JUNE 4, 1951
BAY AREA SET TO WELCOME BEST OF COLLEGE BASEBALL
The field has been announced for the 1951 AIAA collegiate baseball World Championship Series tournament. The 16 clubs will gather in San Francisco from June 11-18 in a week long elimination tournament to crown the best in baseball for 1951. This marks the sixth year of the expanded 16 team tournament but the first time it has ventured west, and will be contested entirely in the new 50,000 seat Golden Gate Stadium, home to the American Football Association San Francisco Wings.
The top seed in the tournament will be Southwestern Alliance champion College of Waco. The Cowboys dominated their section competition and enter the tournament with a 52-10 record, easily the best of any major AIAA school. They have a veteran roster that includes five 1951 draft eligible players highlighted by junior pitcher Marty Davis. The 20-year-old Missouri native was an 8th round selection of the Montreal Saints in June.
The number two seed may feature the best outfield trio that college baseball has seen since Dan Fowler and Vic Crawford were teammates at Commonwealth Catholic in the late 1920s. The Cardinals make their second consecutive trip to the final sixteen thanks to the outfield trio of Rex Pilcher (.297,21,57), Bud Swanson (.276,18,63) and Ben Crawford (.270,15,48). Pilcher and Crawford will have a chance to continue their pro careers as teammates since the St Louis Pioneers selected both of them in the first two rounds of the January draft. Swanson is a sophomore and eligible next year.
Penn Catholic will be the number three seed while St. Blane comes in at #4. The Fighting Saints are led by pitcher John Thomas Gibbs, who was selected in the 5th round by the Washington Eagles in January. Gibbs is the second St Blane hurler ever selected by Washington following 1934 first overall pick Bobo White. That was the year two St. Blane pitchers -White and Gus Goulding- went one-two in the FABL draft.
Despite the tournament heading to the west coast for the first time in its history, that region is not well represented with only Redwood University qualifying from the West Coast Athletic Association. The tournament will get underway with opening round action June 13 and 14 with the best of three finals being staged June 17-19.
COLLEGIATE BALL ALL-AMERICAN TEAMS ANNOUNCED
The 1951 AIAA baseball All-American team clearly has a youthful slant to it with only five juniors/seniors named to the 18 positions on the two all-star teams but included in that group are the first two selections of the most recent FABL draft. Charlie Barrell of Noble Jones College, the three-sport star, was selected for the third time at second base. Barrell, son of the late football great Joe Barrell, was selected first overall in the FABL draft by the Cincinnati Cannons but is said to be demanding the Cannons allow him to return to school in September and play both football and basketball for the Colonels should he sign a pro contract.
Joining Barrell on the first team was Rex Pilcher, the marquee star of a deep Ohio Poly outfield, who was named to the first team for the second time in his career. Pilcher was a second team selection last year after making the premier nine as a freshman. He was drafted right after Barrell, going second overall to the St Louis Pioneers.
The other junior who was a first team selection was Alabama A&T catcher Oscar Parent. Like Pilcher, Parent was drafted by the St. Louis Pioneers but his name was not called until the 10th round.
There were two juniors selected to the second team. They were shortstop Freddie Robertson from St. Magnus and third baseman Henry Cusson of Texas Presbyterian. Both also made the grade last year with Robertson making the second team while Cusson was a first team selection as a sophomore. Like Pilcher and Parent, Cusson was drafted by the St Louis Pioneers. The Canadian infielder went 66th overall as the Pioneers fifth round selection. Robertson was not selected during the opening 10 rounds of the draft but is eligible for the second phase (rounds 11-25) which well be held on June 19.
PORTER HIGHLIGHTS OSA MOCK DRAFT
The league scouting service has released its mock draft and while FABL clubs have already completed the first ten rounds of their annual draft -which is done every January- league General Managers and Scouting Directors are always anxious to hear what OSA has to say about their selections.
The mock released to TWIFS today by OSA has Bob Porter heading the list. The St Louis born high school third baseman was overlooked by his hometown Pioneers in January and had to settle for being selected third overall by the Montreal Saints. Charlie Barrell of Noble Jones College was the top pick, selected by the Cincinnati Cannons, and OSA has the three-sport star slotted in at #10 on its mock. The second choice was All-American outfielder Rex Pilcher, selected by St Louis, and OSA ranks Pilcher at #4. Here is a look at the first and second round picks from each FABL club and where they fit on the OSA top eighty mock draft released today.
BOSTON- 10th overall pitcher Mike Quigley and 20th overall 1B Sam Hannah. Both slot in as third round talents according to the scouting service which puts Chicago high school righthander Quigley at #36 overall and Arkansas high schooler Hannah at #42.
BROOKLYN- 5th overall outfielder Hank Williams and 19th overall pitcher Alex Hafer. The Kansas born Williams, who has committed to Coastal California slots in at the same spot he was drafted with OSA ranking him 5th on its mock draft. Hafer, a 17-year-old from Lawrence, MA., is considered late third round material by OSA.
CHIEFS- With the 12th overall selection the Chiefs drafted centerfielder Hugh Ferebee and 22nd overall first baseman Jim Upchurch. OSA likes Ferebee and has the Texas high school product #3 on its mock while Upchurch, another high school players, is ranked outside the top 50 as a fourth rounder.
COUGARS- The Cougars selected 3B Jack Craft with the 11th pick and pitcher Allie Eddy at #27. OSA has the Mississippi high school third baseman Craft firmly in its top ten at #7 while Eddy tops the pitcher list but is a mid second round choice according to OSA at #24.
CINCINNATI- The Cannons won the lottery and drafted 3-time AIAA All-American second baseman Charlie Barrell first overall before following up with 1B Tom Wood with the 20th selection. OSA lists Barrell as its 10th best draft prospect while Wood is #18.
CLEVELAND- The defending champs picked 15th in each round, nabbing second baseman Al Beck 15th and SS Bob G. Murphy 31st. OSA feels the Foresters drafted well considering their slot, putting Beck at #8 and Murphy #23 on their list.
DETROIT- Selecting fourth in the opening round the Dynamos drafted high school shortstop Dick Tucker before following up with pitcher Jim Norris with the 24th selection. Tucker, an Oklahoma born high schooler is 6th on the OSA list while Norris, despite a 10-3 season at East Texas State, is considered a 4th rounder by the scouting service.
MONTREAL- With the third pick in the draft the Saints selected St Louis born high school third baseman Bob Porter, who tops the OSA list. Round two Montreal used the 9th pick (25th overall) on pitche Andy Logue. The high school lefthander from Boston did not crack the OSA five round mock.
NY STARS- The Stars selected 7th in the opening round and may have reach with Doc Clay and perhaps did the same with their second round choice Ira Roach - the first pick of round two at 17th overall. Both are pitchers and traditionally FABL GM's love arms far more than the scouting service but in this case the scouting service did rank the two high school righthanders. Clay came in at #25 on the OSA list while Roach was fourth rounder on the mock.
NY GOTHAMS- The Federal Association champs picked last in each round taking two small college outfielders: Jim Allen 16th overall and Art Becker with the 32nd selection. OSA likes the picks, slotting Allen at #9 and Becker at 21.
KEYSTONES- The Keystones went with 1B Dick Green at #8 in round one and followed up with pitcher Jack Cornell with the second pick of round two (18th). Comparison to Rankin Kellogg may put a lot of pressure on a 17 year old, but Green is loved by OSA, slotting him in at #2 on its mock. Cornell, a New York City native who has committed to Daniel Boone College if he doesn't sign with the Keystones, is 49th on the scouting service mock draft.
SAILORS- Selecting 9th the Sailors went with a pitcher, Don Hillshire, in the opening round before taking catcher Dixie Williams with the 29th overall pick in round two. OSA feels the Sailors whiffed badly on Hillshire, slotting the Buckeye College righthander at the very back of the fifth round but Williams makes up for it as OSA feels the 17-year-old catcher was the 14th best pick.
PITTSBURGH- The Miners were the first club to select a pitcher, drafting Sam Fitchett sixth overall. In round two they went with shortstop Wayne Jackson at pick 26. Jackson is the higher ranked of the two by the scouting service which had the Kentucky born shortstop listed at the top of the second round, 17th overall but Fitchett, at #30, is still a second round talent according to the OSA.
ST LOUIS- Selecting second the Pioneers landed Ohio Poly All-American outfielder Rex Pilcher, who OSA slots in at #4. In round two St Louis had to wait until the 30th selection and went with Pilcher's college teammate in outfielder Ben Crawford. OSA feels Crawford was the 53rd best draft prospect, a fourth round talent.
TORONTO- The Wolves, with the worst record in baseball and a near future that looks gloomy, needed a big win from this draft but OSA feels they came up short, at least with their first two picks. Toronto took a high school pitcher with a great nickname in Jim "Three-Pitch Monte" Montgomery with the 13th pick but he did not crack the OSA top five rounds. Second rounder Larry Curtis, 23rd overall, is a college outfielder that OSA ranks at #39 on its mock draft.
WASHINGTON- The Eagles drafted two pitchers in Buster Scott 14th and Gene Owens 28th. Both made the OSA list but Scott a high schooler from California was a 5th rounder according to the scouting service and Owens, a college righthander from Provo Tech was third rounder at #38 overall.
SAILORS FEAST ON CANADIAN PITCHING
Pioneers Continue to Set Fed Pace
The Philadelphia Sailors continue to set the standard in the Continental Association and used a week in Canada to pad their lead atop the Continental Association. The Sailors took six of seven on the road in Toronto and Montreal, outscoring the woeful Wolves and Saints 48-18 in the process and stretched their lead to 5.5 games over the two-time defending champion Cleveland Foresters.
A year ago the Sailors were a distant seventh in the Continental Association race, 14 games back of the front-running Foresters and ahead of only the Wolves, who bottomed out with a 100 loss season. Only losing 100 this year might just be an impossible dream for the Wolves who have now lost 15 in a row and are last in nearly every meaningful team stat category. Toronto's team era of 5.36 is on pace to be one of the worst ever record in CA history and they were beaten 14-2 and 14-1 in a Wednesday twin bill by the suddenly dominant Sailors. The Sailors are 24-6 since losing 3-2 to Montreal on May 5th.
Meanwhile the St Louis Pioneers, who played and beat the Sailors in back to back World Championship Series in 1947 and 1948 before both collapsed to the second division for two years, continue to carry the torch in the Federal Association. The Pioneers went 5-2 last week and picked up another half game on second place Detroit to now, at 32-16, lead the Dynamos by two full games. Detroit passed a tough test last week as the Dynamos - who are contending without injured ace Carl Potter- split a 4-game series at Gothams Stadium to start the week. The New Yorkers, defending Fed flag wavers, started the series strong when Ed Bowman improved to 5-1 on the year by outdueling Detroit's Jack Miller 2-0 in the opener and then rode a 5-run outburst in the 6th inning to a 9-7 victory in the second game, handing the Dynamos their fourth consecutive loss. In a key moment that may well be a looked on as a defining moment should the Motor City nine continue to contend, the Dynamos rebounded with a doubleheader sweep on Wednesday. Edwin Hackberry drove in 3-runs and Dick Estes had 3 hits and 2-rbis in a 6-4 victory in the opener while Fred Carter's pinch-hit homer -the first of his big league career- proved the difference in a 9-7 Dynamos win in the nightcap. The Gothams are 4 back of Detroit and 6 games behind the first place Pioneers.
GOVERNORS RULING MINOR LEAGUE BALL
They may not be a major league team, but it's hard to ignore just how dominant the Little Rock Governors of the Dixie League have been this season. The AA affiliate of the Chicago Cougars, Little Rock is the defending Dixie League champion, finishing 93-47 in their first season of affiliate ball last year. The former GWL team has been off to a torrid start to 1951 even after seeing their 13 game win streak snapped in an 8-7 11 inning loss. A team that could potentially rival the Toronto Wolves, Little Rock is 31-7, leading the Dixie League by six games. Their .816 win percentage is the clear leader in affiliated ball, and with five of the game's top 65 prospects, they boast an impressive collection of current and future talent.
Now before you question if its just a bunch of 30-something-year-olds inflating the teams record, let me set the record straight: team captain Jimmie James is the only player on the wrong side of 30, and while he's hit well (.409/.472/.750), the former Cougar has started just 8 of their 38 games. Only one pitcher above 25 has thrown more then 10 innings, and James is the only batter above 25 with more then 20 at bats. This is a young team with a lot of talent, leading every category except homers (tied for 1st), batting walks (7th), batting strikeouts (3rd), base running (5th), pitching walks (2nd), and pitching strikeouts (8th). Governors pitchers have thrown nine shutouts -- one more then games lost -- and scored double digit runs on seven occasions. They can win close games, they can win blow outs, and they can make you reconsider if you're ever making it to the show after they sweep you out of town.
It helps having a pair of top ten prospects, as on the mound they feature the 7th ranked Bob Allen with the 6th ranked Jerry Smith patrolling center. Both have impressed, with Allen 4-3 with a 2.43 ERA (161 ERA+), 1.20 WHIP, and 32 strikeouts in 7 starts, while Smith has slashed .315/.395/.603 (161 OPS+) with 14 doubles, 5 triples, 6 homers, 28 RBIs, 19 walks, 38 runs, and 5 steals. Smith is part of a highly touted outfield that includes top 65 prospects Frank Reece and Henry Norman, who like Smith have a WRC+ of 165 or higher. Reece has been the star of the team, capturing the Batter of the Month award while hitting an astronomical .380/.434/.614 (175 OPS+) in 173 trips to the plate. He's added 11 doubles, 7 triples, 4 homers, 23 RBIs, and 3 steals, and his 193 WRC+ is almost twice as impressive as an average Dixie League batter.
It's only a matter of time before some of the top performers get promoted, but there isn't much room on the AAA Milwaukee Blues roster. While not as dominant, the Blues also league their respective league, 27-16 and a game and a half clear of the next best team. It is expected that Frank Reece will join them shortly, but even if he leaves Little Rock should have more then enough fire power to maintain their lofty record. Down in Class A Lincoln, Harley Dollar has a .318/.467/.535 (179 OPS+) line that rivals Reece, with Charlie Harvey's .320/.463/.469 (160 OPS+) just a little off. With the draft around the corner, plenty of roster movement is expected, as teams like the Cougars will be moving players up to make room for the new recruits. The Little Rock super team as constructed may be at risk of breaking up, but it will take a lot of changes for this juggernaut to drop out of first place.
*** Injury Sidelines Pestilli ***
At the big league level not much has gone right for the Chicago Cougars this season, who have dropped to 21-25, and will now be without star outfielder Sal Pestilli for the next six weeks with elbow inflammation. Despite all that, another veteran has stepped up, as a power surge from Red Bond earned him Continental Player of the Week. The slugging first basemen knocked five out of the park, batting .407/.429/1.000 (265 OPS+) with 13 RBIs, a double, 6 runs, and even a steal! The biggest performance was his first ever 3-home run game, has Bond took young Forester Larry Beebe (5-3, 3.66, 25) deep twice before a three-run blast off Hank Berkowitz (2, 2.45, 5) in Chicago's 11-3 win. Bond has now hit 8 homers in his last 10 games, earning a share of the FABL lead of 13 with Washington's Sig Stofer (.277, 13, 28) and the Stars' Jack Welch (.219, 13, 27).
With the Cougars struggles, there have been rumblings of a sell-off, and the 38-year-old Bond could be the top bat on the market this summer. The three time All-Star has hit an absurd .360/.438/.720 (200 OPS+), a batting line equivalent to twice as effective as the average FABL hitter. Bond has scored 26 runs and drove in 31 more, drawing 18 walks to just 10 strikeouts in 144 trips to the plate. He currently leads all FABL sluggers with a 1.157 OPS, and in the CA ranks top 5 in average (4th), OBP (3rd), slugging (1st), OPS+, ISO (.360), and wOBA (.469).
TALES FROM THE LAIR
Losing Streak Continues Now at 15 Games -The downhill slide continues for the Wolves as of now the last game the Wolves were on the right end of the score was May 19th, a 7-3 win at the hands of the Cougars. This week's 7 losses included doubleheader sweeps by the Sailors on Wednesday then at Parc Cartier by Montreal on Sunday. The Sailors really put it the Wolves in their last home game before heading out for 11 games in 10 days on the road. Philadelphia embarrassed Toronto in front of the fans 14-2 and 14-1 banging out 29 hits in the two games where the Wolves had 14. In the first game George Garrison surrendered 7 runs on 8 hits before the 12,000 on hand got comfortable in the top of the first. In the second game the team was down 5 before their first turn at bat. The crowd exiting Dominion Stadium, not to return until June 12th, reminded Brett of a crowd leaving a funeral wake.
During the week there was just reinforcing signs of the funk the team is in, no glimmers of hope. The Wolves were outscored 57-17 making a total of 15 miscues in the field. A summary of the week would be the pitchers did not pitch, the hitters did not hit, the team was awful in the field.
Fred Barrell is putting on a brave face with his comments like "The tide will turn, We just need to keep are chins up." Barrell's most important job now to keep the team, especially the youngsters, from losing all confidence in their abilities then falling deeper into the abyss of losing. One player in particular may need a boost is John Wells who was charged with 6 errors last week giving him 11 in 20 starts at short this season. As has been seen before if Wells struggles at plate his work in the field suffers, this week he went .188/.182/.219 in 33 PA. Brett is not sure is poor hitting leads to poor fielding or vice-versa but Wells needs a boost at this time. Brett still believes, along with the Wolves staff, that Wells, only 20, is the SS of the future and that these early sessions of failure will strengthen him in the future.
Pitching has to be the main focus at this point. Brett has learned that Ray Hatch will DFAd with no immediate replacement named, sources say there was some discussion on bringing up Les Ledbetter. That idea was quickly shot down using the Wells quick path to the FABL as an example of pushing a youngster too far, to fast. The GM wants Ledbetter to prove himself in Buffalo or at least show substantial progress before making the big jump.
Another player the team is going to be careful with is last year's fifth round pick CF Ralph Miller. He was the Union League Player of the Week, he has progressed through the entire system in less than 12 months. He is said to be on the cusp of replacing Wally Boyer in centerfield.
The rest of this season will be an interesting one for the front office. It is said Owner Millard has told the GM to "Find players that this coaching staff can work with to build a winner. Look at what the Falcons did in a short period." This means the staff will have one eye on the waiver wire with the other on the any minor league players showing promise in particular on the mound.
In a piece of disturbing news from the clubhouse is that vet Ed Reyes, who was brought in for his leadership, mentoring skills, has started to voice dissatisfaction with his lack of playing time. The team cannot afford any clubhouse dissent as losses continue to mount. Brett is told that the Reyes' situation will be resolved, one way or another, in short order.
BEES ARE MOST TALENTED CLUB IN NAHC SAYS OSA
Cup Winning Vals Rank Dead Last
It must be the coaching of Norb Hickey. The Montreal Valiants bench boss has led his club to back to back Challenge Cups but must be doing it with smoke and mirrors if the OSA's latest player and team rankings are to be believed. The league scouting service handed it out's talent rankings and the Valiants finish dead last according to the service.
Perhaps they are anticipating a big drop-off but it is hard to believe that veteran Tom Brockers fronts the weakest goaltending in the league but the scouting service ranks Montreal, led by first team All-Star Brockers, last in that category. The Vals are listed just fifth in both forward and defense talent leaving them sixth out of the six NAHC teams in total talent according to OSA's recently released rankings. Clearly the whole is much stronger than the sum of its parts in Montreal.
The Boston Bees, who pushed the Valiants the full seven games in the Challenge Cup finals before coming up just short, top the talent parade according to the OSA. The Bees defense, led by Mickey Bedard, Conn Cundiff and Bryant Williams tops its position group while the scouting service considers Boston goaltending, anchored by Oscar James, second only behind the Detroit duo of Millard Touhey and Henri Chasse. Boston's forwards finish third on the chart and surprisingly the number one team on the list for forwards was the last place Chicago Packers. Strength at center, led by veteran Tommy Burns who was ranked the number one player in the league, is what has the scouting service still bullish on the Packers despite their struggles this past season. Jarrett McGlynn and Ed Delarue each cracked the top ten overall while wingers Max Ducharme, Jeremy MacLean and Marty Mahoney are among the top ranked players in their position group.
Here are the OSA rankings for each team and its top ten players overall.
MUCH TRAVELLED WELTER BELT UP FOR GRABS AGAIN
The ABF welterweight belt has been worn on more than its share of waists since the division came back to life following five years without a champion due to World War II. While the heavyweight title has not changed hands in more than a decade, the much travelled symbol of welterweight dominance has seen seven different men, including Mark Westlake twice, spend some time as the ABF World Champion. Each of the last two title holders, Dale Roy and Ira Mitchell, lost the belt in their first title defense attempt and Friday evening in Buffalo Danny Rutledge will be hoping to end that string when he makes his first attempt at retaining the title when he squares off with Ben Burns.
Rutledge, a quiet 27-year-old from Kentucky, snatched the title away from Ira Mitchell in February with a stellar effort to outpoint the now former champ. It was Rutledge's second attempt at the fame that comes with the phrase "ABF World Champion" as he waged an unsuccessful effort to dethrone Mac Erickson four years ago. Erickson, with four successful defenses before surrendering the belt to Westlake, is the welterweight who held the belt the longest since the end of WWII.
Rutledge gained notoriety at a very young age when, as a twenty-year-old Army private in 1944 he outpointed Navy seaman Erickson for something billed as the Allied Welterweight Championship. It was a famous fight card, biggest of the war, and featured not only world heavyweight champion Hector Sawyer in an exhibition but also former middleweight champ Archie Rees in a September 1944 fight before tens of thousands of military personnel stationed in England.
In comparison, this bout Friday against Burns - an up and coming Long Island, NY native with a perfect 20-0 record- should be far less pressure packed but Rutledge knows it is a big opportunity for him to step up and take charge in a division that has lack a true dominant fighter since the pre-war days of Kid Simpson. Many predicted great things for Rutledge after that famous 1944 fight as an amateur in the service. Perhaps Friday evening at the Buffalo Fieldhouse is when he finally starts to live up to those lofty expectations.
UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS- June 7- Flatbush Gardens, Brooklyn- Mark Westlake (28-8-1) vs Jeffrey Wolff (27-7-3) in a welterweight fight
- June 8- Buffalo, NY: World Welterweight champion Danny Rutledge (23-1-1) makes his first tile defense against Ben Burns (20-0)
- June 9- Bigsby Garden, New Yok - heavyweight contenders Tommy Cline (18-4) and Brad Harris (20-1-1) meet
- June 16 - Bigsby Garden, New York, NY- Brian Pierce (18-3-1) vs Rudy Perry (31-6-1) in a battle of ranked welterweights
- June 22- Lakeside Auditorium, Chicago - former welterweight champ Ira Mitchell (27-6) vs Artie Neal (30-9-1)
- June 29- Thompson Palladium, Detroit- highly touted HW contender and Detroit naive Joey Tierney (23-0) faces Evan Rivers (18-2-3)
- July 13- Cincinnati: World Middleweight champion Millard Shelton (31-5) makes his first title defense against Mark McCoy (24-2)
The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 6/03/1951
- Secretary of State Acheson says the United States is willing to halt fighting at or near the 38th Parallel if there can be assurances of no further Communist aggression.
- Communist resistance stiffened in an effort to slow the United Nations troops from pushing deeper into Red Korea. It was aided much of the week by heavy rains but the push forward has moved more than 26 miles north of the 38th Parallel in some sections of the front.
- The Air Force Chief of staff said he opposed the MacArthur program for bombing of enemy bases in Manchuria because this country at present has only "a shoestring Air Force" and an all out attack in Korea would deprive the Air Force of the power to operate in other areas if the need should arise.
- Iran refused to recognize the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice in the dispute with Britain over nationalization of Iranian oil resources. Meanwhile a demonstration by 50,000 persons in Teheran opened a Communist-front barrage against the British and Americans keyed to the explosive oil issue.
- President Truman intervened personally in the oil crisis, contacting Iran's Premier urging that negotiations be instituted with Britain for settlement of the present "explosive" situation.
- The United States Chamber of Commerce urged Congress to wipe out the Government's authority to control wages and prices and adopt in their stead an indirect program to combat inflation.