[Tiger Fan]

APRIL 17, 1950

SURPRISING VALIANTS CONTINUE TO IMPRESS

Eliminate Dukes, Take Series Lead on Shamrocks

The Montreal Valiants are three victories away from lifting the Challenge Cup for the first time since the spring of 1928. The Valiants disposed of the two-time defending champion Toronto Dukes with surprising ease in the semi-finals, taking the best of seven series in just one game over the minimum before continuing their strong playoff performance with a 4-2 victory over the first place New York Shamrocks in the Greenshirts backyard last night. The victory, on Bigsby Garden ice to start the best of seven series with the most famous trophy in sports awaiting as the prize, was also accomplished with relative ease as second period goals from Clarence Skinner, Paulie Mosca and Ian Doyle vaulted the Vals into a 3-1 lead and that was all the offense veteran Cup-savvy Montreal goaltender Tom Brockers needed in his 26 save performance in the opener.

Unlike most of the Vals, who did make a run to the finals three years ago but have not played a post-season game since, the 34-year-old Brockers has a plethora of playoff experience from his days in Boston where he won 3 Challenge Cups and played in 37 playoff games. Brockers had one outing where he struggled - the lone loss to Toronto- but bounced back with a terrific game immediately after that and did not miss a beat after suffering a nasty cut to his ear when a deflected puck clipped the side of his head in last Thursday's deciding game of the Toronto series.

Last night in the opener of the finals the two clubs, both of whom missed the playoffs a year ago, started slowly like championship boxers feeling each other out in the opening round of a title tilt. The play was fairly even with each club putting 9 shots on net and the Shamrocks perhaps having a few more decent scoring opportunities including a point-blank opportunity in the slot for New York's Jim Macek who was a victim of Brockers' larceny on the play.

Montreal had plenty of opportunities in the second period, but it was the Shamrocks who scored first when Orval Cabbell ripped a wrist shot short side over the blocker of Brockers from the left circle just shy of the 3 and a half minute mark. The Vals quickly equalized when Clarence Skinner banged in a rebound of an Adam Sandford shot less than two minutes later. Montreal had several good scoring chances that Shamrocks netminder Etienne Tremblay stymied, but it was a seemingly harmless shot from near the goalie that gave the Vals a lead they would not relinquish. Paulie Mosca, who would later add two assists and was named the game's first star, just fired the puck from a bad angle and it somehow sneaked between Tremblay's pads to make the score 2-1. Mosca then set up Ian Doyle for a backdoor tap in with 3 minutes remaining in the period to make the score 3-1.

Doyle and Mosca have worked well all playoffs on a line with Pat Coulter to give Montreal secondary scoring and the trio combined on a fourth goal for the Vals midway through the third period with Coulter netting his 4th of the playoffs. Shamrocks rookie Alexandre Lapalme quickly answered to get that one back for the Shamrocks but they did not mount any serious pressure the rest of the way and the final score ended up 4-2 for the visitors. The series will continue Wednesday evening at Bigsby Garden with game two before shifting to Montreal for the third game on Saturday.

CHALLENGE CUP NOTES:

• Montreal has not won the Challenge Cup since 1928 and the Shamrocks have not hoisted the chalice since 1932 making this final one the longest drought two Cup opponents have gone with neither winning the trophy. Each team has won three Cups, tied with the defunct Ottawa Athletics for third place. Toronto, with 8 Cup wins, and Boston, with 7, led the way.
• This year marks the first time in 14 years that neither the Boston Bees not Toronto Dukes are in the final and it will mean that the Cup winner will not be one of those two teams for the first time since Detroit won its only Cup in 1939.
• Since the Vals last won the Challenge Cup in 1928, they have been to the finals four times including three years ago but have come up short on each occasion.
• The Shamrocks have been in the finals twice since their last win in 1932 when they claimed the victory in an all-New York City final over the defunct New York Eagles. The Shamrocks lost to the now folded Montreal Nationals in 1936 and again to the Toronto Dukes two years ago.
• This year's Cup series is also a rarity because the finals involve two teams that both missed the playoffs last year. Perhaps that bodes well next year for Detroit and Boston -the two clubs on the outside this time around.

SEMI-FINAL RECAP

The Montreal Valiants upset the first place Toronto Dukes in the semi-finals three years ago and in their first trip back to the playoffs since that season the Vals upended Toronto again. The fact that Dukes, who had won the previous two Challenge Cups, finished second to New York this season rather than at the top of NAHC did little to soften the blow to Toronto hockey fans who perhaps should have seen the upset loss coming. The Dukes had struggled down at times down the stretch and Montreal had hammered Toronto 11-2 in a game just over a week before the playoff series was set to begin.

The Vals stole the first two games in Toronto to wrestle away home ice advantage for the series. Shel Herron was dominant on defense and scored once while assisting on a second Montreal goal in a 3-1 victory in the series opener and center Ian Doyle would score twice as Montreal held off the Dukes 5-4 in the second game. Toronto appeared back on track when Trevor Parker had two points and defenseman Clyde Lumsen scored the game-winning goal shorthanded late in the third period of a 3-2 Dukes victory but that would be the only win Jack Barrell's club would get to enjoy in the series. Games four and five each ended in identical 4-3 scores with Shel Herron picking up two assists and Brett Lanceleve scoring once despite playing on a broken foot to give Montreal the fourth game and leave Dukes Coach Barrell scratching his head after his charges outshot the Vals 52-29 but lost for the third time in the series. Game four was also the only one that required overtime with defenseman Lee Webb emerging as the unlikely hero. As is often the case in overtime a bad break determines the winner and that happened on this night as Webb just threw the puck towards the net, and it hit a Toronto player and deflected past a surprised Gordie Broadway. For Webb, who scored just once in the regular season, it was his first career playoff goal in his 9th post-season game.

Toronto outshot Montreal again in game five and Quinton Pollack scored twice but it was not enough for Toronto as Jimmy Backus emerged as the hero for Montreal. The 25-year-old rookie winger, getting his first exposure to playoff hockey as a professional after six seasons of missing the playoffs with Springfield of the HAA, scored the series winner with 5 minutes remaining in the third period. He was setup by Pat Coulter, another 25-year-old seeing playoff hockey for the first time this year. Coulter had a dominant game scoring once and assisting on two others in the 4-3 victory that ended the Dukes dreams of a third straight Challenge Cup win.

The New York Shamrocks, fresh off the best record in the NAHC after missing the playoffs a year ago, swept the Chicago Packers in four straight games but the Packers, who rallied to finish fourth with a win over Detroit on the final day of the regular season, did manage to take the Greenshirts to overtime twice. Game One needed only 8 seconds of extra time for Samuel Coates to end it with deke of Packers netminder Norm Hanson to give New York a 3-2 win. Orval Cabbell scored once and added an assist in the second game as the Shamrocks prevailed 3-1. Game Three saw Geoff Hartnell and Jim Macek each score once and add two helpers as New York doubled the Packers 6-3 at Chicago's Lakeside Auditorium. In game four the Packers took a 2-1 lead in the first period but Macek tied the game for Chicago in the second and after a scoreless third stanza it took just 2:38 of overtime for Cabbell to get the game-winner, his third of the series, while Chicago's Ed Delarue was serving a slashing penalty.

SEASON OVER AS DUKES BOW OUT IN FIVE TO MONTREAL

Toronto's hope of bringing a third straight Challenge Cup home ended with a crash. The team was eliminated from the playoffs in five games by the Montreal Valiants who will go on to face the New York Shamrocks in the league final. After the Dukes dramatic win on Saturday night in Montreal to cut the deficit to two games to one the Dukes had hoped to be able to build on that in game four.

The teams returned to the ice on Tuesday night to entertain 16.635 rabid fans in Montreal Arena for the fourth game of the series. Jack Barrell had said he had ideas on how to counter the tight checking of the Vals. Whatever the change was it seemed to work as Toronto controlled the puck in the first period peppering Brockers with 19 shots in the opening 20 minutes. The visitors opened the scoring at 2:56 when Parker snapped home a shot on passes from Chad Roy and Bobby Sauer. Brett Lanceleve, rumoured to be playing on broken foot, evened the score at 7:21 when he was left alone in front of Dukes netminder Gordie Broadway, who was called upon far less than Brockers for the period and game.

The second period was a little tighter than the first with Toronto holding a 11-9 shot advantage with both teams scoring a goal. Mike Navarro gave the Dukes a 2-1 lead at 4:02 only to have Jimmy Backus tie the game at the twelve minute mark. In the third Sanford sent the crowd into a frenzy when he snapped in the puck after Broadway had made a kick save, one of only 6 shots by the Vals in the period. Toronto kept pressing, keeping the fans on their feet to applaud Brockers who continued to stymie Dukes shooters. Brockers made a number of acrobatic saves until Galbraith poked home a rebound with only 77 seconds remaining in regulation time. That set up overtime which was tight checking along with lasting late into the night. It lasted until 13:35 when Lee Webb skated the puck in then while trying to feed it into the slot his pass hit Painchaud's stick deflecting into the Toronto net. Montreal wins 4-3 in a game where Brockers made 49 saves.

A quick turnaround had the teams back in Dominion Gardens Thursday night. The game was very similar to the Tuesday game. Toronto could handle the Montreal forecheck to generate chances only to have Brockers shut the door. Montreal's ClarenceSkinner scored the only goal of the first when he was setup in the slot on a pass from Paulie Mosca. Doug Zimmerman tied the game just 24 seconds into the second on the powerplay off a drop pass from Trevor Parker who had been sent in by Herb Burdette. Shel Herron restored Montreal's lead when his long shot dipped under Broadway's trapper at 4:52 but once more the Dukes pulled even as Quinton Pollack found a loose puck in the crease to tie the game at 2 which was the score when the teams went to dressing rooms after 40.

Pat Coulter's go ahead goal at 5:18 of the third period forced the Dukes to open up in an attempt to stave off elimination. Pollack again found a loose puck to tie the game at 14:47. The fans began thinking of a comeback in regulation or overtime to force a Game 6. Those thoughts did not last long as right off the center ice face-off following Pollack's second goal, Montreal's Jimmy Backus cruised into the Dukes end to snap a shot into the top corner. That deflated the team along with the crowd. Toronto's season ended with Broadway on the bench for an extra attacker in a second 4-3 Montreal victory for 4-1 series win.

Coach Barrell: "Give Montreal full credit they beat us soundly, when we finally figured out their forecheck we could not get the puck behind Brockers. Shamrocks are in for a hard test in the final. The guys in the room are down right now but we had a good regular season, we will be back with something to prove next season."

The staff and I have a lot of work to do preparing for the upcoming draft along with some other off-season work. We will meet with all the players shortly to give them a summer program before we meet in the Porcupine in September. Give these guys credit. We have gone from 48 to 60 to 70 games in 3 seasons. I have learned things that may lead to changes in our practice schedule. After I wrap up the hockey odds and ends, I look forward to following our family in the FABL. I think Dan is in for a learning experience (Dan Barrell is the new President of FABL), I am sure I will be talking with Fred (Fred Barrell is manager of the Toronto Wolves baseball team) on handling players."

WILD FINAL FEW DAYS FOR EAST DIVISION PLAYOFF PICTURE

The Washington Statesmen know they will finish the 1949-50 Federal Basketball League season with the best record in the league for the second year in a row and they will have a bye in the opening round of the playoffs. The Statesmen, at 49-17, have a three-victory bulge on West Division leader Detroit for top spot overall after they went into the Motor City and thrashed the Mustangs 90-75 on Friday night. What the Statesmen do not know is who else will be joining them as the three playoff teams from the East Division.

It could not get much tighter as New York, Brooklyn and Baltimore play musical chairs to claim the two seats available to qualify for the East Division semi-final. The Knights and Red Caps are both 43-23 on the year with 2 games remaining for each of them. Trying to muscle their way in are the Baltimore Barons, who sit a half game back at 42-23 with 3 contests remaining on their dance card. What makes it very interesting is two of the Barons three remaining games are against Brooklyn and New York.

The Barons visit New York tonight and then host Brooklyn on Wednesday. The Knights will finish off their slate with a road game in Hartford Wednesday evening while Baltimore visits Hartford Thursday and Brooklyn closes out its season in Rochester in Thursday evening.

The West Division playoff picture is far less murky. Detroit is first and will play the winner of Toronto and Cleveland in the best-of-seven West Division final. The Falcons have 2 games remaining and need just one victory or a Cleveland loss in one of their final three contests to allow the Falcons to claim second place and homecourt advantage in the series. We will get a playoff preview on Thursday when the Falcons host the Crushers in the season finale for each. Head-to-head this season the Crushers and Falcons are deadlocked at 3 wins apiece.

*** Injuries May Play Role in West Playoff Picture ***

Both Toronto and Detroit suffered a major blow last week when a key piece in the backcourt of each team went down. Falcons rookie guard Major Belk, who was averaging nearly 9 points a game and 8.2 assists suffered a serious ankle injury that not only ends his season but puts the former Carolina Poly All-American's status for the start of next season in doubt as well. Detroit lost veteran guard Israel Slusher, whose 9.9 assists per game is second behind only Philadelphia's Jerry Hubbard in the FBL this season, with a broken jaw. Slusher, a 29-year-old who was contributing 12.5 points a game to the Detroit offense is hoping he can return in just over two weeks which gives the Mustangs hope that he will be available at least midway through the West Division final.

• Three teams are vying for the last two spots in the Eastern Division playoff with New York, Brooklyn, and Baltimore in the running. New York is 5-2 against Brooklyn, but only 2-3 against Baltimore with their last meeting coming up tonight. Baltimore and Brooklyn are tied in their series, 3-3, and they meet on Wednesday night. These two games could sort out the muddy picture. Which team does Washington hope is left out of the second season? You would think it would be Brooklyn because of its playoff disappointments over the years, but the Statesmen are 4-1 against the Red Caps. Washington is also 4-1 against Baltimore, but a 4-3 record against New York may give Statesmen fans some pause.
• The Washington Statesmen will enter the playoffs next week as the top seed with the best record in the league. Washington is on the precipice of 50 wins and a win at home against either Boston or Philadelphia in the final two contests of the regular season will make that happen. Ivan Sisco was not playing full minutes over the past week to try to rest a lingering ankle injury and only averaged 28 minutes in four games last week. While the Statesmen's training room let Sisco return to full minutes this week, starting SG Reid Wilkinson broke his foot in the win against Rochester on Saturday night, ending his season. With Wilkinson and SF Willie Wright on the shelf in these playoffs, it will be on seven-year veteran Erich Smith (6.4 ppg, 32.1 FG%) to carry the load.
• While the Mustangs lost to Washington, 90-75, in their quest for the top overall record, Detroit will take solace in a Western Division title, which stands at four games over Toronto. On the injury front, PG Israel Slusher (12.5 ppg, 9.9 apg) is out for two weeks with a broken jaw and may be able to return during the playoffs. The bye will not come at a better time for Detroit, while Toronto and Cleveland will fight for the privilege to face Detroit in the Western Divisional Finals. Toronto will try to ride their 25-7 home record to an advantage against a Cleveland team under .500 on the road (16-17). The Crushers are 4-3 against Toronto, but the regular season finale will be in Toronto before their playoff series starts.

HOPES OF DETROITERS SADDLED TO MUSTANGS

It has not been easy being a Detroit sports fan for well over a decade. The Dynamos last won a pennant in 1929. The Motors won their only Challenge Cup a decade later in the spring of 1939. The grid Maroons -once the pride and joy of the city- have not won the American Football Association championship game since 1936. And it gets worse as the Maroons just fired the only coach the franchise has ever known after a pair of disastrous 2-10 seasons. The Motors were in first place on Christmas Day yet somehow missed the playoffs and the Dynamos, who have a terrific pitching staff, couldn't hit the Gulf of Mexico if they fell out of a boat near Tampa. This spring has been a nightmare, giving fans little hope the longest streak without a pennant in the Federal Association will be broken anytime soon.

Yet there is a glimmer of positive news circulating through the city these days. The other local pro franchise, one that is often overlooked and lucky to draw more than 3,000 fans to a game, is the class of its league. That would be the Detroit Mustangs of the Federal Basketball League. The FBL is the brainchild of local sporting entrepreneur Rollie Barrell, who owns the Mustangs and is the majority owner of the Maroons and they reached the FBL championship game a year ago and look to be in good position to do it again this season.

The Mustangs are the best kept secret in town as the cage league has had to scratch and claw for recognition in most centers, not just here in Detroit. Fans should take notice as the Mustangs are a high scoring club - the most offensive oriented in the loop- and play an exciting brand of basketball led by a young superstar in Ward Messer, whose brother just happens to hit homeruns for the New York Gothams for a living, and a local hero in former Detroit City College star Jack Kurtz.

Messer and Kurtz are each averaging a little over 17 points a game and beating up on the rest of the West Division, having clinched first place and with it a bye to the league semi-finals. Sure, it's not FABL or the American Football Association. Heck, it's not even on par with the NAHC but the Federal cage circuit may just deliver a long overdue professional sports championship to a city that has gone far too long without one.

GORDON WINS SECOND STRAIGHT BARRETTE TROPHY

All-America Selections Announced

It comes as little surprise that for the second year in a row Liberty College center Luther Gordon has been named the winner of the Art Barrette Trophy. Named after the legendary Coastal California coach and presented annually to the player judged to be the best in collegiate basketball, Gordon becomes just the third player in AIAA history to win the award twice following in the footsteps of Long Werth, who won it with Miami State in 1946 and 1947 and legendary St. Patrick's Shamrocks star George Winter, who won in 1925 and 1926. Gordon's win also marks the third consecutive season a Liberty College Bells center won the award as Ward Messer earned the honour in 1948, the year before Gordon -a junior college transfer- arrived in Philadelphia. Messer is currently starring for the Detroit Mustangs of the Federal Basketball League after he was selected second overall in the 1948 FBL draft. Gordon is expected to be the first overall selection in the summer when the FBL drafts the current crop of graduating seniors.

Gordon rewrote the AIAA record books, debuting as a junior after two years at a New York City community college, and scored a record 602 points that season, smashing the old mark of 586 set by Morgan Melcher when he was with Coastal California in 1943-44. Gordon also hauled in 286 rebounds, which was the 7th highest all-time single season total. He went on to smash his own points record with 677 this season while also collecting 312 rebounds, making him just the 6th player in AIAA history to top the 300 mark. Gordon's 677 points this season were 174 more than his nearest competition and he was a big reason why the Bells made it all the way to the AIAA championship game with an unbeaten record. The season would end on a down note as Liberty College fell 65-60 to Noble Jones College in the title game 14 days ago.

Joining Gordon as a first team All-American selection was his Liberty College teammate Scott Basile making the duo the first teammates to earn the honour since the Detroit City College duo of Roman Sollars and Andrew Bennett were named to the 1942-43 team. Basile, a senior guard who grew up in Philadelphia, finished second in the nation in steals while averaging 12.5 points per game.

Also being named to the first team were forwards Carl Casswell of Lane State and Alvin Martin from Texas Gulf Coast, both seniors. The lone junior on the team was Maryland State Bengals guard Lenny Olsen.

The National Coach of the Year was Al Bynum of the AIAA champion Noble Jones College Colonels. The 48-year-old Tennessee native joined the Colonels two seasons ago and promptly led his team to the championship game a year ago. They fell just short last season, but Bynum regrouped and coached the Colonels to a perfect 34-0 campaign -the first time in AIAA history that has happened- culminating in the title win over Liberty College, which also entered the championship contest without a loss.

Below is the complete list of college basketball award winners and the first team All-Americans.

SPRING TRAINING NOTES

• Expect a lot of players being exposed to the waiver wire over the next few days as spring training has come to an end and the regular season is set to get underway tomorrow.
• The Montreal Saints do not have to make a decision between Bob Jennings and Eddie Logan for a backup infield position as Jennings, a 32-year-old who has played 7 seasons for the Saints, is going to the injured list with torn ligaments in his ankle.
• Carlos Montes will need to wait a little while before making his debut in the Chicago Chiefs outfielder. The 34-year-old, who spent ten seasons with the Cougars sandwiched around duty in World War II, suffered a strained hamstring and is not expected to be ready to play until mid-May. The Chiefs acquired Montes from the Cougars over the winter in exchange for 20-year-old minor league pitcher Mack Lyons, who is the son of former Cougar Dick Lyons, an Allen Award winner who went 237-187 for his distinguished career.
• Courtesy of Tip Harrison covering the Cougars for the Chicago Daily News. "Pete Papenfus finished his spring with 10 strikeouts with a walk and run in 5 innings pitched. He ended his spring with a 0.64 ERA (616 ERA+) and 1.40 WHIP with 6 walks and 35 strikeouts in 28 innings pitched. In total, the front five in the Cougars rotation threw 135 innings, allowing 89 hits, 25 runs (19 earned), and 33 walks with 141 strikeouts. This equates to a 1.26 ERA, 0.90 WHIP, and 4.27 K/BB. Among pitchers with at least 25 innings in the Spring, Cougar hurlers rank top 10 in ERA (1st, 3rd, 7th), WHIP (6th, 7th, 8th), FIP (1st, 4st), and WAR (2nd, 5th)"
• The Cougars are also said to be looking for a utility infielder capable of handling second base, shortstop or third base. They are looking to move a depth arm or outfielder in exchange.

RECENT KEY RESULTS

• Canadian middleweight champion Kevin Rawlings, who beat former World Champion Adrian Petrie in January, came up with a unanimous decision over Willie Binion in Ottawa last week. The 28-year-old native of Oshawa, ON., runs his record to 24-5 and is the latest in ring defeats for the 31-year-old Binion, who announced his retirement following the bout. Binion was once considered a rising star in the middleweight class, and at 17-3 in 1947 looked to be on the verge of consideration for a title shot until the native of Fairfield, CT., was badly beaten by Jack Rainey and had won just once in his last ten outings.

UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS

• Tonight - Bigsby Garden, NY- welterweight Artie Neal (26-8-1) faces Harry Larkin (20-5)
• Apr 20- Cincinnati, OH- George Gibbs (26-5), Colorado born welterweight, meets Scott Sorensen (27-12-3)
• Apr 25 - Oakland, CA- welterweight Dale Roy (35-7-1) squares off with Arthur Shaw (21-11-2)
• Apr 25- Washington DC- Veteran Philadelphia heavyweight Scott 'The Chef' Baker (22-4-2) vs Lyle Wilson (27-5)
• Apr 26- Youngstown, OH- Middleweight Tommy Campbell (22-4-2) vs Andy Jackson (24-5-2)
• Apr 27- Providence, RI- Heavyweight Roy Crawford, 'The Boston Bomber' (31-5) fights Allen Bailey (41-7-2)
• Apr 30- Brooklyn, NY - Heavyweights Cannon Cooper (30-4-1) and Dan Miller (41-12-1) meet at Flatbush Gardens.

The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 4/16/1950

• Russia has charged that an American military plane opened fire on Soviet fighters over Latvia and said that one of the Russian planes fired back. The Soviets have lodged an official protest, identifying the plane as a B-29 bomber but the US Air Force said the plane in question may have been a missing Navy aircraft sought for over a week after disappearing in the Northern Baltic.
• President Truman returned to Washington after spending the past couple of weeks in Key West, FL.
• Senator Taft demanded that President Truman "eliminate any suspicion of treason" from the administration by releasing files on State Department officials. The Ohio Republican also accused Truman of libeling Senator McCarthy and of prejudging McCarthy's charges of Communism in the State Department.
• Truman responded by tearing once more into McCarthy and expressing doubt that it is possible to libel the legislator.
• The Vice President warned that the sharpest threats to American freedom come from sources within the country which "sow rumours and suspicion among us."
• Two Czech employees of the United States Information Service went on trial before the Prague state court on charges of spying and spreading hostile propaganda.
• The discovery of five new vitamins was reported to the American Chemical Society. The vitamins are closely related to each other and to folic acid, whose discovery early in WWII first opened the door to successful treatment of both nutritional and pernicious anemia.