[Tiger Fan]

1953 IN FIGMENT SPORTS

Winning a championship is tough but repeating is even more difficult which makes the New York Football Stars back to back American Football Association championship game wins all that much more special. The Stars join the 1948-49 Chicago Wildcats and 1934-35 Pittsburgh Paladins as the only AFA clubs to win back to back titles. No other 1952 champion managed to finish on the top of the heap in 1953 although the Detroit Dynamos came close. The Dynamos, who had not won a pennant since 1929 prior to claiming the Federal Association title and then beating the baseball version of the New York Stars in the World Championship Series in 1952, won the pennant once more but fell short to the Cleveland Foresters in a bid for a second straight WCS win.

There were some pretty impressive individual achievements over the past year but no one will likely ever duplicate what Charlie Barrell did. The former three sport star at Noble Jones College became a three sport professional athlete, and fared pretty well at two of them. Barrell began his big-time pro sports journey in the fall of 1952 when he started all twelve games at quarterback for the Los Angeles Tigers. He had his struggles completing passes but did lead the Tigers to a winning season. As soon as baseball ended in December, Charlie was off to Chicago where the 23-year-old participated in 53 games for the Chicago Panthers of the Federal Basketball League. He averaged 14.2 points per game and helped the Wildcats win the West Division regular season title before falling in the playoffs to Toronto. Barrell was not done there as he joined the New York Stars baseball club, which had acquired him in a trade over the winter, and all he did in his big league debut was win the Kellogg Award as the rookie of the year in the Continental Association.

Barrell did dress for three football games this past fall for the Tigers but saw very little action and word is he is going to give up the gridiron and attempt to play both professional baseball and basketball for at least the next few seasons.

Another outstanding accomplishment happened on the ice where Toronto Dukes star center Quinton Pollack set a new North American Hockey Confederation record for points in a season with 99. Pollack also tied the goal scoring mark with 47 as he helped the Dukes win a record 9th Challenge Cup last spring.

Here is a sport-by-sport look at the year 1953.

Everyone knows about the crazy trade that sent Charlie Barrell and Bill Barrett in opposite directions, but before the season started the Chicago Cougars picked up a pair of pitchers to improve the depth of a depleted rotation. The rest of the teams might have been in awe of the blockbuster, as things were quiet until Opening Day.

Betting money was on the Detroit Dynamos and Cleveland Foresters for the pennants, but OSA thought Kansas City would finish a game higher then the loaded young Foresters team. But by mid-July when the trade deadline was a weak away, only the Foresters (58-44) were in first, as the always competitive New York Gothams (57-39) were a game and a half ahead of Detroit in the Federal Association. The biggest surprise may have been that the Pittsburgh Miners (55-44) were in third in the Fed and just three and a half games out, as Paul Williams had began to establish himself as one of the best hitters in the league. Pittsburgh also made the only trade of the regular season that wasn't on the deadline, parting with an interesting low minors prospect in Doug Lucas to acquire the Cannons Les Bradshaw (7-11, 3.90, 44). It's one of many veteran pitchers Cincinnati has been able to move, and the Miners continued to need pitching to support their excellent lineup. They added a second starter at the deadline in Jim Kenny (12-9, 3.45, 72), sending a pair of prospects to the last place Eagles for the 33-year-old lefthander. The headliner in that transaction was former 4th Rounder Bob Stuart, who at the time ranked as the 128th prospect in the league.

The other big move that came on the deadline also involved a veteran arm as an awful 39-65 Pioneers team shipped off 2-Time Allen Winner Hal Hackney (7-13, 4.48, 107) to the New York Gothams for a four prospect package. Known for his dominance at times but also inconsistency, Hackney was not having a great season in St. Louis, but he was just two year's removed from his second Allen and he was 17-16 with a 2.24 ERA (161 ERA+) and 1.05 WHIP the season before. Hackney led the Fed in innings (301) and strikeouts (175), and he currently ranks as the Pioneers All-Time strikeout leader. He had 1,358 of them in 2,157.2 innings pitched, starting all 265 appearances with the team that took him 41st Overall in 1940. Hackney was 123-112 with a 3.67 ERA (110 ERA+) and 1.34 WHIP, and ranks top five all time in Pioneers history for wins (5th), WAR (5th, 43.2), shutouts (t-1st, 20), and K/9 (2nd, 5.7) all while ranking outside the top five (8th) in innings. St. Louis does have plenty of pitching depth, but it was shocking to see them move a starter of that caliber to a team they competed so tightly with.

The four player package St Louis netted in return helps, led by the 70th ranked prospect Delos Davis. Taken in the 8th Round of the 1952 draft, Davis impressed his draft season, hitting .262/.359/.598 (132 OPS+) at 18 in 53 Class C games. He hit well in Class C again this year, but struggled against tougher competition with the Gothams Class B affiliate. He's got good speed, draws walks, and plays solid defense, and could be a useful starting outfielder once he's done developing. They also got an interesting young pitcher in Zeb Stevens, a 1951 3rd Rounder with good stuff, and a pair of minor league catchers.

The Pioneers moved another pitcher in Tom Buchanan, the struggling former 2nd pick. They sent him to the Chicago Cougars for 23-year-old middle infielder Roy Gass. Buchanan (4-9, 6.35, 45), had a 6.35 ERA (64 ERA+) that was far scarier then his 3.91 FIP (95 FIP-), and the Cougars were hoping a change of scenery could do them well.

At 51-45, the Cougars were four games out of first in the Continental Association, but both Kansas City (55-44) and New York (54-45) sat between them and Cleveland. With four teams within five games of top spot, you'd expect a lot of action, but the Cougars' acquisition of Buchanan was the only move any of these four teams would make at the deadline.

Other clubs were active as the Cincinnati Cannons continued to sell, sending center fielder Joe Burns (.291, 3, 39, 11) to the Minutemen for a pair of low ranked prospects in Charlie Brown and Don Gage. They then sent starter Davey Chamberlain (7-11, 3.93, 78) to the Sailors for two more prospects. Chamberlain was a nice reclamation project for the Cannons, as he came from the Kings in the Rule-5 draft, pitching in FABL for the first time since 1949. His 3.93 ERA (103 ERA+) and 1.30 WHIP were above average, and he gave the Cannons 19 effective starts. In return, they'll get George Potter and Bucky Ackley. Ackley is the more interesting prospect, ranked 219th in the league and 19th in their system. A 9th Rounder of the Keystones in 1952, he's a solid defensive catcher with the floor of a useful backup.

The Sailors, who at 51-50 were just 6.5 games out, added a second pitcher in Duke Bybee (7-10, 4.35, 77), who has had a terrible fall from Allen runner up to waiver cast off in Chicago. Bybee went 12-13 with a 3.98 ERA (85 ERA+) and 1.37 WHIP in 32 starts for the Cougars last season, and they decided to cut bait before the season started. Montreal ended up making the claim, and the former 4th Rounder game Montreal 20 solid starts before the trade. His 92 ERA+ was a little below average, and far from the 110 he produced in 1,435 innings in Chicago, and the Sailors could be a great fit for the lefty. In the past, they've done well with untapped potential, but it is a decent cost. The Saints will add two arms to their top 30, picking up Harry Cahill (5th, 103rd) and Milt Lane (27th, 389th) for a player they got for free. Cahill is the big get, as he was the 16th pick in the 1952 draft, and has flashed the potential to start in the big leagues. His 5 starts in 1953 haven't been great, but he was 3-6 with a 5.63 ERA (100 ERA+) and 56 strikeouts in 60.1 innings last year. Lane, like Bybee, was a 4th Round selection of the Cougars, and he came to Philly in the winter for Al Duster. The 23-year-old reached AA in less then a year after being drafted, and could fill Bybee's spot in the Saints rotation in a few seasons.

*** Federal Association Flag Chase***

After a relatively calm deadline, August made a lot of teams question their decisions, with just three teams less then seven games away from first. Cleveland (83-51) had nothing to worry about in the CA, but the Gothams (79-54) were right on the Detroit Dynamos' (79-53) tail in the Fed. Unfortunately for Gothams fans, the team got cold (9-13), while Detroit (15-8) finished just as well as they started. Believe it or not, it was not Ralph Johnson (.309, 11, 53), who led the Dynamos to their second consecutive pennant, as you could argue even Bill Morrison (.301, 13, 56) had the better overall season. Johnson hit just .309/.382/.467 (124 OPS+) with 20 doubles, 11 homers, 53 RBIs, and 41 walks. That's solid, don't get me wrong, but last year's Whitney Winner hit .303/.373/.519 (160 OPS+) in 1952, launching 30 homers with 30 doubles, 104 RBIs, and 107 runs. Like Johnson, Edwin Hackberry (.249, 26, 95, 10), Del Johnson (.266, 11, 62, 14), and Dick Estes (.285, 19, 74) were all solid, and they did enough to support the #1 ranked pitching staff. Jack Miller cemented himself as the Detroit ace, earning a well deserved Allen after finishing 19-13 with a league leading 2.75 ERA (146 ERA+) and 1.13. His 3.24 FIP had an association best 80 FIP-, and his 7.1 WAR was best among Fed pitchers. It all came in a Fed high 298.1 innings, as it's hard to argue against quantity and quality. The middle was dependable, with reliable starts the norm for Joe Hancock (15-10, 3.45, 101), Wally Hunter (15-11, 3.34, 90), and Bob Arman (15-11, 3.34, 90), as the Dynamos completed the first step of their repeat attempt.

The Gothams lost steam at the end, but it wasn't the fault of deadline pickup Hal Hackney (12-18, 4.11, 153). The Fed loss leader might have been 5-5 in his 11 appearances (10 starts) with the Gothams, but he had an excellent 3.30 ERA (122 ERA+) and 1.16 WHIP with 46 strikeouts. Including his time with the Pioneers, he struck out a Fed best 153, but he's the clear #3 in the Big Apple behind George Garrison (23-7, 3.23, 135) and Ed Bowman (14-14, 3.94, 140). Bowman looked mortal this year, but in terms of ERA September (3.11, 130) was actually his best month. The issue was that Ed Cornett (12-11, 3.93, 88; 1-2, 5.86, 12) and whoever got the 5th start couldn't get stuff done in September. Last year's big deadline pickup John Stallings (5-9, 13, 4.46, 72) struggled as a starter, but they're hoping he can make it work as a hard throwing stopper. The offense recommitted to Red Johnson (.294, 36, 106) this year, and was rewarded with his typical high level production, but the team somehow finished 6th in runs scored. Walt Messer (.329, 32, 121) was just as good as Red, but Hank Estill (..237, 26, 72) saw his WRC+ drop from 171 to 110, and 40-year-old George Cleaves (.268, 10, 56) might be coming to the end of his storied career. There's still a lot of talent on this team, but they're going to have to look to improve the lineup if they want to dethrone the Dynamos in the Fed.

The nicest surprise of the Fed was the Pittsburgh Miners, who after eight consecutive losing seasons, finished 85-69 and just two games behind the second place Gothams. They got a huge season from Paul Williams, who slashed .331/.441/.589 (165 OPS+), though that impressive production ended in September as he fractured his foot. Assuming no ill effect, they should be a legit contender, as Williams anchors the top scoring offense of the season. Ernie Campbell (.331, 65, 15) had a huge season in the leadoff spot and Irv Clifford (.323, 1, 76, 11) was back to being an automatic .300 hitter. They still need some more pitching, no team allowed more runs then they did, but the foundation is there. Ted Coffin (14-9, 3.81, 120) survived his first season atop the rotation, and Jim Kenny (16-12, 3.51, 96) was effective as he attempts to return as a starting pitcher. They don't have much farm depth, but their top three guys are pitchers, and this year's 5th pick Jack Davidson could headline a package for a legit top of the rotation arm.

Boston (78-76), Philadelphia (77-77), and Chicago (75-79) all finished within three games of each other, and all three have a legit young star to build around. The Keystones may have the best of them, as Philly fans have not had to wait very long for another Bobby Barrell-like season. Taken 5th Overall in 1948, Buddy Miller got a cup of coffee in 1951, but after spending all of last season in AAA completely exploded on the big league scene in 1953. The eventual Whitney Award winner, Buddy hit an absurd .397/.446/.706 (206 OPS+) with 25 doubles, 16 triples, 46 homers, and 103 RBIs. Along with all three triple slash numbers, Buddy led the Fed in runs (133), hits (250), triples, WRC+ (215), wOBA (.495), and WAR (11.3), putting together one of the best overall offensive seasons ever. Just 23, OSA already considers him the best player in baseball, and it hard to argue with that assessment. He'll keep the Keystones in contention his whole career, but right now the supporting cast is just adequate. They finished 4th in runs scored and allowed, but they got good seasons from Sal Nigro (.283, 14, 45) and Roger Cleaves (.293, 23, 90). The Keystones still have a lot of holes, especially in the rotation, but Sam Ivey (15-14, 4.37, 116) should recover next season and they have time to support him in the rotation.

The only player with more homers and RBIs then Buddy Miller was the Chicago Chiefs' Rod Shearer, who hit 48 and drove in 149 with a beautiful .316/.395/.647 (172 OPS+) batting line. Shearer had an outstanding 182 WRC+ and his 48 homers were the second most of a Chief, trailing just the 56 Joe Masters hit in 1928. Shearer already has an excellent co-star in Ed Bloom (.313, 5, 65, 14). Even better, veteran Pete Casstevens (.273, 19, 62) had a resurgence, and Charlie Bingham (11-10, 3.31, 89) was still effective at 43. As crazy as it sounds, he may earn some down ballot Hall-of-Fame votes now, as the longtime Chief has won 210 games in his 17 season career. The Chifes are in need of a youth infusion, but for now they can patiently wait until top prospects Stan Czerwinski (2nd), Tom Sexton (30th), and Hugh Freebee (57th) are ready to join Bloom and Shearer in Chicago.

Boston's star didn't contribute in the triple crown race, but Marshall Thomas' .337/.395/.532 (143 OPS+) batting line was well above average. Clearly best second basemen in the Fed, Thomas hit 38 doubles and 25 homers with 95 runs, 121 RBIs, and 62 walks. He may be the lesser of the three stars on those three teams, but Thomas has a ton of upside in his supporting cast, joined by young stars Joe Kleman (.313, 10, 74), Rick Masters (.294, 23, 96), and Ray Rogan (.320, 11, 62). They may have uncovered a hidden gem in Max Edwards, who they claimed off waivers from the Pioneers right before the season started. Edwards got 32 starts in Boston, going 14-13 with a 3.19 ERA (126 ERA+) and 1.23 WHIP. Having only pitched out of the pen, Edwards' 231.2 innings were higher then his first six seasons combined, and the former 8th Rounder struck out a team high 107 hitters. Aside from Edwards, swingman Dan Atwater (9-9, 1, 3.32, 73), and stopper Merton Myers (8-10, 17, 3.54, 69), there was a lot of fluctuation on the staff, and with the top ranked system they are in position to either develop Mike Quigley (34th) and Spencer Hayes (39th) or tap into their prospect capital to add a top arm.

The Washington Eagles (62-92) and St Louis Pioneers (59-95) fought for last in the Fed, though only really Washington expected that. Coming off a 7th place finish, they anticipated a similar finish, as they continue a planned rebuild. They have yet to move on from Rats McGonigle (.307, 25, 89, 7) or Jesse Alvarado (.286, 19, 102, 9), but Rats' days in Washington could be numbered. He's the one who came from elsewhere, and the former King will be 35 on Opening Day. With Alvarado just 30, he could be productive when the Eagles are good enough to compete, as they look to build around former 1st Rounder Bill Wise (.311, 5, 45). 3rd ranked prospect Brad Keylon tore up C ball, slashing .319/.459/.496 (148 OPS+), and could hit his way up to Washington quick. Ike Perry (.292, 11, 82) could fetch a decent return, as at this point it looks like he's the starter behind the plate until Keylon is ready to show the league why he's ranked so high.

St. Louis likes to bounce between good and bad, as they now have had three first and three last place finishes since 1946. Larry Gregory (.330, 2, 10) remains a part-time player, and could have done something to help the lowest scoring offense. Otis Ballard (.305, 18, 88) could have moved to the infield, allowing Gregory and Rex Pilcher (.290, 28, 94) to handle the corners. Trading Hackney was big news in July, leaving just Hiram Steinberg (4-18, 5.81, 74), who might have felt lost without his co-aces. It's hard to imagine "The Undertaker" is done at 31, and a rebound season from him could propel the Pioneers back into contention. Joe Potts (14-17, 3.69, 131) might even be better then Hackney and Danny Hern (12-13, 4.27, 94), who after being released by Cleveland signed a free agent deal in Toronto. St. Louis will be looking to Bill Kline (4-4, 3.27, 40) to play a key role in their 1954 rotation, but without something different happening next year they may stick around the bottom for a bit.

*** Continental Association Down the Stretch***

In the Continental, Cleveland cruised to a pennant, pretty much staying five games above the rest for most of the season. In the end, just the Kings (90-64, 7 GB) were within 15 games of them. As you'd expect, Adrian Czerwinski (23-9, 2.78, 159) was amazing, and a huge reason the Foresters had the #1 staff in the association. Surprisingly, they did not test Rufus Barrell (7-2, 2, 3.11, 45) much as a starter, giving the once dominant lefty just 9 starts. Instead, Ducky Davis (20-7, 3.01, 140) and Larry Beebe (8-14, 3.35, 106) excelled in starters roles, as Barrell, Lou Robertson (8-3, 8, 2.13, 29), and Hank Berkowitz (8-3, 12, 1.38, 28) got games to the finish line. The bats weren't great, but Sherry Doyal (.311, 29, 92) was certainly the exception. Sure, he's been better, but a 159 WRC+ is elite and he continues to play excellent defense in right. Frenchy Sonntag (.268, 29, 89) and Joe Wood (.276, 5, 35) took steps back offensively and defensively, and Jim Urquhart (.231, 4, 58, 9) finally had a bad season in year four. Of course, this is a team that won a pennant, and other guys stepped up. Lorenzo Samuels (.284, 11, 25) effectively replaced Lloyd Coulter (.238, 29, 72) when called upon and John Low (.293, 11, 82) made his play on becoming the top shortstop in the CA. Catcher Larry McClure (.281, 17, 64) set a career best in home runs, and few teams can match the depth the Foresters have top to bottom. The clear class of the association, they deserved their finish, and will get to represent the Continental in the World Championship Series.

Kansas City was pretty solid, even if Brooklyn breakout star Fred Miller (.272, 10, 47) has been figured out, and they had a team that could have won a pennant in another season. Ken Newman took over, as the Whitney Winner hit .323/.454/.543 (162 OPS+) with 38 doubles, 24 homers, 100 RBIs, 121 runs, and 126 walks. He's a big reason the Kings led the CA with 737 runs, but Newman had plenty of support from perennial hit leader Charlie Rogers (.311, 15, 97, 13). Unfortunately, that's all he got, as with Miller's struggles and little from anyone else who wasn't Joe Cahill (.328, 5, 51), they could be picked apart by top pitchers. It's funny to say the team who scored the most needs a bat to compete, but a third guy to worry about would do wonder's to their title aspirations. They found a new ace in Fred Washington: a key piece in the Ralph Johnson deal from a couple of years ago. Washington was 21-10 with an association low 2.50 ERA (160 ERA+). Washington had an excellent 1.11 WHIP, striking out 165 in 288.1 innings atop the Kings rotation, numbers strong enough to end Cleveland's Adrian Czerwinski's four year old on the Continental Allen Award. Washington leads a formidable top three with offseason pickup Tony Britten (18-11, 3.41, 115) and last year's breakout arm Walt Staton (6-12, 3.89, 120), who was also part of the big trade with Detroit. 12th ranked prospect Elmer Sullivan is still a few seasons away, but he could be exactly what they need to complete their rotation.

The only other CA team to win over 80 games was the New York Stars, as they gave Charlie Barrell the keys to second base and didn't look back. The three-sport sensation appeared in 152 of the Stars' 154 games, slashing .310/.386/.528 (138 OPS+) with 35 doubles, 25 homers, 101 RBIs, and 94 runs scored. That's better then Ralph Hanson (.301, 10, 63, 12) did in Cincinnati, but one has to wonder if they could have defended their pennant with Hanson and Bill Barrett (.291, 23, 80) instead. The Stars rotation was excellent, as Paul Anderson (19-12, 3.12, 191) proved he was legit, and Juan Tostado (20-11, 3.07, 121) flourished in his first full season in New York. Postseason hero Moe Holt (.296, 13, 82, 6) did well in a full-time role and Pete Ford (12-7, 2.67, 99) really impressed in a back-end role. The trade for Barrell still scratches some heads, but if he sticks with baseball he could lead the Stars right back to the postseason.

The rest of the association was mediocre, but there was plenty to look forward to. The Philadelphia Sailors (78-76) got a breakout year from former 2nd Overall pick George Reynolds (20-14, 3.07, 181) and 12th ranked prospect Bill Harbin (.279, 25, 88) had a huge rookie season in the outfield. The pennant winning forms of Billy Forbes (.270, 15, 59, 8) and Al Farmer (.282, 17, 76) have been proved to be outliers, but the two up the middle players are still highly productive regulars. They seem to be stuck in the middle of contention and rebuilding, and with the second ranked farm system a retool may be the direction to take. They've drafted well in recent years, and if they're in the thick of things next season they have the pieces to get an impact player.

The Chicago Cougars (74-80) had just their second losing season in the last seventeen years, but they have a new single season home run leader as Jerry Smith shattered Sal Pestilli's previous record of 33. The reigning Kellogg winner had no sophomore slump, slugging a CA high 47 homers while driving in an association best 118 runs. Smith hit an elite .299/.373/.608 (158 OPS+), adding 29 doubles, 9 triples, 68 walks, and 9 steals. His pitching counterpart Bob Allen (3-6, 2, 4.08, 46) still hasn't found his groove on the mound, but Donnie Jones (14-15, 3.27, 152) continues to be one of the game's top starters and David Molina (7-3, 16, 2.84, 47) a top stopper. The Cougars boast five top 100 pitching prospects, but they took a huge hit to their depth when recently graduated 7th overall prospect Pug White (9-3, 4, 3.17, 50) tore his UCL. He spent all season in Chicago, but his year ended in July. He'll be ready for Opening Day, and they'll hope he can regain his form as a top of the rotation arm.

Cincinnati (67-87), Toronto (64-90), and Montreal (64-90) all won fewer then 70 games, and may stay at this level for the next few seasons. Montreal was technically last on tiebreaker, and the bright spot for them this season was taking advantage of Cougar waiver claims. Along with flipping Duke Bybee (11-13, 4.73, 93), they got a new ace in George Polk (10-11, 3.34, 84), though they've traded most of the arms of interest. The lineup has thinned too, but Bill Elkins (.297, 4, 46) was excellent as the everyday shortstop, and they can either build around him or use him to trigger a teardown. Joe Austin (.268, 8, 53, 12), Otis O'Keefe (.276, 7, 53) and Sal Pestilli (.291, 7, 66, 6) could fetch prospects to refill a thin system. Third base prospect Bob Porter (9th) could be a star, but he's about all to get excited about in the farm right now.

Toronto had the same record, but by virtue of head-to-head record they finished out of the cellar for the first time since 1949's 6th place finish. Part of that can be due to free agent signing Danny Hern, who was 12-13 with a 4.27 ERA (96 ERA+) that was significantly higher then his 3.49 FIP (85 FIP-). 37 on Opening Day, he could be a trade candidate or new rotation lead, and they made the surprising decision to move Les Ledbetter (8-9, 18, 4.19, 85) to the stopper role. Gordie Perkins (.248, 7, 58) wasn't great in year one with the Wolves, and John Wells (.257, 7, 45) still hasn't solved major league pitching. Jim Allen (.306, ,9, 74) was really the only productive hitter, and he still hasn't lived up to the star hitter some thought he could be. It might have been a morale victory for the Wolves to finish above someone, and with a shiny new top prospect in 1st overall pick Whitey Stewart, they have another youngster to pin their future hopes on. The system is as deep as its ever been, however, so the Wolves return to contention could be just around the corner.

Cincinnati had a weird season, trading Barrell to improve the current lineup, and since their biggest weakness is currently second base you have to imagine they'd be better off with him. They're playing Ralph Hanson everywhere, getting starts at second, third, short, and left, with left the position they seem to want him at next year. Aside from that, the only real locks would be graduated 6th ranked prospect Dallas Berry (.250, 17, 43) in center and Dan Scurlock (.264, 13, 77) behind the plate, as the youth movement will continue. No one in the lineup has stood out, but former Kings 11th Rounder Barney Robinson emerged as a top of the rotation pitcher. Acquired in the Bob Arman trade, the 24-year-old started 36 games as a rookie, going 12-8 with a 3.23 ERA (126 ERA+), 1.37 WHIP, and 108 strikeouts. Rufus Barrell returnee Paul Williams (6-9, 1, 2.95, 74) pitched well in a swingman role, and veteran journeyman Don Bitters (13-4, 3.52, 76) was a welcome surprise even with the walks. Just like with the lineup, the rotation is wide open, with plenty of potential combinations.

[size="6"1953 World Championship Series[size]

The Cleveland Foresters opened a three games to one lead on the Detroit Dynamos and then held on to win the 1953 World Championship Series in the maximum seven games. For the Foresters, who finished the regular season at 97-57, just one win shy of their franchise record 1934 World Championship team, it was their third WCS appearance in the past five years while the Dynamos were menjoying their second straight season with October baseball. Detroit beat the New York Stars in six games a year ago marking the Dynamos first appearance in the WCS since 1929. The 1953 WCS would mark the first-ever meeting between the two neighbours separated by air less than 100 miles apart.

It was billed as a meeting of dominant pitching staffs and as good as the Foresters collection of arms led by four-time Allen Award winner Adrian Czerwinski (23-9, 2.78), Ducky Davis (20-7, 3.01) and newcomer Deuce Barrell (7-2, 3.11), a three-time Allan Award recipient the Detroit mound staff might even be better. The Dynamos pitchers dominated the Federal Association with four 15-game winners including this year's Allen Award winner Jack Miller (19-13, 2.75) and last years winner in 41-year-old Joe Hancock (15-10, 3.45). The billing would prove false as the two clubs combined for 81 runs in the seven games and the Foresters would smack a dozen homers off of Detroit pitching.

GAME ONE: Cleveland 9 Detroit 6

The series opened in Detroit and a pitching duel was expected with Czerwinski and Miller on the bump but the result was anything but as the Foresters blasted four homeruns and claimed first blood with a 9-6 road win. Miller, who struggled in the WCS opener last year as well, lasted just six innings and gave up 3 homers to trail 6-1 when he was lifted for a pinch-hitter. Czerwinski survived 8 innings but had just an awful bottom of the sixth when Detroit plated four runs on five hits to cut the Cleveland lead to 6-5. The Dynamos tied the game an inning later when Del Johnson belted a solo homerun off of The Professor and Czerwinski was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the 9th with the game tied at 6.

The Foresters regained the lead with a 3-run ninth inning off of Detroit rookie pitcher Jim Norris with the big blow being a 2-run homer off the bat of pinch-hitter Orie Martinez, who had replaced Czerwinski. An insurance run made the final 9-6 and gave Czerwinski his fifth career WCS win.

GAME TWO: Detroit 11 Cleveland 2

Ducky Davis won a career best twenty games this season but had an awful day in game two of the WCS as the Detroit Dynamos blasted Davis and the visiting Foresters 11-2. With the exception of Edwin Hackberry, who went 0-for-5, every Detroit starter including pitcher Joe Hancock managed at least one hit with infielder Del Johnson and Tommy Griffin leading the way with three each. Detroit's 11 runs came without a home run. In fact, the Dynamos managed just two extra base hits, both doubles, but had 14 singles and benefited from six free passes issued by Davis and reliever Larry Beebe.

GAME THREE: Cleveland 3 Detroit 2

Tied at one, the series shifted to Forester Field and saw Deuce Barrell and Detroit starter Wally Hunter each start strong with three scoreless innings. The Foresters struck for two runs in the bottom of the fourth as, after striking out lead-off man John Low, Hunter issued a one-out walk to Frenchy Sontag. Sherry Doyal followed with a triple to make it 1-0 and Lorenzo Samuels, who had homered in each of the first two games, delivered an rbi single to plate Doyal and double the Cleveland lead.

Detroit would scratch out a run in the fifth as Dick Estes doubled and scored on a sacrifice fly and then did the same in the seventh inning when Stan Kleminski doubled and was plated on Dan Smith's second sac fly of the afternoon to tie the game at two.

It would not stay that way for long as the Foresters would score the winning run in the 8th inning on back to back singles from Jim Urquhart and John Low followed by a Frenchy Sontag sacrifice fly. Detroit put the tying run on base for Ralph Johnson in the top of the ninth but that runner, catcher Dan Smith, foolishly allowed himself to be picked off at first base for the final out giving the Foresters a 3-2 win and a two games to one series lead.

GAME FOUR: Cleveland 10 Detroit 3

The Foresters went with Game One starter Adrian Czerwinski while Dick York, winner of three straight Theobald Awards as Federal Association manager of the year, gambled with his number four starter Bob Arman. The move was not one of York's better ideas as Arman failed to survive the third inning, allowing 7 runs on 8 hits while walking 5 before mercifully being sent to the showers. Czerwinski was not at his best, scattering 9 hits, but he did more than enough to win his second game of the series.

GAME FIVE: DETROIT 8 CLEVELAND 7 (13 innings)

Leading the series three games to one and looking to wrap it up at home the Foresters sent Ducky Davis to the mound against Jack Miller. The Dynamos entered the bottom of the 9th with a 5-1 lead but Cleveland scored four times on three hits, including doubles by Lorenzo Samuels and pinch-hitter George Brown, to tie the game and force extra innings.

Detroit had runners on second and third with one out in the top of the eleventh but filed to score off Hank Berkowitz, who had relieved Davis. Finally in the 13th inning Dick Estes hit a lead-off triple and scored on a pinch-hit single from the manager's son Rick York. Aided by an error by Cleveland shortstop John Low the Dynamos plated three runs that frame and it was a good thing as Lorenzo Samuels closed the gap with a 2-run homer -his third of the series- in the bottom of the 13th but 8-7 was as close as the Foresters could get and Detroit was able to extend the series.

GAME SIX: DETROIT 6 CLEVELAND 3

Detroit lit up Cleveland starter Deuce Barrell for three runs in the bottom of the first inning but Tom Carr leveled things with one swing of the bat in the top of the second, smacking a 3-run homer off of Detroit starter Joe Hancock. Detroit would answer again with two more on 4 hits in the home half of the second frame to take a 5-3 lead. Deuce was pulled after three frames but the Cleveland pen, just like Hancock and later reliver Jack Halbur for Detroit settled things down and only one more run was scored the rest of the way as the Dynamos pulled even in the series with a 6-3 victory.

GAME SEVEN: Cleveland 7 Detroit 4

With Adrian Czerwinski and his 2 victories already in this series to go with a 6-1 career WCS record, once more taking the ball the Foresters had to feel at least some confidence despite losing the last two games and seeing the series go the distance. Detroit countered with Wally Hunter and the man known as "Big Game" had pitched well in game three despite taking the loss.

This would not be Hunter's day as the Foresters jumped on him early. Hunter issued a one-out walk in the top of the first inning to John Low and Frenchy Sontag followed with his second homer of the series. Still perhaps in shock, Hunter's next offering also landed in the seats as Sherry Doyal made the score 3-0 Cleveland before many of the Thompson Field faithful had settled into their seats.

Detroit would get one back in the bottom of the second on a Dan Smith rbi single but the long ball came back to haunt the Dynamos once more in the series as Larry McClure hit a 2-run shot in the top of the third to put the visitors ahead 5-1.

The Dynamos did not quit and answered with a run in the bottom of the third but it could have been so much more. With one out Detroit, aided by another error from Foresters shortstop John Low, had runners on the corners. Pat Petty singled in a run to bring Edwin Hackberry up with runners again on first and third and just one out. Czerwinski caught Hackberry looking and the induced an inning ending ground out from Stan Kleminski and a collective sigh out of the crowd that sensed a miss in what might have been Detroit's final opportunity. Bill Morrison's rbi single in the fifth inning did cut the Cleveland lead to 5-3 but in the top of the ninth the Foresters put the game away with, what else, another longball. It was a 2-run shot by Lorenzo Samuels, his fourth of the series and the 12th overall in the seven games from Cleveland hitters. Czerwinski completed the game and his third victory of the series with a 1-2-3 ninth that included a pair of strikeouts giving the Foresters, who won just one title in the first 55 years of the World Championship Series, now had their second victory in the past four years.

BASEBALL OFF-SEASON

While the Cleveland Foresters dominated the regular season, it was the Philadelphia Keystones who dominated the early parts of the offseason, accounting for half of the twelve trades involving active FABL players between the conclusion of the World Championship Series and the end of the calendar year. Most of the moves involved the Keystones subtracting from their big league roster, but their first move actually brought a new arm into the mix. They sent a pair of minor prospects to the Chiefs for Joe Hess, who was claimed off waivers last offseason. Hess impressed in multiple roles, going 5-6 with 12 saves, a 3.41 ERA, 1.41 WHIP, and 51 walks and strikeouts. The former Sailor made 5 starts in his 49 appearances, throwing 105.2 innings in his only season with the Chiefs.

Two days later the Chiefs decided they needed a pitcher this time, so they picked up breakout Rule-5 pick Jim Carter from the Keystones, who went 12-15 with a 3.16 ERA (125 ERA+), 1.27 WHIP, and 136 strikeouts in his lone season in Philadelphia. This level of production was almost expected when Carter was taken 7th Overall in 1943, but the former top 15 prospect never looked like this in Toronto. It's a big rotation pickup for a team that doesn't have much behind the ageless Charlie Bingham (11-10, 3.31, 89), as age took Al Miller (14-9, 4.56, 65) and left Angel Lopez (17-8, 3.51, 111) as the #2. The Chiefs have shown a commitment to compete around Rod Shearer (.316, 48, 149) and Ed Bloom (.313, 5, 65, 14). Along with Carter, the Chiefs did something they've done with familiarity, picking up a Pioneers infielder. They sent a pair of bats for Homer Mills (.276, 13, 76) to fill a hole, committing to Bloom fulltime at first. The former 6th pick has appeared in 300 games in each of second, short, and third, with the 32-year-old expected to play third. A bit below an average hitter, when you combine his .266/.327/.375 (95 OPS+) career line with plus defense at the hot corner, you get a solid table setter, as he can get on for Bloom and Shearer to drive him in.

The Keystones picked up prospects in this deal, as well as moves of Wilbur Zimmerman (.254, 7, 27, 9), Davey Chamberlain (14-13, 3.82, 112), Gordie Irwin (6-2, 3.60, 41), and Glen Sexton (.344, 3, 22). In total it was nine players added, with all but the Irwin trade bringing back two. Jim Carter was probably the best player moved, so it makes sense that he also brought back the best prospect. Ranked 17th in the Keystones system and 169th overall, Joe Menzie came with a young outfielder Chick Barber. An 18-year-old southpaw, he was the Chiefs 3rd Round pick this year, and he had an excellent 10 start stint with the Class C Waterloo Chiefs. He had a strong 3.72 ERA (124 ERA+) and 69 strikeouts after going 9-0 as a high school senior. He has good stuff and a deep four pitch mix, with a sinker that excels at getting ground outs. The command needs some work, but if he can iron that out he'll work his way into a big league rotation. A guy to lookout for the future is 22-year-old first basemen Wayne Cottrill, who came over from the crosstown Sailors. The former 2nd Rounder doesn't have big power, but he'll hit around .300 with strong plate discipline. Then there's 24-year-old utility man Ted Haggarty, who was involved in the deal that sent Bob Arman to Brooklyn and was a consistent top 50 prospect through the 1951 season.

There were some big trades, but the only other real seller was the Toronto Wolves. The first deal provided the Chiefs with one more pitcher, sending longtime New York Star Jack Wood (9-13, 1, 5.44, 58) to the Windy City a year and a half after Toronto signed him as a free agent. The return was minimal, as expected with a 41-year-old, but they did make an interesting move with the Saints. The teams swapped first basemen, sending the one-time shortstop John Fast (.276, 7, 56) to Montreal for Hank Smith (.097) and William Benns (1-0, 1, 2.38, 10). Fast and Smith were both former 1st Rounders, and Benns went 18th in 1947. Despite all the draft pedigree, only Fast has had sustained success at the highest level, and even he hasn't started more then 85 games. The Wolves have decided to move Kirby Copeland (.282, 4, 63, 9) to first, and to go with Jim Sibert (.250, 1) instead of Fast at second, so he was deemed expendable. Fast is now penciled in to the third spot in the Saints order, as they decided not to move any of their remaining vets.

While not quite a blockbuster, the biggest move came between the Cougars and the Kansas City Kings, two teams with a storied trade history. In a shocking turn of events, the Kings decided to move on from Fred Miller (.272, 10, 47), who is just two years away from hitting .345/.407/.562 (163 OPS+) and won the last two batting titles before his teammate Ken Newman (.323, 24, 100) broke his streak. Ironically, they are expected to replace Miller in the lineup with 25-year-old rookie Fred McHenry, who was acquired from the Cougars back in a 1947 deal for Jim Kenny (16-12, 3.51, 96). Having a replacement ready on hand made Miller somewhat expendable, and they were able to fill their second base hole with Elmer Grace (.251, 15, 59), who like Miller is 26 and had his best season in 1951. His version was an abbreviated stint, 65 games after a July callup, but he hit .340/.438/.502 (157 OPS+) and has been a useful regular for the Cougs at third. The Kings also picked up a twice traded prospect in Bob Logan, who the Miners took 5th in the most recent draft. This deal could be a win-win for both teams, but it seems to involve a lot of risk on both sides.

PROSPECT UPDATE: The draft was back to happening all at once, with all 20 of the rounds taking place in June. 21-year-old righty Whitey Stewart went first overall to the Toronto Wolves, and currently ranks as the top prospect in baseball. Stewart was not the only 1953 June draftee to crack the OSA top twenty-five that was released at the conclusion of the regular season. Behind Stewart one would find fourth overall pick Brad Keylon, a catcher selected by Washington who sits third on the scouting service list, the Sailors picked outfielder Ray Waggoner 9th and he is #10 on the prospect pipeline. Cincinnati's second overall selection Lou Allen, a high school outfielder from Alabama who won the Adwell Award is 15th on the OSA rankings and Ted Cummings (3rd pick by the Keystones) cracks the OSA top 25 at 19th. Meanwhile, last year's first overall selection Stan Czerwinski ranks between Stewart and Keylon. Rounding out the top five is former #1 pick Earl Howe of the Gothams and former 2nd Rounder of the Minutemen Jack Denis.

FEDERAL ASSOCIATION SNAPS ALL-STAR DROUGHT

After losing six of the previous seven All-Star Games the Federal Association came up with a 6-4 victory in the 1953 edition of the Midsummer Classic. The contest, held for the first time at Kansas City's Prairie Park, was the 21st annual edition of the game and the Continental Association series lead is trimmed to 11-10.

The game, held under partly cloudy skies on a warm July 14 night, was the second straight contested in the Show-Me state as the St Louis Pioneers hosted the event a year ago. The Continental stars manufactured a run without the benefit of a hit in the opening inning to take a quick lead. The run came after Kings young star Fred Miller was hit by a pitch, moved to second on a walk and third on an error before scoring when New York Stars rookie second baseman Charlie Barrell hit into a fielders choice.

The score would remain 1-0 until the Federal Association plated a pair of runs in the fourth thanks to a 2-run single by New York Gothams infielder Cecil LaBonte. Marshall Thomas of the Boston Minutemen ripped a 2-out out solo homerun off 4-time Continental Association Allen Award winner Adrian Czerwinski in the top of the fifth to put the Fed up 3-1 but the CA answered quickly in the home half of the frame.

Singles by John Low of Cleveland and Montreal's Bill Elkins set the table for a 3-run homer off the bat of Kings exciting young outfielder Charlie Rogers, which caused quite a stir among the more that 47,000 locals on hand for the festivities.

Trailing 4-3 the Federal Association staged the game winning rally in the 7th inning when they scored three runs on four hits, all singles, from Paul Williams of Pittsburgh, Gothams sluggers Walt Messer and Red Johnson and finally John Moss of the Chicago Chiefs. All of the damage came off of Chicago Cougars reliever David Molina, who would be tagged with the loss. Veteran Fed pitchers Charlie Bingham of the Chiefs and the Gothams Lou Eaker shut the door over the final three innings, combining to allow just 1 hit and preserve the 6-4 victory. Jack Miller of Detroit was the winning pitcher while hometown star Charlie Rogers, despite being on the losing side, was named the player of the game.

• Detroit skipper Dick York was named Federal Association manager of the year for the third straight season. A pair of Kings in Ken Newman and Fred Washington won the CA Whitney and Allen while in the Fed it was also two first-time winners in Buddy Miller - whose .397 batting average was the fourth highest since 1926- of the Keystones for the Whitney and Detroit's Jack Miller with the Allen. Top rookies were Charlie Barrell of the Stars, capping off a great year that saw him suit up for the AFA's Los Angeles Tigers in the fall of 1952 and then spend the early part of 1953 on the court at Lakeside Auditorium with the Chicago Panthers. The Fed Kellogg winner was Ray Rogan of Boston, who was originally a 4th round pick in 1951.
• Red Johnson hit 36 homers this season including the 500th of his career. Johnson, who ends the campaign with 505 career longballs, smacked the milestone marker August 31st in a 9-1 win for the Gothams over visiting Pittsburgh. Dave Low was the victim on the mound. Only Max Morris (711), Bobby Barrell (639) and Al Wheeler (516) have more.
• Hank Koblenz announced his retirement following the 1953 season. The longtime Philadelphia Keystones slugger hit 31 home runs only two seasons ago, but after hitting .206 that year, his downfall was precipitous. In only 49 games in 1952-53, he was 12-for-58 (.207) in a pinch-hitting role with two homers and 10 RBI. Koblenz won the home run title in the Fed twice (1943, '50) and finished second four times (1940, '41, '47, and '49). Koblenz missed two years, his age-27 and age-28 seasons, for the war effort, but still finished with 373 home runs and 1,073 RBI. The 50 home runs he hit in 1947 was only outdone by teammate Bobby Barrell's record-setting 64. Koblenz retired in second place among active players with his 373 home runs behind Red Johnson's 505 and he stands in sixth place overall.
• Adrian Czerwinski, the Cleveland ace who led the CA in wins for the fourth time in his five year career, pitched a string of 28 and a third shutout innings in May. Czerwinski failed to win his fifth straight Allen Award as he finished second in the CA voting to young Kansas City pitcher Fred Washington.
• Czerwinski won 3 games in the WCS for the second time in his career. He is just 28 but already is one of only six pitchers to win at least 7 WCS games in their careers, and the other five are in the Hall of Fame.
• Bud Robbins of the Montreal Saints won just 2 games all-season but one of them was a no-hitter as the 39-year-old turned the trick against Toronto in July. Vern Hubbard of the New York Stars, who retired at the end of the season to take a job in the Stars radio booth, also threw a no-hitter. His came in August against the Philadelphia Sailors. This is the first season with two no-hitters since 1946 and just the second since 1934.
• Ed Bloom of the Chicago Chiefs enjoyed a 6-hit game against Detroit in August. It was the first six hit performance by a Federal Association player since Ernie Campbell turned the trick for Pittsburgh in 1948.
• Bill Barrett, now patrolling the Cincinnati Cannons outfielder after a winter trade from the Stars, smacked his 300th career homerun in August. Only 12 players in FABL history have hit at least 300 homers.
• Veteran Gothams catcher George Cleaves notched his 2,500th career big league hit. Cleaves is the 42nd player to reach that milestone and finished the year with 2581, just 9 shy of his brother and Hall of Famer Jack Cleaves.
• Three players: Walt Messer of the Gothams, Sal Pestilli, now with the Montreal Saints, and long-time Cougars infielder Skipper Schneider each collected their 2000th career hit.
• 41-year-old Joe Hancock went 15-10 for Detroit this season and earned the 250th victory of his career in September.
• 43-year-old Charlie Bingham of the Chicago Chiefs and 39-year-old Buddy Long of the New York Gothams each earned his 200th career FABL victory.
• Former Washington pitcher Buckeye Smith has his eyes set on a return to the nation's capital. The Ohio native is running for Congress.
• The Toronto Wolves used the first pick in the 1953 FABL draft on Constitution State pitcher Whitey Stewart. The 22-year-old would be ranked by OSA as the number one prospect in the game by the end of the year.
• The Cincinnati Cannons selected centerfielder Lou Allen with the second pick in the draft. Allen, who hails from Ragland, AL., was named the Adwell Award winner as national high school player of the year and then had a fine debut in the minors, helping Class C Burlington win an Upper Mississippi Valley Association title. Allen may well go on to have a great career in FABL but it is an almost certainty he will never be the top athlete produced by Ragland High School. That distinction seems destined to forever belong to Powell Slocum. "The Ragland Ripper" is a Hall of Famer and FABL's all-time hits leader with 4,144.

NEW YORK FOOTBALL STARS REPEAT AS ANOTHER NEAR MISS FOR COWBOYS

Football fans may well be witnessing the greatest run by a franchise that the sport will ever see as the Kansas City Cowboys competed in their fourth consecutive American Football Association title game and going back to the old Continental Conference the Cowboys have played in eight straight title games. Unfortunately, as special as that accomplishment might be, the excitement around Prairie Park is tempered by the fact that the Cowboys, after winning the 1950 title game, have come up short in each of the last three including a second straight loss to the New York Football Stars in the 1953 championship contest.

The Stars were not as dominant this time around as they had to settle for an 8-4 record and second place in the AFA East Division behind the 10-2 Philadelphia Frigates but they beat the Frigates in the Eastern playoff 16-10 to secure a chance to defend their title. Philadelphia, led by second year quarterback Pat Capizzi and the stingiest run defense in the league anchored by veteran linebacker George Klavich who had 16 tackles for a loss, won its first eight games of the season before finally stumbling in Detroit. The Frigates beat New York in the Big Apple early in the season but perhaps foreshadowing what was to come they lost at home to the Stars in December.

New York's strength was its running game les by the duo of Dennis Howard (1,114 yards) and Sid Daughery (804 yards) that simply wore down opposing defenses. It also made life much easier for second year quarterback Ricky Benson, who threw for 1,771 yards and 16 touchdowns.

There was never much competition for the two playoff berths as the third place Washington Wasps hovered around .500 all season and the Pittsburgh Paladins, who were 10-2 a year ago, had a dreadful 1-5 start and never did get on track.

The Kansas City Cowboys also struggled early and were in danger of missing the playoffs when they lost back to back November games in Detroit and San Francisco to fall to 3-4 but a late rally that saw them win four straight secured second place. Pat Chappell was terrific as usual, throwing for over 2,500 yards and 18 touchdowns and found a new favourite target in rookie end Roy Camper, a fifth round pick out of Travis College. It was another rookie that really was the talk of the league. That would be Christian Trophy winner Mike Peel, the Cowboys top pick out of Spokane State. Peel ran for 1,439 yards and 12 touchdowns on the year and was named the offensive player of 1953. His totals would have set a new single season rushing record had not Jim Kellogg of the St Louis Ramblers gained 1,476 this season.

Early losing streaks derailed playoff hopes for Detroit, Los Angeles and San Francisco while the St Louis Ramblers were just awful, finishing at 2-10. One note on Los Angeles: it appears the Charlie Barrell experiment might be over. After struggling last season but starting all 12 games, the three-sport star did not throw a single pass this season as third year pro John Stanphill took over the starting quarterback job with the Tigers.

The big surprise in the West Division was the Chicago Wildcats who, after a dismal couple of seasons including a 3-9 showing a year ago, seemed to rediscover the magic they enjoyed much of the last decade with a 9-3 season and a first place finish. The Wildcats led the league in scoring, averaging over 28 points per game but unfortunately lost starting quarterback Fred Wilhelm with a late season injury that kept him out of the playoff game.

Without Wilhelm the Wildcats offense looked overwhelmed and the defense could not contend with all of the Cowboys weapons in the semi-final game. Chappell threw for 166 yards while Peel and Pat Hill combined to rush for 266 with each topping the century mark in a 40-10 rout that sent Kansas City back to the title game.

The AFA title game featured the two second place teams but once more New York, with the better record, would host the Kansas City Cowboys in the championship contest. The Stars won the coin toss and received the opening kick-off and quickly used their diversified ground game to pick up a couple of first downs before the drive stalled near midfield. The Cowboys offense made its debut on their own 3-yard line but a pair of big plays gave them an early lead. The first was a 37-yard pass from Pat Chappell to rookie end Roy Camper and the second was a 50-yard touchdown run by Mike Peel three plays later. The extra point failed but the Cowboys had an early 6-0.

A second Cowboys drive made good progress but ended abruptly when Chappell's pass was intercepted in the Stars end zone by Vic Morrell. It is early to calling anything occurring late in the opening quarter of a game the turning point but instead of trailing 13-0 the Stars followed up that interception with a long drive of there own, one that culminated in a 25-yard touchdown run by Sid Daugherty and after the extra point New York had a 7-6 lead.

Big runs seemed the norm for the first half of the game as Peel got another one just a couple of minutes later. This time it was a 48-yard scamper and set up a Peel's second touchdown, which came a few plays later on a five yard run and the Cowboys were back in front by a 13-7 count. The lead would be extended to 20-7 in the final minute before the half after Chappell worked his magic. The veteran Kansas City quarterback connected with Camper for 31 yards, Allen Trussell for 14 and finally Jim Kovach for a three yard score. Even when the Stars hit a last second 44-yard field goal to cut the break to 20-10 at the break it must have been a confident group in the visitors locker room at the half. Coach Pete Walsh's crew had proven able to move the ball with impunity both on the ground and through the air but the Stars were a resolute bunch that still had some tricks up their sleeves.

The adjustments the Stars defense made paid immediate dividends as the Cowboys would not earn another first down until their was less than two minutes remaining in the game. In the meantime the Stars offense had scored four times - touchdowns on a pair of one yard runs after solid drives and two more Benny Molitor field goals.

Stymied and trailing 30-20, Chappell finally broke through for a first down with a 20-yard pass to Camper with 1:57 remaining. He would complete passes of 21 and 10 yards on the desperation drive before four straight incompletions ended the Cowboys title hopes and gave New York its second straight title and its fourth since the implementation of the AFA title game in 1933.

TRAVIS COLLEGE CLAIMS GRID CROWN

For the fourth time in school history the Travis College Bucks are the best team in collegiate football. The Southwestern Alliance power finished 10-1 and laid claim to the national title after beating previously undefeated Deep South Conference champion Bayou State 17-9 in the Oilman Classic on New Year's Day. The 10-1 Bucks, whose lone loss was an early season stumble on the road against Baton Rouge State, were unbeaten in section play. Their 1953 title joins previous national championships for the Bucks in 1940, 1918 and 1915 although the 1915 crown was shared with Bluegrass State.

The Bucks entered the title game ranked behind the top rated Cougars but did a terrific job containing Bayou State' star halfback Lou Wiggs, holding the junior who ran for over 1,300 yards this season to just 49 yards on 24 carries New Years Day. The loss dropped Bayou State, which had wins over ranked schools Darnell State and Georgia Baptist as part of its 10-game unbeaten string during the regular season, to number two in the polls.

Redwood University finished third despite the fact the Mammoths were denied a trip to the East West Classic after losing to arch-rival Northern California 23-10 in the regular season finale. It would be the only blemish on an otherwise perfect record for Redwood, which completed its season with a 14-3 victory over Texas Panhandle in the Desert Classic.

The East-West Classic featured two schools that have been regular visitors to Santa Ana in recent years but up until this New Years had never faced each other in the Classic game. The Detroit City College Knights were making their third appearance since 1945 and are a perfect 3-0 in the game following a 29-19 victory over Northern California. The Miners have participated in four of the last six East-West Classics and are 2-2. Christian Trophy winning halfback Walt Milner was the star of the show as the Detroit City College senior ran for 175 yards on the afternoon including a 40-yard touchdown score in the first half. The Knights finished 10th in the final polls with an 8-3 record overall that included losses to Rome State and CC Los Angeles.

Lincoln went 9-1 despite losing out on the Great Lakes Alliance title and a trip to the East-West Classic so the Presidents, who finished fourth in the final rankings had to settle for a trip to Florida for the Bayside Classic where they shaded South Atlantic Conference champion Maryland State 13-10. The 9-2 Bengals ended up 8th.

Noble Jones College, 9-2 after beating Colorado Poly in the San Joaquin Classic, was fifth while Rome State finished sixth despite the fact the Centurions were blasted 22-3 by Lawrence State in the Sunshine Classic. It marked the first time the military academy agreed to play a postseason game and there was a familiar name at quarterback for Rome State. That would be sophomore Mike Barrell, son of former FABL President and current Chicago Poly Athletic Director Dan Barrell. Mike, who also plays basketball and had a strong season on the court for the Centurions cage quintet as a freshman in the spring, started 8 games at quarterback including the Classic game for the Centurions. The school focus is primarily on a ground attack but Barrell gave a glimpse of what he could do in a midseason win over St Pancras when he threw for a career best 176 yards and a pair of touchdowns. The most important game for Rome State is always its annual meeting with Annapolis Maritime in December and that one went very well for the Centurions, who claimed a 19-3 victory that sent them into the showdown with Lawrence State a perfect 9-0.

Rounding out the top ten where St Blane (9-2) at seventh and a winner over Daniel Boone College in the Volunteer Classic, followed by Maryland State, Southern Border Conference champion Canyon A&M and Detroit City College. Detroit City College also reportedly did very well on the recruiting trail, landing three of top ten recruits in #1 overall Ross Greenbaum, a halfback out of Wisconsin, Louisiana born linebacker Ernest Alger, who OSA has as the #4 recruit along with an end from Texas by the name of Fredrick Simmons that OSA calls the top high school pass catcher in the nation.

RAINIER COLLEGE WINS FOURTH AIAA CAGE CROWN

The Rainier College Majestics lost just once in 34 games as they blazed a path to their fourth AIAA collegiate basketball tournament title. The Majestics, winners of back to back tournaments a decade ago, reached the semi-finals last season before falling just short but entered the current season on a mission. The senior laden club featured two-time All-American guard T.J. Grimm among four senior starters that also included Doc Daniels, Ed Kosanovich and Lee Maroney. It was Grimm, a guard from Salt Lake City who could both score -he led the Majestics averaging 13.0 ppg- and pass - his 5.1 assists per game were among the national leaders- who led the team.

Right from the season opener when Grimm scored 17 points as the Majestics thumped a Henry Hudson University team that would prove to be a surprise final four participant four months later the Majestics appeared to be on a mission. Veteran coach Red Bennett, the man responsible for the Majestics rise to national prominence the past two decades and the orchestrator of all four of their national titles, had the team dialed in from day one.

The Majestics had little trouble going unbeaten in their out of conference slate although a gritty effort from an improving Chicago Poly team gave Rainier College a scare in early January. They won 9 straight in section play including wins over ranked rivals CC Los Angeles, Coastal California and Lane State before finally getting tripped up on the road in Los Angeles when they fell in overtime to the CCLA Coyotes 64-62. It would prove to be the only loss the Majestics suffered as they went 15-1 and claimed their first West Coast Athletic Association section title in four years.

Rainier College was 28-1 when it opened the tournament as the top seed in the West Region. The opening round can provide some surprises -just ask Carolina Poly after the 26-4 Cardinals were shocked 59-51 by 8th seed Boston State in the South Region or Coastal California which travelled to be the top seed in the East only to make an early exit as 8th seed Erie -which had not won a tournament game since 1925- upset the Dolphins 55-50. Rainier College did not fall into a similar trap of looking past their opening round foe as the Majestics, with Doc Daniels scoring 16 and Grim 12, had little trouble beating the Tigers 72-39. The next opponent was a little tougher but the Majestics rallied from a 29-22 first half deficit to down Liberty College 56-48 in the second round and followed that up with a narrow 54-52 win over defending national champion Whitney College. It may have been Grimm's best game of a very storied career as the senior guard scored 18 points and carried the Majestics for stretches of the game.

The long trip east to Bigsby Garden for the national semi-finals is one the Majestics know well -they have made it seven times in the past fourteen years- and they looked very comfortable with the spotlight on them as Grimm, with 22 points this night, led the Majestics to a 65-53 victory over Detroit City College in the semi-final game. The finals would feature the Majestics third straight meeting with a Great Lakes Alliance team as Western Iowa (30-4 overall) had nosed out DCC and Whitney College for the section title and would be all that stands in the way of a fourth National Title for Rainier College.

The Canaries thought they had scouted Rainier College well and doubled-teamed Grimm all game but that turned out to be a mistake as Harry Wall, a Brooklyn native thrilled to be playing close to home for a change and the only junior in the starting five, thrived with 22 points including 14 in the opening half when the Majestics built a 13 point lead. The final score would not be close as Rainier College cruised to a 67-47 victory and another national title.

BATS LEAD BATON ROUGE STATE TO DIAMOND TITLE

On the strength of the most explosive offense in collegiate baseball the Baton Rouge State Red Devils won their first collegiate sports title in any of the big three school team sports after claiming victory in the 1953 Collegiate Baseball World Championship Series. The Red Devils finished second to Opelika State in Deep South section play but then rolled through the competition in the 16-team championship tournament, putting up 58 runs in their six tournament games.

The big bat for the Red Devils belonged to freshman outfielder Bud Conover, who had five homers and 20 rbis in the six tournament games and was named the tournament Most Valuable Player after the Red Devils defeated four-time national champion Maryland State in the best of three final.

The Christian Award, presented annually to the collegiate baseball player of the year, went to a freshman for just the fourth time in the awards history. The winner is Carolina Poly outfielder Johnny Campbell, who slashed .294/.360/.595 for the Cardinals.

99 REASONS DUKES ARE NAHC CHAMPS

Record-Setting Point Total for Pollack

It was a year to remember for Quinton Pollack and the Toronto Dukes as Toronto, after rumours of a coaching change and a disappointing fourth place finish a year ago went on to claim their record ninth Cup title. The Dukes finished second behind defending Cup champion Chicago in the regular season but edged the Packers in a thrilling championship series that required the full seven games.

The big story all season was Quinton Pollack as the 30-year-old Toronto center chased a pair of records. He finished with 99 points, the most ever recorded in a single NAHC season and smashing the previous standard by 14. Pollack had two points in the final game of the season including his 47th goal but could not get the third to reach the century mark. His 47 goals tied the record established by Boston Bert Cordier in 1929-30 and equaled five years ago by Chicago's Tommy Burns.

Speaking of Burns and the Packers, they followed up their franchises first ever Cup win with an 88 point season, six more than a year ago and a new high water mark for all NAHC clubs. The Packers benefited from another terrific season from Burns (36-44-80) as well as wingers Max Ducharme and Derek Gubb who each posted identical stat lines of 17 goals and 55 points. Goaltender Michael Cleghorn continued his emergence as one of the best netminders in the league with the 30-year-old playing in a career high 48 games and leading the NAHC in both goals against average and save percentage. He has clearly replaced Norm Hanson as the number one in Chicago and also equaled Hanson by winning his first career Juneau Trophy as the NAHC's top goalie.

Toronto was an offensive powerhouse but finished four points back of the Packers in second place. The Dukes big three remained the top line in the league as wingers Lou Galbraith (26-41-67) and Les Carlson (16-46-62) continued to prosper playing alongside the great Pollack (47-52-99). Toronto's defense was also solid with Tim Brooks and Clyde Lumsen joining Pollack and Galbraith on the postseason first all-star team while a third Toronto rearguard, Charlie Brown, made the second team alongside Carlson. The big change in Toronto was between the pipes as Gordie Broadway finally retired, leaving Scott Renes and Charlie Dell in charge with Coach Jack Barrell opting to pretty much alternate the two all season. Speaking of Barrell, there was much speculation prior to the season that another poor year might cost the famous coach his job, but Pollack, who happens to be married to Barrell's daughter, ensured his father-in-law's future employment with a dominant campaign.

Boston and Detroit battled all season for third place as the Packers and Dukes pulled away. In the end the Bees finished with 71 points -one more than the Motors- because they tied their final game of the season while Detroit lost to last place Montreal. Injuries cost Bees captain Wilbur Chandler much of the season, limiting the 35-year-old to 45 games and sidelining him for the playoffs. Chandler (19-22-41) still managed nearly a point a game but there was worry in Boston that he will not be back next season. Detroit finally gave the full-time goaltending duties to Henri Chasse as Millard Touhey was used in just five games all season. Chasse responded with a terrific season and was named to the second all-star team. The Detroit offense has plenty of balance but lacks a true elite scorer although both Adam Vanderbilt (23-31-54) and Lou Barber (20-30-50) reached the 20-goal plateau and in Barber's case he did so despite missing 18 games. Rookie Alex Monette (17-23-40) is just 20-years-old and straight out of the Halifax juniors but the 1952 second overall pick became the fourth Detroit player in the last six years to win the McLeod Trophy as top rookie.

The New York Shamrocks finished fifth as the team had some troubles both scoring goals and keeping pucks out of their net. Alex Sorrell, who won a pair of Juneau Awards to start this decade, had his struggles and the offense lacked secondary scoring beyond Jocko Gregg (25-29-54), Simon Savard (23-24-47) and an gaining Orval Cabbell (19-34-53).

Montreal was last for the second year in a row as the Valiants continued to crash after winning back-to-back Challenge Cups before the sudden collapse. Tom Brockers was gone, the legendary goalie retired, and while Nathan Bannister may have some potential, patience is clearly necessary with the 23-year-old. Montreal is on a youth movement of sorts as a number of rookies saw action including promising 20-year-old defenseman Jean Tremblay and his 21-year-old brother Yan -a left winger. There is some talent in the organization but it will need time to develop.

NAHC PLAYOFFS

Neither Chicago nor Toronto had much trouble in the opening round of the NAHC playoffs. The Packers did need six games to dispose of Detroit but they won each of the first three before the Motors made it close. Stanley Royce, who had some big goals in the playoffs a year ago, was up to his old tricks with the game winner in the series opener coming with just over a minute remaining to give the Packers a 2-1 victory. After a convincing 5-2 win in the second game the series shifted to Detroit and the Packers went up three games with an overtime goal from Jarrett McGlynn on the powerplay to secure a 4-3 victory. Detroit stayed alive with 5-2 and 4-2 victories before the Packers ended the series with another overtime victory in game six. This one came courtesy of a Marty Mahoney shot just shy of 10 minutes into the extra period and the Motors had Thompson Palladium buzzing when they scored twice in the final three minutes of regulation to prolong the game.

Toronto needed just five games to oust Boston in the other semi-final. Maurice Charette, overshadowed by the Dukes big guns, had a coming out party in the series as the 28-year-old who scored just eight times in 65 regular season games, who score five times in the first two games against Boston. Charette had two in a 5-1 Dukes win in the opener and then scored all three in the second game as Toronto claimed the contest by a 3-2 margin. Boston's lone victory in the series came by a 3-2 score in game three before Toronto wrapped it up with a 5-2 win in the fourth game followed by a series clinching 5-3 victory at Dominion Gardens in game five.

*** Challenge Cup Finals ***

Toronto and Chicago had never met before with the Challenge Cup on the line. The Packers have made just three trips to the finals prior to this year including their lone title which came last season after beating Boston in six games. The Dukes, on the other hand, have won more Cups than any other organization and for fans in Toronto, not playing in the finals since their eighth cup win in the spring of 1949, feels like an unbearably long absence.

The two teams were clearly the best in the league during the regular season and each had a dominant offensive star in Quinton Pollack for Toronto and Tommy Burns of Chicago. This promised to be an exciting series and it certainly lived up to the billing.

Chicago, by virtue of finishing 4 points ahead of Toronto during the regular season, had home ice advantage and they got off to a great start at Lakeside Auditorium in the series opener as Burns, who tallied just 3 points in the six games against Detroit in the semis, scored once and added an assist as Chicago built a quick 3-0 lead in the opening ten minutes and then relied on netminder Michael Cleghorn to preserve the victory. Cleghorn did just that, making 28 saves in a 3-1 Chicago win.

Game two also ended in a 3-1 score but it was the visitors on top with Toronto dominating the play. The Dukes outshot their hosts 53-17 as rookie Jerry Belanger, Tim Brooks and Trevor Parker, with one scoring each period, staked Toronto to a lead. Only Marty Mahoney's goal midway through the final frame denied Scott Renes his first career playoff shutout.

The series shifted to Toronto for games three and four and again the two clubs split with Burns scoring once and adding an assist in 2-1 Chicago victory in game three before the Dukes responded with a 3-1 win in game four to knot the series at two wins apiece. Cleghorn was terrific in the Chicago net once more while Burns, with his fifth of the playoffs score the lone Packers goal after Lou Galbraith and Les Carlson gave the Dukes a 2-0 lead. Maurice Charette, the goal scoring star early in the semi-final series, sealed the victory with an empty net marker in the dying seconds.

Cleghorn was the story of game five as the Chicago netminder stopped all 30 Toronto shots he faced for his first career playoff shutout. Marty Mahoney scored twice in the opening period and Max Lavigne got one in the middle frame for the winners.

Trailing 3 games to two it was a must win situation for the Dukes at Dominion Gardens in game six. The Packers took a quick lead when Max Ducharme beat Renes just over two minutes into the game but Toronto evened things ten minutes later thanks to a Rob Painchaud power play marker. After a scoreless second period Charette decided it was time for another goal as the Dukes winger picked up his seventh of the post season early in the third period. It would hold up and Toronto would force a seventh game with a 2-1 victory in game six.

The deciding game was one for the ages as both goaltenders - Chicago's Michael Cleghorn and Scott Renes of Toronto shut the door for the opening forty minutes. The lone goal of the game would come a minute and a half into the third period when 21-year-old Toronto winger Kenny Wooley would notch his only point of the post-season point, jamming in the rebound off a Jerry Belanger shot past Cleghorn. It would be the Cup winner as 18 minutes later the Dukes players were streaming on the ice to celebrate with goaltender Renes, who had stopped all 29 shots in a 1-0 Toronto victory.

NAHC ALL-STAR GAME

Wilbur Chandler of the Boston Bees scored twice and Montreal's Adam Sanford had a pair of helpers as the NAHC stars downed the reigning Challenge Cup champion Chicago Packers 5-2 in the fourth annual all-star game. The original contest was a charity match when the top players from the six teams were split into a red and a white team but since then the format has seen the previous season's Cup champions facing stars from the other five clubs. The NAHC has two wins and a tie in those three games including this years victory. It was a wide open offensive affair that saw the teams combined to fire 102 shots on goal as defense was rarely on the minds of any of the participants.

1952-53 Season in Review -The 1952-53 Federal Basketball League season was a changing of the guard. It was the time when teams that spent more time at the bottom of the divisional standings looking up at the league’s heavyweights, year after year, finally had their day.

The Philadelphia Phantoms had made the postseason only three previous times in the six seasons prior to the 1952-53 season and only surpassed the first round in 1947-48, where the Phantoms bowed to the eventual FBL champion Baltimore Barons.

The Boston Centurions debuted at the start of professional basketball in 1937 and first qualified for the postseason nine years later. The Centurions made the divisional final in three of the past four years, so they were a team on the rise.

Both teams looked down on the rest of the Eastern Division in 1952-53. Philadelphia won the division and earned the top seed with the best record in the FBL at 48-22 by a single game over the Western Division champion, the Chicago Panthers (47-23). The Phantoms reeled off six straight wins to start the year 8-2 and a nine-game streak midseason to balloon their record to 37-15. A five-game losing streak in early-to-mid April gave Phantoms fans some pause, but Boston (42-28) never really challenged for the division. Boston’s high-water mark was 15 games above .500 in the next-to-last game of the expanded 70-game schedule and finished six games behind Philadelphia.

The two biggest daily stories throughout the regular season were how last season’s division winners and Finals entrants sunk out of playoff contention.

The Washington Statesmen had been a model of consistency. Since their debut in 1937-38, the only season in which the Statesmen had missed the playoffs was their first season. It was also the only season where Washington had more losses than wins. One of those streaks would be broken while another barely hung on. Washington went 32-38 around a revamped lineup. Blake Brooks was released before Opening Night and the team proceeded to lose to the Centurions, 70-49. Washington never spent a day over .500 all season, but a late 6-5 run allowed Washington to finish in third place, 16 games behind Philadelphia, but two games ahead of Baltimore (30-40) and four in front of New York (28-42).

After winning the FBL title last year, Detroit climbed the mountain, chasing Rochester for the first half of the season, reached the plateau by winning the division running away, and arrived at the summit when the Mustangs defeated Washington to win it all. This season, however, they rolled down the other side of the mountain, seemingly hitting every tree on the way down. Detroit (27-43) finished dead last in the West, three games out of a playoff spot, as just as the Eastern Division, the race for the top was a two-team race.

Chicago has spent the last three years at or near the bottom of the division standings, looking up at teams like Detroit. Chicago won its division in the first two years of the Panthers existence, winning a title in its rookie campaign. Despite one of the best players in the league, Luther Gordon, Chicago could not put a team around him that befit his talent in his first two seasons. Gordon was flanked by multi-sport superstar rookie Charlie Barrell, while Joe Hampton had his best shooting season of his illustrious career.

This year, Gordon edged Cleveland’s Ziggy Rickard, in the scoring race by the closest margin in memory. Gordon averaged 22.2063 points per game in 63 contests and Rickard fell just shy with 22.2059 points per game in his 68 games played. However, Rickard walked away with the league’s Most Valuable Player in a controversial vote over Gordon.

Chicago walked into the playoffs on the wings of the best home record (29-6) in the league and an 11-game lead on Toronto (36-34). The Falcons made it back to the playoffs after missing out last season, but they had made it out of the Western Division in their previous two playoff appearances. Cleveland and Rochester tied for third place at 30-40, 17 games behind the leader, and their head-to-head season series was a season onto itself.

The Crushers and Rockets played 15 games against each other and the season series was tied at seven games apiece. Cleveland hosted Rochester on April 18th with only four games left in the season and won, 91-66, which put both teams at a flat-footed tie at 29-38. Each team had its chance, but both teams dropped two of three to give Cleveland the entrance into the playoffs, ten games under .500, where they were promptly crushed by the Falcons, three games to none in the Western Division Semifinals.

Toronto was just getting warmed up after sweeping Cleveland. The big story for the Falcons before the playoffs was the play of their man in the middle, Kenny Roberts. Roberts led the team in scoring (17.3 ppg) and rebounding (15.5 rpg). Toronto moved to a younger lineup, pushing veteran forward Max Lucia to the end of the bench and employing a rookie in the starting lineup in All-Rookie guard Denny Thomas (55 GP, 6.4 apg).

Toronto surprised Chicago in the Western Division Final, four games to two. After dropping Game One in Chicago, Toronto earned a split on the road, taking Game Two, 68-54. Toronto did it with defense, setting the tone with Defender of the Year, Jumbo Hinman, as the Falcons kept the Panthers to 21.5% shooting. Toronto game home court right back when Chicago won Game Three, but the Falcons would not drop another game in the series behind forward Stretch Williams, who averaged 22.0 points in Games Four through Six and a 28-point, 19-rebound performance in Game Five by Roberts.

In the Eastern Division playoffs, Washington was the third seed and there was still hope in the Nation’s Capital that the Statesmen would be able to get it together in time to make a run. The series opened in Boston as the second-seeded Centurions and Morgan Melcher took charge. Boston won both of their games at home. Melcher was a terror throughout the series, pouring in 21.4 points in the best-of-five Semifinal that went the distance. The matchup went the full five games because Washington made a series out of it by taking care of business at home as well. It came down to a fifth game in Boston and Melcher was the player of the game with 21 points and 13 rebounds, while center Ernie Fischer only shot 3-for-22 from the field and contributed eight points.

Boston was on a roll and carried momentum into Philadelphia for the Eastern Division Final, earning a win on the road in Game One with a strong fourth quarter, turning a two-point deficit entering the last period into a 92-87 victory. The Phantoms, perhaps rusty from the semifinal bye, received the slap in the face they needed. Philadelphia won the next four games to send Boston home. The Phantoms added a couple of blowouts to take the heart out of the Centurions, winning by 20 in Game Two and 22 points in Game Four. J.C. Mitchell and Mel Turcotte were pivotal in the series victory. Mitchell and Turcotte combined for 35 points in Game Two’s 95-75 win, Mitchell added 21 points in Game Three’s win before Turcotte led all scorers with 30 points in Game Four. A little-known player was the star in the deciding Game Five for Philadelphia.

Richard Brawner, a 29-year-old six-year pro out of Mobile Maritime, only started five games and averaged 5.3 points a game in the regular season. But he is a playoff performer. In last year’s postseason, Brawner averaged 15 points in four games, but he started for a banged-up Mike Rupp and scored 23 points, helping to pick up the slack in the front court when Mel Turcotte ran into foul trouble. Philadelphia won Game Five, 80-69 and was ready for Toronto.

Toronto lost in the FBL Finals in 1950 and 1951, and Falcons fans were hoping the third time was the charm. The dream was so close, Toronto could almost touch it, especially after a Game One win on the road, 73-72, where the Falcons built a 42-34 halftime lead and the Phantoms crept closer all second half. Philadelphia took the lead halfway through the fourth quarter, 64-63, and let 72-69, but the Falcons scored the last four points on a couple of Stretch Williams, the last on a jumper with seven seconds remaining, secured the 1-0 series lead for Toronto.

Philadelphia recovered in Game Two, but it was a late a dramatic recovery, coming back from a 16-point fourth-quarter deficit behind 30 points and 13 rebounds from Danny Hendon. Toronto had the Game Three edge in the final stanza, nursing a small lead heading into the fourth, but an 18-12 edge in the quarter allowed Philadelphia to take a two games to one series lead. Stretch Williams was the hero again for the Falcons, as he led Toronto with 19 points.

The fourth quarter loomed large again in Game Four, but this time the momentum was enough for Philadelphia to take control of the series, outscoring Toronto, 29-6, as J.C. Mitchell scored 22 points and made all 14 of his free throws, in the 81-63 Phantoms win. Mel Turcotte dropped in 31 points in Game Five and Game Six and Philadelphia was crowned the Federal Basketball League Champions at last.

J.C. Mitchell averaged 13 points a game and his 22 points in Game Four were enough to garner Playoff MVP honors. The 25-year-old sharpshooter found a new level during the season and yet another level in the playoffs. The hunters will now be the hunted, for the first time.

MAJOR SURPRISE TO END YEAR IN BOXING

For eleven and a half months, 1953 was a very predictable year in boxing. The three champions each continued to rule their respective divisions and it seemed like all three - heavyweight Joey Tierney, middleweight Mark McCoy and welterweight Danny Rutledge- might rule for a while. All that changed on December 18 when Tierney, who had looked dominant enough to evoke some comparisons to the great Hector Sawyer in easily disposing of Brad Harris, Bill Sloan and Max Bradley earlier in the year, suddenly found his hands full with a lightly regarded Englishman by the name of Ben Shotton.

Shotton, a 30-year-old from Liverpool, who is not even considered the top fighter in England, got the nod to come across the Atlantic and fight for the title only when his countryman Joe Brinkworth hurt himself in training 3 weeks before the fight. Shotton was hastily flown across the Atlantic as fill in on the Philadelphia fight card and seven rounds into the bout Tierney was in complete control and seemingly headed for another early stoppage.

It changed on a moments notice when the champ, perhaps just a little too overconfident, did not see a thundering combination from Shotton until it was too late, and Tierney was on the canvas looking up at referee Jimmy Duncan trying to figure out what had just occurred. He did regain his feet to beat the count and the fight would go the distance but the champ was clearly hurt and Shotton carried the bout from that point on. Only a spirited finish where Tierney won each of the final two rounds allowed the champ to retain his belt, but just barely as the fight was declared a draw. One judge scored it a 1-point victory for Tierney, another a one point win for the challenger and the third had them dead even. A rematch is clearly in order and is expected to take place in March.

Earlier in the year Tierney was looking unstoppable. He demolished the talented Brad Harris, forcing the referee to stop that February fight in the 7th round and before a sold-out Thompson Field in the summertime with Tierney facing his old Detroit rival Bill Sloan, it was another early win for the champ. Even Max Bradley, who many felt would have succeeded Hector Sawyer as the champ a year ago, was no match for Tierney's power as Bradley spent more time laying on the ground than on his feet in their September meeting at Bigsby Garden. In all Tierney knocked Bradley down seven times in their fight including twice in the 12th round, the second of which Bradley may still be trying to recover from.

Middleweight champ Mark McCoy fought three times in 1953 and emerged from each of them with unanimous decision victories. Fight veteran Davis Owens was the first victim and he did keep the proceedings close but lost a clear decision in Chicago in late January. McCoy then waited until the end of July before returning to the ring. There were no signs of rust as Bill Sanderson was lucky just to survive the full 15 rounds in a bout dominated from pillar to post by the champ. McCoy finished his trio of victories with a trip to St Louis in October where he beat up on John Edmonds for 11 rounds before the fight was ultimately stopped due to blood in the right eye severely impairing Edmonds vision.

Danny Rutledge continues to bring stability to the once very volatile welterweight division. The Louisville native has now made 8 successful title defenses since he took the title away from Ira Mitchell nearly three years ago. Rutledge beat Mitchell once again in a rematch that was one of his three wins in 1953. The others were by a knockout of Al Sullivan in March and stoppage win over an injured Willis May in August.

A Look at 1953 in the Ring -Here is a statement I have never uttered in the many years I have covered the sport of boxing: the Welterweight Division is the most stable division in boxing. Danny Rutledge has brought that stability by taking on all comers. The 1952 Bologna Boxer of the Year has run his successful string of title defenses to eight after winning all three of his fights in 1953. But it was not easy.

In fact, no championship belts changed hands in 1953, but all three champions have a story to tell of how it almost went sideways.

Danny Rutledge was facing journeyman Willis May in August in search of his seventh successful title defense in a row. The bout was even in the fourth round, as May was holding his own. Rutledge was just admonished for using the shoulder, so the fighting was in tight. After a wild right from Rutledge missed the mark, May landed a hook and in the follow-through, butted heads with the champion. A nasty cut opened from the accidental head-butt and as the bout progressed, Rutledge had difficulty seeing.

Tentative action followed and Rutledge could not take advantage until the ninth round and dominated the 11th round to take a lead in the bout. Early in the next round, May led off with an uppercut that reopened Rutledge’s previous wound. Referee Zeb Barley stopped the fight. In his estimation, the wound was originally opened by the accidental head butt. The ringside physician decided to stop the fight, so the judges’ cards through 11 rounds were used to determine the winner. All three judges had the fight, 105-104 in favor of Rutledge and it was his strong showing in the last round or two that made the difference.

In eight years of covering boxing for the Inquisitor, I have never seen the fight prematurely go to the judges’ cards. However, only two months later, it happened again.

Mark McCoy was facing former two-time champion John Edmonds. Edmonds had defeated Frank Melanson twice, but lost to Millard Shelton, who McCoy defeated in the next middleweight title fight, so their paths never crossed in the ring. McCoy was having a very easy time with Edmonds with only a second-round uppercut and a fifth-round combination that seemed to put McCoy on alert. Knockdowns by McCoy in the eighth and tenth rounds firmly put a future decision in the champion’s favor.

There was a moment in the eighth round where McCoy grabbed Edmonds’s head and pull it towards his chest and when told to let go, the two fighters clinched in close quarters, causing an accidental head-butt to Edmonds. Edmonds did not respond well to the move, as he was getting desperate in the next round, using his shoulder and leaning on McCoy’s neck. Both maneuvers were picked up by referee Weston Meyer. The cut reopened in Round 10, shortly before McCoy knocked him down a second time. An efficient hook late in Round 11 pushed the referee to halt the fight while the doctor took a closer look. Some said the doctor put Edmonds out of his misery and did what Meyer should have already done, but the fight was stopped for good. McCoy only lost one round according to one judge, while the other two judges scored McCoy the winner in each of the first ten rounds.

To close a strange and interesting year in boxing, on December 18th, we had our first draw in a title fight since “Tank” Melanson fought Todd Gill to a majority draw in October 1945 for the Middleweight Championship.
Joey Tierney’s opponent in this bout set for the week before Christmas was initially Joe Brinkworth, but a training injury caused lesser-known fellow Englishman Ben Shotton to step in, which allowed the fight card to proceed. Shotton proved he could be a handful late in the third round, when a couple of thunderous crosses that caused Tierney’s eyes to glaze and water. Tierney quickly developed some swelling under his right eye, which began to worsen in the middle rounds.

Tierney was back on top after a dominating sixth round that had Shotton reaching for the ropes in the closing seconds to stay on his feet. However, Shotton chipped away, briefly knocked the champion down in the eighth round, and showed well as the fight was hitting its latter stages, earning a couple of 10-10 rounds in the process. Tierney tried to close the deal, causing some swelling of his own under Shotton’s left eye in the 14th round.

The three judges were split, as one narrowly gave Tierney a one-point edge, another favored Shotton by one point, and the third judge had it dead even. The draw allowed Tierney to keep the belt over the holidays, but a rematch to the unlikely pairing must be coming up soon. Meanwhile, the unfortunate Joe Brinkworth might have missed a golden opportunity and may have to sit and wait while Tierney-Shotton II works itself out.

My pick for the Bologna Boxer of the Year for 1953 was Mark McCoy, who dominated two of his three fights during the year and won them all. Prior to his win against Edmonds in October, McCoy led throughout in a July victory against Bill Sanderson.

FROM THE LOCAL PAPERS

A LOOK AT 1953 IN TORONTO SPORTS

Tales From The Den -Toronto baseball fans saw their team struggle to their fifth straight losing season although they did not finish 8th in 1953. They were tied for 7th with Montreal at 64-90, a bad year for baseball in Canada, but did allow the Wolves to end a streak of three straight seasons o losing 100 or more games.

Some of the biggest news for the Wolves happened before Spring Training began when on Feb 12th Fred McCormick, a sure fire future member of the HOF. announced his retirement rather than return for a 22nd season in the FABL. McCormick finished his career with the following stats: Games- 2247 (2288 starts) PA- 10582 AB- 9002 a slash line of .329/.420/.520 (OPS+ 155) HR- 260 RBI- 1525. He decided at 43 his body would not stand up to another season of the rigors of an FABL season. Last season he was exclusively a pinch-hitter only gong to the plate 30 times.

When the season began with a 3-11 April, fans began to avoid Dominion Stadium choosing to spend their entertainment dollars at other venues. The attendance at 756,758 was the lowest since 1939, a fact that has Bernie Millard reassessing whether or not at age 69 he wants to stay as team owner. Brett is learning that quietly Millard is letting it be known that he would sell the team, for the right the price. How many of the current owners would miss Millard is questionable; as one owner put it "There is a never a dull moment with Millard around, he is inventive, combative, with a meteoric temper. But he always knows what he wants along with who, what he dislikes in FABL. He would not be missed by all but his ideas for the future would leave the FABL a little poorer." Brett will watch for signs of an ownership change in the near future.

After a disastrous opening month the team played a little better in the following months with the exception of a 6-20 July coming on the heels of their only winning month of '53, a 16-12 June. Gone are the days of a strong pitching, backed by slick fielding Wolves club. The 1953 Wolves' staff was by far the worst in the CA and backed by a porous defense, not a good combination. Fans long for the days of a rotation led by George Garrison who went led the FA with a 23-7, 3.23 record, or Joe Hancock, who helped Detroit to a second FA pennant with a 15-10, 3.45 record. On the hill this year's Wolves were led by a pitcher released by Cleveland, who won the FABL title, in 37-year-old Danny Hern (12-13,4.27) along with another 37 year old in Jimmy Gibbs (11-11, 3.68). The fans are still shaking their heads on the trade that sent Garrison to the Gothams along with other questionable moves made by the new brain trust in Wolves offices. Former first overall pick, Les Ledbetter, was banished to the bullpen full time in June after failing as starter, a move that started in the late Forties in the Cuban Winter League. Ledbetter appeared in 75 games, 70 in relief, posting a 8-9. 4.19 with 18 saves in a poor bullpen.

At the plate outfielder Jim Allen, 25, led with a line of .306/.407/.446 in punchless offense. The team leader in long balls was Cal Cark with 11 on a club that hit a league low of 68 into the seats. Newly acquired Gordie Perkins provided sound defense at short but not much help at the plate. Perkins at short allowed the other first overall pick, John Wells, to be moved to third when the team finally gave up on his glove at short. Manning the hot corner Wells was not nearly the defensive liability he was at short although he led the league in being set down on strikes at 141. Still only 23 with over 300 games at the top level of baseball management still thinks Wells has a chance to flourish in FABL. New management constantly tells Brett that Wells was pushed too fast through the organization by their predecessors. Wally Boyer is coming off his second straight substandard season at the plate but his defense in CF covers for a .227/.321/.312 line.

In the system the Wolves may have help coming led by the first overall selection this year Whitey Stewart, a pitcher who split the season between Vancouver and Davenport. Stewart may be a couple of years away, he is touted as front line starter with great control. Jim Montgomery from Chattanooga may also be on the way to ease a beleaguered pitching staff. At the plate Tom Reed is the top prospect. He had a down year in A ball needs to bounce back in 1954. Larry Curtis, 25, should be in the outfield during 1954 as a line of .341/.448/.659 36 HR, 132 RBI at Buffalo appears to indicate.

Brett thinks the team is finally moving forward but needs a serious pitching staff makeover in order to make the next step. The defense has to get to at least league standard for team progression, hopefully Curtis' bat will provide some sock to an anemic offense. Brett sees at least one more season in the lower levels of the CA. The biggest news in 1954 may center around the ownership of the team.

Tales From the Nest -The basketball Falcons were beaten in the league final for the third time in four years, this time by the Philadelphia Phantoms in six games. Toronto made it into the playoffs with a 36-34 record under Irwin Lewis, The team then took out the West Division leaders Chicago Panthers (47-23), led by Luther Gordon, Charlie Orlando with baseball star Charlie Barrell, in a six game upset. Falcons were led by smallish C Kenny Roberts who average 17.3 PPG along with 17.5 RPG. Major Belk bounced back from a down year to average 13.1 PPG along with 5.7 Assists. Falcons were a quick strike offense along with tenacious defense to find their back into the playoffs.

With the Wolves possibly turning a corner in baseball, the Falcons returning to being competitive the Toronto sport scene may be returning to life after recent down years.

Tales from the Manor :The Toronto Dukes returned to the top of the NAHC during the 1952-53 season reclaiming the Challenge Cup with a 1-0 win in Game 7 of the final over defending champions Chicago Packers.

Much like the Wolves the Dukes lost a major cog in the off-season when Gordie Broadway stepped away from the game at age 38 leaving the crease to Scott Renes, 27, and 24-year-old Charlie Dell. The big question going into training camp in Northern Ontario was how would Jack Barrell implement a system to take the pressure off his goaltenders with relatively little NAHC experience? Prior to the start of this year Renes had 73 games in the NAHC, not a rookie but not use to carrying the full load. Dell was the big unknown with only 3 games in the NAHC two seasons ago. Barrell's solutions was unique in two ways, he opened up the offense along with going to a tandem between the pipes. In a league where the starting goaltender usually starts 50+ games, Barrell rotated his netminders with Renes starting 39 games, to Dell's 31. It seemed to work as Renes had a record of 21-14-4, 2.52 with Dell posting 15-8-8, 2.59 with both stopping over 90% of shot they faced over the regular season.

Scoring, led by Quinton Pollack, was the highest in the league with the Dukes scoring 231 goals in the 70 game regular season while allowing only 178, second lowest surrendered in the loop. The result was Toronto enjoyed a league best to give them a league high goal differential of +53.

After the high octane start to 1951-52 Toronto started winless in the first five this season losing their first two then tying the next three. After getting their first win on October 25th, 7-1 over Boston, the current Dukes team was one thing the '51-52 squad was not: consistent. The two losses to open the campaign was tied for the longest losing streak of the year, it was only equaled twice more during the regular season and the Dukes cruised to second place with a record of 36-22-12 for 84 points, 4 behind Chicago.

The story of the year in hockey was Toronto center Quinton Pollack. The 30-year-old team captain led the league in both goals with 47, and assists, 52, for a new NAHC record of 99 points. Pollack's goal total tied a record first set in 1930 by Boston's Bert Cordier then equalled by Tommy Burns five seasons ago. The line of Pollack, Les Carlson and Lou Galbraith dominated other teams giving puck stoppers nightmares for the entire year with the threesome totaling 92 goals, 139 assist for 231 points including 35 markers while on the man advantage. The power play capitalized at almost a 23% rate for the season.

On to the playoffs where the Dukes started against the third place Boston Bees (29-28-13, 71 points). After taking the first two games of the series at home Boston took a game at Denny Arena before the Dukes closed out the series with a 5-2 win in Boston then 5-3 before 15180 in the Gardens. Chicago dispatched Detroit in 6 to setup a Chicago/Toronto final in a playoff year where there no semi-final upsets.

The Packers had eliminated the Dukes last year in six games with three of the wins in overtime. The final opened in Lakeside Aud on April 13th with the Packers scoring a goal 16 seconds into the game. Chicago was up by 3 before the game was 10 minutes old then cruised to a 3-1 win with Lou Galbraith spoiling Michael Cleghorn's shutout bid in the third. The Dukes rebounded two nights later to down the Packers by the same score, 3-1. Jerry Belanger, a callup from Cleveland, gave the Dukes their first lead of the series in the first before goals by Brooks and Parker made it 3-0 in the third. Renes blanked the Packers until Marty Mahoney found the twine at 12:36 of the third.

Chicago regained the series lead with 2 goals in 55 seconds in the second period in 2-1 victory at the Gardens in the third game but the Dukes made the series a best of three with a home ice victory 3-1 in Game Four.

The Packers came within a game of back to back Challenge Cup wins with a 3-0 whitewash at home. Chicago scored early on the road in the sixth game before the Dukes tied the game at 1 in the first on Rob Painchaud's power play goal. The game remained deadlock until the third when Carlson found Charette unmarked with 4 minutes gone in the third who fired home the eventual game winner in a 2-1 Dukes win setting up Game Seven. A surprising early goal by Kenny Wooley, who had only 5 goals in 67 regular season games, before the game was 90 seconds old turned out to be the only scoring play in the deciding game. Both Renes and Cleghorn were tested often during the next 58 minutes but they were both equal to the task as Wooley's marker stood up before 17239, most hoarse at game's end, Chicago fans. The Dukes skated the Challenge Cup around the Lakeside ice before the rapidly emptying stands.

Coach Barrell- "That was a pleasing season, to make it with two relatively inexperienced men in net is a tribute to the entire team. Dell, Renes were both excellent given the fact we gave up the most shots on goal in the entire league. I am most satisfied with the fact we never lost more than two straight all season. That speaks to the buy-in to the system by the players. What more can be said about Pollack's season? In our last regular season game in Boston I was double shifting him, the guys were looking for him every time we had the puck to get him his 48th goal, 100th point. He couldn't understand why he was on the that much, he was only one the team that did not know the records he was chasing which is typical for him. We have to continue to move forward, stand still in this league you get run over. Defensively there are things we can improve especially on the penalty kill."

SECOND FLAG FOR DYNAMOS HIGHLIGHTS UP AND DOWN 1953

The pressure off from finally ending the longest flagless stretch in the Federal Association with a pennant in 1952 meant the Dynamos and their long-suffering fans could just relax and enjoy the 1953 season. The result was a second straight pennant but not without some ups and downs along the way.

Dick York's crew nursed a World Championship Series winning hangover in the early going as the local ballclub started slowly. As May gave way to June the Dynamos were below .500 and struggling just to escape the second division but as the weather heated up so did the club's fortunes. A 41-18 stretch of play in June and July lifted Detroit to the top of the heap once more and while the New York Gothams kept things interesting a September surge took the final bite out of the Big Apple's hopes and invited October baseball back to Thompson Field.

The series did not go well as the Cleveland Foresters beat up the best pitching staff in the Federal Association, smashing 12 homers and scoring 41 runs to knock off the defending champs in seven games. It did not end at Thompson Stadium how any of us wanted but we can certainly get used to hanging banners at the old ballyard.

There were plenty of surprises, both good and bad, from the Dynamos. Jack Miller proved his breakout 1952 campaign was for real with an Allen Award winning season. Joe Hancock, the '52 Allen winner, proved he still had a little something left in the tank at age 41 but Carl Potter, who won 92 games and an Allen Award before his 25th birthday, struggled and clearly looks like he will never again be the dominant force he was on the mound prior to the devastating arm injury that cost him all of the 1951 season.

The Detroit offense was merely ordinary in 1953, which further illustrates just how good the pitching staff was -at least prior to October. It will be interesting what manager Dick York, or should we say three-time Theobald Award winning manager Dick York, coaxes out of the bats in 1954.

There are far more questions on the hardwood and the ice. The basketball Mustangs won their first Federal cage loop title in the spring of 1952 but last year was a write-off as the club finished dead last in the West Division. It may be easy to simply chalk it up to injuries as the Mustangs were not the same club when veteran center Jack Kurtz was out of action - the Mustangs went 5-15 during Kurtz time on the injured list between December and February- but there are other worries. Ward Messer, league MVP in the title season, had the least productive year of his career and Peter Collett, who was so good off the bench in the championship season, never seemed to get on track. The Motors did get back into the NAHC playoffs with a fourth place finish and another quick exit from the post season. While they have some talent, it is becoming more and more clear that unless Detroit somehow lands an elite talent to lift the club the team will be doomed to struggling to simply crack the top four in the six team league each season.

The grid Maroons are another local outfit that continues to struggle to be anything more than merely average. They finished 6-6 this season with the high point being a pair of victories over the Chicago Wildcats -always welcome news- and a thrilling come from behind win at Thompson Field over Pat Chappell and the Kansas City Cowboys in early November. There are some signs the future may shine on the Maroons as the offense, with newcomers Sam Burson, Art Heel and Ben Heid perhaps ready to usher in a new era in Detroit football helping the Maroons offense be the most productive in the league in 1953. Burson, a 23-year-old rookie selected second in the draft after leading Georgia Baptist to a national title, made autumn Sundays at Thompson Field fun again, throwing for a club record 2,703 yards and giving the locals a quarterback with the talent that has not been seen around these parts since Dewey Burnett was chucking the pigskin to Stan Vaught a decade ago.

While only the Dynamos won a pennant or provided fans with a product that finished above .500 in 1953 among the pro entries, we did witness another title in the past year. The Detroit City College Knights were a far cry from the undefeated National Champions the 1946 edition of their football team, the Knights did win the Great Lakes Alliance title and followed it up with their recent victory over Northern California in the East-West Classic. DCC was led on the football field by Walt Milner, the incomparable senior back, who joined 1940 winner Ed Watson as Knights to be win the Christian Trophy. The Knights also enjoyed success in the gym, finishing second in the GLA and making it to New York for the first time since the spring of 1942 when the club advanced to the Final Four in basketball. They fell 65-53 to eventual champion Rainier College in the semi-finals but with four starters returning including team scoring leader Ron Jakel, there could be another long run coming this spring.

The Dynamos should also contend and if the Maroons can take another step forward and the Mustangs bounce back 1954 just might be another year with plenty to cheer about on the local sports scene.

The Year That Was
Current events from 1953

• Jan 7- The United States announces it has developed a hydrogen bomb.
• Jan 14- The CIA-sponsored Robertson Panel first meets to discuss the UFO phenomenon
• Jan 20- Dwight Eisenhower is sworn in as the 34th President and Richard Nixon as the 36th Vice-President
• Mar 19- For the first time the 25th Academy Awards is televised. The Greatest Show on Earth wins Best Picture
• May 11- 114 are killed after an F5 tornado hits the downtown section of Waco, Tx.
• June 19- Julius and Ethel Rosenberg are executed at Sing Sing Prison in New York for conspiracy to commit espionage
• Jul 27- The Korean War ends as the US, the People's Republic of China, North Korea and South Korea sign an armistice agreement.
• Aug 19- The CIA helps overthrow the democratic government in Iran and retain Shah Mohammad Rez Pahlavi on the throne.
• Sep 12- US Senator John F. Kennedy marries Jacqueline Bouvier in Rhode Island.
• Oct 5- Eisenhower appoints Earl Warren as Chief Justice of the United States.
• Oct 10- The US and the Republic of Korea sign a mutual defense treaty.
• Oct 30- Eisenhower formally approves a top secret document which states the US arsenal of nuclear weapons must be maintained and expanded to counter the communist threat.