keystones
18  Bob Arman       P   23  Boston
20  Jack Wheeler    P   19  Chiefs

Let's take a look at the top twenty prospects as of late October 1941, just a few months before the attack on Pearl Harbor changed the world and the sport immeasurably. Look at the names below and you will see, just as the present list, only 5 of the top twenty prospects are currently not serving their country. Ed Bowman is, of course, an ace with the New York Gothams but that is only because he was declared 4-F by the draft board. Pat Weakley and Chubby Hall are solid big leaguers but in simplier times we would still be enjoying performances in FABL from the likes of Joe Rutherford, the Jones brothers, Duke Bybee, Ernie Espanoza, Solly Skidmore and likely several others.

Code:

  OCTOBER 1941 TOP TWENTY OSA PROSPECTS
RK  NAME	    POS AGE   TEAM    CURRENT STATUS 
 1 Ed Bowman        P   21  Gothams     4-F  ace of Gothams
 2 Hiram Steinberg  P   19  Cleveland     Navy
 3 Pat Weakley      P   21  Montreal    with Saints, went 11-9 as rookie in '43
 4 Tom Buchanan     P   18  St Louis      Marines
 5 Dick Blaszak     OF  19  Cincinnati    Marines
 6 Joe Rutherford   OF  19  Chiefs        Navy, traded to Brooklyn
 7 John Moss	    OF  19  Brooklyn	  Air Corps
 8 Gordie Perkins   SS  18  Montreal     with Saints, played Class B in '43
 9 Otis Parker      OF  22  Montreal	  Army
10 Ernie Espanoza   P   23  Keystones     Navy
11 Donnie Jones     P   21  Cougars	  Army
12 Johnnie Jones    P   23  Cougars	  Army
13 Chubby Hall      OF  24  Stars	 with Stars, hit .274 in '43
14 John Fast        SS  18  Toronto	  Air Corps
15 Duke Bybee       P   19  Cougars	  Marines
16 Bill Barnett     1B  19  Stars	  Navy
17 Billy Bryant     SS  18  Boston	  Navy
19 Solly Skidmore   C   21  Cougars	  Coast Guard
20 Orie Martinez    OF  21  Brooklyn	with Kings, played AA/AAA in '43

Let's compare this group to the 1937 top prospect list and how they were established in pro baseball three years later. Just to give baseball fans an idea of what they are missing from this 1941 group lets take a look at a prospect group before the war began. Here is the end of 1937 top twenty prospects and what each of them accomplished in 1940.

Code:

  OCTOBER 1937 TOP TWENTY OSA PROSPECTS
RK  NAME	    POS AGE   TEAM    1940 PERFORMANCE 
 1 Red Johnson	    1B  20  Detroit   won the 1940 Whitney in 3rd full season
 2 Pete Papenfus    P   19  Cougars   8-10 in 1940, would win Allan in '41
 3 Roosevelt Brewer 2B  18  Gothams   hit .273 in 1940, first full FABL season
 4 Billy Woytek     2B  19  Keystones hit .286 in 1940, an all-star in 2nd full season
 5 Pete Casstevens  C   18  Detroit   now a Gotham, hit .262 in 117 games as a rookie
 6 Deuce Barrell    P   20  Cannons   19-9 breakout year at 22 in 2nd full season
 7 George Garrison  P   19  Toronto   15-15 in second full season with Wolves
 8 Mack Sutton	    3B  20  Boston    .268, 26 HR in 2nd full season
 9 Johnny Hopper    C   23  Stars     struggled in '40, but key piece of '39 WCS champs
10 Bunny Edwards    P   21  Gothams   struggled (1-6, 6.10) and spent half season in AAA
11 Ockie Holliday   3B  21  Toronto   dominant season in AAA, hit .344
12 Lloyd Stevens    P   21  Keystones 18-14 in second full big league season
13 Walt Messer	    1B  19  Gothams   hit .281 in first full big league season
14 Chuck Adams      1B  20  Chiefs    brief big league debut as 22 yr old with Brooklyn
15 Billy Dalton     3B  23  Gothams   an all-star in '39 & '41 but struggled in 1940
16 Wally Doyle	    P   18  Montreal  9-8 as 21 year old spent most of season in Montreal
17 Gene White       P   23  Keystones 11-5, 3.81 in 4th big league season with Keystones
18 Ray McCarthy     P   23  Detroit   6-4 in relief for Sailors but missed over a month injured
19 Fred Galloway    OF  22  Cannons   hit .281 in 3rd big league season, made 2nd straight ASG
20 Jim Hensley      SS  21  Cannons   hit .257, splendid defense, in first full big legaue season

Why do we show what those players accomplished in 1940? Simply because that is likely a very fair representation of the feats our 1940 top prospects might have done in the upcoming season had the war not taken 75% of them away from the game. The question also remains is what will the long term effect be? How many of the players on the above lists that missed one, two even three season and counting due to the war will see some regression or lack of development in their skillset? Sure, it is baseball and as the past two seasons have certainly proven there will be other players rise to catch the attention of fans but did the war effort rob us of the next Max Morris, Powell Slocum or Double Al? Of that, we will never know.

PIDGEON TIME IN CINCINNATI AT END --The time comes for all professional athletes when they can no longer perform at the level they did in their prime and someone younger and faster is there to take their spot in the lineup. That is set to happen for Moxie Pidgeon and while no tears should be shed for the 37 year old who has enjoyed a terrific big league career, there has to be a little sadness in the hearts of Cincinnati fans today.

Pidgeon was already a 5-time all-star and 3 time World Champion when the Cannons acquired him from the New York Stars just a couple of months before they were set to begin their first spring training in Cincinnati. Transplanted from Baltimore, little was expected of the Cannons debut that spring. This was a team that was riding a 6 year streak as the dregs of the Continental Association. But they would quickly captured the hearts of Queen City ball fans and the respect of the entire CA when, led by an incredible first half from Pidgeon -who was hitting .347 with 17 homers and 75 rbi's at the end of July- were just a game out of first place with two months remaining in the season. The club would ultimately fall just short of a pennant but Pidgeon (.340,21,100) became the city's first big league baseball hero since Morris Ford in the old Border Association more than half a century ago.

That, as it appears to be turning out, would be the last of Pidgeon's great seasons. His production has slid each of the three ensuing years and while he did win a 4th WCS ring last October he did not play in the World Championship Series at all. His power -which allowed Pidgeon to hit 290 career FABL homeruns- deserted him last year and he failed to connect for even one round-tripper. It was clear to all that Pidgeon's skills were eroding and it was a mild surprise that the Cannons did not release him a year ago.

However, the writing is now clearly on the wall for Pidgeon who, barring a miracle performance this week or an unfortunate injury to another Cannons outfielder, will be released by the club. Pidgeon has been asked twice by management to go to AAA Indianapolis but refused both teams. He did get his first extra base hit of the spring -surprisingly a triple- but went just 2-for-9 last week and is hitting only .192 on the Cotton Circuit.

The Cannons reduced their roster to 26 men and it appears another veteran -36 year old lefthander Gary Harris- will join Pidgeon as the final two spring cuts. Harris, a 9 year big leaguer, made 25 appearances for the Cannons in relief last season after being signed as a free-agent. He was named to the CA all-star team last July but struggled in the second half of the season. He is battling with 24 year old rookie Paul Donoho for a spot on the roster. Donoho has had a solid spring after splitting last season between AA and AAA.

To get down to 26 players heading into the final week of camp the Cannons made a number of roster moves including the demotion of last year's backup catcher Ed Sala to AAA. Buster Farrar, acquired from the New York Stars over the winter, will be the starter with Tommy Morris -who is out of options claiming the back-up spot. Sala had one option left which made the decision on the back-up much easier to make.

It was tough to demote Stan Kenny after the 22 year old threw 9 scoreless innings this spring but with no experience above Class A it was decided that the 1939 11th round needed some time at AAA but will likely be among the first considered for promotion should an opening arise during the season. The Cannons also sent pitchers Jesse Woods and Fernando Pedroza to Indianapolis while returning rule 5 selection Mac Watters to the New York Gothams. The final demotion was that of middle infielder Billy Winfrey.

The Chiefs will have to start the season without veteran second baseman Freddie Jones. The 33 year old will be sidelined about a month after injuring his thumb in an exhibition game against Pittsburgh on Tuesday. The five-time all-star split last season between the Cougars and Chiefs, hitting .279 in 128 games. It is a far cry from his glory days in St Louis when Jones won back-to-back Federal Association batting titles but he was still expected to play regularly with the Chiefs this season, perhaps in a platoon with fellow veteran middle infielder Sam Orr.
The Pioneers moved a second veteran back-up unlikely to secure a spot with the club this season. Last week it was Earl Kimmell being sent to the New York Stars after spending parts of each of the past three seasons in St Louis. Now they have sent third sacker Mike Roberson to Detroit. The 29 year old was originally a 3rd round pick out of Ohio Poly back in 1935 and had spent most of his time in the minors, but Roberson did appear in 144 games in Pioneers garb including 64 last season -his only full year in the big leagues. The Dynamos parted with a 7th round selection for Roberson while Kimmell earned St Louis a 6th rounder from the Stars.
Toronto has cut down their roster to 25, one more than the Opening Day limit. Roster construction looks a bit odd with 10 pitchers. Chuck Wirtz barely hung as the swingman after being challenged by Tommy Anderson, who was sent to Buffalo to further hone his craft. The pitching staff includes two 2-way players in OF Juan Pomales -who is more valuable playing in the OF- and catcher/righthander Roscoe Zeiler.
The Wolves will probably carry three C, 7 infielders, 5 outfielders. Wayne Henderson is making last ditch effort to travel north across the Canadian border, if he impresses the last week of tune up games there will be a veteran who may end up across Lake Ontario, if they accept the AAA assignment. Management's decisions may be further complicated if Cincy does, as rumoured, designated Moxie Pidgeon for assignment.
Former Indiana A&M lefthander Joe Hare is the latest minor league to be drafted into the Army. The 32 year old had spent the past 5 seasons with the Fort Worth Cattlemen of the independent Lone State loop. Hare was a 12th round pick of the Toronto Wolves in 1933 but never made it to FABL.

HARRISON LEADS RAINIER COLLEGE TO REPEAT

Rainier College forward Gary Harrison saved the one of biggest games of his career for the most important moment of it. The senior fired up 27 poits in last Monday's National Championship contest with Annapolis Maritime at the Bigsby Garden to lead the Majestics to their second straight AIAA title and third in a span of 5 years. Harrison, who finished second in the nation in averaging 16.6 ppg this season, had 6 of his points in the final two minutes as Rainier College held off Annapolis Maritime 67-60 to win the championship.

Harrison was one of 4 Majestics who started last season's championship game as well, joining Sam Alvis, Tree Turner and Mike Hays. The fifth starter this season was junior Tony Williams, who saw just one minute of action in last year's win over St Magnus. It was a different story this time around as the native of Turnwater, Washington scored a career best 16 points for the winners. It overshadowed a gritty effort from an underdog group of sailors, who reached the title game despite not having a dominant player. As usual it was a team effort for the Navigators, who received 13 points from Sterling Kennedy and Scott McEachern with Mitchel Budd adding 11. McEachern is the lone senior among the trio and he will be shipping out later this month to an assignment in the Pacific.

Annapolis Maritime, making it's first ever appearance in the National Championship game, but had reached the semi-finals twice before. They kept this one close until the closing minutes. With less than 7 minutes remaining in regulation the Navigators scored to go up 52-51. That would be the last time they led as Rainier College as a quick 9-3 spurt in the next three minutes put the Majestics up by 7 with 4 minutes remaining and, while Annapolis Maritime cut the deficit to 3 with 50 seconds to go, they could not keep up down the stretch.

The Majestics become just the fourth school in AIAA tournament history to successfully defend their championship - joining the 1910-11 Brunswick Knights, 1921-23 North Carolina Tech Techsters and the 1935-35 Liberty College Bells.

The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 4/09/1944

As the US Army surpasses 7.7 million soldiers, Selective Service has ordered local draft boards to suspend induction of men 26 and older who are "making a contribution to essential agriculture, war production or war supporting activities" until "substantially" all available younger men have been taken.
President Roosevelt says a report shows that the "hold-the-line" stabilization policy on prices and wages has succeeded in its first year and must be continued without change "in the critical months ahead."
Wendell L Willkie's abrupt exit from the Republican Presidential race appears to have cleared the way for New York Governor Thomas Dewey's nomination.
Russian troops pour over the border in Rumania along a 165-mile front and have also reached the frontiers of eastern Czechoslovakia.
US Planes bomb Budapest, Hungary for the first time a day ahead of American air attacks on Rumanian targets to aid the Soviet push.
Japanese forces continue to drive westward through India's Manipor State.

10-10-2022, 11:06 AM	#537
Jiggs McGee All Star Reserve Join Date: Dec 2019 Posts: 677	April 10, 1944 APRIL 10, 1944 WAR TAKES IT'S TOLL ON FABL PROSPECTS It is not just established big leaguers that have been taken out of big league baseball due to the war. The prospect pipeline has also been heavily drained. For example highly touted players like Hiram Steinberg -who rewrote the high school record book- along with 1940 first overall selection Dick Blaszak or 1937 first round selection Ernie Espanoza -who won 21 games at AA and AAA in 1941 as a 22 year old- all should be in the big leagues right now. None of the players considered to be the top nine big league prospects right now are available to their organizations as each is in one branch or another of the military. In fact 15 of the top twenty prospects are serving leaving just the following five out of OSA's top twenty prospects available this season. Code: TOP TWENTY OSA PROSPECTS NOT IN THE SERVICE RK NAME POS AGE TEAM 10 Bert Cupid P 21 Montreal 12 Jim Carter P 22 Toronto 14 Charlie Gordon P 21 Sailors 16 Gordie Perkins SS 21 Montreal 19 Pat Petty OF 19 Brooklyn THOSE UNAVAILABLE DUE TO MILITARY SERVICE 1 Tom Buchanan P 20 St Louis 2 Jerry York P 22 Toronto 3 Duke Bybee P 21 Cougars 4 Hiram Steinberg P 21 Cleveland 5 Hal Hackney P 22 St Louis 6 Richie Hughes P 21 Cleveland 7 Dick Blaszak OF 22 Cincinnati 8 Charlie Waddell P 21 Keystones 9 John Fast SS 20 Toronto 11 Slick Weslowski P 24 Sailors 13 Bill Barnett 1B 21 Stars 15 Bob Crowley P 22 Brooklyn 17 Ernie Espanoza P 25 Keystones 18 Bob Arman P 23 Boston 20 Jack Wheeler P 19 Chiefs Let's take a look at the top twenty prospects as of late October 1941, just a few months before the attack on Pearl Harbor changed the world and the sport immeasurably. Look at the names below and you will see, just as the present list, only 5 of the top twenty prospects are currently not serving their country. Ed Bowman is, of course, an ace with the New York Gothams but that is only because he was declared 4-F by the draft board. Pat Weakley and Chubby Hall are solid big leaguers but in simplier times we would still be enjoying performances in FABL from the likes of Joe Rutherford, the Jones brothers, Duke Bybee, Ernie Espanoza, Solly Skidmore and likely several others. Code: OCTOBER 1941 TOP TWENTY OSA PROSPECTS RK NAME POS AGE TEAM CURRENT STATUS 1 Ed Bowman P 21 Gothams 4-F ace of Gothams 2 Hiram Steinberg P 19 Cleveland Navy 3 Pat Weakley P 21 Montreal with Saints, went 11-9 as rookie in '43 4 Tom Buchanan P 18 St Louis Marines 5 Dick Blaszak OF 19 Cincinnati Marines 6 Joe Rutherford OF 19 Chiefs Navy, traded to Brooklyn 7 John Moss OF 19 Brooklyn Air Corps 8 Gordie Perkins SS 18 Montreal with Saints, played Class B in '43 9 Otis Parker OF 22 Montreal Army 10 Ernie Espanoza P 23 Keystones Navy 11 Donnie Jones P 21 Cougars Army 12 Johnnie Jones P 23 Cougars Army 13 Chubby Hall OF 24 Stars with Stars, hit .274 in '43 14 John Fast SS 18 Toronto Air Corps 15 Duke Bybee P 19 Cougars Marines 16 Bill Barnett 1B 19 Stars Navy 17 Billy Bryant SS 18 Boston Navy 19 Solly Skidmore C 21 Cougars Coast Guard 20 Orie Martinez OF 21 Brooklyn with Kings, played AA/AAA in '43 Let's compare this group to the 1937 top prospect list and how they were established in pro baseball three years later. Just to give baseball fans an idea of what they are missing from this 1941 group lets take a look at a prospect group before the war began. Here is the end of 1937 top twenty prospects and what each of them accomplished in 1940. Code: OCTOBER 1937 TOP TWENTY OSA PROSPECTS RK NAME POS AGE TEAM 1940 PERFORMANCE 1 Red Johnson 1B 20 Detroit won the 1940 Whitney in 3rd full season 2 Pete Papenfus P 19 Cougars 8-10 in 1940, would win Allan in '41 3 Roosevelt Brewer 2B 18 Gothams hit .273 in 1940, first full FABL season 4 Billy Woytek 2B 19 Keystones hit .286 in 1940, an all-star in 2nd full season 5 Pete Casstevens C 18 Detroit now a Gotham, hit .262 in 117 games as a rookie 6 Deuce Barrell P 20 Cannons 19-9 breakout year at 22 in 2nd full season 7 George Garrison P 19 Toronto 15-15 in second full season with Wolves 8 Mack Sutton 3B 20 Boston .268, 26 HR in 2nd full season 9 Johnny Hopper C 23 Stars struggled in '40, but key piece of '39 WCS champs 10 Bunny Edwards P 21 Gothams struggled (1-6, 6.10) and spent half season in AAA 11 Ockie Holliday 3B 21 Toronto dominant season in AAA, hit .344 12 Lloyd Stevens P 21 Keystones 18-14 in second full big league season 13 Walt Messer 1B 19 Gothams hit .281 in first full big league season 14 Chuck Adams 1B 20 Chiefs brief big league debut as 22 yr old with Brooklyn 15 Billy Dalton 3B 23 Gothams an all-star in '39 & '41 but struggled in 1940 16 Wally Doyle P 18 Montreal 9-8 as 21 year old spent most of season in Montreal 17 Gene White P 23 Keystones 11-5, 3.81 in 4th big league season with Keystones 18 Ray McCarthy P 23 Detroit 6-4 in relief for Sailors but missed over a month injured 19 Fred Galloway OF 22 Cannons hit .281 in 3rd big league season, made 2nd straight ASG 20 Jim Hensley SS 21 Cannons hit .257, splendid defense, in first full big legaue season Why do we show what those players accomplished in 1940? Simply because that is likely a very fair representation of the feats our 1940 top prospects might have done in the upcoming season had the war not taken 75% of them away from the game. The question also remains is what will the long term effect be? How many of the players on the above lists that missed one, two even three season and counting due to the war will see some regression or lack of development in their skillset? Sure, it is baseball and as the past two seasons have certainly proven there will be other players rise to catch the attention of fans but did the war effort rob us of the next Max Morris, Powell Slocum or Double Al? Of that, we will never know. PIDGEON TIME IN CINCINNATI AT END --The time comes for all professional athletes when they can no longer perform at the level they did in their prime and someone younger and faster is there to take their spot in the lineup. That is set to happen for Moxie Pidgeon and while no tears should be shed for the 37 year old who has enjoyed a terrific big league career, there has to be a little sadness in the hearts of Cincinnati fans today. Pidgeon was already a 5-time all-star and 3 time World Champion when the Cannons acquired him from the New York Stars just a couple of months before they were set to begin their first spring training in Cincinnati. Transplanted from Baltimore, little was expected of the Cannons debut that spring. This was a team that was riding a 6 year streak as the dregs of the Continental Association. But they would quickly captured the hearts of Queen City ball fans and the respect of the entire CA when, led by an incredible first half from Pidgeon -who was hitting .347 with 17 homers and 75 rbi's at the end of July- were just a game out of first place with two months remaining in the season. The club would ultimately fall just short of a pennant but Pidgeon (.340,21,100) became the city's first big league baseball hero since Morris Ford in the old Border Association more than half a century ago. That, as it appears to be turning out, would be the last of Pidgeon's great seasons. His production has slid each of the three ensuing years and while he did win a 4th WCS ring last October he did not play in the World Championship Series at all. His power -which allowed Pidgeon to hit 290 career FABL homeruns- deserted him last year and he failed to connect for even one round-tripper. It was clear to all that Pidgeon's skills were eroding and it was a mild surprise that the Cannons did not release him a year ago. However, the writing is now clearly on the wall for Pidgeon who, barring a miracle performance this week or an unfortunate injury to another Cannons outfielder, will be released by the club. Pidgeon has been asked twice by management to go to AAA Indianapolis but refused both teams. He did get his first extra base hit of the spring -surprisingly a triple- but went just 2-for-9 last week and is hitting only .192 on the Cotton Circuit. The Cannons reduced their roster to 26 men and it appears another veteran -36 year old lefthander Gary Harris- will join Pidgeon as the final two spring cuts. Harris, a 9 year big leaguer, made 25 appearances for the Cannons in relief last season after being signed as a free-agent. He was named to the CA all-star team last July but struggled in the second half of the season. He is battling with 24 year old rookie Paul Donoho for a spot on the roster. Donoho has had a solid spring after splitting last season between AA and AAA. To get down to 26 players heading into the final week of camp the Cannons made a number of roster moves including the demotion of last year's backup catcher Ed Sala to AAA. Buster Farrar, acquired from the New York Stars over the winter, will be the starter with Tommy Morris -who is out of options claiming the back-up spot. Sala had one option left which made the decision on the back-up much easier to make. It was tough to demote Stan Kenny after the 22 year old threw 9 scoreless innings this spring but with no experience above Class A it was decided that the 1939 11th round needed some time at AAA but will likely be among the first considered for promotion should an opening arise during the season. The Cannons also sent pitchers Jesse Woods and Fernando Pedroza to Indianapolis while returning rule 5 selection Mac Watters to the New York Gothams. The final demotion was that of middle infielder Billy Winfrey. The Chiefs will have to start the season without veteran second baseman Freddie Jones. The 33 year old will be sidelined about a month after injuring his thumb in an exhibition game against Pittsburgh on Tuesday. The five-time all-star split last season between the Cougars and Chiefs, hitting .279 in 128 games. It is a far cry from his glory days in St Louis when Jones won back-to-back Federal Association batting titles but he was still expected to play regularly with the Chiefs this season, perhaps in a platoon with fellow veteran middle infielder Sam Orr. The Pioneers moved a second veteran back-up unlikely to secure a spot with the club this season. Last week it was Earl Kimmell being sent to the New York Stars after spending parts of each of the past three seasons in St Louis. Now they have sent third sacker Mike Roberson to Detroit. The 29 year old was originally a 3rd round pick out of Ohio Poly back in 1935 and had spent most of his time in the minors, but Roberson did appear in 144 games in Pioneers garb including 64 last season -his only full year in the big leagues. The Dynamos parted with a 7th round selection for Roberson while Kimmell earned St Louis a 6th rounder from the Stars. Toronto has cut down their roster to 25, one more than the Opening Day limit. Roster construction looks a bit odd with 10 pitchers. Chuck Wirtz barely hung as the swingman after being challenged by Tommy Anderson, who was sent to Buffalo to further hone his craft. The pitching staff includes two 2-way players in OF Juan Pomales -who is more valuable playing in the OF- and catcher/righthander Roscoe Zeiler. The Wolves will probably carry three C, 7 infielders, 5 outfielders. Wayne Henderson is making last ditch effort to travel north across the Canadian border, if he impresses the last week of tune up games there will be a veteran who may end up across Lake Ontario, if they accept the AAA assignment. Management's decisions may be further complicated if Cincy does, as rumoured, designated Moxie Pidgeon for assignment. Former Indiana A&M lefthander Joe Hare is the latest minor league to be drafted into the Army. The 32 year old had spent the past 5 seasons with the Fort Worth Cattlemen of the independent Lone State loop. Hare was a 12th round pick of the Toronto Wolves in 1933 but never made it to FABL. HARRISON LEADS RAINIER COLLEGE TO REPEAT Rainier College forward Gary Harrison saved the one of biggest games of his career for the most important moment of it. The senior fired up 27 poits in last Monday's National Championship contest with Annapolis Maritime at the Bigsby Garden to lead the Majestics to their second straight AIAA title and third in a span of 5 years. Harrison, who finished second in the nation in averaging 16.6 ppg this season, had 6 of his points in the final two minutes as Rainier College held off Annapolis Maritime 67-60 to win the championship. Harrison was one of 4 Majestics who started last season's championship game as well, joining Sam Alvis, Tree Turner and Mike Hays. The fifth starter this season was junior Tony Williams, who saw just one minute of action in last year's win over St Magnus. It was a different story this time around as the native of Turnwater, Washington scored a career best 16 points for the winners. It overshadowed a gritty effort from an underdog group of sailors, who reached the title game despite not having a dominant player. As usual it was a team effort for the Navigators, who received 13 points from Sterling Kennedy and Scott McEachern with Mitchel Budd adding 11. McEachern is the lone senior among the trio and he will be shipping out later this month to an assignment in the Pacific. Annapolis Maritime, making it's first ever appearance in the National Championship game, but had reached the semi-finals twice before. They kept this one close until the closing minutes. With less than 7 minutes remaining in regulation the Navigators scored to go up 52-51. That would be the last time they led as Rainier College as a quick 9-3 spurt in the next three minutes put the Majestics up by 7 with 4 minutes remaining and, while Annapolis Maritime cut the deficit to 3 with 50 seconds to go, they could not keep up down the stretch. The Majestics become just the fourth school in AIAA tournament history to successfully defend their championship - joining the 1910-11 Brunswick Knights, 1921-23 North Carolina Tech Techsters and the 1935-35 Liberty College Bells. The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 4/09/1944 As the US Army surpasses 7.7 million soldiers, Selective Service has ordered local draft boards to suspend induction of men 26 and older who are "making a contribution to essential agriculture, war production or war supporting activities" until "substantially" all available younger men have been taken. President Roosevelt says a report shows that the "hold-the-line" stabilization policy on prices and wages has succeeded in its first year and must be continued without change "in the critical months ahead." Wendell L Willkie's abrupt exit from the Republican Presidential race appears to have cleared the way for New York Governor Thomas Dewey's nomination. Russian troops pour over the border in Rumania along a 165-mile front and have also reached the frontiers of eastern Czechoslovakia. US Planes bomb Budapest, Hungary for the first time a day ahead of American air attacks on Rumanian targets to aid the Soviet push. Japanese forces continue to drive westward through India's Manipor State. __________________ Lead Columnist of The Figment Sporting Journal The Scripture of Sports Last edited by Jiggs McGee; 10-10-2022 at 12:51 PM.