JANUARY 28, 1952
CLINE SURPRISES BRADLEY IN SAWYER CUP SEMIFINAL
Denny Arena, Boston, Mass. – Max Bradley (22-2-1, 6 KO) vs. Tommy Cline (20-4-0, 15 KO) - After more than an 11-year reign as champion of the Heavyweight Division, Hector Sawyer is no longer at the top of the heap. No one could beat Sawyer; he retired because there was nothing left to prove. More difficult to fathom than Sawyer not being the champion is thinking about someone else holding the champion’s belt. Instead of bestowing that honor right away, the American Boxing Federation decided a four-way playoff – a Sawyer Cup, of sorts – was a fitting way to crown a new champion.
Two bouts a week apart, this fight in Boston and next week’s tilt in Philadelphia, will determine the combatants in the bout that will decide Sawyer’s successor. Max Bradley, who held his own in Sawyer’s final fight, got the nod for one of the semifinal slots and he earned the top billing. His opponent was Tommy Cline, the fourth-ranked contender, who has already lost four times, but he earned knockouts in three-quarters of his 20 victories.
Bradley was the favorite with his standing as the top-ranked contender and while Bradley was content to take it slow after the opening bell, Cline played the underdog card very well, trying to make his mark from the get-go and dominating the first round. After Bradley called him out about midway through the round, Cline opened the festivities with a big uppercut and followed it up with a hook to Bradley’s jaw that made him sorry he taunted him.
Cline took a big punch from Bradley, a left hook to the body, but controlled the play for most of the round. His corner, and many in the crowd, began to take notice. The third round marked Bradley turn to own the tempo and he slowed it down, trying to force Cline to be too aggressive. The clinching by Cline in the third round became a mark of frustration, as Cline hit Bradley on the break and he was issued a warning by referee Dunk McGuire.
Cline regained his composure in the fifth round, leading off with an uppercut that snapped Bradley’s head back. Bradley was not about to lose momentum to Cline and responded with a couple of hooks late in the round that put Cline back on his heels. In the sixth round, Cline was given two warnings, one for leaning on Bradley’s neck and another for using the shoulder.
The eighth round was Bradley’s finest hour, as he did not let Cline get a single punch to break through. Bradley did everything but knock Cline down and it was the uppercut that did the most damage. Bradley seemed to have had enough to win the fight after nine rounds. In the tenth and final round, Cline connected on a devastating hook and an effective combination, and the judges and fans were left with those punches in their minds when the bell signaled the end of the fight.
Both fighters acted as though they had won. The crowd was rooting for the underdog Cline, who fought with a more dynamic style, but Bradley was fouled four times during the bout, so there was some dirty play involved to help Cline along the way. The judges made a unanimous decision to declare Tommy Cline the winner and each card only had Cline up by one point, so the tenth round did indeed decide the winner. Cline will face the winner of the Lewis Jones-Joey Tierney fight in Philadelphia next weekend.
Although the fight was only scheduled for ten rounds, both were ready to go longer. Ten rounds were clearly not enough to settle this matter. This bout was suited for a title fight and who knows? The next time they meet could be when Cline (21-4-0) wins the playoff and Bradley (22-3-1) gets another title shot.
BOLOGNA’S BIG BOPPERS
Round 1: Cline, 3-0 (1:19 uppercut, 1:33 hook/jaw, 2:47 hook)
Round 2: Cline, 3-1 (B: 0:25 hook/body; C: 0:46 combo, 1:02 right/head, 2:09 hook/head)
Round 3: Tied, 1-1 (B: 0:52 left; C: 2:25 right)
Round 4: None
Round 5: Cline, 2-1 (B: 2:22 hook/head; C: 0:12 uppercut/head, 1:27 right/body)
Round 6: Cline, 3-0 (0:55 cross, 1:44 hook, 2:11 right/head)
Round 7: None
Round 8: Bradley, 5-0 (0:57 cross/face, 1:17 uppercut, 2:12 uppercut, 2:26 uppercut, 2:43 uppercut)
Round 9: Bradley, 1-0 (1:21 hook/midsection)
Round 10: Cline, 2-0 (1:03 hook, 2:22 combo)
TOTAL: Cline 14, Bradley 9
- At Philadelphia's Keystone Arena Ira Mitchell, who briefly held the welterweight title a year ago, dominated his bout with young Seth Murphy to score a unanimous decision in their 10 round tussle. Mitchell, who is 31 and considered the top contender to current champion Danny Rutledge's ABF crown, is 31-6 for his career. He had his first title shot in 1948 but lost to Harold Stephens before beating Dale Roy in November of 1950 to win the title. His reign was short as Danny Rutledge outpointed Mitchell three months later in what would be the Chicago native's only title defense.
UPCOMING MAJOR FIGHTS- January 31 - Richmond, VA: veteran welterweight Heinie Verplanck (23-8-1) meets Fred Morris (12-4)
- February 2- Keystone Arena, Philadelphia: Heavyweights Lewis Jones (26-4-1) and Joey Tierney (24-1) meet with the winner earning a title shot in May or June.
- February 9 - Minneapolis, MN: Highly touted young heavyweight Brad Harris (21-2-1) faces Steve Clark (10-3)
- February 16- National Auditorium, Washington DC- welterweight contender Ben Burns (21-1) meets Danny Julian (31-4-2)
- February 22- Lakeside Auditorium Chicago: World Welterweight champion Danny Rutledge (25-1-1) defends his title against Dale Roy (40-9-1)
- February 28- Bigsby Gardens, New York: heavyweight contenders Evan Rivers (19-3-3) and John Jones (20-3-1) face each other.
Gridiron
WEST RALLIES TO WIN GRID ALL-PRO CONTEST
The best of the American Football Association was on display in New York Sunday afternoon for the first-ever AFA All-Pro game. Taking a page out of baseball's playbook, which has staged an all-star spectacle since 1933, the footballers put on an entertaining show at Gothams Stadium over the weekend, with the stars of the West Division rallying for 20 unanswered points in the second half to claim a 23-20 victory.
Pat Hill, the lanky speedster from the Kansas City Cowboys found the endzone twice after the break including a 12-yard catch on a pass thrown by his Cowboys teammate Pat Chappell with a little over four minutes remaining in the game that provided the game winning points. Hill was the busiest of a strong contingent of West Division backs, carrying the ball 14 times for 51 yards including a 12-yard scamper in the third quarter that cut into the East Division 20-3 halftime lead.
East Division end Bobby Leonard, the former St. Blane All-American who now catches passes for the AFA champion Pittsburgh Paladins, was the star of the first half with a pair of scoring grabs, both on heaves from Cleveland's Rich McKowen. In all, Leonard made 5 catches for 102 yards and carried the ball twice for seven more to walk away with player of the game honours.
The first half of the game was looking like it might be a rout for the East, which also benefited from a pair of field goals off the foot of Boston's Neville Caron to take a commanding 20-3 lead at the break. The West stars, with Vince Gallegos of San Francisco and Kansas City star Pat Chappell - recovered from an injury that forced him to miss the championship game loss to Pittsburgh- both struggling at quarterback and their running game unable to gain traction early managed just 27 yards of offense in the first half and their only points of the opening thirty minutes came on a 43-yard field goal by Detroit's James Church.
The second half was a much different story as the West's second series after the break nearly doubled their first half yardage gains, with Hill doing most of the legwork in a 46-yard scoring march to cut the East lead to 20-10. Hill carried the ball four times on the drive for 27 yards, including a 12-yard scoring run while also adding 19 more yards by catching a Chappell pass.
A series later saw a big 19-yard gain on a Gallegos pass to his Wings teammate Herk Loveall set up a 24-yard Church field goal to cut the deficit to seven points and it shrank to four early in the final period when a long West Division drive sputtered out on the 5-yard line but Church split the uprights with his 15-yard three point attempt to make the score 20-16 with a little over ten minutes remaining in the game.
The East, which seemed to move the ball with ease in the opening half, was shut down by the West defenders after the break and with eight minutes left another West drive, this one which would result in the game winning points being scored, got underway from just a yard shy of mid-field. Lou Grossman of the Los Angeles Tigers ran around the right end for 13 yards and the Cowboys Mason Matthews followed two plays later with a bullrush for 19 yards shredding his way through the middle of the East Division. Chappell and Hill finished the drive with a 12-yard scoring strike through the air that put the West ahead for good 23-20 with 4:39 on the clock.
The East had an opportunity to tie or even win the game after an explosive run from championship game MVP Wally Dotson of the Pittsburgh Paladins went for 52 yards and set up a first and goal for the East stars on the Western 8 yard line with two minutes remaining. The next three plays went backwards as Dotson was stopped for a one yard loss and McKowen, after throwing an incomplete pass on second down, was sacked by rookie linebacker Scott Cross of Detroit to lose eight more. That backed up the East for its game-tying field goal attempt and perhaps made all the difference in the world as Catron, lining up from 23 yards out, missed wide on his kick and the West would hang on for 23-20 victory.
PACKERS AND SHAMROCKS CONTINUE BATTLE FOR NAHC LEAD
Just two points continues to separate the Chicago Packers and New York Shamrocks at the top of the North American Hockey Confederation standings. Each club won twice in three outings last week and with 24 games remaining for each team the Packers, with 56 points, are holding a two point lead on the Greenshirts.
Tommy Burns, who had a rough year by his standards last season, and the team was awful, is back to showing the form that won the 31-year-old center three straight McDaniels Awards not all that long ago. Burns, who led the NAHC in scoring twice in his career, is riding a 12-game point scoring streak during which time he has tallied seven goals and 19 points. His 23 goals and 56 points on the year are each leading the NAHC this season. Meanwhile, winger Max Ducharme scored in six straight games before having that streak come to an end last night in a win over Detroit. Chicago rode the strength of its key offensive performers but the big story this season has been the goaltending duo of Michael Cleghorn and Norm Hanson. A year ago with the same duo between the pipes the Packers surrendered 225 goals, far and away the highest total in the league. This year they are on pace to cut more than a goal per game off that mark and have given up just 90 opposition goals in 46 games.
NAHC RESULTS FROM LAST WEEK
TUESDAY JANUARY 22 New York 1 at 2 Boston : Boston is unbeaten in four games after edging the New York Shamrocks 2-1 at Denny Arena. Jerry Finch opened the scoring for the visitors but Bryant Williams tied things up for the Bees before the end of the first period and Mark Dyck notched the game winner midway through the middle frame.
WEDNESDAY JANUARY 23
Montreal 5 at 2 Toronto :Another big effort from Tom Brockers as the veteran Montreal goaltender made 40 saves to help the Valiants down the Toronto Dukes 5-2. Pat Coulter scored twice while Claude LeClerc had a goal and an assists for the Vals.
THURSDAY JANUARY 24
Montreal 1 at 3 Chicago : Chicago is 5-0-2 in their last seven but this victory came at a price as Packers forward Jarrett McGlynn left with an injury and will be sidelined until March. The 30-year-old center had 25 points in 42 games this season. Max Ducharme scored twice to pace the Chicago attack and now has goals in five consecutive games.
Toronto 2 at 4 Detroit : The Motors snapped a 5-game winless drought and handed Toronto its third straight loss, doubling the Dukes 4-2 at Thompson Palladium. Graham Comeau and Derek Veysey each had a goal and an assist for Detroit.
SATURDAY JANUARY 26
Chicago 1 at 3 Detroit : Millard Touhey made 47 saves as Detroit ended Chicago's 7-game unbeaten streak with a 3-1 victory keyed by a goal and an assist from defenseman Harry Remington. Max Ducharme now has goals in six consecutive games and 18 on the season after scoring the lone Chicago goal. League scoring leader Tommy Burns earned an assist and has points in 11 straight games.
Boston 3 at 0 Montreal :Boston stays two points ahead of Detroit in the battle for the fourth and final playoff spot after Oscar James recorded a 31 save shutout to help the Bees blank Montreal 3-0. Boston scored once each period with Robert Walker, Craig Simpson and Jacob Gron doing the honours. The Bees have won 3 straight and are unbeaten in their last five outings.
New York 4 at 2 Toronto : Toronto is on a cold streak again as the Dukes lost their third in a row, falling 4-2 at home to New York. Orval Cabbell scored twice for the Shamrocks including his 20th goal of the season. Only Chicago's Tommy Burns and Les Carlson of Toronto, who scored his 21st in a losing effort, have scored more often this campaign.
SUNDAY JANUARY 27
Toronto at Boston :
Detroit 1 at 4 Chicago :Tommy Burns scored twice and Norm Hanson stopped 32 shots to lead Chicago to a 4-1 win over Detroit in the back half of a weekend home and home between the two rivals.
Montreal 3 at 6 New York :Simon Savard had four points and Joe Martin three to lead New York to a 6-3 win over the Montreal Valiants. The Vals have lost three in a row and were badly outplayed in this one with the Shamrocks holding a 45-22 shot advantage.
UPCOMING GAMES
TUESDAY JANUARY 29
Detroit at Boston
THURSDAY JANUARY 31
Boston at Chicago
New York at Montreal
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 2
Detroit at Montreal
Boston at Toronto
SUNDAY FEBRUARY 3
Montreal at Boston
Toronto at Chicago
New York at Detroit
After enduring his team's worst season since his debut, Packers superstar Tommy Burns has been doing everything he can to help Chicago's hockey team win. After scoring a pair of goals in a 4-1 win over the visiting Motors, Burns extended his point streak to 12, giving him 56 in 46 games. Already within five points of his total from all of last season, the 31-year-old center currently leads all skaters in points and goals (23), while he and Toronto's Lou Galbraith are tied for the second most assists with 33. Only Galbraith's teammate Quinton Pollack has more helpers, and his 53 points are second to Burns.
As we get closer to the home stretch of the season, the Packers are almost assured a postseason spot, but they'll have to keep winning to stay on top of the New York Shamrocks. With one more loss and one fewer win, the Shamrocks are keeping pace with the first place Packers, in what should be a fun race to the finish. Unfortunately for the Packers, their offense took a huge hit, as assistant captain and second line center Jarrett McGlynn's regular season is now in doubt. The 30-year-old center lacerated his spleen, and will now miss the next 1 to 2 months as he focuses on getting back into playing shape. The anchor of the second line, McGlynn has provided his squad with 6 goals and 19 assists, and he's been effective for Chicago on the power play.
McGlynn's absence should lead to more playing time for young center Kevin Braun (5-1-6) and veteran Ed Delarue (3-8-11), and McGlynn will be replaced in the lineup by the now healthy Max Lavgine, who has spent most of his time with the Rovers this season. Offense may be tough to come by for the Packers while McGlynn is on the shelf, but with the top goaltending duo they haven't needed to score much. The Motors got to Michael Cleghorn (13-4-0, 1.50) in a rare loss, but he's the only goalie in the NAHC allowing fewer then two goals a game, and he has more shutouts (5) then losses (4). Regular netminder Norm Hanson (12-11-5, 2.18) hasn't been as lucky with the wins, but his 2.18 GAA is second to just Cleghorn and the Shamrock's Alex Sorrell (2.04). The Pack still have a long way to go if they want to capture the team's first ever cup, and this duo will be tested without their top faceoff winner (4th in NAHC, 53.3%) for the foreseeable future
DUKES SLUMP DURING BUSY STRETCH IN SCHEDULE
Toronto had a second straight week with 4 games but this week's results were not nearly as good as last week's 2-1-1. This time the Dukes lost three straight before salvaging a win on Sunday to finish January with an overall record of 5-6-2. The Dukes will probably enter February in third place although Boston could move into a tie. Boston has two games remaining in January and the Bees currently sit 4 points in arrears of Toronto. Toronto started the week at home with a match against cellar dwelling Montreal. For one of the few times during the month the Dukes actually outshot the opposition 42-28. Unfortunately Tom Brockers outplayed Broadway in the crease. Montreal came away with a 5-2 victory in Broadway's weakest effort in a long, long time.
No rest for the wicked as the saying goes, Toronto laced up the skates again in Detroit the next night. Dukes held a 2-1 lead after one before their legs appeared to give out on them over the final 40 minutes. Scott Renes again faced a lot of rubber between the pipes as the Motors tied the score in the second then took a lead with 3:56 remaining in the game. Renes made many cultch saves to keep the score close finishing the game with 32 stops. The game ended 4-2 with the net empty the Motors iced the victory with a shorthanded goal by Brock Ternovatsky.
Barrell choose not hold practice on Friday's off day thinking that rest was more important before the Shamrocks invaded the Gardens on Saturday night. Defense-first seemed to the message from Barrell facing the high paced offense from the Big Apple. The Dukes held the visitors to under thirty shots, which in itself is a feat, in fast paced game before 13,122 in the stands. The Dukes held the score close for the first 40 minutes with Orval Cabbell scoring both goals for the Shamrocks while Lou Galbraith drew the Dukes within one with a goal at 18:29 of the second frame. The crowd came to life when Les Carlson tied the game while up a man from Galbraith and Quinton Pollack just past the eight minute mark of the third. The fans again rose from their seats after the visitors were once more put a man short less than a half minute after Carlson's goal. Anticipation turned to disappointment when Eric Abbott was sent in alone on Broadway to score a shorthanded goal while the Dukes were pressing for the lead. Patrick Banning put the game away with a power play goal with J.C. Martel off for slashing at 14:07, sending fans heading for the exits.
After dropping three in rapid succession the team was in Denny Arena for the third back to back in seven days. It seemed like must win for Toronto to right the ship. Boston knew that their opponents were probably tired, they proceeded to throw everything at Scott Renes. Despite being outshot 32-12 in the first two period the Dukes went to the dressing room up 1-0 on Pollack's 19th in the first. Boston had four power plays in the game but for each Renes was equal to the task. Boston continued to press in the third while Toronto tried to protect the slim lead. Tom Atchinson's first NAHC goal gave the Dukes breathing room at 10:53 followed by Doug Zimmerman's 16th less than two minutes later making it 3-0. All attention then turned preserving Renes' shutout bid. Those efforts were thwarted by Conn Cundiff's goal in the last 5 minutes, the only shot of 42 that eluded the Toronto netminder on this evening. Boston continued to press, pulling Oscar James in an attempted to tie the game. Zimmerman found the untended cage with 39 seconds remaining to make the final 4-1, for a much needed 2 points during a long week for the Dukes. The win for Renes was his first in 1952.
Coach Barrell- "I am glad that stretch of games is done, nine games in fourteen days, including six on the road will certainly test any team. You have no time to work on things in practice, the guys are so drained that practices sometimes do more harm than good. We have five full days off to work on the things plus rest guys that are nicked up time to heal. As a team we have missed a pile of games with guys out due to injury, I believe only the Motors have been bitten worse by the injury bug. Injuries are part of the game, a number of guys have stepped up when forced into the lineup. Give Renes all the credit for an outstanding game in Boston, we badly needed that win. I still think we can get home ice advantage in the playoffs with 22 games left on the schedule."
- There seems to be no slowing down the Washington Statesmen in their quest for a third consecutive FBL title. The Statesmen have won six in a row against the New York Knights including three in the past ten days and own a 26-7 record on the season, far and way the best in the league. Washington is dominant at both ends of the court as their 88.6 points scored per game is second only to Detroit and their 80.0 points surrendered is also second best in the ten team loop, trailing only Rochester.
- Speaking of the Rockets, wins over Detroit and Toronto last week have along Rochester to leapfrog the Mustangs and return to top spot in the West Division. Detroit beat Rochester by ten points in the Motor City eleven days ago but the rematch in Rochester was staged last Tuesday and Detroit was forced to play without the injured Ward Messer. The Rockets, led by 17 points from Milford Layton and 16 from Billy Bob McCright, came away with a 92-83 victory and lead Detroit by a half game atop the West. A big few days ahead as Detroit and Rochester will tangle twice in New York state this week. Messer is expected to be back in the lineup tonight after being given a clean bill of health.
- Messer had been named West Division player of the week four times in the past two months and now, with the young forward sidelined, it was his replacement Peter Collett who took the honour. The 25-year-old out of Henry Hudson has started just 12 games over his four years with the Mustangs but made the most of his three starts last week, averaging 16.0 points per game and 14.7 boards as he tried to fill the big shoes left by Messer's absence. It will be back to the bench for Collett with Messer pronounced fit for duty.
- There may not be much suspense regarding the first two playoff spots in the East Division and Cleveland seems pretty securely entrenched in third place in the West behind the Rockets and Mustangs, but there is shaping up to be quite a battle for the third playoff berth in the East. Boston, New York and Baltimore are separated by just a single game and each has had its struggles this season so the spot is wide open as the season its the midway point. One of the three just needs to get a hot streak going and that may make all the difference.
LIBERTY COLLEGE SUFFERS FIRST LOSS
Only Western Iowa Remains Perfect on Season
Last Monday was a tough day for ranked schools as three of them tasted defeat in upset losses with the biggest one coming in Philadelphia where Liberty College was upset by the University of New Jersey 58-57, handing the Bells their first loss after beginning the season with 16 straight victories.
The Bells dug themselves a deep hole against the Warriors, who entered the game with a middling 7-7 record, in allowing UNJ to build a 12 point lead in the early going and remain up by eight points at the break. The Bells were much more inspired in the second half and led by a point in the closing seconds only to fall just short thanks to a buzzer beating basket from the corner by Warriors junior guard Terry Harrod to steal a win for the visitors. Liberty College rebounded with a 58-34 win over St. Gordius in their next outing but slipped one spot in the polls with the loss, dropping to third.
One loss Whitney College, which began Great Lakes Alliance play with home wins over the section's two Michigan schools, dumping Detroit City College 63-50 and St. Ignatius 63-56, remains ranked number one but GLA foe Western Iowa is right behind them. The Canaries are now the only remaining unbeaten school and are 15-0 after a pair of road wins to open their Great Lakes Alliance slate.
On Thursday Wisconsin State pushed the Canaries to overtime but Western Iowa, led by Leo Beck's 24 points in his hometown, came out on top with a 60-8 win in Milwaukee. Yesterday on the road against Indiana A&M it was just as nerve-wracking with the Canaries holding on to nip the Reapers 62-60 with Beck once more enjoying a terrific game. The sophomore from Milwaukee who was the GLA freshman of the year last season had 20 points against Indiana A&M. It does not get much easier for the Canaries as their tough GLA schedule does allow them to play at home Thursday but the opponent will be 9th ranked Central Ohio, which split its first two section games.
WEEKLY RESULTS FOR RANKED TEAMS
MONDAY JANUARY 21
University of New Jersey 58, at #3 Liberty College 57
at St Andrews College 61, #19 Lexington State 54
at Campion 72, #20 Mobile Maritime 69
#21 Charleston Tech 49, at Alabama Gulf Coast 39
TUESDAY JANUARY 22
at Richmond State 55, #8 Annapolis Maritime 42
WEDNESDAY JANUARY 23
at #17 Opelika State 58, #15 Noble Jones College 49
at #22 Bluegrass State 64, Georgia Baptist 57
THURSDAY JANUARY 24
at #1 Whitney College 65, #10 Detroit City College 50
#2 Western Iowa 60, at Wisconsin State 58
at #6 Carolina Poly 58, #19 Lexington State 45
at #9 Indiana A&M 77, Minnesota Tech 60
#12 Lincoln 57, at St. Magnus 51
at #13 Columbia Military Academy 57, Bulein 47
at #16 Central Ohio 59, St. Ignatius 51
#20 Mobile Maritime 63, at Huntington State 55
#21 Charleston Tech 60, at Chesapeake State 53
FRIDAY JANUARY 25
#4 Coastal California 53, at Spokane State 26
#5 Redwood 62, at Portland Tech 50
#8 Annapolis Maritime 66, at North Carolina Atlantic 41
at #11 Lane State 57, #23 Northern California 49
at #14 Lubbock State 66, Texas Gulf Coast 62
#18 Rainier College 52, at Idaho A&M 45
SATURDAY JANUARY 26
at #1 Whitney College 63, St. Ignatius 56
#2 Western Iowa 62, at #9 Indiana A&M 60
at #3 Liberty College 58, St. Gordius 34
at #10 Detroit City College 71, St. Magnus 63
at #12 Lincoln 76, Wisconsin State 69
at #14 Lubbock State 63, Arkansas A&T 47
#15 Noble Jones College 56, at Alabama Baptist 50
at #17 Opelika State 58, Bayou State 42
#22 Bluegrass State 53, at Northern Mississippi 36
at #25 Brooklyn Catholic 48, Empire State 34
SUNDAY JANUARY 27
#4 Coastal California 55, at #18 Rainier College 47
#8 Annapolis Maritime 44, at Armstrong 33
at #11 Lane State 60, #7 CC Los Angeles 51
Spokane State 56, at #23 Northern California 48
ONE PLAYOFF SPOT SET, SECOND UP FOR GRABS IN WINTER LOOP
The Camaguey Coyotes have clinched top spot in the East Division of the Cuban Winter League but with a week left in the season will have to wait to see who their opponent will be in the championship game. The Coyotes, supplied players this season by the two Missouri teams -the St Louis Pioneers and the recently relocated Kansas City Kings, are 6 games ahead of second place Manzanillo with 3 games remaining. It will be the first time in the six year history of the league the Coyotes had won their division.
Leading their offense is former Pittsburgh Miners catcher Bob Burge (.370,12,28). The Kansas City product leads the winter league in long balls and is fourth in batting average. Red Hinton, a 25-year-old outfielder who was traded from the Pioneers to the Kings in October in the deal that moved major league pitcher Joe Potts to St Louis, is also having an impressive winter for the Coyotes with 11 homers and a .279 batting average. On the mound most of the focus was on the two youngsters the Kings acquired from Detroit last summer in Beau McClellan (3-6, 5.40) and Fred Washington (5-2, 3.92) but it is a Kings homegrown prospect who has stolen the spotlight. That would be Alex Vaughan, a 23-year-old who was a 16th round draft pick in 1947 and looked impressive in a brief trial at the AAA level late last summer. Vaughan has inserted himself in conversations about cracking the big league roster in the spring after going 9-1 with a 2.25 era in Cuba.
The Coyotes will face either Matanzas or Havana in the title game. The Buccaneers, with players coming from Pittsburgh and the Philadelphia Sailors, have a one game lead on the Havana Sharks with 3 games to play following a dramatic 6-5 win over the Sharks in Matanzas on Saturday. Like Camaguey, the Buccaneers have never played in the title game. In fact they have finished last in the four team West Division each of the past three seasons and four of the previous five. Havana has won a pair of league titles and played in the championship game three times.
The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 1/27/1952
- President Truman asked Congress for an $85.4 billion budget to run the Government for the fiscal year beginning July 1. The total, which includes more than $50 billion to continue the rebuild of the nation's military might and $10.8 billion to widen the global security program by extending arms and aid to other countries in the struggle against Communism. Truman also reiterated his demand for about $5 billion in new taxes, which already had been cold shouldered by Congress.
- A Democratic Party leader from Missouri says he is certain that President Truman will seek re-election.
- Robert Patterson, the former Secretary of War under President Truman was one of 23 to die following the crash of an American Airlines plane in New Jersey.
- 45 were killed Friday as British troops aided by tanks clashed with Egyptian police in the bloodiest fighting in the Suez Canal Zone to date. Fighting continued all weekend as the British sped more warships to the region.
- The United Nations Political Committee, over strenuous United States objections, adopted a Russian resolution calling on the Security Council to reconsider membership applications from 14 countries, including five Soviet satellites. The US objected because it wanted the 14 nations considered individually while the Russian plan called for all 14 to be admitted in a package deal.