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

Tiger Fan · 07-10-2024, 05:08 PM

SEPTEMBER 10, 1951

SAWYER RIDES INTO SUNSET WITH 8TH ROUND KNOCKOUT OF BRADLEY

Gothams Stadium, New York, N.Y. – Hector Sawyer (65-3-1, 58 KO) vs. Max Bradley (22-1-1, 6 KO) – Boxers come and go, rarely on their own terms. Boxers also rarely stay in the public consciousness for several years. It is the occupational hazard of the physical toll of the sport along with the mandate to prove the boxer’s supremacy in every title defense.

On both scores, Heavyweight Champion Hector Sawyer is that rare boxer who has stayed in our public consciousness for over a decade and tonight’s fight against the up-and-coming Max Bradley, offered Sawyer that chance to leave the stage on a pedestal rather than a stretcher.

Over the years, your intrepid reporter has peeled back the onion on Sawyer’s greatness. He has passed each test with flying colors. Sawyer has seldom been knocked down and 58 of his 65 wins did not go the distance, so he usually completed his business before the final bell. If an opponent made it through fifteen rounds, that was a victory of sorts. The last to do so was over two years ago during Sawyer’s European sojourn against the Frenchman, Alain Noël.

For the last several months, it has been widely reported by pundits and admitted by manager Chester Conley that Sawyer has been contemplating retirement. The only question was whether Sawyer would retire a champion or if he will stay too long and falter at the finish line.

It was a standing room only crowd at Gothams Stadium, with an estimated 55,000 cramming into the venue and prices for tickets selling for double their face value. Over time, undoubtedly twice that number will say they were in the house for Sawyer’s final bout.

Max Bradley served as Sawyer’s final opponent. Bradley is 24 years old and on his way up the rankings. However, this would serve as Bradley’s first fight that was scheduled beyond ten rounds, as this was his first title shot. Bradley is used to going the distance, so either he will have to show stamina he has never had to show before or find a way to contain Sawyer.

The trivia answer for the referee in Sawyer’s final bout is Jerry Rowe, who was a veteran of many title fights. But, although this was Rowe’s sixth title fight, it was his first heavyweight assignment.

The first round began, and Sawyer was content to measure up his opponent while seemingly embracing the moment. Bradley was looking to make his mark early, firing a jab and deftly executing a combination. Sawyer snapped to attention quickly after feeling the sting of the opening salvo and let a couple of hooks loose of his own. Sawyer targeted Bradley’s midsection, which forced Bradley to pause and stagger backwards. It was a very even round, as everyone in attendance was waiting to see Sawyer dominate.

But, the second round was all Bradley, though the challenger did not throw many power punches. Bradley was connecting on punches that threw off Sawyer’s timing and forced him to be defensive. Through three rounds, Sawyer still did not show his usual championship pedigree, as Bradley narrowly outpointed the champion in each round.

Both combatants tried to make a move late in the fourth round. Sawyer threw a combination and Bradley’s knees started to wobble, but he recovered to fire a one-two with a jab and a hook to visibly hurt the champion.

In the corner between the fourth and fifth rounds, Sawyer stiffened his back and seemed to meditate. Maybe it was the deep thought and the understanding that this fight was the last impression he would make on the boxing world, he provided a clinic on boxing. The ring awareness, working the head and the body in harmony, and the jabs to set up the bigger punches. Sawyer was doing it all.

The sixth round contained more of the same in the back half of the round, as Sawyer was likely a little winded from his three minutes of excellence in the prior round. Bradley fought back with arguably his best round in the seventh. He connected on many punches, but he did not have the steam behind them as Sawyer did. It was another turning point after the seventh round. Sawyer was ready to finish his opponent and ride off into the sunset.

Sawyer would normally not have this kind of trouble with this type of opponent. People were starting to worry if Sawyer was ripe for the picking. But, Sawyer felt his best was still in him.

Sawyer, the all-time greatest Heavyweight Champion in boxing history, absolutely dominated his final round in his final bout. From pillar to post, Sawyer taught Bradley a thing or two. Sawyer did not find the defense he was accustomed to facing from Bradley, by coming right at his corner when the round started and cutting off potential escape routes. After a combination left Bradley staggered, it was a hook midway through the round that sent Bradley down for the only knockdown by either fighter on this night. Bradley barely got up at the count of eight and referee Rowe looked in his eyes, asking if he could continue before being satisfied with the answer and allowing the fight to go on.

From there, it was all Sawyer. Sawyer was a man on a mission, sensing this could be it, sensing this could be the last round he will ever fight. A right by Sawyer, then a combo, followed by a fusillade of punches in such a flurry, the crowd’s cheering reached a fever pitch. Bradley was trying to hang on, waiting and pleading for the bell to signal the end of the round, but with 14 seconds left in the eighth round, referee Rowe called it off. He waved his arms vigorously and Bradley crumpled to the ground while Sawyer drank in one last euphoric sip from his championship cup. Sawyer got to out a winner.

Bradley held his own during most of this fight, which speaks to his bright future. The challenger was ahead on the cards at the start of the eighth round. During the fight, he was able to conserve his punches, connecting at a very impressive 56% of his attempts compared to 41% for Sawyer. While they connected with roughly the same amount of punches, Sawyer expended more energy swinging and missing.

Sawyer cornered the market on big punches, outscoring Bradley on Big Boppers, 10-1, but Bradley was able to play to the steady drumbeat of his plentiful jabs and hooks.

Through seven rounds, Sawyer only bested the challenger in the fifth and sixth rounds. Bradley was effective at stifling Sawyer’s offensive with a “stick-and-move” strategy of quick jabs and quicker feet. But Sawyer can still dominate for a round or two at a time and that was more than enough on this night.

Maybe Bradley (22-2-1) will get another shot, maybe he will even be the favorite. That is conversation for another day.
Hector Sawyer will retire with an amazing record of 66-3-1 and 59 knockouts. No one was ever better than The Cajun Crusher. Few athletes have ever been as dominant for as long as Sawyer has, and it will likely be a long time before anyone ever will.

BOLOGNA’S BIG BOPPERS
Round 1: Sawyer, 1-0 (2:44 hook/side)
Round 2: None
Round 3: None
Round 4: Sawyer, 2-1 (S: 0:22 hook/head, 2:09 combo/face; B: 2:49 hook/midsection)
Round 5: Sawyer, 1-0 (1:21 uppercut)
Round 6: Sawyer, 2-0 (1:41 right, 2:16 cross)
Round 7: None
Round 8: Sawyer, 4-0 (0:13 combo, 1:49 hook/knockdown #1, 2:15 right, 2:28 combo)
TOTAL: Sawyer 10, Bradley 1

UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS

September 19- New Britain, CT: former welterweight champion Ira Mitchell (25-6) vs Heinie Verplanck (23-7-1)
September 26- New Bedford, MA: rising heavyweight contender Joey Tierney (23-1) vs Shawn Nance (14-6)
September 30 - Thompson Palladium, Detroit: former middleweight champion Millard Shelton (31-6) vs Mark Tucker (13-7)
September 30- Denny Arena, Boston: veteran heavyweight Matt Price (42-13-4) vs Steve Clark (10-2)
October 5- Bigsby Garden, New York: World welterweight champion Danny Rutledge (24-1-1) defends his ABF title against Britain's Danny Julian (31-3-2)

CHIEFS IMPACTING FED FLAG RACE

The Chicago Chiefs are certainly taking the role of spoiler very seriously. A rough start to the season when Chicago lost 8 of its 11 April games plus a dreadful 4-16 run in late June-early July doomed the Chiefs flag hopes but they are certainly out to make life miserable for each of the three remaining pennant contenders. Chicago has won each of its last 10 games, and all of them against Detroit, New York and St Louis, to give fans in the Windy City plenty of hope for the 1952 campaign. Rookie outfielder Rod Shearer has been leading the charge, winning back to back Federal Association player of the week awards and just making life miserable for the Dynamos, Gothams and Pioneers.

First place Detroit stumbled badly last week, being swept in a 3-game set against the Chiefs before losing a quick one-game appearance by the Gothams in the Motor City and then falling twice in 3 outings on the road against St Louis. Fortunately for the leaders, the two clubs chasing Detroit also had plenty of issues last week - with the aforementioned Chiefs causing much of the grief. The Gothams had a great start to the week in taking both ends of a twin bill against the Pioneers before beating Detroit 5-4 in 11 innings on Wednesday, but they then proceeded to be swept by the Chiefs, falling 3 times at Whitney Park over the weekend. The result is New York now sits three and a half games back of the Dynamos, with St Louis also 3.5 off the pace. The Pioneers started the week with five straight losses, including 2 to Chicago before rebounding with two wins over the Dynamos to finish the week.

The Continental Association margin is three games with the Philadelphia Sailors still holding off Cleveland despite falling 6-2 to the Foresters in their very brief single game series meeting in Philadelphia. A big weekend with four straight wins over last place Toronto, during which the Sailors outscored the Wolves 35-6, did its part to help keep the Sailors lead intact.

The diminutive but highly touted Chicago Cougars pitching prospect Bob Allen made his FABL debut last week which led me to thinking about pitchers height. I know Dick Lyons (1938, 5'8") won an Allen Award with the Chicago Cougars, I had to look at the Fed to see if anyone Bob Allen's height (5'9") or shorter won the Allen Award. Turns out the answer is no, and the shortest Fed pitcher (5'9") since the award was established in 1926 is a name that might bring up some feelings for certain GMs. Jack Beach.

In fact, he was part of a four year stretch of sub 6'0" hurlers to win in the Fed, though Jim Lonardo (5'11") did all the heavy lifting as Beach prevented his threepeat before Lonardo won again in '33. Lonardo, Beach, and Red Ross (5'10") are the only pitchers shorter then six feet to win an Allen in the Fed.

The Conti, however, is a different story, as 5'10" hurlers Adrian Czerwinski (1949, 1950) and the Cougars own Pete Papenfus (1941, 1946) have both earned the award. Between Pap's first and Czerwinski's second, Butch Smith (1944), also 5'10", took home the award. It's more common place in the Conti, as three of the first four winners (Dick Richards, 1926, 5'10"; Johnny Davis, 1928, 5'9"), and Charlie Stedman (1929, 5'7") are below the six foot mark, as well as the only player to win three straight, Tom Barrell (1934-1936, 5'11"). Even last year's runner up, Ron Berry (5'7"), fails to stand six foot tall, and would have tied Stedman for the shortest winner. The only two active pitchers shorter than Berry and Stedman, Gordie Irwin and Dan Atwater, both who are 5'6", don't seem likely to be Allen Winners any time soon, but it seems like you have to be tall to win in the Fed, where the short kings have the advantage in the Conti.

Now that the games don't matter, the Cougars keep on winning, following up four, 4-2 weeks with a 5-2 week to move within two games of the third place Saints. A lot of the success can be attributed to August Pitcher of the Month Duke Bybee, who came an out away from his third shutout in five starts. The Allen favorite allowed just 4 hits and 2 walks with 6 strikeouts, improving to 15-6 on the season while leading the Continental with a 2.44 ERA, 170 ERA+, and 21 quality starts. His 8.1 rWAR is two full wins above the next highest pitcher, and that's all while ranked outside the top 10 in innings pitched. Johnnie Jones deserves credit as well, as after a slow start to his season, he's now gone five straight starts with two or fewer runs allowed, including a complete game gem against the Stars where he allowed just 5 hits, a run, and 3 walks with 5 strikeouts. The older Jones brother has won 8 of his last 9 decisions, now 12-9 with a 3.47 ERA (119 ERA+) and 100 strikeouts in his 27 starts.

While not quite as hot as the crosstown Chiefs, winners of ten straight against the top three teams in the Fed, but even after trading away a number of productive veterans, the Cougars are scoring more runs while continuing to allow the fewest. The Cougars 3.36 rotation ERA is the best in either association, and with just 8 hit by pitches they're the only team in single digits. The bullpen numbers have been inflated by an awful start of the season, but excluding a three run outing where David Molina was able to get just one out, he has scoreless outings in 11 of his last 12 appearances, and the only run allowed came in three solid innings of relief.

The Cougars have started to tap into their youth, starting with the promotions of Elmer Grace (.354, 5, 32) and Frank Reece (.257, 2, 12) before two highly anticipated debuts this past week. The first was of 8th ranked prospect Jerry Smith, who got a pinch hit opportunity in a 5-1 loss to the Kings. His only hit of the week came in his first career start, where he manned center and batted leadoff. He was 1-for-3 with a walk and steal, but went hitless in two starts against the Saints. 1-for-10 in his first week, he did draw four walks, and didn't make an error on 8 attempts in center and 2 in right.

The other debut was of the top ranked pitching prospect Bob Allen, who struck out 9 in an 8-3 loss to the Stars. They did get to him for 11 hits 5 runs, and 2 walks in 8.2 innings pitched, but it has to be considered a successful debut for the 23-year-old righty. Initially planned to work in a six man rotation, Allen will now get to pitch every fifth day, as the Cougars are forced to place Pete Papenfus on the IL for the first time since his return from the Navy. He wasn't his usual dominant self, just 9-11 with a 3.99 ERA (104 ERA+), 1.32 WHIP, and 125 strikeouts in 29 starts. There were some rumblings that 146th ranked prospect Dixie Gaines would get the call from Milwaukee to keep the Cougars on a six-man rotation, but with two off days in the coming week, whoever checked in at the sixth spot wouldn't get a change to throw.

Congratulations to veteran Washington pitcher Billy Riley on securing his 200th career FABL victory last week. The 37-year-old began his career with the New York Stars and also spent a couple seasons with the Cougars before joining the Eagles in 1947. He won a WCS with the Stars in 1939 and is a three-time all-star with a 13-10, 4.41 showing this season.
It was a milestone week for Denny Hern as well with the St Louis lefthander picking up his 150th career victory. The 34-year-old is 15-11 with a 4.54 era this season and 150-130 overall. He won the Fed Allen Award in 1947 after a 25-5 season.
Rod Shearer's hot 2nd half of the season has raised his batting average to .301 and solidified his case for the Fed Kellogg Award as top rookie. If he finishes over .300, he'll be the first Chief to do so since Bill Martin hit .316 in 1946. Since 1941, Chiefs batters have had 10 plus-.300 seasons with Martin accounting for 3 of them (1942: .327, 1946: 3.13, 1943: .309), Jim Watson (1941: .329, 1943: .307) and Ron Rattigan (1941: .307, 1943: .305) with 2 each, and Hank Barnett (1942: .310) and Tom Bird (1942: .310) with a single season each. Since the beginning of August, Rod Shearer has a 1.202 OPS and a 222 wRC+.
Montreal Saints supporters are making a case for Ted Coffin as the Continental Kellogg winner. Coffin leads all rookie pitchers with 13 wins and his 2.92 era is the second lowest in the entire CA trailing only the Cougars Duke Bybee. Coffin's chief competition will be Cleveland outfielder Joe Wood (.315,14,71), due back in the lineup next week after missing nearly a month with a shoulder problem.
A 1-5 week drops the Saints 13 games back in the Continental race and ends any hopes, slim as they were even entering the week, of becoming a factor in the CA pennant chase.
Red Wedge of the New York World-Telegram asks "How much does run support matter? And why W-L record isn't the measure of a pitcher. Case in point, the career of Buddy Long. 8 seasons in St. Louis with an ERA of 3.45 and a FIP- of 88. He compiles a record of 111-120. 3 seasons leading the league in losses. Then one good season in Brooklyn where he did some of the best pitching of his career. Except for 1944 in St. Louis. Now 4 years in New York. His ERA, WHiP and FIP- (90) are all below his career averages. Yes a 62-34 record. He's closing in on 200 wins and while not a Hall of Famer, overall he looks like one of the better starters of his era. 193-165 right now."
Interesting stats - Red Johnson entered last week with both 1384 career RBI and 1384 Runs scored. Johnson is also 5 homers from becoming the first Gothams player with 300. Walt Messer needs 13 to join him.
For the first time since he returned early from the war, Pete Papenfus will not make at least 30 starts in a season. He'll end with just 29 as shoulder inflammation will shut him down for the rest of the year. It was an uncharacteristic down season from Papenfus, who finishes with a career high 3.99 ERA (104 ERA+) in samples of 130 or more innings, and his 9-11 record is just his second sub .500 season since he won the Allen as a 23-year-old in 1941. The injury is also his first as a FABL pitcher that lasted more than a single week

COLLEGE GRID EASES INTO SEASON

The college football season, which in bygone days opened during the World Championship Series, eases out of the garage and into the slow lane this weekend with a limited slate but it does include a couple of the nation's top teams scheduled to see action.

The season begins Friday with Utah A&M hosting Snake River State while Bulein entertains Charleston College of Illinois. Most of the big schools will not see action until the following weekend but the biggest matchup on the opening weekend takes place in Tallahassee as Western Florida welcomes Wyoming A&I. The Wolves finished near the bottom of the pack in the Deep South Conference a year ago with a 2-4 section record and 5-4-1 overall while the Prospectors won the Rocky Mountain Athletic Association title with a perfect 5-0 record (8-2 overall) before falling to Alabama Baptist in the Oilman Classic.

The defending national champion Central Kentucky Tigers, led by All-American quarterback Pete Capizzi who is back for his senior year, also get an early start on things but it is doubtful Capizzi and the other starters play much more than the opening half as the Tigers opponent is small school Cookeville State.

Here are the weekend slate of games
FRIDAY SEPTMEBER 14
Snake River State at Utah A&M
Charleston (IL) at Bulein

SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 15
Alexandria at Queen City
Mountainview State at Mile High State
Abilene Methodist at Lambert College
Wyoming A&I ay Western Florida
Cookeville State ay Central Kentucky
Flagstaff State at Harvey College
Salisbury Christian at Charleston Tech
San Antonio State at Canyon A&M
Western Montana at Provo Tech
Chesapeake State vs Hamman (neutral site)

TRAINING CAMPS SET TO OPEN FOR NAHC TEAMS

By the end of the week each of the six NAHC clubs will have welcomed their players to training camp in preparation for another hockey season. The Montreal Valiants were the class of the loop a year ago as the Vals won their second straight Challenge Cup by nipping the Boston Bees in a final series that was pushed to its full seven game limit.

There are very few major changes this season and expect for the occasional doting of rookies around the league, most clubs will begin the new season with a roster very similar to that which they closed out the 1950-51 campaign. The one exception is perhaps the Toronto Dukes, who finished in 5th place last season and missed the playoffs for just the second time in well over a decade. It should be noted that the last time Toronto failed to qualify for post-season play they followed that up with back to back Challenge Cup winning seasons. If that is to happen this time for the Dukes, it will be without the club's long-time leader as Bobbie Sauer announced his retirement after 15 seasons and 669 points in 681 career games. Sauer was a mere shadow of his former self last season, hobbled by injuries that limited the long-time Toronto captain to a mere 24 games in his final season but his leadership will be hard to replace on a team that had its troubles both on the ice and in the dressing room last season.

Quinton Pollack, who also happens to be the son-in-law of Dukes coach Jack Barrell, will add the letter "C" to his jersey this season and will once again shoulder much of the load in the offensive end for the Dukes but they do not appear to have found a solution for the issue that plagued them last season, where will the secondary scoring come in Sauer's absence?

Toronto is not the only team with question marks. The Chicago Packers, a playoff outfit for six straight seasons under the guidance of Tommy Burns, imploded a year ago and finished with their lowest point total in a decade - a stat made worse by the fact that for the majority of the decade the NAHC employed a 48 game scheduled compared to the 70 contests on the docket each of the past two seasons. As he has been for much of the decade, Burns is still considered the top player in the league by the OSA but the supporting cast, most notably through the retirement of his brother Wes Burns and the drop-off in production exhibited by his former long-time wingman Marty Mahoney, has not been up to snuff. Having Mahoney, who scored a respectable 38 points in 62 games last season but a far drop off from the 41 he tallied in 48 games the year before, return to form that caused the duo of he and Tommy Burns to be among the most feared in the league seems to be essential for the Packers to rebound.

The New York Shamrocks also have questions, with the most notable one being can they take the next step? The Shamrocks led the NAHC regular season standings each of the past two years but stumbled in the playoffs both times including a surprising loss to fourth place Boston in the semi-finals last April. New York has not won a Challenge Cup since the 1931-32 season and fans are clamoring for playoff results. The other question of note in Manhattan is can 33-year-old Orval Cabbell continue the stellar play he has displayed each of the past two seasons. The veteran center scored 80 points a year ago, tops in the loop, and won his second straight McDaniels Trophy as the NAHC's most valuable player.

Despite those two recent McDaniels wins, the OSA feels Cabbell may have taken a small step back and does not even count him as the most talented player on the Shamrocks. That distinction instead goes to Simon Savard, Cabbell's 25-year-old right winger who accumulated 56 points last season. As teams prepare for camp and the preseason games which begin on September 27 here is who OSA sees as the top ten players in the league for the upcoming campaign.

The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 9/09/1951

The peace pact with Japan was signed in San Francisco. Japan and 58 former enemy nations signed the treaty to formally en WWII, but Russia and two of its satellites rejected the deal. Soviet Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko walked out of the conference with a warning to the nations that signed the treaty, stating they must bear the responsibility for "the consequences of such a step" which he implied could be war in the Far East.
Mutual defense treaties signed in the past two weeks with the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand and now Japan further extend American commitment to come to the aid of nations should they be attacked by the Soviets.
Three new Red armored divisions being placed on the front in western Korea increased speculation that the Communists may be readying an offensive.
Top military men have made the decision to bomb Manchurian air bases if the Communists do not resume truce talks.
Iran's plans to give Britain a 2-week ultimatum to reopen talks on the nationalization of Iranian oil plants hit a snag when more than half of the members of Iran's Parliament boycotted a session called to approve the Premier's policy.
The Senate has passed a bill that now goes to the House, calling for the cost of mailing a letter to go up to 4 cents from its present 3 cent rate.
President Truman appeared to kick off his 1952 re-election campaign with a speech in San Francisco that sounded very much like a campaign-talk, blasting the "interests," "special privilege boys", "economic fossils" and "against everythings" for 20 solid minutes at a gathering of 750 party leaders and workers from 11 States.

07-10-2024, 05:08 PM	#981
Tiger Fan Hall Of Famer Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Ontario Canada Posts: 9,873	September 10, 1951 SEPTEMBER 10, 1951 SAWYER RIDES INTO SUNSET WITH 8TH ROUND KNOCKOUT OF BRADLEY Gothams Stadium, New York, N.Y. – Hector Sawyer (65-3-1, 58 KO) vs. Max Bradley (22-1-1, 6 KO) – Boxers come and go, rarely on their own terms. Boxers also rarely stay in the public consciousness for several years. It is the occupational hazard of the physical toll of the sport along with the mandate to prove the boxer’s supremacy in every title defense. On both scores, Heavyweight Champion Hector Sawyer is that rare boxer who has stayed in our public consciousness for over a decade and tonight’s fight against the up-and-coming Max Bradley, offered Sawyer that chance to leave the stage on a pedestal rather than a stretcher. Over the years, your intrepid reporter has peeled back the onion on Sawyer’s greatness. He has passed each test with flying colors. Sawyer has seldom been knocked down and 58 of his 65 wins did not go the distance, so he usually completed his business before the final bell. If an opponent made it through fifteen rounds, that was a victory of sorts. The last to do so was over two years ago during Sawyer’s European sojourn against the Frenchman, Alain Noël. For the last several months, it has been widely reported by pundits and admitted by manager Chester Conley that Sawyer has been contemplating retirement. The only question was whether Sawyer would retire a champion or if he will stay too long and falter at the finish line. It was a standing room only crowd at Gothams Stadium, with an estimated 55,000 cramming into the venue and prices for tickets selling for double their face value. Over time, undoubtedly twice that number will say they were in the house for Sawyer’s final bout. Max Bradley served as Sawyer’s final opponent. Bradley is 24 years old and on his way up the rankings. However, this would serve as Bradley’s first fight that was scheduled beyond ten rounds, as this was his first title shot. Bradley is used to going the distance, so either he will have to show stamina he has never had to show before or find a way to contain Sawyer. The trivia answer for the referee in Sawyer’s final bout is Jerry Rowe, who was a veteran of many title fights. But, although this was Rowe’s sixth title fight, it was his first heavyweight assignment. The first round began, and Sawyer was content to measure up his opponent while seemingly embracing the moment. Bradley was looking to make his mark early, firing a jab and deftly executing a combination. Sawyer snapped to attention quickly after feeling the sting of the opening salvo and let a couple of hooks loose of his own. Sawyer targeted Bradley’s midsection, which forced Bradley to pause and stagger backwards. It was a very even round, as everyone in attendance was waiting to see Sawyer dominate. But, the second round was all Bradley, though the challenger did not throw many power punches. Bradley was connecting on punches that threw off Sawyer’s timing and forced him to be defensive. Through three rounds, Sawyer still did not show his usual championship pedigree, as Bradley narrowly outpointed the champion in each round. Both combatants tried to make a move late in the fourth round. Sawyer threw a combination and Bradley’s knees started to wobble, but he recovered to fire a one-two with a jab and a hook to visibly hurt the champion. In the corner between the fourth and fifth rounds, Sawyer stiffened his back and seemed to meditate. Maybe it was the deep thought and the understanding that this fight was the last impression he would make on the boxing world, he provided a clinic on boxing. The ring awareness, working the head and the body in harmony, and the jabs to set up the bigger punches. Sawyer was doing it all. The sixth round contained more of the same in the back half of the round, as Sawyer was likely a little winded from his three minutes of excellence in the prior round. Bradley fought back with arguably his best round in the seventh. He connected on many punches, but he did not have the steam behind them as Sawyer did. It was another turning point after the seventh round. Sawyer was ready to finish his opponent and ride off into the sunset. Sawyer would normally not have this kind of trouble with this type of opponent. People were starting to worry if Sawyer was ripe for the picking. But, Sawyer felt his best was still in him. Sawyer, the all-time greatest Heavyweight Champion in boxing history, absolutely dominated his final round in his final bout. From pillar to post, Sawyer taught Bradley a thing or two. Sawyer did not find the defense he was accustomed to facing from Bradley, by coming right at his corner when the round started and cutting off potential escape routes. After a combination left Bradley staggered, it was a hook midway through the round that sent Bradley down for the only knockdown by either fighter on this night. Bradley barely got up at the count of eight and referee Rowe looked in his eyes, asking if he could continue before being satisfied with the answer and allowing the fight to go on. From there, it was all Sawyer. Sawyer was a man on a mission, sensing this could be it, sensing this could be the last round he will ever fight. A right by Sawyer, then a combo, followed by a fusillade of punches in such a flurry, the crowd’s cheering reached a fever pitch. Bradley was trying to hang on, waiting and pleading for the bell to signal the end of the round, but with 14 seconds left in the eighth round, referee Rowe called it off. He waved his arms vigorously and Bradley crumpled to the ground while Sawyer drank in one last euphoric sip from his championship cup. Sawyer got to out a winner. Bradley held his own during most of this fight, which speaks to his bright future. The challenger was ahead on the cards at the start of the eighth round. During the fight, he was able to conserve his punches, connecting at a very impressive 56% of his attempts compared to 41% for Sawyer. While they connected with roughly the same amount of punches, Sawyer expended more energy swinging and missing. Sawyer cornered the market on big punches, outscoring Bradley on Big Boppers, 10-1, but Bradley was able to play to the steady drumbeat of his plentiful jabs and hooks. Through seven rounds, Sawyer only bested the challenger in the fifth and sixth rounds. Bradley was effective at stifling Sawyer’s offensive with a “stick-and-move” strategy of quick jabs and quicker feet. But Sawyer can still dominate for a round or two at a time and that was more than enough on this night. Maybe Bradley (22-2-1) will get another shot, maybe he will even be the favorite. That is conversation for another day. Hector Sawyer will retire with an amazing record of 66-3-1 and 59 knockouts. No one was ever better than The Cajun Crusher. Few athletes have ever been as dominant for as long as Sawyer has, and it will likely be a long time before anyone ever will. BOLOGNA’S BIG BOPPERS Round 1: Sawyer, 1-0 (2:44 hook/side) Round 2: None Round 3: None Round 4: Sawyer, 2-1 (S: 0:22 hook/head, 2:09 combo/face; B: 2:49 hook/midsection) Round 5: Sawyer, 1-0 (1:21 uppercut) Round 6: Sawyer, 2-0 (1:41 right, 2:16 cross) Round 7: None Round 8: Sawyer, 4-0 (0:13 combo, 1:49 hook/knockdown #1, 2:15 right, 2:28 combo) TOTAL: Sawyer 10, Bradley 1 UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS September 19- New Britain, CT: former welterweight champion Ira Mitchell (25-6) vs Heinie Verplanck (23-7-1) September 26- New Bedford, MA: rising heavyweight contender Joey Tierney (23-1) vs Shawn Nance (14-6) September 30 - Thompson Palladium, Detroit: former middleweight champion Millard Shelton (31-6) vs Mark Tucker (13-7) September 30- Denny Arena, Boston: veteran heavyweight Matt Price (42-13-4) vs Steve Clark (10-2) October 5- Bigsby Garden, New York: World welterweight champion Danny Rutledge (24-1-1) defends his ABF title against Britain's Danny Julian (31-3-2) CHIEFS IMPACTING FED FLAG RACE The Chicago Chiefs are certainly taking the role of spoiler very seriously. A rough start to the season when Chicago lost 8 of its 11 April games plus a dreadful 4-16 run in late June-early July doomed the Chiefs flag hopes but they are certainly out to make life miserable for each of the three remaining pennant contenders. Chicago has won each of its last 10 games, and all of them against Detroit, New York and St Louis, to give fans in the Windy City plenty of hope for the 1952 campaign. Rookie outfielder Rod Shearer has been leading the charge, winning back to back Federal Association player of the week awards and just making life miserable for the Dynamos, Gothams and Pioneers. First place Detroit stumbled badly last week, being swept in a 3-game set against the Chiefs before losing a quick one-game appearance by the Gothams in the Motor City and then falling twice in 3 outings on the road against St Louis. Fortunately for the leaders, the two clubs chasing Detroit also had plenty of issues last week - with the aforementioned Chiefs causing much of the grief. The Gothams had a great start to the week in taking both ends of a twin bill against the Pioneers before beating Detroit 5-4 in 11 innings on Wednesday, but they then proceeded to be swept by the Chiefs, falling 3 times at Whitney Park over the weekend. The result is New York now sits three and a half games back of the Dynamos, with St Louis also 3.5 off the pace. The Pioneers started the week with five straight losses, including 2 to Chicago before rebounding with two wins over the Dynamos to finish the week. The Continental Association margin is three games with the Philadelphia Sailors still holding off Cleveland despite falling 6-2 to the Foresters in their very brief single game series meeting in Philadelphia. A big weekend with four straight wins over last place Toronto, during which the Sailors outscored the Wolves 35-6, did its part to help keep the Sailors lead intact. The diminutive but highly touted Chicago Cougars pitching prospect Bob Allen made his FABL debut last week which led me to thinking about pitchers height. I know Dick Lyons (1938, 5'8") won an Allen Award with the Chicago Cougars, I had to look at the Fed to see if anyone Bob Allen's height (5'9") or shorter won the Allen Award. Turns out the answer is no, and the shortest Fed pitcher (5'9") since the award was established in 1926 is a name that might bring up some feelings for certain GMs. Jack Beach. In fact, he was part of a four year stretch of sub 6'0" hurlers to win in the Fed, though Jim Lonardo (5'11") did all the heavy lifting as Beach prevented his threepeat before Lonardo won again in '33. Lonardo, Beach, and Red Ross (5'10") are the only pitchers shorter then six feet to win an Allen in the Fed. The Conti, however, is a different story, as 5'10" hurlers Adrian Czerwinski (1949, 1950) and the Cougars own Pete Papenfus (1941, 1946) have both earned the award. Between Pap's first and Czerwinski's second, Butch Smith (1944), also 5'10", took home the award. It's more common place in the Conti, as three of the first four winners (Dick Richards, 1926, 5'10"; Johnny Davis, 1928, 5'9"), and Charlie Stedman (1929, 5'7") are below the six foot mark, as well as the only player to win three straight, Tom Barrell (1934-1936, 5'11"). Even last year's runner up, Ron Berry (5'7"), fails to stand six foot tall, and would have tied Stedman for the shortest winner. The only two active pitchers shorter than Berry and Stedman, Gordie Irwin and Dan Atwater, both who are 5'6", don't seem likely to be Allen Winners any time soon, but it seems like you have to be tall to win in the Fed, where the short kings have the advantage in the Conti. Now that the games don't matter, the Cougars keep on winning, following up four, 4-2 weeks with a 5-2 week to move within two games of the third place Saints. A lot of the success can be attributed to August Pitcher of the Month Duke Bybee, who came an out away from his third shutout in five starts. The Allen favorite allowed just 4 hits and 2 walks with 6 strikeouts, improving to 15-6 on the season while leading the Continental with a 2.44 ERA, 170 ERA+, and 21 quality starts. His 8.1 rWAR is two full wins above the next highest pitcher, and that's all while ranked outside the top 10 in innings pitched. Johnnie Jones deserves credit as well, as after a slow start to his season, he's now gone five straight starts with two or fewer runs allowed, including a complete game gem against the Stars where he allowed just 5 hits, a run, and 3 walks with 5 strikeouts. The older Jones brother has won 8 of his last 9 decisions, now 12-9 with a 3.47 ERA (119 ERA+) and 100 strikeouts in his 27 starts. While not quite as hot as the crosstown Chiefs, winners of ten straight against the top three teams in the Fed, but even after trading away a number of productive veterans, the Cougars are scoring more runs while continuing to allow the fewest. The Cougars 3.36 rotation ERA is the best in either association, and with just 8 hit by pitches they're the only team in single digits. The bullpen numbers have been inflated by an awful start of the season, but excluding a three run outing where David Molina was able to get just one out, he has scoreless outings in 11 of his last 12 appearances, and the only run allowed came in three solid innings of relief. The Cougars have started to tap into their youth, starting with the promotions of Elmer Grace (.354, 5, 32) and Frank Reece (.257, 2, 12) before two highly anticipated debuts this past week. The first was of 8th ranked prospect Jerry Smith, who got a pinch hit opportunity in a 5-1 loss to the Kings. His only hit of the week came in his first career start, where he manned center and batted leadoff. He was 1-for-3 with a walk and steal, but went hitless in two starts against the Saints. 1-for-10 in his first week, he did draw four walks, and didn't make an error on 8 attempts in center and 2 in right. The other debut was of the top ranked pitching prospect Bob Allen, who struck out 9 in an 8-3 loss to the Stars. They did get to him for 11 hits 5 runs, and 2 walks in 8.2 innings pitched, but it has to be considered a successful debut for the 23-year-old righty. Initially planned to work in a six man rotation, Allen will now get to pitch every fifth day, as the Cougars are forced to place Pete Papenfus on the IL for the first time since his return from the Navy. He wasn't his usual dominant self, just 9-11 with a 3.99 ERA (104 ERA+), 1.32 WHIP, and 125 strikeouts in 29 starts. There were some rumblings that 146th ranked prospect Dixie Gaines would get the call from Milwaukee to keep the Cougars on a six-man rotation, but with two off days in the coming week, whoever checked in at the sixth spot wouldn't get a change to throw. Congratulations to veteran Washington pitcher Billy Riley on securing his 200th career FABL victory last week. The 37-year-old began his career with the New York Stars and also spent a couple seasons with the Cougars before joining the Eagles in 1947. He won a WCS with the Stars in 1939 and is a three-time all-star with a 13-10, 4.41 showing this season. It was a milestone week for Denny Hern as well with the St Louis lefthander picking up his 150th career victory. The 34-year-old is 15-11 with a 4.54 era this season and 150-130 overall. He won the Fed Allen Award in 1947 after a 25-5 season. Rod Shearer's hot 2nd half of the season has raised his batting average to .301 and solidified his case for the Fed Kellogg Award as top rookie. If he finishes over .300, he'll be the first Chief to do so since Bill Martin hit .316 in 1946. Since 1941, Chiefs batters have had 10 plus-.300 seasons with Martin accounting for 3 of them (1942: .327, 1946: 3.13, 1943: .309), Jim Watson (1941: .329, 1943: .307) and Ron Rattigan (1941: .307, 1943: .305) with 2 each, and Hank Barnett (1942: .310) and Tom Bird (1942: .310) with a single season each. Since the beginning of August, Rod Shearer has a 1.202 OPS and a 222 wRC+. Montreal Saints supporters are making a case for Ted Coffin as the Continental Kellogg winner. Coffin leads all rookie pitchers with 13 wins and his 2.92 era is the second lowest in the entire CA trailing only the Cougars Duke Bybee. Coffin's chief competition will be Cleveland outfielder Joe Wood (.315,14,71), due back in the lineup next week after missing nearly a month with a shoulder problem. A 1-5 week drops the Saints 13 games back in the Continental race and ends any hopes, slim as they were even entering the week, of becoming a factor in the CA pennant chase. Red Wedge of the New York World-Telegram asks "How much does run support matter? And why W-L record isn't the measure of a pitcher. Case in point, the career of Buddy Long. 8 seasons in St. Louis with an ERA of 3.45 and a FIP- of 88. He compiles a record of 111-120. 3 seasons leading the league in losses. Then one good season in Brooklyn where he did some of the best pitching of his career. Except for 1944 in St. Louis. Now 4 years in New York. His ERA, WHiP and FIP- (90) are all below his career averages. Yes a 62-34 record. He's closing in on 200 wins and while not a Hall of Famer, overall he looks like one of the better starters of his era. 193-165 right now." Interesting stats - Red Johnson entered last week with both 1384 career RBI and 1384 Runs scored. Johnson is also 5 homers from becoming the first Gothams player with 300. Walt Messer needs 13 to join him. For the first time since he returned early from the war, Pete Papenfus will not make at least 30 starts in a season. He'll end with just 29 as shoulder inflammation will shut him down for the rest of the year. It was an uncharacteristic down season from Papenfus, who finishes with a career high 3.99 ERA (104 ERA+) in samples of 130 or more innings, and his 9-11 record is just his second sub .500 season since he won the Allen as a 23-year-old in 1941. The injury is also his first as a FABL pitcher that lasted more than a single week COLLEGE GRID EASES INTO SEASON The college football season, which in bygone days opened during the World Championship Series, eases out of the garage and into the slow lane this weekend with a limited slate but it does include a couple of the nation's top teams scheduled to see action. The season begins Friday with Utah A&M hosting Snake River State while Bulein entertains Charleston College of Illinois. Most of the big schools will not see action until the following weekend but the biggest matchup on the opening weekend takes place in Tallahassee as Western Florida welcomes Wyoming A&I. The Wolves finished near the bottom of the pack in the Deep South Conference a year ago with a 2-4 section record and 5-4-1 overall while the Prospectors won the Rocky Mountain Athletic Association title with a perfect 5-0 record (8-2 overall) before falling to Alabama Baptist in the Oilman Classic. The defending national champion Central Kentucky Tigers, led by All-American quarterback Pete Capizzi who is back for his senior year, also get an early start on things but it is doubtful Capizzi and the other starters play much more than the opening half as the Tigers opponent is small school Cookeville State. Here are the weekend slate of games FRIDAY SEPTMEBER 14 Snake River State at Utah A&M Charleston (IL) at Bulein SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 15 Alexandria at Queen City Mountainview State at Mile High State Abilene Methodist at Lambert College Wyoming A&I ay Western Florida Cookeville State ay Central Kentucky Flagstaff State at Harvey College Salisbury Christian at Charleston Tech San Antonio State at Canyon A&M Western Montana at Provo Tech Chesapeake State vs Hamman (neutral site) TRAINING CAMPS SET TO OPEN FOR NAHC TEAMS By the end of the week each of the six NAHC clubs will have welcomed their players to training camp in preparation for another hockey season. The Montreal Valiants were the class of the loop a year ago as the Vals won their second straight Challenge Cup by nipping the Boston Bees in a final series that was pushed to its full seven game limit. There are very few major changes this season and expect for the occasional doting of rookies around the league, most clubs will begin the new season with a roster very similar to that which they closed out the 1950-51 campaign. The one exception is perhaps the Toronto Dukes, who finished in 5th place last season and missed the playoffs for just the second time in well over a decade. It should be noted that the last time Toronto failed to qualify for post-season play they followed that up with back to back Challenge Cup winning seasons. If that is to happen this time for the Dukes, it will be without the club's long-time leader as Bobbie Sauer announced his retirement after 15 seasons and 669 points in 681 career games. Sauer was a mere shadow of his former self last season, hobbled by injuries that limited the long-time Toronto captain to a mere 24 games in his final season but his leadership will be hard to replace on a team that had its troubles both on the ice and in the dressing room last season. Quinton Pollack, who also happens to be the son-in-law of Dukes coach Jack Barrell, will add the letter "C" to his jersey this season and will once again shoulder much of the load in the offensive end for the Dukes but they do not appear to have found a solution for the issue that plagued them last season, where will the secondary scoring come in Sauer's absence? Toronto is not the only team with question marks. The Chicago Packers, a playoff outfit for six straight seasons under the guidance of Tommy Burns, imploded a year ago and finished with their lowest point total in a decade - a stat made worse by the fact that for the majority of the decade the NAHC employed a 48 game scheduled compared to the 70 contests on the docket each of the past two seasons. As he has been for much of the decade, Burns is still considered the top player in the league by the OSA but the supporting cast, most notably through the retirement of his brother Wes Burns and the drop-off in production exhibited by his former long-time wingman Marty Mahoney, has not been up to snuff. Having Mahoney, who scored a respectable 38 points in 62 games last season but a far drop off from the 41 he tallied in 48 games the year before, return to form that caused the duo of he and Tommy Burns to be among the most feared in the league seems to be essential for the Packers to rebound. The New York Shamrocks also have questions, with the most notable one being can they take the next step? The Shamrocks led the NAHC regular season standings each of the past two years but stumbled in the playoffs both times including a surprising loss to fourth place Boston in the semi-finals last April. New York has not won a Challenge Cup since the 1931-32 season and fans are clamoring for playoff results. The other question of note in Manhattan is can 33-year-old Orval Cabbell continue the stellar play he has displayed each of the past two seasons. The veteran center scored 80 points a year ago, tops in the loop, and won his second straight McDaniels Trophy as the NAHC's most valuable player. Despite those two recent McDaniels wins, the OSA feels Cabbell may have taken a small step back and does not even count him as the most talented player on the Shamrocks. That distinction instead goes to Simon Savard, Cabbell's 25-year-old right winger who accumulated 56 points last season. As teams prepare for camp and the preseason games which begin on September 27 here is who OSA sees as the top ten players in the league for the upcoming campaign. The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 9/09/1951 The peace pact with Japan was signed in San Francisco. Japan and 58 former enemy nations signed the treaty to formally en WWII, but Russia and two of its satellites rejected the deal. Soviet Deputy Foreign Minister Andrei Gromyko walked out of the conference with a warning to the nations that signed the treaty, stating they must bear the responsibility for "the consequences of such a step" which he implied could be war in the Far East. Mutual defense treaties signed in the past two weeks with the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand and now Japan further extend American commitment to come to the aid of nations should they be attacked by the Soviets. Three new Red armored divisions being placed on the front in western Korea increased speculation that the Communists may be readying an offensive. Top military men have made the decision to bomb Manchurian air bases if the Communists do not resume truce talks. Iran's plans to give Britain a 2-week ultimatum to reopen talks on the nationalization of Iranian oil plants hit a snag when more than half of the members of Iran's Parliament boycotted a session called to approve the Premier's policy. The Senate has passed a bill that now goes to the House, calling for the cost of mailing a letter to go up to 4 cents from its present 3 cent rate. President Truman appeared to kick off his 1952 re-election campaign with a speech in San Francisco that sounded very much like a campaign-talk, blasting the "interests," "special privilege boys", "economic fossils" and "against everythings" for 20 solid minutes at a gathering of 750 party leaders and workers from 11 States. __________________ Cliff Markle HOB1 greatest pitcher 360-160, 9 Welch Awards, 11 WS titles Last edited by Tiger Fan; 07-10-2024 at 06:07 PM.