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Jiggs McGee · 11-04-2022, 11:48 AM

JULY 31, 1944

CANNONS ADD BIRD AND DAY AT DEADLINE

The Continental Association race just became even more interesting after the Cincinnati Cannons added the best catcher active in the game right now and a 300-game winner who looks like he might still have a little something left in the tank. The Chicago Chiefs, seeing the Philadelphia Keystones riding further and further off in the distance, decided to waive the white flag for this season and look to the future. The deal, which both sides report came about quickly on the eve of the trade deadline sees 36 year old Tom Bird (.343,11,43) and 40 year old Rabbit Day (12-8, 3.42) leave Chicago and head to Cincinnati in exchange for 22 year old rookie pitcher Frank Sears (2-0, 3.15) and 22 year old outfield prospect Dick Blaszak, who has spent the past two years in the Marines but is considered one of the most explosive power-hitting prospects to come along in years.

"We are suddenly in this thing (the pennant race) and felt it made sense to make this deal," explained Cannons Assistant General Manager Red Franklin. "Tom Bird is the best catcher in the sport and Rabbit Day is....well, Rabbit Day. You won't find many better at his age."

The Cannons have fired back into the Continental Association pennant race and are coming off a series in which they took three of four games from the slumping Chicago Cougars. Cincinnati has made up 13 games in the standings in just over a month and are suddenly in a position where they can become the first CA team to repeat as pennnant winners since the Brooklyn Kings won three straight from 1936-38. The Continental race will be a dogfight with 4 teams now separated by just 4.5 games. This is astonishing when you consider that just a few short weeks ago the title had all but been conceeded to the Chicago Cougars when they had a double-digit lead on the rest of the loop.
*** A Return Home, of Sorts, For Day ***

The trade brings Rabbit Day back to the organization he started his big league career with way back in 1927. So much has changed with the Cannons since then -most notably they now reside in Cincinnati instead of Baltimore- but for the 40 year old Day his career comes full circle. He has had a terrific season this year with a 12 more wins to pad his total to 315, and it is even more special when one considers there was much speculation that Day would retire over the winter after struggling through what many consider to be the worst season of his career in 1943. Day is an important acquistion, but it is Tom Bird that is clearly the key to the trade for Cincinnati. The Cannons lost Adam Mullins to the war effort after a Whitney Award winning season and now they have replaced him with one of the few catchers that might just be as good, or even better, than Mullins. Bird has never won a Whitney but does own a WCS MVP award and 9 all-star appearances. Durability might be a concern as he is showing signs of breaking down but that has not slowed his bat as when he is healthy Bird is still one of the most dangerous hitters in the league. The Cannons offense has struggled at times, and Bird was clearly the best possible addition they could make to improve it. Now the question comes is that enough to win a pennant and make the hefty price worth it.

Blaszak is by all accounts one of the best power hitting prospects the game has ever seen. He is cut from the Red Johnson cloth and may just have more power than the Gothams slugging first baseman. The concern is because of the war he has not played in 2 years and has never played above the Class B level but OSA loves his skillset and the Chiefs are confident he will be a huge hit in Chicago where his nickname "The Polish Hammer" immediately makes him a fan favourite.
***Several Minor Deals Made As Trade Deadline Closes In ***

Chicago added pitcher Billy Riley from the New York Stars a week ago and that seemed to spur Cincinnati into action as the Cannons -dealing with season ending injuries to Deuce Barell and Vic Carroll- added pitchers Jim Crawford from Brooklyn and George DeForest from Detroit. After the big series win over Chicago the Cannons had an informal discussion with the Chiefs brass and it quickly snowballed into a major trade. One which further complicates a suddenly surprising CA picture.

Prior to the blockbuster deal between Cincinnati and the Chicago Chiefs the big story of the trade deadline appeared to be the lack of big name movement. Sure the Chiefs dealt Al Wheeler, the Cannons sent Billy Dalton packing and the Cougars acquired Billy Riley but that was barely a ripple compared to the tidal wave of trades last summer. It was almost a disappointment -until the big Day and Bird deal- that little was happening despite plenty of speculation -most of it out of Detroit- that the Dynamos were prepared to make another big splash and send Sal Pestilli packing. Of course with Pestilli in the armed forces for the duration there is far less urgency on Detroit's part- or any potential suitor- to get a deal done today.

The Chicago Cougars were somewhat busy with a pair of moves to follow up the deal they made a week ago to bring veteran pitcher Billy Riley in from New York. First the Cougars sent veteran outfielder Dan Fowler to the Chicago Chiefs in exchange for the rights to young pitcher Howard Miller Jr., who is presently in the Army. Then the Cougars sent AAA first baseman Cuno Meyer to Detroit in exchange for a 7th round pick.

Detroit was also involved in one of the other two trades, which both included Cincinnati adding pitchers. First the Cannons added 35 year old George DeForest from Detroit in exchange for 40 year old outfielder Henry Jones and a 9th round draft pick. Then the Cannons added another veteran arm in Jim Crawford, who heads west from Brooklyn in exchange for a 5th round draft choice.

A Cougars spokesman explained the trade of Dan Fowler makes room for 22-year-old Don Lee to make his big league debut, as team hopes "Rap" can spark some life back into a struggling Cougar squad. A hard worker and team leader, the former 2nd Rounder is the brother of enlisted Sailors shortstop Rip Lee. In 79 games with AAA Milwaukee, Lee has hit an outstanding .288/.424/.465 (151 OPS+) with 20 doubles, 6 triples, 7 homers, 15 steals, and 45 RBIs, while sporting a 73-to-29 walk-to-strikeout ratio. He's not nearly as good on the grass as Orlin Yates, but he offers plenty more at the plate, and will take a majority of the starts against lefties. Lee currently ranks as the 7th best prospect in the Cougars organization and 95th overall

The Cannons preliminary moves were made because of the injuries to ace Deuce Barrell as well as another solid starter in Vic Carroll. The club was happy to grant veteran Henry Jones his wish to finish out his career in Detroit -where it all started for the 40 year old outfielder but the truth is there was no way the Cannons could play Jones and the recently acquired Al Wheeler in the same outfield together. Jones is having a good year -hitting .294 with 5 homers but would have been restricted to pinch-hitting duties with Cincinnati the rest of the way and he is batting just .188 with 0 HR in 32 pinch-hit ABs this season. George DeForest is 35 but having a decent season when used carefully in Detroit. He likely will continue as a swing man in Cincinnati as the Cannons hope that Crawford (7-11, 3.87) can step into the #3 spot in the rotation for the rest of the year. Both Crawford and DeForest are very familiar to the Cannons brass and add to the growing collection of players who were acquired or drafted by the Cannons General Manager when he was in Brooklyn.

JOHN BRINKER'S TAKE ON THE BIG DEAL- I would say this about the deal - it really boils down to Bird & Blaszak. Day & Sears are about equal in ability right now, but obviously Day's old and Sears is young. So the Chiefs accomplish their presumed goal of getting a great young player in Blaszak (assuming he comes back from the war without deleterious effect) and replace an aged slightly-below average arm with a young slightly-below average arm. This move is obviously all future for the Chiefs and is therefore a gamble. Blaszak should be a cornerstone player. The mitigating factor for him is that he is currently in the Marine Corps - and fighting in the Pacific - not holding down a cushy stateside job training recruits how to do jumping jacks (they don't give those jobs to Class B ballplayers). Sears is a bit of a flier - he's looked pretty good so far, but likely needs a bit of developmental luck to really be a big pickup long-term.

On the Cannons' side of the ledger this is a splashy move bringing in two future Hall-of-Famers for a short-term boost now that the Continental Association is once again competitive. Bird is a big pickup. With Mullins serving Uncle Sam, Bird brings a big bat and a bigger resume to the catching position in Cincinnati. And Rabbit Day? Sure, he's not what he once was, but he's back with the organization with whom he spawned his legend and both he & Bird have championship experience. Will it be enough for the Cannons to win the pennant, let alone the Championship? Hard to say because the battle in the CA now looks like at least a three-way battle between the Cougars, Wolves and Cannons so Cincinnati has to hope it has enough, ahem, "firepower" to overcome the cats & dogs.

KEYSTONES STRETCH FED LEAD

The Philadelphia Keystones have opened the widest gap between first and second place the Federal Association has seen all season as wins in 11 of their last 13 games have helped the Keystones open up a 7 and a half game lead on second place Boston. The Minutemen are in the midst of a long road trip that started well enough with 3 wins in 4 games at Philadelphia but since then the New Englanders are 7-7 and losing ground every week to the Keystones. The good news for the Minutemen is their trip comes to an end with games in Detroit today and tomorrow. After they, the Boston nine are back at Minutemen Park for the next 3 weeks.

The bad news for Boston -and the rest of the Fed- is there appears to be no stopping Bobby Barrell. The Georgia Jolter was named the top player in the Fed for the second week in a row and the 5th time this season. He is on a pace for 46 homers and 152 rbi's - numbers that have not been seen since Sal Pestilli clouted 46 in 1938 and Barrell himself drove in 162 in 1936. Barrell presently has 30 homeruns and no one else in either Association has more than 16. homers or 66 rbi's. A triple crown might even be in reach as Barrell is hitting .334 and within sight of Washington's Don Miller, who leads the Fed at a .352 clip.

1945 DRAFT PREVIEW

PART 2: HIGH SCHOOL POSITION PLAYERS

This looks like another exceptional class of high school position players with OSA presently projecting multiple all-star trips for three of them. We only do a top ten list but there are so many worthy candidates here we likely could have gone twenty deep and still been discussing highly talented high school position players. Here is a look at the six high school position players that cracked our initial mock of this class just under a year ago.

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      WAY TO EARLY 1945 DRAFT MOCK RANKINGS OF FIRST ROUND
 #   NAME	     AGE POS      SCHOOL	        HOMETOWN		 OSA ASSESSMENT
 1  DAN FINCH	      16 3B   Bowman (SC) HS	       Darlington, SC	    could make multiple trips to All-Star Game
 3  MICKEY McCLURE    16 RF   Seymour (CT) HS	       Middlesex, NJ	    could make multiple trips to All-Star Game	
 8  IKE PERRY	      16 C    Navasota (TX) HS	       Hearne, TX	    high ceiling, projects well on field and at plate
10  PAUL WILLIAMS     16 LF   Clayton HS, St Louis     St Louis, MO	    potential elite OF on contending team	
12  HARRY McCUE       16 1B   Branford (CT) HS	       New York, NY	    protected as an elite starting 1B
16  BOB RUSSO         16 C    Hatboro (PA) HS	       Wilkes-Barre, PA	    potential to unleash obvious talent

All but #16 on that list make the new top ten and Russo was very close to cracking it. Here is a look at what OSA believes are the top ten high school position players eligible for the January draft.

1: DAN FINCH 3B: Bowman (SC) HS -A natural leader, OSA feels the 17 year old third baseman has the potential to play in a number of all-star games. Has everything you want in a third baseman: excellent eye, above average power and shown he is a solid defender. He has hit 14 homers and batted .445 in two seasons of high school ball but scouts would like to see him improve upon those numbers as a senior. Bowman High has a pretty strong program in South Carolina with a pair of players from the school -infielder Ralph Booker and OF Al Lynch expected to be drafted in 1946, but neither will approach Finch's level. Another Bowman High alum is Jimmy Hairston, a highly thought of outfielder in the Cougars system. Hairston was a 1943 teammate of Finch's before the Cougars selected him in the fourth round and he is presently in his second season at the Class C level.

2: PAUL WILLAIMS LF: Clayton HS, St Louis, Mo. - Another leader with the potential to play in many all-star games, Williams goes full throttle at all times. Hit .473 with 9 homers in 50 games the past two seasons. OSA feels he could be one of the best hitters in the league with his combination of outstanding contact ability and above average power potential. Williams is looking to top Bob Petty, a pitcher taken in the third round of the 1939 draft by the Chicago Cougars, as the highest drafted Clayton High alum.

3: HARRY McCUE 1B: Branford (CT) HS - The third of the high school hitters OSA sees as a future all-star, McCue was born in New York City but grew up in Connecticut. Very smart he likely will have plenty of colleges after him so there will be competition for the FABL club that selects McCue. Has a great stroke and projects to hit for high average but likely will not be an elite power hitter. McCue will need to have a big career to be the most successful ballplayer out of Connecticut's Branford High as New York Stars former first round pick Wally Hunter is a graduate. Hunter won 24 games for the Hornets over 3 seasons before the Stars selected him. He made his big league debut at 21 in 1943 but is presently in the Army Air Corps. Branford High has actually been a pretty good source for FABL draft picks beyond Hunter and McCue. There is Cecil Cook, a Keystones fifth rounder in 1936, Chicago Chiefs 1938 12th round pick Ive Goldstein, Bob Wolf drafted in the 11th round in 1942 by Brooklyn, and most recently Jack Jordan, a third baseman chosen in the 15th round two months ago by the Montreal Saints.

4: IKE PERRY C: Navasota (TX) HS -The 2-time High School All-American has a great work ethic and is a very sure-handed and reliable catcher. He has plus-plus contact potential and should be an above average power hitter. Sounds a lot like fellow Texas native T.R. Goins but that might be too high a ceiling for Perry. Maybe more like Mike Taylor was in his prime would be a fairer comparison.

5: CARL CLARK CF: Springfield (MO) HS -One of the younger players available as Clark won't turn 17 until later this month. OSA feels he can develop into an elite big league centerfielder with plus contact skills, an advanced feel for the strikeout zone with likely average power. Clark, a starter each of his 3 seasons at Springfield High, has a high school slash line of .459/.550/.745 in 71 games. OSA also notes he has the mental makeup to handle big game situations.

6: HERB KELLER SS: Bakersfield (CA) HS -Just the one season of high school ball for the 17 year old Keller, and his offensive numbers .427/.500/.685 were not overly impressive but OSA says it will come, noting he has a great stroke and projects to hit for high average. The verdict from the scouting service in Keller will be an elite big league shortstop. Keller looks to follow another Bakersfield High grad into pro ball. Barney Burke is a first baseman drafted in the 17th round in 1940 and is presently playing Class B ball in the Forester organization. Of course the most famous Bakersfield born ballplayer is none other than Rabbit Day of the Chicago Chiefs.

7: MICKEY McCLURE RF: Seymour (CT) HS -Another player the scouting service feels can become an elite big leaguer at his position. McClure has an impeccable eye at the dish and well above average contact potential. He might not him a lot of homers but did smack 9 in 69 high school games over his three seasons at Seymour.

8: MIKE COCHRAN 2B: Pelton HS, San Francisco, Ca. -Scouts say if you can tolerate occasional lapses in the field from him, Cochran could be one of the top offensive second baseman in the league someday. A very confident player with terrific mechanics at the plate, the San Francisco native hit .482 in his first and so far only season of high school ball. Cochran is vying to become the third player drafted out of San Francisco's Pelton High School. Art Fifield was a 21st round pick of Montreal in 1934 and the Philadelphia Keystones took Stan Kent in the 9th round of the 1938 draft. Kent is presently serving in the Army.

9: PHIL BILLMAN LF: Dickson City (PA) HS -Loads of talent and plenty of power potential but the knock on Billman is he is not as motivated as he should be and perhaps lacks the baseball sense you see in many high end prospects. He is 6'2", 180 lbs so the power should improve as he fills it. He hit just 11 homers in 68 games but had 44 doubles so the power potential is certainly there. His high school teammate George Rikard was a 9th round pick of Cleveland just a couple of months ago and is presently pitching in Class C.

10: HOWDY CALDERONE RF: Union Bridge (MD) HS - Calderone is much like Billman in some ways. Both have loads of potential but the work ethic comes into question. Where he differs is Calderone is much more of a gap hitter than a power bat. He is small (5'9", 155 lbs) and relies on speed as well as a sweet, fluid swing. He has played two seasons of high school and took a small step forward in all 3 slash numbers. Scouts project that development to continue.

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		HONOURABLE MENTION
NAME		POS	SCHOOL
Bob Russo 	C       Hatboro (PA) HS
George Brown 	1B 	Bridgeport (CT) HS
Howie Ticer 	1B 	Bluff City (TN) HS
Pat Roninson 	2B 	Durant (OK) HS
Al Browner 	3B 	Wharton (TX) HS
Pat Kisiel 	SS 	St Aloysius HS, New Orleans, LA
Max Rice 	SS 	McKinley HS, Chicago, IL
Mickey Bednar 	CF 	Camden (NJ) HS
Rudy Gerbaugh 	CF 	Oglesby (IL) HS
Billy Ingram 	CF 	Eutaw (AL) HS
Adam Sharp 	CF 	Lincoln HS, Philadelphia, PA
Ernie Ross 	LF 	Factoryville (PA) HS
Arnold Alderson RF 	Curtis HS, Staten Island, NY
Ralph Morrison	RF      Goshen (IN) HS
Willie Taylor 	RF	Chehalis (WA) HS

Next week we will look at the top draft eligible high school pitchers.

CANNONS MAKE MAJOR MOVE -Oh boy! What a week. The Cincinnati Cannons took 3 of 4 games from the Cougars in Chicago and then took two superstars away from the Windy City after a huge trade with the Federal Association Chicago Chiefs. Yes, by now you know the great news. Tom Bird and Rabbit Day are coming to Cincinnati and expected to be in uniform this week. So everyone, myself included, who jumped off the bandwagon a little over a month ago when we were 17.5 games back and a repeat as World Champions seemed about as likely as us having to learn German nowadays, can hop back up on the bus as your Cannons are now within 4.5 games and just added one of the best hitters in baseball and the winningest active pitcher. Oh, and by the way they also picked up a pair of veteran arms in Jim Crawford and George DeForest over the weekend as well. We might just win this thing and be the first team to repeat as CA champs since our current GM turned the trick three straight seasons in Brooklyn.

The cost was very large for the chance to bring Tom Bird and Rabbit Day to the Queen City. Frank Sears is a 22 year old pitcher who has looked very good in his 3 big league starts but with all of the reinforcements he would likely have been returned to Indianapolis this week. Then there is The Polish Hammer. Everything you hear tells you Dick Blaszak is going to be a terrific big league power hitter, maybe even the kind of talent that only comes around once every few years but you don't land a catcher of Tom Bird's skill -even a 36 year old- without paying a large price.

The Cannons felt earlier moves to bring in an extra first round pick and a top pitching prospect in Bob Arman from Boston helped set the stage for this deal. Both sides say it came up and was closed in just a matter of minutes but that does not mean the Cannons organization did not have a plan. They dealt a lot of future away last season to bring in players over the summer and that ended in a parade through downtown Cincinnati. It is unknown if that will happen again but you have to agree the chances are much better with Bird in the fold. If it doesn't, well with 2 first round picks and a new draft lottery system the Cannons are thinking they might just get lucky and claim the opportunity to draft a replacement for Blaszak as a top prospect in January. Cannons Scouting Director Bill Bordwell and his staff tell us there is plenty of high end talent available again this year. So while it is a big risk that Blaszak comes back to haunt you, the Cannons felt it was one the organization had to take.
*** TROUBLE FOR TIGERS ***

It seems like Cincinnati's American Football Association expansion club has dealt with nothing but problems. First there is that nagging thought that right now, in the middle of a war with a league that was forced to shrink a year ago because of player shortages, is a terrible time for a new club to enter the fray and hope to compete with the best the sport has to offer. Then there was that fiasco with the name Monarchs and the row with Queen City University, which had dibs on that moniker going back over 40 years.

Now the Tigers (formerly Monarchs) may have to go begging to Queen City U or some other college for a place to play. There is apparently some disagreement over the rent that Cannons magnate John E Tice and the newest AFA entry agreed upon for the Tigers to play at Tice Memorial Stadium. Both sides say they are confident it will get sorted out before the season opens next month but if not the Tigers may be forced to play out of the Lexington home of Central Kentucky, who is also nicknamed the Tigers so hopefully that doesn't force another name change on the pro grid team.

Behind the scenes the issue between Tice and the Cincinnati Tigers is said to be because the Cannons boos wanted the AFA bid for himself but the league went with a different group. Meanwhile, Tice is said to hold the certificate for the Cincinnati entry in the new and as of yet unnamed pro grid loop that Pittsburgh sportsman Dick Payne is said to be targeting for a 1945 kick-off.

A rotation with Tom Barrell, Rabbit Day and Jake Smith. A lineup with Al Wheeler, Tom Bird, Jack Cleaves and Sam Brown. Cannons would really have been something in 1936.
Al Wheeler is hitting just .163 as a Cannon but had a grand slam last week to help us beat the Cougars. Cannons won 3 of 4 in Chicago and 3 straight in Nee York. Still in 4th but now just 4.5 games back and made up 13 games in just over a month.
Tough week for Eli Panneton. The Stars rookie phenom drops to 4-2 after losing a heartbreaker 2-1 to Toronto and then getting rocked 10-3 in his first bad outing of his young caeer.
Speaking of heartbreakers, the Toronto Wolves dropped both ends of yesterday's doubleheader with the Cougars by a 3-2 score. Would have been very interesting had the score been reversed in each of those two games.
Chiefs Assistant GM Ed Peluso on the big trade: "Clearly trading Bird is a big deal. I never thought we would do it, but Blaszak in on a very short list of players we would consider. Besides even with the offense in Chicago this season, we are now 8.5 games behind Philly. Blaszak and Billy Brown in the corners after the war could be an explosive duo."
John Brinker of the New York Mirror weighs in on Bobby Barrell of the Keystones. "Barrell might be having, contextually in this wartime offense-starved environment, the best season since they heyday of Max Morris. He's nearly doubled-up on his closest HR competition has 100 RBIs already and is gaining on the overarchieving Don Miller and the not-so-much-overachieving Mel Carrol for the batting title.
Percy Sutherland notes "The interesting thing about the CA race is that Cincinnati is playing 3 wins below their run differential. And that run differential should only get better with Bird in the lineup. And this likely increases the chances of Day going into the HOF as a Cannon, particularly if they win the pennant.
Brooklyn Kings are thrilled with the start for second round pick Jackson Scott. The 19 year old had a 3-hit shutout in his Class C debut and followed that up with 8 innings allowing just 6 hits and 2-runs to improve to 2-0 with a 3-2 win over Burlington. Kings brass expects Scott will be moving up to Class B in the very near future. OSA has him at #86 overall on it's latest prospect rankings. The Kings system is suddenly very deep with 12 players ranked in the top 100 and up to 5th in the organizations rankings. Detroit, with that huge haul from January, is number one.

A sign that autumn is not that far away. Staffers for the Washington Wasps were seen packing up the club's equipment as the American Football Association team prepares to embark on it's annual summer trip west to San Diego for training camp. The Wasps return to the AFA after a one year absence due to war-related manpower shortages. The club will once again play a pair of tune-up contests against Arny All-Star teams before returning to the east coast for a couple of more preseason contests which will be held in Baltimore so as not to conflict with FABL's Washington Eagles late August and early September weekend dates at Columbia Stadium. The defending AFA champion Chicago Wildcats also plan to start their camp this week.

The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 7/31/1944

Prime Minister Churchill visited the front in Normandy and told Allied troops the Germans "are in a state of great turmoil" at home. Adding "they are shooting each other. It might be said that the fighting might come to an end earlier than we have a right to say."
Lt. Gen. Lesely J McNair, until recently commanding general of the Army Ground Forces, has been killed by enemy action in Normandy. Once called "the brains of the Army" by General George C. Marshall, McNair is the highest-ranking American officer killed in action in the present war.
Henry Ford, who built a billion-dollar industrial empire with an initial investment of $28,000, celebrated his 81st birthday yesterday and expressed confidence that "prosperity and a higher standard of living can be attained after the war."

11-04-2022, 11:48 AM	#558
Jiggs McGee All Star Reserve Join Date: Dec 2019 Posts: 677	July 31, 1944 Trade Deadline Is Here JULY 31, 1944 CANNONS ADD BIRD AND DAY AT DEADLINE The Continental Association race just became even more interesting after the Cincinnati Cannons added the best catcher active in the game right now and a 300-game winner who looks like he might still have a little something left in the tank. The Chicago Chiefs, seeing the Philadelphia Keystones riding further and further off in the distance, decided to waive the white flag for this season and look to the future. The deal, which both sides report came about quickly on the eve of the trade deadline sees 36 year old Tom Bird (.343,11,43) and 40 year old Rabbit Day (12-8, 3.42) leave Chicago and head to Cincinnati in exchange for 22 year old rookie pitcher Frank Sears (2-0, 3.15) and 22 year old outfield prospect Dick Blaszak, who has spent the past two years in the Marines but is considered one of the most explosive power-hitting prospects to come along in years. "We are suddenly in this thing (the pennant race) and felt it made sense to make this deal," explained Cannons Assistant General Manager Red Franklin. "Tom Bird is the best catcher in the sport and Rabbit Day is....well, Rabbit Day. You won't find many better at his age." The Cannons have fired back into the Continental Association pennant race and are coming off a series in which they took three of four games from the slumping Chicago Cougars. Cincinnati has made up 13 games in the standings in just over a month and are suddenly in a position where they can become the first CA team to repeat as pennnant winners since the Brooklyn Kings won three straight from 1936-38. The Continental race will be a dogfight with 4 teams now separated by just 4.5 games. This is astonishing when you consider that just a few short weeks ago the title had all but been conceeded to the Chicago Cougars when they had a double-digit lead on the rest of the loop. * A Return Home, of Sorts, For Day * The trade brings Rabbit Day back to the organization he started his big league career with way back in 1927. So much has changed with the Cannons since then -most notably they now reside in Cincinnati instead of Baltimore- but for the 40 year old Day his career comes full circle. He has had a terrific season this year with a 12 more wins to pad his total to 315, and it is even more special when one considers there was much speculation that Day would retire over the winter after struggling through what many consider to be the worst season of his career in 1943. Day is an important acquistion, but it is Tom Bird that is clearly the key to the trade for Cincinnati. The Cannons lost Adam Mullins to the war effort after a Whitney Award winning season and now they have replaced him with one of the few catchers that might just be as good, or even better, than Mullins. Bird has never won a Whitney but does own a WCS MVP award and 9 all-star appearances. Durability might be a concern as he is showing signs of breaking down but that has not slowed his bat as when he is healthy Bird is still one of the most dangerous hitters in the league. The Cannons offense has struggled at times, and Bird was clearly the best possible addition they could make to improve it. Now the question comes is that enough to win a pennant and make the hefty price worth it. Blaszak is by all accounts one of the best power hitting prospects the game has ever seen. He is cut from the Red Johnson cloth and may just have more power than the Gothams slugging first baseman. The concern is because of the war he has not played in 2 years and has never played above the Class B level but OSA loves his skillset and the Chiefs are confident he will be a huge hit in Chicago where his nickname "The Polish Hammer" immediately makes him a fan favourite. *Several Minor Deals Made As Trade Deadline Closes In * Chicago added pitcher Billy Riley from the New York Stars a week ago and that seemed to spur Cincinnati into action as the Cannons -dealing with season ending injuries to Deuce Barell and Vic Carroll- added pitchers Jim Crawford from Brooklyn and George DeForest from Detroit. After the big series win over Chicago the Cannons had an informal discussion with the Chiefs brass and it quickly snowballed into a major trade. One which further complicates a suddenly surprising CA picture. Prior to the blockbuster deal between Cincinnati and the Chicago Chiefs the big story of the trade deadline appeared to be the lack of big name movement. Sure the Chiefs dealt Al Wheeler, the Cannons sent Billy Dalton packing and the Cougars acquired Billy Riley but that was barely a ripple compared to the tidal wave of trades last summer. It was almost a disappointment -until the big Day and Bird deal- that little was happening despite plenty of speculation -most of it out of Detroit- that the Dynamos were prepared to make another big splash and send Sal Pestilli packing. Of course with Pestilli in the armed forces for the duration there is far less urgency on Detroit's part- or any potential suitor- to get a deal done today. The Chicago Cougars were somewhat busy with a pair of moves to follow up the deal they made a week ago to bring veteran pitcher Billy Riley in from New York. First the Cougars sent veteran outfielder Dan Fowler to the Chicago Chiefs in exchange for the rights to young pitcher Howard Miller Jr., who is presently in the Army. Then the Cougars sent AAA first baseman Cuno Meyer to Detroit in exchange for a 7th round pick. Detroit was also involved in one of the other two trades, which both included Cincinnati adding pitchers. First the Cannons added 35 year old George DeForest from Detroit in exchange for 40 year old outfielder Henry Jones and a 9th round draft pick. Then the Cannons added another veteran arm in Jim Crawford, who heads west from Brooklyn in exchange for a 5th round draft choice. A Cougars spokesman explained the trade of Dan Fowler makes room for 22-year-old Don Lee to make his big league debut, as team hopes "Rap" can spark some life back into a struggling Cougar squad. A hard worker and team leader, the former 2nd Rounder is the brother of enlisted Sailors shortstop Rip Lee. In 79 games with AAA Milwaukee, Lee has hit an outstanding .288/.424/.465 (151 OPS+) with 20 doubles, 6 triples, 7 homers, 15 steals, and 45 RBIs, while sporting a 73-to-29 walk-to-strikeout ratio. He's not nearly as good on the grass as Orlin Yates, but he offers plenty more at the plate, and will take a majority of the starts against lefties. Lee currently ranks as the 7th best prospect in the Cougars organization and 95th overall The Cannons preliminary moves were made because of the injuries to ace Deuce Barrell as well as another solid starter in Vic Carroll. The club was happy to grant veteran Henry Jones his wish to finish out his career in Detroit -where it all started for the 40 year old outfielder but the truth is there was no way the Cannons could play Jones and the recently acquired Al Wheeler in the same outfield together. Jones is having a good year -hitting .294 with 5 homers but would have been restricted to pinch-hitting duties with Cincinnati the rest of the way and he is batting just .188 with 0 HR in 32 pinch-hit ABs this season. George DeForest is 35 but having a decent season when used carefully in Detroit. He likely will continue as a swing man in Cincinnati as the Cannons hope that Crawford (7-11, 3.87) can step into the #3 spot in the rotation for the rest of the year. Both Crawford and DeForest are very familiar to the Cannons brass and add to the growing collection of players who were acquired or drafted by the Cannons General Manager when he was in Brooklyn. JOHN BRINKER'S TAKE ON THE BIG DEAL- I would say this about the deal - it really boils down to Bird & Blaszak. Day & Sears are about equal in ability right now, but obviously Day's old and Sears is young. So the Chiefs accomplish their presumed goal of getting a great young player in Blaszak (assuming he comes back from the war without deleterious effect) and replace an aged slightly-below average arm with a young slightly-below average arm. This move is obviously all future for the Chiefs and is therefore a gamble. Blaszak should be a cornerstone player. The mitigating factor for him is that he is currently in the Marine Corps - and fighting in the Pacific - not holding down a cushy stateside job training recruits how to do jumping jacks (they don't give those jobs to Class B ballplayers). Sears is a bit of a flier - he's looked pretty good so far, but likely needs a bit of developmental luck to really be a big pickup long-term. On the Cannons' side of the ledger this is a splashy move bringing in two future Hall-of-Famers for a short-term boost now that the Continental Association is once again competitive. Bird is a big pickup. With Mullins serving Uncle Sam, Bird brings a big bat and a bigger resume to the catching position in Cincinnati. And Rabbit Day? Sure, he's not what he once was, but he's back with the organization with whom he spawned his legend and both he & Bird have championship experience. Will it be enough for the Cannons to win the pennant, let alone the Championship? Hard to say because the battle in the CA now looks like at least a three-way battle between the Cougars, Wolves and Cannons so Cincinnati has to hope it has enough, ahem, "firepower" to overcome the cats & dogs. KEYSTONES STRETCH FED LEAD The Philadelphia Keystones have opened the widest gap between first and second place the Federal Association has seen all season as wins in 11 of their last 13 games have helped the Keystones open up a 7 and a half game lead on second place Boston. The Minutemen are in the midst of a long road trip that started well enough with 3 wins in 4 games at Philadelphia but since then the New Englanders are 7-7 and losing ground every week to the Keystones. The good news for the Minutemen is their trip comes to an end with games in Detroit today and tomorrow. After they, the Boston nine are back at Minutemen Park for the next 3 weeks. The bad news for Boston -and the rest of the Fed- is there appears to be no stopping Bobby Barrell. The Georgia Jolter was named the top player in the Fed for the second week in a row and the 5th time this season. He is on a pace for 46 homers and 152 rbi's - numbers that have not been seen since Sal Pestilli clouted 46 in 1938 and Barrell himself drove in 162 in 1936. Barrell presently has 30 homeruns and no one else in either Association has more than 16. homers or 66 rbi's. A triple crown might even be in reach as Barrell is hitting .334 and within sight of Washington's Don Miller, who leads the Fed at a .352 clip. 1945 DRAFT PREVIEW PART 2: HIGH SCHOOL POSITION PLAYERS This looks like another exceptional class of high school position players with OSA presently projecting multiple all-star trips for three of them. We only do a top ten list but there are so many worthy candidates here we likely could have gone twenty deep and still been discussing highly talented high school position players. Here is a look at the six high school position players that cracked our initial mock of this class just under a year ago. Code: WAY TO EARLY 1945 DRAFT MOCK RANKINGS OF FIRST ROUND # NAME AGE POS SCHOOL HOMETOWN OSA ASSESSMENT 1 DAN FINCH 16 3B Bowman (SC) HS Darlington, SC could make multiple trips to All-Star Game 3 MICKEY McCLURE 16 RF Seymour (CT) HS Middlesex, NJ could make multiple trips to All-Star Game 8 IKE PERRY 16 C Navasota (TX) HS Hearne, TX high ceiling, projects well on field and at plate 10 PAUL WILLIAMS 16 LF Clayton HS, St Louis St Louis, MO potential elite OF on contending team 12 HARRY McCUE 16 1B Branford (CT) HS New York, NY protected as an elite starting 1B 16 BOB RUSSO 16 C Hatboro (PA) HS Wilkes-Barre, PA potential to unleash obvious talent All but #16 on that list make the new top ten and Russo was very close to cracking it. Here is a look at what OSA believes are the top ten high school position players eligible for the January draft. 1: DAN FINCH 3B: Bowman (SC) HS -A natural leader, OSA feels the 17 year old third baseman has the potential to play in a number of all-star games. Has everything you want in a third baseman: excellent eye, above average power and shown he is a solid defender. He has hit 14 homers and batted .445 in two seasons of high school ball but scouts would like to see him improve upon those numbers as a senior. Bowman High has a pretty strong program in South Carolina with a pair of players from the school -infielder Ralph Booker and OF Al Lynch expected to be drafted in 1946, but neither will approach Finch's level. Another Bowman High alum is Jimmy Hairston, a highly thought of outfielder in the Cougars system. Hairston was a 1943 teammate of Finch's before the Cougars selected him in the fourth round and he is presently in his second season at the Class C level. 2: PAUL WILLAIMS LF: Clayton HS, St Louis, Mo. - Another leader with the potential to play in many all-star games, Williams goes full throttle at all times. Hit .473 with 9 homers in 50 games the past two seasons. OSA feels he could be one of the best hitters in the league with his combination of outstanding contact ability and above average power potential. Williams is looking to top Bob Petty, a pitcher taken in the third round of the 1939 draft by the Chicago Cougars, as the highest drafted Clayton High alum. 3: HARRY McCUE 1B: Branford (CT) HS - The third of the high school hitters OSA sees as a future all-star, McCue was born in New York City but grew up in Connecticut. Very smart he likely will have plenty of colleges after him so there will be competition for the FABL club that selects McCue. Has a great stroke and projects to hit for high average but likely will not be an elite power hitter. McCue will need to have a big career to be the most successful ballplayer out of Connecticut's Branford High as New York Stars former first round pick Wally Hunter is a graduate. Hunter won 24 games for the Hornets over 3 seasons before the Stars selected him. He made his big league debut at 21 in 1943 but is presently in the Army Air Corps. Branford High has actually been a pretty good source for FABL draft picks beyond Hunter and McCue. There is Cecil Cook, a Keystones fifth rounder in 1936, Chicago Chiefs 1938 12th round pick Ive Goldstein, Bob Wolf drafted in the 11th round in 1942 by Brooklyn, and most recently Jack Jordan, a third baseman chosen in the 15th round two months ago by the Montreal Saints. 4: IKE PERRY C: Navasota (TX) HS -The 2-time High School All-American has a great work ethic and is a very sure-handed and reliable catcher. He has plus-plus contact potential and should be an above average power hitter. Sounds a lot like fellow Texas native T.R. Goins but that might be too high a ceiling for Perry. Maybe more like Mike Taylor was in his prime would be a fairer comparison. 5: CARL CLARK CF: Springfield (MO) HS -One of the younger players available as Clark won't turn 17 until later this month. OSA feels he can develop into an elite big league centerfielder with plus contact skills, an advanced feel for the strikeout zone with likely average power. Clark, a starter each of his 3 seasons at Springfield High, has a high school slash line of .459/.550/.745 in 71 games. OSA also notes he has the mental makeup to handle big game situations. 6: HERB KELLER SS: Bakersfield (CA) HS -Just the one season of high school ball for the 17 year old Keller, and his offensive numbers .427/.500/.685 were not overly impressive but OSA says it will come, noting he has a great stroke and projects to hit for high average. The verdict from the scouting service in Keller will be an elite big league shortstop. Keller looks to follow another Bakersfield High grad into pro ball. Barney Burke is a first baseman drafted in the 17th round in 1940 and is presently playing Class B ball in the Forester organization. Of course the most famous Bakersfield born ballplayer is none other than Rabbit Day of the Chicago Chiefs. 7: MICKEY McCLURE RF: Seymour (CT) HS -Another player the scouting service feels can become an elite big leaguer at his position. McClure has an impeccable eye at the dish and well above average contact potential. He might not him a lot of homers but did smack 9 in 69 high school games over his three seasons at Seymour. 8: MIKE COCHRAN 2B: Pelton HS, San Francisco, Ca. -Scouts say if you can tolerate occasional lapses in the field from him, Cochran could be one of the top offensive second baseman in the league someday. A very confident player with terrific mechanics at the plate, the San Francisco native hit .482 in his first and so far only season of high school ball. Cochran is vying to become the third player drafted out of San Francisco's Pelton High School. Art Fifield was a 21st round pick of Montreal in 1934 and the Philadelphia Keystones took Stan Kent in the 9th round of the 1938 draft. Kent is presently serving in the Army. 9: PHIL BILLMAN LF: Dickson City (PA) HS -Loads of talent and plenty of power potential but the knock on Billman is he is not as motivated as he should be and perhaps lacks the baseball sense you see in many high end prospects. He is 6'2", 180 lbs so the power should improve as he fills it. He hit just 11 homers in 68 games but had 44 doubles so the power potential is certainly there. His high school teammate George Rikard was a 9th round pick of Cleveland just a couple of months ago and is presently pitching in Class C. 10: HOWDY CALDERONE RF: Union Bridge (MD) HS - Calderone is much like Billman in some ways. Both have loads of potential but the work ethic comes into question. Where he differs is Calderone is much more of a gap hitter than a power bat. He is small (5'9", 155 lbs) and relies on speed as well as a sweet, fluid swing. He has played two seasons of high school and took a small step forward in all 3 slash numbers. Scouts project that development to continue. Code: HONOURABLE MENTION NAME POS SCHOOL Bob Russo C Hatboro (PA) HS George Brown 1B Bridgeport (CT) HS Howie Ticer 1B Bluff City (TN) HS Pat Roninson 2B Durant (OK) HS Al Browner 3B Wharton (TX) HS Pat Kisiel SS St Aloysius HS, New Orleans, LA Max Rice SS McKinley HS, Chicago, IL Mickey Bednar CF Camden (NJ) HS Rudy Gerbaugh CF Oglesby (IL) HS Billy Ingram CF Eutaw (AL) HS Adam Sharp CF Lincoln HS, Philadelphia, PA Ernie Ross LF Factoryville (PA) HS Arnold Alderson RF Curtis HS, Staten Island, NY Ralph Morrison RF Goshen (IN) HS Willie Taylor RF Chehalis (WA) HS Next week we will look at the top draft eligible high school pitchers. CANNONS MAKE MAJOR MOVE -Oh boy! What a week. The Cincinnati Cannons took 3 of 4 games from the Cougars in Chicago and then took two superstars away from the Windy City after a huge trade with the Federal Association Chicago Chiefs. Yes, by now you know the great news. Tom Bird and Rabbit Day are coming to Cincinnati and expected to be in uniform this week. So everyone, myself included, who jumped off the bandwagon a little over a month ago when we were 17.5 games back and a repeat as World Champions seemed about as likely as us having to learn German nowadays, can hop back up on the bus as your Cannons are now within 4.5 games and just added one of the best hitters in baseball and the winningest active pitcher. Oh, and by the way they also picked up a pair of veteran arms in Jim Crawford and George DeForest over the weekend as well. We might just win this thing and be the first team to repeat as CA champs since our current GM turned the trick three straight seasons in Brooklyn. The cost was very large for the chance to bring Tom Bird and Rabbit Day to the Queen City. Frank Sears is a 22 year old pitcher who has looked very good in his 3 big league starts but with all of the reinforcements he would likely have been returned to Indianapolis this week. Then there is The Polish Hammer. Everything you hear tells you Dick Blaszak is going to be a terrific big league power hitter, maybe even the kind of talent that only comes around once every few years but you don't land a catcher of Tom Bird's skill -even a 36 year old- without paying a large price. The Cannons felt earlier moves to bring in an extra first round pick and a top pitching prospect in Bob Arman from Boston helped set the stage for this deal. Both sides say it came up and was closed in just a matter of minutes but that does not mean the Cannons organization did not have a plan. They dealt a lot of future away last season to bring in players over the summer and that ended in a parade through downtown Cincinnati. It is unknown if that will happen again but you have to agree the chances are much better with Bird in the fold. If it doesn't, well with 2 first round picks and a new draft lottery system the Cannons are thinking they might just get lucky and claim the opportunity to draft a replacement for Blaszak as a top prospect in January. Cannons Scouting Director Bill Bordwell and his staff tell us there is plenty of high end talent available again this year. So while it is a big risk that Blaszak comes back to haunt you, the Cannons felt it was one the organization had to take. * TROUBLE FOR TIGERS * It seems like Cincinnati's American Football Association expansion club has dealt with nothing but problems. First there is that nagging thought that right now, in the middle of a war with a league that was forced to shrink a year ago because of player shortages, is a terrible time for a new club to enter the fray and hope to compete with the best the sport has to offer. Then there was that fiasco with the name Monarchs and the row with Queen City University, which had dibs on that moniker going back over 40 years. Now the Tigers (formerly Monarchs) may have to go begging to Queen City U or some other college for a place to play. There is apparently some disagreement over the rent that Cannons magnate John E Tice and the newest AFA entry agreed upon for the Tigers to play at Tice Memorial Stadium. Both sides say they are confident it will get sorted out before the season opens next month but if not the Tigers may be forced to play out of the Lexington home of Central Kentucky, who is also nicknamed the Tigers so hopefully that doesn't force another name change on the pro grid team. Behind the scenes the issue between Tice and the Cincinnati Tigers is said to be because the Cannons boos wanted the AFA bid for himself but the league went with a different group. Meanwhile, Tice is said to hold the certificate for the Cincinnati entry in the new and as of yet unnamed pro grid loop that Pittsburgh sportsman Dick Payne is said to be targeting for a 1945 kick-off. A rotation with Tom Barrell, Rabbit Day and Jake Smith. A lineup with Al Wheeler, Tom Bird, Jack Cleaves and Sam Brown. Cannons would really have been something in 1936. Al Wheeler is hitting just .163 as a Cannon but had a grand slam last week to help us beat the Cougars. Cannons won 3 of 4 in Chicago and 3 straight in Nee York. Still in 4th but now just 4.5 games back and made up 13 games in just over a month. Tough week for Eli Panneton. The Stars rookie phenom drops to 4-2 after losing a heartbreaker 2-1 to Toronto and then getting rocked 10-3 in his first bad outing of his young caeer. Speaking of heartbreakers, the Toronto Wolves dropped both ends of yesterday's doubleheader with the Cougars by a 3-2 score. Would have been very interesting had the score been reversed in each of those two games. Chiefs Assistant GM Ed Peluso on the big trade: "Clearly trading Bird is a big deal. I never thought we would do it, but Blaszak in on a very short list of players we would consider. Besides even with the offense in Chicago this season, we are now 8.5 games behind Philly. Blaszak and Billy Brown in the corners after the war could be an explosive duo." John Brinker of the New York Mirror weighs in on Bobby Barrell of the Keystones. "Barrell might be having, contextually in this wartime offense-starved environment, the best season since they heyday of Max Morris. He's nearly doubled-up on his closest HR competition has 100 RBIs already and is gaining on the overarchieving Don Miller and the not-so-much-overachieving Mel Carrol for the batting title. Percy Sutherland notes "The interesting thing about the CA race is that Cincinnati is playing 3 wins below their run differential. And that run differential should only get better with Bird in the lineup. And this likely increases the chances of Day going into the HOF as a Cannon, particularly if they win the pennant. Brooklyn Kings are thrilled with the start for second round pick Jackson Scott. The 19 year old had a 3-hit shutout in his Class C debut and followed that up with 8 innings allowing just 6 hits and 2-runs to improve to 2-0 with a 3-2 win over Burlington. Kings brass expects Scott will be moving up to Class B in the very near future. OSA has him at #86 overall on it's latest prospect rankings. The Kings system is suddenly very deep with 12 players ranked in the top 100 and up to 5th in the organizations rankings. Detroit, with that huge haul from January, is number one. A sign that autumn is not that far away. Staffers for the Washington Wasps were seen packing up the club's equipment as the American Football Association team prepares to embark on it's annual summer trip west to San Diego for training camp. The Wasps return to the AFA after a one year absence due to war-related manpower shortages. The club will once again play a pair of tune-up contests against Arny All-Star teams before returning to the east coast for a couple of more preseason contests which will be held in Baltimore so as not to conflict with FABL's Washington Eagles late August and early September weekend dates at Columbia Stadium. The defending AFA champion Chicago Wildcats also plan to start their camp this week. The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 7/31/1944 Prime Minister Churchill visited the front in Normandy and told Allied troops the Germans "are in a state of great turmoil" at home. Adding "they are shooting each other. It might be said that the fighting might come to an end earlier than we have a right to say." Lt. Gen. Lesely J McNair, until recently commanding general of the Army Ground Forces, has been killed by enemy action in Normandy. Once called "the brains of the Army" by General George C. Marshall, McNair is the highest-ranking American officer killed in action in the present war. Henry Ford, who built a billion-dollar industrial empire with an initial investment of $28,000, celebrated his 81st birthday yesterday and expressed confidence that "prosperity and a higher standard of living can be attained after the war." __________________ Lead Columnist of The Figment Sporting Journal The Scripture of Sports Last edited by Jiggs McGee; 11-04-2022 at 01:23 PM.