JANUARY 22, 1945
KEEP BASEBALL AS GI TONIC, PAPENFUS URGES
Seattle, Jan 16- Pete 'The Heater' Papenfus, the kid from Willow Springs, Mo., who was the smoke ball king of FABL, was back in the United States today with the conviction that baseball "is one of the American ideals we in the service are fighting for."
Chief Specialist Papenfus made port yesterday after an 18-month tour of duty which took him into both Pacific and Atlantic Oceans so he knows what he is talking about. Baseball gives the men in foxholes and on the ships at sea something "to dream of seeing again at home," said the 1941 Allen Award winner. "I can't for the life of me see how a handful of 4-Fs and overage men playing baseball can make much difference in our war effort."
KEYSTONES ADD VETERAN OUTFIELDER GRIFFITH FOR AFTER WAR
There was not a lot of trade activity during the FABL amateur player draft but one move did see all-star centerfielder Bob Griffith head to the Philadelphia Keystones. The 28 year old Ohio native likely won't be joining the Keystones outfield this season as he joined the Army in November shortly after helping the Cincinnati Cannons defeat the Keystones in last year's World Championship Series.
A two year starter in Cincinnati after being selected by the organization in the third round of the 1934 draft, Griffith hit .291 last season and made the Continental Association all-star team. However, with the Cannons having added Gail Gifford from St Louis to replace Griffith while he is at war, and having a post-war outfield that will also include Fred Galloway, Al Wheeler, Sam Brown and Mike T. Taylor there was limited opportunity for Griffith with the Cannons.
The Keystones sent their third and fourth round picks in the current draft to the Cannons in order to have Griffith hopefully join them next year. The Keystones plan, according to Philadelphia Inquisitor columnist Johnny Bologna is for Griffith to be in center field, flanked by Bobby Barrell and Hank McKay. This would allow current starter Chuck Hood, who saw his average sink to just .256 last season, to take on a reserve role with either young Charlie Enslow or Bobby McHenry. The plan is for Griffith to be a placeholder for a season or two until either Enslow or 20 year old prospect Johnnie Porter is ready for full-time duty in the middle of the Broad Street Park outfield.
CANNONS LOOK FOR HIGH SCHOOL TALENT IN DRAFT
The Cincinnati Cannons had a long wait before they could make their first selection in the 1945 FABL draft but they feel they acquired a pretty solid young third base prospect in Texas high schooler Al Browner. The 17 year old hit .461 with 4 homeruns in 25 games as a junior at Wharton High School last season. Cannons head scout Bill Bordwell feels Browner has the potential to be an above average big league third baseman and should have some pop in his bat. The Cannons entered the draft targeting a third baseman but it was reported to be local college product Bob 'Junior' Miller they coveted.
Miller has plenty of ties, both to the city and the organization, but was selected by Cleveland 6 picks ahead of the Cannons in the second round. In addition to playing his college ball at Queen City University and being from nearby Lancaster, Oh., Miller's father Bob Sr. spent his entire 12 year big league career with the Cannons organization. They were based in Baltimore then but Miller posted a 99-123 career mark after being a first round pick back in 1922.
*** Griffith dispatched to Keystones ****
The Cannons dealt outfielder Bob Griffith, who played so well last season but is now serving in the Army, to the Philadelphia Keystones for a third and a fourth round pick. Griffith likely should have been worth more after his all-star season but the Cannons, with a surplus of big league outfielders once the war ends, received little in the way of interest primarily due to other teams being concerned about roster surpluses of their own.
Griffith should do well with the Keystones and the trade gave Cincinnati back to back picks at the end of both the third and fourth rounds. In round three the club opted for a pair of high school pitchers in Jimmy Block and Alex Drake. Block is 6'5" righthander and a three-sport star at Dundee High School in Michigan wth a 25-7 record over the past three seasons. Bordwell sees him as a future number 4 of 5 starter which is also how he projects Drake. The 18 year old lefthander has pitched just one season for Trenton (NJ) High, but was very impressive with an 8-1 record and a 1.20 era to go with a 13.4 K/9 rate.
In the fourth round the Cannons dipped into the college ranks for catcher Chet Bower. The 20 year old from Macon State had an impressive debut season of AIAA ball, hitting .291 with 8 homers in 52 games. Bower is projected to develop into an above-average catcher according to Boshart. The second pick from the Keystones was used on Max Conrad, a speedy centerfielder out of a California high school. Boshart feels the 18 year old has the talent to flourish as a big league outfielder some day.
- Wartime's second dimout in America is due February 1, but more than likely the lights will stay on for athletic events. A War Production Board official disclosed that baseball will not be affected by the new night-lighting restrictions, which has caused other sports to take heart. So basketball, hockey and boxing are looking to business as usual the remainder of the indoor season. Racing -both horse and dog- is going to take a beating as there is no indiciation the an on those sports will be lifted soon, but for baseball it is one big obstacle overcome. Now, just the matter of the 4-F's remains.
- The Japanese Baseball Association has officially announced it will not hold a season in 1945. The loop played a very reduced schedule a year ago and has decided to suspend operations indefinitely. The Kobe Bulls won their third straight tile last season in the seven year old loop.
CONTINENTAL FOOTBALL CONFERENCE GRID LOOP OUTLOOK APPEARS BRIGHT
Lt. Commander Ben Montgomery has his post-war job all lined as President of the Continental Football Conference and while officially he isn't supposed to devote any thought to matters outside a tight circle of Navy business, Montgomery did a little unofficial thinking yesterday. Montgomery, who was a key piece of the famous St Blane backfield in the mid-1920s and formerly head football coach at Brooklyn State, opined his circuit would be a full-fledged rival for the long established American Football Association. In fact, he is already thinking of a world championship game between the two league champions -but that's unofficial from the league's as well as the Navy's viewpoint.
The Continental loop plans to be a far-flung organization, stretching from coast to coast, and from the Canadian to the Mexican border. The setup involves not only much travel, but wide variation in climate and we suggest it might pose a problem or two. But the commander brushed the thought aside.
"Our teams will make the long hops by plane and we'll arrange the schedule so that games in northern areas will be played early in the season to take advantage of good weather there, while the late games can be played out in California."
How about players? Won't the new league find it tough to our-bargain the well-established American Association? Wouldn't the AFA be stronger -on paper at least- immediately after the war? Montgomery said no, no and no.
Club owners of the new organization, which will include franchises at Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago and New York, are prepared, spiritually and financially, to take a loss for at least five years. At the end of that time the league president-to-be believes most will be on solid footing or the league will be revamped to meet changing situations.
The Continental Conference will set up a draft system of its own, and Montgomery, with a twinkle in his Irish eye, said he thought any club in his circuit could bid as high for any player as the club who drafted him in the rival loop. As for relative strength of the two wheels, he says they'll start on fairly even footing after the war because a number of AFAers now in service will be too old to be of an real vaule when ustered out.
Finally Montgomery weighed in with his thoughts on the topic of 4-F athletes. He hopes some way will be foun to continue sport in this country because the boys on those arid pin points in the Pacific, in the swamps and jungles of the world down under, eat 'em up. He knows the score in that game because he was out there for 18 months before recently returning home.
ST PATRICK'S TAKES OVER TOP SPOT IN COLLEGE CAGE RANKINGS
The college basketball rankings show a new number one team this week after Central Carolina lost for just the second time this season. The Cardinals fell to their biggest rival in the South Atlantic Conference, dropping a 47-43 decision on the road against North Carolina Tech. That opened the door for both St Patrick's and Annapolis Maritime to sneak ahead of the Cardinals, who had held down the top spot all season.
Being independents and as such having no conference schedule means that both the Shamrocks and Navigators are nearing the end of their games for the season. Each is 20-2 after both had successful results this week. St Patrick's had little trouble in beating Boston State, Smithfield College and Alabame Gulf Coast this week but do have some tough games coming up on the schedule with the biggest being the February 2nd tussle with Annapolis Maritime at the Bigsby Garden in New York. The Navigators beat North Carolina Atlantic 69-53 yesterday to extend their winning streak to 11 games.
Code:
COLLEGIATE BASKETBALL RANKINGS
# Team FPV Record Points Prv Conference
1. St. Patrick's (72) 20-2 1800 2 Indy Northeast
2. Annapolis Maritime 20-2 1688 4 Indy South
3. Carolina Poly 13-2 1641 1 South Atlantic Conference
4. Rainier College 15-1 1616 5 West Coast Athletic Association
5. Liberty College 19-3 1510 6 Indy East
6. Mobile Maritime 13-2 1415 8 South Atlantic Conference
7. CC Los Angeles 14-2 1373 3 West Coast Athletic Association
8. North Carolina Tech 13-4 1311 10 South Atlantic Conference
9. Western Iowa 12-3 1216 9 Great Lakes Alliance
10. Chesapeake State 13-3 1167 7 South Atlantic Conference
11. Garden State 13-3 1069 13 Liberty Conference
12. Lincoln 12-3 944 14 Great Lakes Alliance
13. St. Blane 16-5 942 11 Indy East
14. Great Plains State 18-4 913 15 Indy Midwest
15. Mississippi A&M 12-4 809 12 Deep South Conference
16. Ohio Poly 15-5 620 21 Indy Midwest
17. Miami State 16-4 609 18 Indy South
18. St. Pancras 16-4 604 20 Indy East
19. Coastal California 12-5 593 17 West Coast Athletic Association
20. Noble Jones College 12-4 384 NR Deep South Conference
21. Alabama Baptist 12-4 311 NR Deep South Conference
22. St. Martin's College 15-6 291 NR Indy Northeast
23. Conwell College 15-5 226 19 Indy East
24. Plover College 14-5 86 NR Indy Midwest
25. Western Florida 11-5 67 23 Deep South Conference
Others Receiving Votes:
Middlesex 15-5 43 Indy Northeast
Northern California 10-6 40 West Coast Athletic Association
Wichita Baptist 14-5 34 Midwestern Association
Empire State 11-4 23 Liberty Conference
Darnell State 11-4 20 Southwestern Alliance
California Catholic 13-5 13 California League
Harper College 15-5 12 Indy East
Eastern State 14-6 6 Indy South
Elyria 13-5 4 Indy East
RESULTS INVOLVING RANKED TEAMS
MONDAY JANUARY 15
#1 St Patrick's 54 Boston State 27
#13 St Blane 44 Tempe College 20
TUESDAY JANUARY 16
#2 Annapolis Maritime 49 Harrisburg State 46
#10 Chesapeake State 52 Cumberland 32
#18 St Pancras 56 Sunnyvale 34
#20 Noble Jones College 48 Oklahoma Bible College 45
#21 Alabama Baptist 51 Topeka State 48
#22 St Martin's College 45 Constitution State 35
#24 Plover College 39 Red River State 29
#25 Western Florida 51 Glover(GA) 44
WEDNESDAY JANUARY 17
#1 St Patrick's 46 Smithfield College 31
#14 Great Plains State 47 Springfield State 37
#16 Ohio Poly 50 Lexington State 44
THURSDAY JANUARY 18
#2 Annapolis Maritime 49 University of New Jersey 33
#8 North Carolina Tech 47 #3 Carolina Poly 43
#6 Mobile Maritime 56 Columbia Military Academy 48
#9 Western Iowa 49 Minnesota Tech 28
Central Carolina 56 #10 Chesapeake State 47
#11 Garden State 39 Brooklyn State 31
#12 Lincoln 37 Wisconsin State 26
#18 St Pancras 47 Bethlehem College 35
#20 Noble Jones College 67 Armstrong 32
#21 Alabama Baptist 62 Daniel Boone College 37
FRIDAY JANUARY 19
#1 St Patrick's 48 Alabama Gulf Coast 24
#4 Rainier College 43 Portland Tech 28
#5 Liberty College 58 Topeka State 47
#19 Coastal California 34 #7 CC Los Angeles 26
#17 Miami State 63 Oklahoma Bible College 49
SATURDAY JANUARY 20
#6 Mobile Maritime 50 #15 Mississippi A&M 40
#9 Western Iowa 42 Central Ohio 29
#12 Lincoln 33 Indiana A&M 30
College of Omaha 46 #13 St Blane 43
#14 Great Plains State 58 Capital(MS) University 28
#15 Ohio Poly 36 Michigan Lutheran 22
#21 Alabama Baptist 39 College of Cairo 27
#22 St Martin's College 49 Eastern State 36
Queen City 51 #25 Western Florida 49
SUNDAY JANUARY 21
#2 Annapolis Maritime 69 North Carolina Atlantic 53
#4 Rainier College 47 Lane State 43
#7 CC Los Angeles 39 Idaho A&M 26
#10 Chesapeake State 57 #23 Conwell College 41
#18 St Pancras 50 Bay State 39
Northern California 53 #19 Coastal California 45
HILLARD WINS BY TKO
Gil Hillard -the Phoenix born heavyweight who had a slow start to his career but has been making some noise in the southwest of late, was back in the ring Saturday night and scored another victory. Hillard's overall mark is an unimpressive 11-9-1 but he has strung together some fine outings of late and ran his winning streak to 5 bouts with an 11th round technical knockout of Raleigh Morton in their weekend tilt in San Antonio, Tx.
Among Hillard's recent victims are Daron Ross -who entered their fight a perfect 7-0 and veteran Cowboy Ron Ramsey, who had lost just once in 19 fights before facing Hillard. Morton is not quite up to those standards, now sporting a 10-9-1 record and having lost each of his last five fights but had only been stopped once before in his career.
NOTABLE FIGHT RESULTS FROM PAST WEEK
HW Harris Martin (18-12-5) win by DQ over Coy Parks (12-20-2)
HW Tim Blanton (10-10-2) win by TKO in 11th over Eric Washington (14-17-6)
HM Brian Sinclair (7-27-2) unanimous decision over Richard Snyder (20-14-2)
The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 1/21/1945
- President Roosevelt was inaugrated for an unprecendented fourth term, and warned against isolation nothing that we shall have no lasting peace if we approach it's committments with suspicion, mistrust and fear.
- A key East Prussia fort falls as the Red Army drive gains 37 miles in a single day. A day later Warsaw falls in the greatest Russian offensive of the war.
- Prime Minister Churchill told Commons today that the Allies will fight on until Germany surrenders unconditionally even if such a policy stiffens Nazi resistance and prolongs the war.
- US Secretary of War Stimson announced that American ground forces along suffered 332,912 casualties on the western front since D-Day on June 6 to January 1. The total includes 54,562 killed and 45,676 missing.
- Under the threat of increasing bombing attacks, Tokyo has announced plans to move it's government offices underground on a "permanent basis."
- Under the direction of the War Department, doctors at Army Induction Centers across the country have began the physical re-examination of thousands of 4-F's. The exams are counted on to replace previous decisions in cases of men barred from the army as physically unfit and has targeted men between 18 and 30 who were rejected by army doctors on or before February 1, 1944.