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ayaghmour2 · 02-01-2025, 05:48 PM

NOVEMBER 12, 1962

HOUSTON THINKING PLAYOFFS IN AFA
Late Comeback Improves Second Year Team to 5-4

With five games remaining the Houston Drillers are suddenly thinking the playoffs might just be a possibility after the second year American Football Association club improved its record to 5-4 with a thrilling last second 25-24 victory over the Los Angeles Tigers yesterday. The Drillers are still a game and a half back of the second place Chicago Wildcats and two behind the West Division leading St. Louis Ramblers but with one more game remaining against each of those clubs their dream of shocking the football establishment and bringing a sophomore squad into the post-season remains very much alive. Not bad for a team that went 3-11 a year ago and was dead last in points scored.

The offense has still struggled at times this season but the emergence of former Chicago Wildcats quarterback Miller Bogert and how he has combined with second year end Randy Renbarger for 29 catches has added a dimension to the offense that was not there in year one of the franchise. The Houston defense is also much improved this time around.

Against Los Angeles yesterday the Drillers had all kinds of trouble in the early going despite being gifted a quick field goal after Tigers back Dick Drum fumbled the ball away on the first play from scrimmage. A pair of long Garrett Bird to John Wilton touchdown passes helped the visitors jump to a 17-3 lead after fifteen minutes but Houston cut the deficit to 17-9 at the half thanks to two more Craig Oates field goals.

The Rams duo of Bird and Wilton did more damage in the third quarter, combining on another scoring play to put the Tigers up 24-12. A year ago the Drillers would have wilted at that point but this time around quarterback Bogert led them on three scoring drives including moving the ball 44 yards in the final 91 seconds to set up Oates' desperation game winning 47-yard field goal as time expired. The ball barely made it over the bar but had just enough steam to give Houston the one point victory. Now to see if the Drillers, who end their season with games in St Louis and Chicago -the two teams they are chasing- have enough steam to reach the playoffs.

*** Stars Scrape By, Barely ***

The New York football Stars have not looked like the two-time defending champions they were over the last four weeks. Two losses, ending a 17-game winning streak, were followed by a better a showing in Cleveland last week but yesterday's back half of the home and home series with the Finches had Gothams Stadium fans booing the club at half time. New York trailed the 2-6 Finches 10-3 at the break and the catcalls only got louder when the Finches extended that lead to 10 points in the third quarter before the Stars finally decided to shine. A 13-point fourth period that was aided by a Cleveland fumble deep in its own territory allowed New York to salvage a 16-13 victory despite another awful game from Stars quarterback Harris Kummer. The inconsistent Kummer replaced the injured Orlin Youngs under center in late September and despite Youngs being back in the lineup he has remained the starter. Kummer fumbled once and threw three interceptions in the opening 30:15 of yesterdays game, nearly costing the Stars a vital victory. In the three losses, all started by Kummer, the 1960 fifth rounder out of Miami State has thrown 6 interceptions and not a single touchdown pass.

The Stars do have some breathing room for their hold on a playoff spot as they are now two full games ahead of third place Philadelphia after the Frigates were upset 23-9 at home by Pittsburgh. Boston remains atop the East, a game ahead of New York, after the Americans ran their record to an AFA best 8-1 with a 22-13 victory over Buffalo. Kevin Sova ran for 108 yards to push him over the 1,000 yard rushing mark for the third time in his 10-year career with the Yanks.

St. Louis remains a half game up on Chicago atop the West Division. The Ramblers benefitted from a pair of Jeff Pierini touchdown runs in a 38-30 victory over Detroit while the Wildcats had some struggles but did manage to beat the league's worst team, 1-8 Washington, 16-10. The final game on the Sunday docket saw the San Francisco Wings, keyed by Paul Roy's 158 yards on the ground, knocked off the Kansas City Cowboys 29-15 in a meeting of the former Continental Football Conference foes.

NEW YEARS CLASSIC PICTURE COMING INTO FOCUS

With just one more weekend of collegiate football, along with a few stragglers including the annual Rome State-Annapolis Maritime clash set for the following weekend, the key New Years matchups are starting to take shape.

The oldest new years game of them all, the East-West Classic which traces its origin back to 1916 when Travis College beat Ellery 14-0, still has some question marks remaining but it looks like the Central Ohio Aviators will head to Santa Ana for the third time in the past five years. Spencer Carr threw a pair of touchdown passes to help the Aviators fly past St. Ignatius 38-13. All that stands in the way of the 5th ranked 8-1 Central Ohio squad is a trip to the Motor City next weekend for their annual clash with Detroit City College. It has been a down year for the Knights, who dipped to 3-6 overall with 24-17 loss on the road against Lincoln on Saturday, but they are always up for ruining Central Ohio's season. DCC has won four of the last five meetings between the schools. Even if Central Ohio loses they should get the nod over Western Iowa as the best the Canaries can do is finish tied with the Aviators at 6-1 in section play and Central Ohio beat Western Iowa early in the season.

An ape-sized monkey wrench got thrown into the other half of the East-West Classic as Coastal California was surprised 26-9 by Redwood on Saturday. That leaves the Dolphins and Lane State tied with 5-1 section records atop the West Coast Athletic Association. Both schools wrap up their section schedule with rivalry games next week as the Emeralds host Portland Tech while the Dolphins travel across town to face CC Los Angeles. If both win or both lose it will come down to conference presidents to determine who will represent the conference as they did not face each other this season.

The other highly anticipated classic game is the annual showdown in Houston which almost always involves the champions of the Southwestern Alliance and the Deep South Conference. This year it quite likely will determine the national champion as well since it appears the SWA champ will be number one ranked and 9-0 Lubbock State Hawks while the third ranked and 8-1 Mississippi A&M Generals control their own fate in the Deep South. The Hawks have a tough task ahead next weekend as they wrap up against 17th ranked Travis College with the winner going to the Oilman Classic. A&M faces Western Florida in their finale and with wins over both Cumberland and Georgia Baptist- the two schools within a game of them in conference play- should be assured their first conference title since 1948.

In other games of note over the weekend St. Pancras held on to the number two ranking and finished its season with a perfect 10-0 record after edging St Blane 27-25. The Lions were forced to play most of the game without senior quarterback Ray Leathers, who was knocked out of the game in the second quarter but not before he combined with Steve Wilson on a 76-yard touchdown pass that put St. Pancras up 14-0 early in the game. With 28 of them, Leathers -a four year starter- owns the Lions career touchdown pass record. He will be sidelined a couple of weeks but assuming that St. Pancras accept a classic invite Leathers is expected to be healthy for that game.

Eastern Oklahoma wrapped up the Midwestern Association title with a 27-10 win over Ferguson on the road in Houston. It is the Pioneers third conference title since 1957 and they look to do something they could not accomplish each of the two previous conference winning years - finish an undefeated season. The Pioneers went 10-1 in both 1957 and 1959. This year they are 9-0 and set to face Rome State in their season finale next week before likely heading to the Sunshine Classic in Miami for New Years. In 1959 Eastern Oklahoma was 10-0 entering the Sunshine Classic but fell 26-23 to Daniel Boone College, denying the school what could have been its first national title in any of the three major team sports.

Rome State has had its struggles this season but the Centurions did improve to 5-3 with a 37-10 victory over Wisconsin Catholic on Saturday. In addition to Eastern Oklahoma next weekend the Centurions play Annapolis Maritime in Philadelphia in two weeks. The Navigators fell 19-7 to Boston State and own a 3-5 record.

Cumberland bounced back from the loss to Mississippi A&M two weeks ago that all but ended the Explorers national championship hopes. They improved to 8-1 and are likely off to New Orleans for the Cajun Classic after beating Bluegrass State 21-16 on Saturday. Georgia Baptist may have something to say about the trip to Louisiana for New Years as the Gators are 7-2 following a 36-17 romp over Central Kentucky but they have a road game against rival Noble Jones College (6-3) to wrap up their season this coming Saturday.

Chesapeake State clinched the loosely aligned group of Atlantic schools that separated from the South Atlantic Conference a decade ago. The Clippers are 8-1 and ranked 9th after winning a showdown for the conference title with Alexandria by a wider than expected 31-10 margin. Mile High State is 8-1 and ranked 7th after the Falcons clinched the Rocky Mountain Athletic Alliance with a 70-0 lambasting of winless Colorado Poly. George Fox University climbed into the top twenty and clinched the Academia Alliance section title with a 27-14 victory over Sadler. The Plains Athletic Association title will be on the line Saturday when Eastern Kansas host Lawrence State. Both schools are 4-1 in section play and each is ranked in the top twenty.

AIAA FOOTBALL WEEKEND RESULTS
Maryland State Bengals 27, Cowpens State Fighting Green 13
Charleston Tech Admirals 37, Columbia Military Academy Cadets 24
North Carolina Tech Techsters 25, Coastal State Eagles 22
Eastern State Monitors 24, Carolina Poly Cardinals 19
Grafton Scholars 6, Ellery Bruins 3
Pierpont Purple 20, Dickson Maroons 17
George Fox Reds 27, Sadler Bluecoats 14
Brunswick Knights 31, Henry Hudson Explorers 28
Utah A_M Aggies 20, Custer College Cavalry 7
Mile High State Falcons 70, Colorado Poly Redbirds 0
South Valley State Roadrunners 14, Wyoming A_I Prospectors 12
Provo Tech Lions 34, Cache Valley Cowboys 13
Valley State Gunslingers 41, Canyon A_M Armadillos 27
Tempe College Titans 24, Texas Panhandle Cowboys 6
El Paso Methodist Bandits 41, Abilene Baptist Chaparrals 3
Daniel Boone College Frontiersmen 48, Boulder State Grizzlies 17
College of Omaha Raiders 17, Iowa A_M Bulls 12
Lawrence State Chippewa 28, Oklahoma City State Wranglers 16
Lubbock State Hawks 33, Red River State Rowdies 13
Texas Gulf Coast Hurricanes 30, Arkansas A_T Badgers 7
Amarillo Methodist Grizzlies 20, Darnell State Legislators 14
Lincoln Presidents 24, Detroit City College Knights 17
Wisconsin State Brewers 16, Indiana A_M Reapers 9
Minnesota Tech Lakers 13, Whitney College Engineers 7
Central Ohio Aviators 38, St Ignatius Lancers 13
Western Iowa Canaries 23, St Magnus Vikings 20
CC Los Angeles Coyotes 23, Rainier College Majestics 13
Spokane State Indians 43, Idaho A_M Pirates 7
Redwood Mammoths 26, Coastal California Dolphins 9
Northern California Miners 27, Portland Tech Magpies 14
Eastern Oklahoma Pioneers 27, Ferguson Wildcats 10
Payne State Mavericks 45, Topeka State Braves 7
Bayou State Cougars 20, Western Florida Wolves 13
Alabama Baptist Panthers 52, Baton Rouge State Red Devils 9
Georgia Baptist Gators 36, Central Kentucky Tigers 17
Mississippi A_M Generals 45, Northern Mississippi Mavericks 7
Opelika State Wildcats 29, Noble Jones College Colonels 22
Cumberland Explorers 21, Bluegrass State Mustangs 16
Potomac College Pelicans 28, Richmond State Colonials 7
Huntington State Miners 24, Petersburg Patriots 10
Chesapeake State Clippers 31, Alexandria Generals 10
Mobile Maritime Middies 29, Bulein Hornets 13
American Atlantic Pelicans 37, Central Carolina Lions 31
Rome State Centurions 37, Wisconsin Catholic Cavaliers 10
Boston State Pirates 19, Annapolis Maritime Navigators 7
St Pancras Lions 27, St Blane Fighting Saints 25
College of Waco Cowboys 27, St Patrick's Shamrocks 6
Minns College Mavericks 33, Cleveland Tigers 3
Penn Catholic Crusaders 27, Commonwealth Catholic Knights 24
Chicago Poly Catamounts 29, Pittsburgh State Finches 9
Eastern Kansas Warriors 36, Lambert College Stags 7
Lane State Emeralds 20, College of San Diego Friars 13
Travis College Bucks 26, Miami State Gulls 7
Queen City Monarchs 31, Northern Minnesota Muskies 24

BEES ARE BUZZING

Don't look now but the hottest team in the NAHC is suddenly the Boston Bees. That's right! The same Bees team that started the season with five straight losses has more than turned the corner. The Bees have done a full 180 are suddenly on a roll, with three straight wins last week to extend their unbeaten streak to six games.

Boston started the week by rallying with two unanswered goals in the final 13 minutes of Wednesday's game in Chicago, allowing them to nip the front-running Packers 5-4. On Saturday in the friendly confines of Denny Arena, Jimmy Rucks scored twice to pace the Bees to a 3-2 win over Detroit and last night was the Jake Stockman show as the Bees veteran winger scored three times and added an assist in a 6-4 win on home ice over the Montreal Valiants. Stockman was a very unlikely scoring star as he now has 5 goals in 11 games, equaling his output in 67 outings a year ago.

Despite the sudden turnaround the Bees are still mired in fifth place but they are just 3 points out of a tie for second. While things have been going well of late for Boston, the Montreal Valiants are heading in the opposite direction. The Vals were unbeaten in their first seven games and sitting in first place but since then they have won just once in their last seven contests and are in the midst of a three game losing streak.

NAHC RESULTS FROM LAST WEEK
WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 7

Boston 5 at Chicago 4: Things are suddenly looking up for the Bees, who are now unbeaten in five games after a 5-4 victory in the Windy City. Defenseman David Bertrand scored twice and added an assist for the Bees while Neil Wilson also enjoyed a three point evening.

Toronto 4 at New York 1: Charles Brochu cored twice in the third period as the Toronto Dukes down struggling New York 4-1. The Shamrocks have won just once all season and are winless in their last six.

THURSDAY NOVEMBER 8

Detroit 3 at Montreal 1: After a scoreless first period the visiting Detroit Motors put three pucks past Tim Burrows in the middle frame and dumped Montreal 3-1 while outshooting the Vals 43-23. Alex Guindon, Robert Ling and Benny Barrell handled the scoring for Detroit while Roy Forgeron broke Sebastien Goulet's shutout bid midway through the third period.

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 10

Detroit 2 at Boston 3: Another win for the suddenly hot Bees as Jimmy Rucks second of the game, midway through the second period, stood up as the game winner. The two clubs alternated scoring in an opening frame that ended 2-2 with Alex Monette and Hobie Barrell scoring for Detroit while Rucks and Neil Wilson were the Boston marksmen.

Chicago 4 at Montreal 2: The Vals slide continued as Jocko Gregg scored twice for Montreal, but it was not enough as the Packers doubled their hosts 4-2. Ken York, with his league leading 11th of the season, Pete Bernier, John Lucas and Tommy Gordon handled the scoring for Chicago.

New York 3 at Toronto 7: A wild third period at Dominion Gardens as the Toronto Dukes beat Alex Sorrell five times to rally for a 7-3 victory over the Shamrocks. Quinton Pollack and Ben Kanter each had a goal and three assists for the winners while rookie Hank Knackstedt enjoyed his first career two goal game and added a pair of helpers for good measure.

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 11

Montreal 4 at Boston 6 :As talked about in the main article this week it was game between two teams heading in opposite directions of late. The Bees beat Montreal 6-4 and are now unbeaten in six while Montreal has lost each of its last three contests. Jake Stockman had the hat trick and an assist for Boston while Montreal's Scott Ducek also had a productive night, scoring once and assisting on each of the Valiants other three goals.

Toronto 4 at Chicago 4: A thriller at Lakeside Auditorium as Toronto and Chicago skated to a 4-4 draw. Goals by Mike Homfray, Mark Milot and Danny Connaughton helped the Packers take a 3-1 lead after twenty minutes but Toronto got one back late in the second when Tim Brooks found the back of the net. That gave the Dukes momentum to start the third and it took just forty-two seconds for Toronto to take the lead on quick goals from Andrew Williams and Brooks with his second of the game. The Packers earned the tie thanks to Randy Katic's third of the season just over eight minutes later.

Detroit 4 at New York 0: There have only been two shutouts in the NAHC so far this season and both were perpetrated by Detroit goaltenders against the Shamrocks. Charlie Dell blanked the Greenshirts in the season opener and on this night it was Sebastien Goulet making 24 saves in a 4-0 Detroit victory. Hobie Barrell, with his team high eighth goal of the season, Charles Beauregard, Alex Guindon and Colin MacMillan scored for the Motors, who are now in a 3-way tie with Toronto and Montreal for second place - two points back of Chicago.

UPCOMING GAMES
WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 14
Detroit at Chicago
Boston at New York
Montreal at Toronto

SATURDAY NOVEMBER 17
Chicago at New York
Detroit at Toronto

SUNDAY NOVEMBER 18
Detroit at Boston
Montreal at Chicago
Toronto at New York

Dukes Run Undefeated Streak To 4, Move Into Third

After uninspired performances two weeks ago when Coach Bear publicly called out the team the Dukes seem to have received the coach's message. The Dukes won 2 against the Shamrocks then fought the new NAHC leaders to a draw in Chicago. Beginning Wednesday in Bigsby Gardens the Dukes dropped the puck before a smallish mid-week crowd.

The first 20 was a wide open affair, surprising as the Shamrocks usually try to the games tight due to their lack of scoring punch, Dukes had 15 shots on Sorrell while Connelly made 10 saves, The only goal of the period was off the stick of Owen Green, his third, from Brochu and Poulin on the power play at 6:36. The Shamrocks turned the second period into their style of play, tight checking with little time or space for the any Duke who possessed the disc. The score remained 1-0 after 40 minutes. In the final frame Toronto tried to breakout up the middle rather than along the boards which seem to catch NY defenders off guard. Before they adjusted the Dukes had a lead of 4-0 on a man advantage goal by Knackstedt followed by two off Charles Brochu's stick who had a 3 point game. Toronto then tried to protect Connelly's shutout. It was to no avail, Chis Lafontaine 5th of the season spoiled the whitewash bid with just over 3 minutes to play.

The same two teams suited up in the Gardens on Saturday night. There was a little more edge to the game with bodies flying all over the ice. Knackstedt continued his recent hot play opening the scoring at 8:54 while up a man. The lead lasted just over 2 minutes, Mitch Parsons knotted the score at 1 with Cody MacLeod watching from the penalty box. The Shamrocks controlled the play for a large part of the middle frame. To shock of the 14091 on hand the visitors went up 3-1 on goals by Corb Maybury, Wayne Lancien with less than 5 minutes to play in the second. A slashing minor to Alex Kalmakoff at 17:16 turned the tide of the game. Kantner capitalized quickly setup by Knackstedt, Pollack. NY left the ice up 3-2 with 20 minutes to play. Shamrocks got hit by a tidal wave of goals as Pollack, Green, Knackstedt, MacDonald turned a one goal deficit into a three goal lead before the third was four minutes old. MacDonald added another goal against a dispirited squad to make the final 7-2.

After another Saturday overnight train trip the Dukes dropped the puck in Lakeside Auditorium before a raucous crowd of almost 16000. Packers have been hot of late taking over first place from the suddenly slumping Vals of Montreal. The train trip did not seem to bother Cody Macleod who beat Dick Crane who misjudged an innocent looking shot early in the first. Penalties gave the Packers an opportunity, Mark Homfay tied the game with Knackstedt off for interference then went up one less than a half minute later on a goal by Mark Milot with Pollack off for the same infraction. Danny Connaugton completed a nightmarish 53 seconds when he made it 3-1 at 14:49. Brett though the top of Ari Bear's head was going to come off after the third goal. The game settled into a up and down ice game with few high danger scoring chances until Tim Brooks halved the Packers lead with 104 seconds left in the second period. Toronto turned the tables on Chicago with a little of the own medicine by scoring twice in the first minute of the third. Andrew Williams scored 30 seconds into the period then Tim Brook's second of the game gave the Dukes a 4-3 lead 12 seconds later silencing the crowd. Both teams were very conservative in their play for the remainder of the game. Randy Katic was able to salvage a point for the Packers when he found the back of net at 8:54. Teams left the ice with both garnering a single point.

Coach Bear- "We are playing well although we still have periods when we are running around that cost us in a major way. We really have to tighten up defensively, the goaltenders are facing far too much rubber. We have only two home games this week so we can work a little details of our system."

Full Court Press: November 5-11, 1962

The 1962-63 season is off and running and while I preface this by saying it is early, there is no denying a couple of things:

The Detroit Mustangs are the Class of the League: The Mustangs started the season 4-0 before winning two of three this past week to stand at 6-1, three full games ahead of second-place Chicago in the Western Division. This week, Toronto snapped the Mustangs perfect start with a 109-98 win, but Detroit avenged the defeat with two home wins against the Falcons later in the week, 93-81 and 80-65, to push its home record to 4-0 on the young season. Erv Corwin led the Mustangs to both wins, scoring 26 points and adding 10 rebounds in the first victory, while the shooting guard poured in 22 and 17 in the second win. Corwin is averaging 22.7 points to hold a paper-thin lead in the scoring race with Bill Melton of the Rockets only a tenth of a point behind.
The Washington Statesmen are Relevant Again: After being crowned the Team of the Decade in the 1950s and winning its most recent title in 1958-59, the Statesmen have not qualified for the playoffs in two of the last three years and have not won a game in the postseason since that Finals win against Detroit. Washington has started 4-2 after an 0-6 preseason. Four of the games have been against Philadelphia and the Phantoms are responsible for both losses. In a two-game set in Philadephia, Jim Stofer put up a goose egg in the 79-66 loss, as he was 0-for-8 in 43 minutes, but he rebounded to score 16 in the 91-81 win on the back end. Ron Davies led the way for Washington in the win with 20 points, going 8-for-8 at the free throw line, as the team went 19-for-20 from the charity stripe.
Luther Gordon has Disappeared: All-Time great Luther Gordon is on the Chicago Panthers roster for the 13th season, but he has not appeared in any of the Panthers first five games. The 2-3 Panthers have kept Gordon firmly attached to the bench, but they may want to see what Gordon still has in the tank. Gordon, the 11-time All-Star with seven scoring titles and five MVP awards on his resume, has a career scoring average of 21.7 points, but his game has slipped over the last two seasons, averaging a career-low 16.4 points last season. Perhaps starting every game over the last two years has taken a toll on his body, but he still made the All-League Second Team and All-Defensive Second Team. For a player with exactly 300 Player of the Game awards in his 793 league appearances, he might have more to give.

SWEET CAROLINA!
Carolina Poly and NC Tech Top College Cage Poll

The first collegiate basketball poll of the season has a decided slant towards the South Atlantic Conference and more precisely the state of North Carolina. The Carolina Poly Cardinals, winners of six national tournament titles including three in the past nine years, are the top ranked team in the preseason poll with their long-time rivals North Carolina Tech coming in at number two. The collegiate cage season tips off this week.

Carolina Poly did lose a pair of starters to graduation but their returnees including All-South Atlantic Conference guard Bob Bucher, a junior, and second team All-SAC selection Dooley Bessette. The Cardinals were knocked out in the second round of the AIAA tournament a year ago.

Fans in Raleigh are suggesting this might be the Techsters year as North Carolina Tech returns all five starters from last seasons team that qualified for the AIAA tournament but was knocked out by Central Ohio in the opening round. Included in the returnees is All-SAC first team center Earl Arsenault who may be a candidate for All-American status as a senior. The Techsters have won the national tournament four times including three years in a row in the early 1920s but are on a championship drought that stretches back to 1933 when they famously met Carolina Poly in the title game and won 30-24.

Rounding out the top five are a pair of Great Lakes Alliance schools in Indiana A&M and Central Ohio as well as Rainier College from the West Coast Athletic Association. Adding to the high hopes for the South Atlantic Conference are Maryland State and defending conference champion Charleston Tech as both the Bengals and Admirals are ranked in the top ten.

RECENT KEY RESULTS

Harry Pratt, who had a brief twirl as the heavyweight champion before losing to Walt Phillips in July, returned to the ring for the first time since that defeat. The 27-year-old knocked out Louie Doyle in the first round of their bout in Santa Ana, CA. to run Pratt's record to 30-5.
Norm Robinson, one of the top heavyweight contenders, knocked out Artie Wilson in the 5th round of their bout slated for ten in Detroit last week. The 27-year-old Los Angeles native was a perfect 26-0 when he got a title shot against George Galleshaw in October of 1960. Galleshaw beat Robinson by a TKO and Robinson would also lose his next outing - falling on points to Bert Parks. However, since then he has won three straight, all by knockout and at 29-2 is likely not far off from getting another shot at the title.
25-year-old Rudy Bentley scored a 9th round TKO over Tim Larsen in Atlanta last week. Bentley, a Dallas native, is 25-9-2 after the win.

The baseball world is mostly quiet as teams are focused on the draft, but teams are still looking to trade. Washington has announced they are looking for a center fielder. After moving on from Chief Lewis (.247, 14, 62, 11), the expectation is that utility man Al Marino (.226, 8, 42) would get most of the time in center. A natural shortstop, the 24-year-old has appeared in 115 or more games in each of his four FABL seasons. Most of his appearances and starts came at short in 1962, but he played a fair amount of left and center with a few games in the corner infield.
On the flip side, the Chiefs are looking to sell and get younger. No center fielder option, but both ace Vern Osborne (13-11, 5.30, 126) and 6-Time All-Star second basemen Irv Clifford (.279, 66) were mentioned by name among the veterans available.
When reached for comment, Chiefs' assistant GM was quoted saying that while they'd consider moving most players, but franchise cornerstones Ed Bloom (.284, 12, 53, 10) and Rod Shearer (.305, 20, 88, 13) are untouchably. "Both Ed and Rod are great ambassadors for the club, and we fully intend for them to finish off their historic careers in Chicago.
TWIFS head baseball columnist Archie Irwin fully intends to vote both into the Hall-of-Fame once they call it quits, and imagines they will get plenty of support from the rest of the league, pointing to their placement on the team's leaderboard. Both have claims to the best hitter in team history, with Bloom the career OBP leader (.431) and Shearer the top slugger (.547). They're all over the lists, both top 10 in OPS (Shearer: 1st, .925; Bloom: 3rd, .876), WAR (1st: Shearer, 78.5; 4th: Bloom, 6.73), games (4th: Bloom, 1,895; 8th: Shearer, 1,755), runs (Bloom: 2nd, 1,314; Shearer: 5th, 1,200), hits (Bloom: 7th, 2,003; Shearer: 8th, 1933), doubles (Bloom: 5th, 370; Shearer: 6th, 309), triples (Shearer: 5th, 104; Bloom: 6th, 101), homers (Shearer: 1st, 388; Bloom: 7th, 138), RBIs (Shearer: 1st, 1,435; Bloom: 7th, 824), and walks (Bloom: 1st, 1,558; Shearer: 3rd, 849).
Neither owns a FABL record, but Bloom ranks 6th All-Time. He drew 101 walks to lead the Fed, completing his 12th consecutive season with more then 100. 35 in February, two 100 walk seasons would put him at 1,758, 11 behind Dick Walker (1,769) for second. Max Morris (1,772) is three more, giving Bloom a legitimate chance to set and shatter the FABL record.

The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 11/11/1962

India has asked the United States for planes to aid in their border war with Red China. The planes would be part of the arms aid America is giving India's efforts to expel the Chinese Communist invaders from the Himalayan borderlands they have seized. India has hostilities escalated over the weekend.
President Kennedy spent much of the weekend reviewing negotiation plans in the Cuban crisis with his chief advisors and negotiators. The meetings, conducted under a cloak of secrecy, included the three-man team responsible for carrying on negotiations with Soviet representatives at the United Nations in New York.
The United Nations Congo Command is threatening action against secessionist Katanga's Air Force after reports of bombings over the weekend.
The British defense minister says that his country will carry out an underground nuclear weapons test in the near future. He called the test something that was "required for essential military purposes."
A televised appearance of Alger Hiss on a program entitled "The Political Obituary of Richard Nixon" was met with a flood of phoned and telegraphed protests, cancellation of the program by several ABC stations and picketing of network studios. Nixon, who lost his battle for Governor of California last week to incumbent Pat Brown, did not comment but his press secretary said the program "set a new low in undistinguished reporting."
Typhon Karen -described as the worst tropical storm in Guam's history- left one person dead, injured hundreds and caused an estimated $100 million in damage.
The world she tried so unceasingly to better said good bye to Eleanor Roosevelt last week, as the widow of former President Franklin D. Roosevelt, passed away and was buried in grave beside that of her husband.

02-01-2025, 05:48 PM	#1070
ayaghmour2 Hall Of Famer Join Date: Mar 2018 Posts: 3,010	November 12th, 1962 NOVEMBER 12, 1962 HOUSTON THINKING PLAYOFFS IN AFA Late Comeback Improves Second Year Team to 5-4 With five games remaining the Houston Drillers are suddenly thinking the playoffs might just be a possibility after the second year American Football Association club improved its record to 5-4 with a thrilling last second 25-24 victory over the Los Angeles Tigers yesterday. The Drillers are still a game and a half back of the second place Chicago Wildcats and two behind the West Division leading St. Louis Ramblers but with one more game remaining against each of those clubs their dream of shocking the football establishment and bringing a sophomore squad into the post-season remains very much alive. Not bad for a team that went 3-11 a year ago and was dead last in points scored. The offense has still struggled at times this season but the emergence of former Chicago Wildcats quarterback Miller Bogert and how he has combined with second year end Randy Renbarger for 29 catches has added a dimension to the offense that was not there in year one of the franchise. The Houston defense is also much improved this time around. Against Los Angeles yesterday the Drillers had all kinds of trouble in the early going despite being gifted a quick field goal after Tigers back Dick Drum fumbled the ball away on the first play from scrimmage. A pair of long Garrett Bird to John Wilton touchdown passes helped the visitors jump to a 17-3 lead after fifteen minutes but Houston cut the deficit to 17-9 at the half thanks to two more Craig Oates field goals. The Rams duo of Bird and Wilton did more damage in the third quarter, combining on another scoring play to put the Tigers up 24-12. A year ago the Drillers would have wilted at that point but this time around quarterback Bogert led them on three scoring drives including moving the ball 44 yards in the final 91 seconds to set up Oates' desperation game winning 47-yard field goal as time expired. The ball barely made it over the bar but had just enough steam to give Houston the one point victory. Now to see if the Drillers, who end their season with games in St Louis and Chicago -the two teams they are chasing- have enough steam to reach the playoffs. * Stars Scrape By, Barely * The New York football Stars have not looked like the two-time defending champions they were over the last four weeks. Two losses, ending a 17-game winning streak, were followed by a better a showing in Cleveland last week but yesterday's back half of the home and home series with the Finches had Gothams Stadium fans booing the club at half time. New York trailed the 2-6 Finches 10-3 at the break and the catcalls only got louder when the Finches extended that lead to 10 points in the third quarter before the Stars finally decided to shine. A 13-point fourth period that was aided by a Cleveland fumble deep in its own territory allowed New York to salvage a 16-13 victory despite another awful game from Stars quarterback Harris Kummer. The inconsistent Kummer replaced the injured Orlin Youngs under center in late September and despite Youngs being back in the lineup he has remained the starter. Kummer fumbled once and threw three interceptions in the opening 30:15 of yesterdays game, nearly costing the Stars a vital victory. In the three losses, all started by Kummer, the 1960 fifth rounder out of Miami State has thrown 6 interceptions and not a single touchdown pass. The Stars do have some breathing room for their hold on a playoff spot as they are now two full games ahead of third place Philadelphia after the Frigates were upset 23-9 at home by Pittsburgh. Boston remains atop the East, a game ahead of New York, after the Americans ran their record to an AFA best 8-1 with a 22-13 victory over Buffalo. Kevin Sova ran for 108 yards to push him over the 1,000 yard rushing mark for the third time in his 10-year career with the Yanks. St. Louis remains a half game up on Chicago atop the West Division. The Ramblers benefitted from a pair of Jeff Pierini touchdown runs in a 38-30 victory over Detroit while the Wildcats had some struggles but did manage to beat the league's worst team, 1-8 Washington, 16-10. The final game on the Sunday docket saw the San Francisco Wings, keyed by Paul Roy's 158 yards on the ground, knocked off the Kansas City Cowboys 29-15 in a meeting of the former Continental Football Conference foes. NEW YEARS CLASSIC PICTURE COMING INTO FOCUS With just one more weekend of collegiate football, along with a few stragglers including the annual Rome State-Annapolis Maritime clash set for the following weekend, the key New Years matchups are starting to take shape. The oldest new years game of them all, the East-West Classic which traces its origin back to 1916 when Travis College beat Ellery 14-0, still has some question marks remaining but it looks like the Central Ohio Aviators will head to Santa Ana for the third time in the past five years. Spencer Carr threw a pair of touchdown passes to help the Aviators fly past St. Ignatius 38-13. All that stands in the way of the 5th ranked 8-1 Central Ohio squad is a trip to the Motor City next weekend for their annual clash with Detroit City College. It has been a down year for the Knights, who dipped to 3-6 overall with 24-17 loss on the road against Lincoln on Saturday, but they are always up for ruining Central Ohio's season. DCC has won four of the last five meetings between the schools. Even if Central Ohio loses they should get the nod over Western Iowa as the best the Canaries can do is finish tied with the Aviators at 6-1 in section play and Central Ohio beat Western Iowa early in the season. An ape-sized monkey wrench got thrown into the other half of the East-West Classic as Coastal California was surprised 26-9 by Redwood on Saturday. That leaves the Dolphins and Lane State tied with 5-1 section records atop the West Coast Athletic Association. Both schools wrap up their section schedule with rivalry games next week as the Emeralds host Portland Tech while the Dolphins travel across town to face CC Los Angeles. If both win or both lose it will come down to conference presidents to determine who will represent the conference as they did not face each other this season. The other highly anticipated classic game is the annual showdown in Houston which almost always involves the champions of the Southwestern Alliance and the Deep South Conference. This year it quite likely will determine the national champion as well since it appears the SWA champ will be number one ranked and 9-0 Lubbock State Hawks while the third ranked and 8-1 Mississippi A&M Generals control their own fate in the Deep South. The Hawks have a tough task ahead next weekend as they wrap up against 17th ranked Travis College with the winner going to the Oilman Classic. A&M faces Western Florida in their finale and with wins over both Cumberland and Georgia Baptist- the two schools within a game of them in conference play- should be assured their first conference title since 1948. In other games of note over the weekend St. Pancras held on to the number two ranking and finished its season with a perfect 10-0 record after edging St Blane 27-25. The Lions were forced to play most of the game without senior quarterback Ray Leathers, who was knocked out of the game in the second quarter but not before he combined with Steve Wilson on a 76-yard touchdown pass that put St. Pancras up 14-0 early in the game. With 28 of them, Leathers -a four year starter- owns the Lions career touchdown pass record. He will be sidelined a couple of weeks but assuming that St. Pancras accept a classic invite Leathers is expected to be healthy for that game. Eastern Oklahoma wrapped up the Midwestern Association title with a 27-10 win over Ferguson on the road in Houston. It is the Pioneers third conference title since 1957 and they look to do something they could not accomplish each of the two previous conference winning years - finish an undefeated season. The Pioneers went 10-1 in both 1957 and 1959. This year they are 9-0 and set to face Rome State in their season finale next week before likely heading to the Sunshine Classic in Miami for New Years. In 1959 Eastern Oklahoma was 10-0 entering the Sunshine Classic but fell 26-23 to Daniel Boone College, denying the school what could have been its first national title in any of the three major team sports. Rome State has had its struggles this season but the Centurions did improve to 5-3 with a 37-10 victory over Wisconsin Catholic on Saturday. In addition to Eastern Oklahoma next weekend the Centurions play Annapolis Maritime in Philadelphia in two weeks. The Navigators fell 19-7 to Boston State and own a 3-5 record. Cumberland bounced back from the loss to Mississippi A&M two weeks ago that all but ended the Explorers national championship hopes. They improved to 8-1 and are likely off to New Orleans for the Cajun Classic after beating Bluegrass State 21-16 on Saturday. Georgia Baptist may have something to say about the trip to Louisiana for New Years as the Gators are 7-2 following a 36-17 romp over Central Kentucky but they have a road game against rival Noble Jones College (6-3) to wrap up their season this coming Saturday. Chesapeake State clinched the loosely aligned group of Atlantic schools that separated from the South Atlantic Conference a decade ago. The Clippers are 8-1 and ranked 9th after winning a showdown for the conference title with Alexandria by a wider than expected 31-10 margin. Mile High State is 8-1 and ranked 7th after the Falcons clinched the Rocky Mountain Athletic Alliance with a 70-0 lambasting of winless Colorado Poly. George Fox University climbed into the top twenty and clinched the Academia Alliance section title with a 27-14 victory over Sadler. The Plains Athletic Association title will be on the line Saturday when Eastern Kansas host Lawrence State. Both schools are 4-1 in section play and each is ranked in the top twenty. AIAA FOOTBALL WEEKEND RESULTS Maryland State Bengals 27, Cowpens State Fighting Green 13 Charleston Tech Admirals 37, Columbia Military Academy Cadets 24 North Carolina Tech Techsters 25, Coastal State Eagles 22 Eastern State Monitors 24, Carolina Poly Cardinals 19 Grafton Scholars 6, Ellery Bruins 3 Pierpont Purple 20, Dickson Maroons 17 George Fox Reds 27, Sadler Bluecoats 14 Brunswick Knights 31, Henry Hudson Explorers 28 Utah A_M Aggies 20, Custer College Cavalry 7 Mile High State Falcons 70, Colorado Poly Redbirds 0 South Valley State Roadrunners 14, Wyoming A_I Prospectors 12 Provo Tech Lions 34, Cache Valley Cowboys 13 Valley State Gunslingers 41, Canyon A_M Armadillos 27 Tempe College Titans 24, Texas Panhandle Cowboys 6 El Paso Methodist Bandits 41, Abilene Baptist Chaparrals 3 Daniel Boone College Frontiersmen 48, Boulder State Grizzlies 17 College of Omaha Raiders 17, Iowa A_M Bulls 12 Lawrence State Chippewa 28, Oklahoma City State Wranglers 16 Lubbock State Hawks 33, Red River State Rowdies 13 Texas Gulf Coast Hurricanes 30, Arkansas A_T Badgers 7 Amarillo Methodist Grizzlies 20, Darnell State Legislators 14 Lincoln Presidents 24, Detroit City College Knights 17 Wisconsin State Brewers 16, Indiana A_M Reapers 9 Minnesota Tech Lakers 13, Whitney College Engineers 7 Central Ohio Aviators 38, St Ignatius Lancers 13 Western Iowa Canaries 23, St Magnus Vikings 20 CC Los Angeles Coyotes 23, Rainier College Majestics 13 Spokane State Indians 43, Idaho A_M Pirates 7 Redwood Mammoths 26, Coastal California Dolphins 9 Northern California Miners 27, Portland Tech Magpies 14 Eastern Oklahoma Pioneers 27, Ferguson Wildcats 10 Payne State Mavericks 45, Topeka State Braves 7 Bayou State Cougars 20, Western Florida Wolves 13 Alabama Baptist Panthers 52, Baton Rouge State Red Devils 9 Georgia Baptist Gators 36, Central Kentucky Tigers 17 Mississippi A_M Generals 45, Northern Mississippi Mavericks 7 Opelika State Wildcats 29, Noble Jones College Colonels 22 Cumberland Explorers 21, Bluegrass State Mustangs 16 Potomac College Pelicans 28, Richmond State Colonials 7 Huntington State Miners 24, Petersburg Patriots 10 Chesapeake State Clippers 31, Alexandria Generals 10 Mobile Maritime Middies 29, Bulein Hornets 13 American Atlantic Pelicans 37, Central Carolina Lions 31 Rome State Centurions 37, Wisconsin Catholic Cavaliers 10 Boston State Pirates 19, Annapolis Maritime Navigators 7 St Pancras Lions 27, St Blane Fighting Saints 25 College of Waco Cowboys 27, St Patrick's Shamrocks 6 Minns College Mavericks 33, Cleveland Tigers 3 Penn Catholic Crusaders 27, Commonwealth Catholic Knights 24 Chicago Poly Catamounts 29, Pittsburgh State Finches 9 Eastern Kansas Warriors 36, Lambert College Stags 7 Lane State Emeralds 20, College of San Diego Friars 13 Travis College Bucks 26, Miami State Gulls 7 Queen City Monarchs 31, Northern Minnesota Muskies 24 BEES ARE BUZZING Don't look now but the hottest team in the NAHC is suddenly the Boston Bees. That's right! The same Bees team that started the season with five straight losses has more than turned the corner. The Bees have done a full 180 are suddenly on a roll, with three straight wins last week to extend their unbeaten streak to six games. Boston started the week by rallying with two unanswered goals in the final 13 minutes of Wednesday's game in Chicago, allowing them to nip the front-running Packers 5-4. On Saturday in the friendly confines of Denny Arena, Jimmy Rucks scored twice to pace the Bees to a 3-2 win over Detroit and last night was the Jake Stockman show as the Bees veteran winger scored three times and added an assist in a 6-4 win on home ice over the Montreal Valiants. Stockman was a very unlikely scoring star as he now has 5 goals in 11 games, equaling his output in 67 outings a year ago. Despite the sudden turnaround the Bees are still mired in fifth place but they are just 3 points out of a tie for second. While things have been going well of late for Boston, the Montreal Valiants are heading in the opposite direction. The Vals were unbeaten in their first seven games and sitting in first place but since then they have won just once in their last seven contests and are in the midst of a three game losing streak. NAHC RESULTS FROM LAST WEEK WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 7 Boston 5 at Chicago 4: Things are suddenly looking up for the Bees, who are now unbeaten in five games after a 5-4 victory in the Windy City. Defenseman David Bertrand scored twice and added an assist for the Bees while Neil Wilson also enjoyed a three point evening. Toronto 4 at New York 1: Charles Brochu cored twice in the third period as the Toronto Dukes down struggling New York 4-1. The Shamrocks have won just once all season and are winless in their last six. THURSDAY NOVEMBER 8 Detroit 3 at Montreal 1: After a scoreless first period the visiting Detroit Motors put three pucks past Tim Burrows in the middle frame and dumped Montreal 3-1 while outshooting the Vals 43-23. Alex Guindon, Robert Ling and Benny Barrell handled the scoring for Detroit while Roy Forgeron broke Sebastien Goulet's shutout bid midway through the third period. SATURDAY NOVEMBER 10 Detroit 2 at Boston 3: Another win for the suddenly hot Bees as Jimmy Rucks second of the game, midway through the second period, stood up as the game winner. The two clubs alternated scoring in an opening frame that ended 2-2 with Alex Monette and Hobie Barrell scoring for Detroit while Rucks and Neil Wilson were the Boston marksmen. Chicago 4 at Montreal 2: The Vals slide continued as Jocko Gregg scored twice for Montreal, but it was not enough as the Packers doubled their hosts 4-2. Ken York, with his league leading 11th of the season, Pete Bernier, John Lucas and Tommy Gordon handled the scoring for Chicago. New York 3 at Toronto 7: A wild third period at Dominion Gardens as the Toronto Dukes beat Alex Sorrell five times to rally for a 7-3 victory over the Shamrocks. Quinton Pollack and Ben Kanter each had a goal and three assists for the winners while rookie Hank Knackstedt enjoyed his first career two goal game and added a pair of helpers for good measure. SUNDAY NOVEMBER 11 Montreal 4 at Boston 6 :As talked about in the main article this week it was game between two teams heading in opposite directions of late. The Bees beat Montreal 6-4 and are now unbeaten in six while Montreal has lost each of its last three contests. Jake Stockman had the hat trick and an assist for Boston while Montreal's Scott Ducek also had a productive night, scoring once and assisting on each of the Valiants other three goals. Toronto 4 at Chicago 4: A thriller at Lakeside Auditorium as Toronto and Chicago skated to a 4-4 draw. Goals by Mike Homfray, Mark Milot and Danny Connaughton helped the Packers take a 3-1 lead after twenty minutes but Toronto got one back late in the second when Tim Brooks found the back of the net. That gave the Dukes momentum to start the third and it took just forty-two seconds for Toronto to take the lead on quick goals from Andrew Williams and Brooks with his second of the game. The Packers earned the tie thanks to Randy Katic's third of the season just over eight minutes later. Detroit 4 at New York 0: There have only been two shutouts in the NAHC so far this season and both were perpetrated by Detroit goaltenders against the Shamrocks. Charlie Dell blanked the Greenshirts in the season opener and on this night it was Sebastien Goulet making 24 saves in a 4-0 Detroit victory. Hobie Barrell, with his team high eighth goal of the season, Charles Beauregard, Alex Guindon and Colin MacMillan scored for the Motors, who are now in a 3-way tie with Toronto and Montreal for second place - two points back of Chicago. UPCOMING GAMES WEDNESDAY NOVEMBER 14 Detroit at Chicago Boston at New York Montreal at Toronto SATURDAY NOVEMBER 17 Chicago at New York Detroit at Toronto SUNDAY NOVEMBER 18 Detroit at Boston Montreal at Chicago Toronto at New York Dukes Run Undefeated Streak To 4, Move Into Third After uninspired performances two weeks ago when Coach Bear publicly called out the team the Dukes seem to have received the coach's message. The Dukes won 2 against the Shamrocks then fought the new NAHC leaders to a draw in Chicago. Beginning Wednesday in Bigsby Gardens the Dukes dropped the puck before a smallish mid-week crowd. The first 20 was a wide open affair, surprising as the Shamrocks usually try to the games tight due to their lack of scoring punch, Dukes had 15 shots on Sorrell while Connelly made 10 saves, The only goal of the period was off the stick of Owen Green, his third, from Brochu and Poulin on the power play at 6:36. The Shamrocks turned the second period into their style of play, tight checking with little time or space for the any Duke who possessed the disc. The score remained 1-0 after 40 minutes. In the final frame Toronto tried to breakout up the middle rather than along the boards which seem to catch NY defenders off guard. Before they adjusted the Dukes had a lead of 4-0 on a man advantage goal by Knackstedt followed by two off Charles Brochu's stick who had a 3 point game. Toronto then tried to protect Connelly's shutout. It was to no avail, Chis Lafontaine 5th of the season spoiled the whitewash bid with just over 3 minutes to play. The same two teams suited up in the Gardens on Saturday night. There was a little more edge to the game with bodies flying all over the ice. Knackstedt continued his recent hot play opening the scoring at 8:54 while up a man. The lead lasted just over 2 minutes, Mitch Parsons knotted the score at 1 with Cody MacLeod watching from the penalty box. The Shamrocks controlled the play for a large part of the middle frame. To shock of the 14091 on hand the visitors went up 3-1 on goals by Corb Maybury, Wayne Lancien with less than 5 minutes to play in the second. A slashing minor to Alex Kalmakoff at 17:16 turned the tide of the game. Kantner capitalized quickly setup by Knackstedt, Pollack. NY left the ice up 3-2 with 20 minutes to play. Shamrocks got hit by a tidal wave of goals as Pollack, Green, Knackstedt, MacDonald turned a one goal deficit into a three goal lead before the third was four minutes old. MacDonald added another goal against a dispirited squad to make the final 7-2. After another Saturday overnight train trip the Dukes dropped the puck in Lakeside Auditorium before a raucous crowd of almost 16000. Packers have been hot of late taking over first place from the suddenly slumping Vals of Montreal. The train trip did not seem to bother Cody Macleod who beat Dick Crane who misjudged an innocent looking shot early in the first. Penalties gave the Packers an opportunity, Mark Homfay tied the game with Knackstedt off for interference then went up one less than a half minute later on a goal by Mark Milot with Pollack off for the same infraction. Danny Connaugton completed a nightmarish 53 seconds when he made it 3-1 at 14:49. Brett though the top of Ari Bear's head was going to come off after the third goal. The game settled into a up and down ice game with few high danger scoring chances until Tim Brooks halved the Packers lead with 104 seconds left in the second period. Toronto turned the tables on Chicago with a little of the own medicine by scoring twice in the first minute of the third. Andrew Williams scored 30 seconds into the period then Tim Brook's second of the game gave the Dukes a 4-3 lead 12 seconds later silencing the crowd. Both teams were very conservative in their play for the remainder of the game. Randy Katic was able to salvage a point for the Packers when he found the back of net at 8:54. Teams left the ice with both garnering a single point. Coach Bear- "We are playing well although we still have periods when we are running around that cost us in a major way. We really have to tighten up defensively, the goaltenders are facing far too much rubber. We have only two home games this week so we can work a little details of our system." Full Court Press: November 5-11, 1962 The 1962-63 season is off and running and while I preface this by saying it is early, there is no denying a couple of things: The Detroit Mustangs are the Class of the League: The Mustangs started the season 4-0 before winning two of three this past week to stand at 6-1, three full games ahead of second-place Chicago in the Western Division. This week, Toronto snapped the Mustangs perfect start with a 109-98 win, but Detroit avenged the defeat with two home wins against the Falcons later in the week, 93-81 and 80-65, to push its home record to 4-0 on the young season. Erv Corwin led the Mustangs to both wins, scoring 26 points and adding 10 rebounds in the first victory, while the shooting guard poured in 22 and 17 in the second win. Corwin is averaging 22.7 points to hold a paper-thin lead in the scoring race with Bill Melton of the Rockets only a tenth of a point behind. The Washington Statesmen are Relevant Again: After being crowned the Team of the Decade in the 1950s and winning its most recent title in 1958-59, the Statesmen have not qualified for the playoffs in two of the last three years and have not won a game in the postseason since that Finals win against Detroit. Washington has started 4-2 after an 0-6 preseason. Four of the games have been against Philadelphia and the Phantoms are responsible for both losses. In a two-game set in Philadephia, Jim Stofer put up a goose egg in the 79-66 loss, as he was 0-for-8 in 43 minutes, but he rebounded to score 16 in the 91-81 win on the back end. Ron Davies led the way for Washington in the win with 20 points, going 8-for-8 at the free throw line, as the team went 19-for-20 from the charity stripe. Luther Gordon has Disappeared: All-Time great Luther Gordon is on the Chicago Panthers roster for the 13th season, but he has not appeared in any of the Panthers first five games. The 2-3 Panthers have kept Gordon firmly attached to the bench, but they may want to see what Gordon still has in the tank. Gordon, the 11-time All-Star with seven scoring titles and five MVP awards on his resume, has a career scoring average of 21.7 points, but his game has slipped over the last two seasons, averaging a career-low 16.4 points last season. Perhaps starting every game over the last two years has taken a toll on his body, but he still made the All-League Second Team and All-Defensive Second Team. For a player with exactly 300 Player of the Game awards in his 793 league appearances, he might have more to give. SWEET CAROLINA! Carolina Poly and NC Tech Top College Cage Poll The first collegiate basketball poll of the season has a decided slant towards the South Atlantic Conference and more precisely the state of North Carolina. The Carolina Poly Cardinals, winners of six national tournament titles including three in the past nine years, are the top ranked team in the preseason poll with their long-time rivals North Carolina Tech coming in at number two. The collegiate cage season tips off this week. Carolina Poly did lose a pair of starters to graduation but their returnees including All-South Atlantic Conference guard Bob Bucher, a junior, and second team All-SAC selection Dooley Bessette. The Cardinals were knocked out in the second round of the AIAA tournament a year ago. Fans in Raleigh are suggesting this might be the Techsters year as North Carolina Tech returns all five starters from last seasons team that qualified for the AIAA tournament but was knocked out by Central Ohio in the opening round. Included in the returnees is All-SAC first team center Earl Arsenault who may be a candidate for All-American status as a senior. The Techsters have won the national tournament four times including three years in a row in the early 1920s but are on a championship drought that stretches back to 1933 when they famously met Carolina Poly in the title game and won 30-24. Rounding out the top five are a pair of Great Lakes Alliance schools in Indiana A&M and Central Ohio as well as Rainier College from the West Coast Athletic Association. Adding to the high hopes for the South Atlantic Conference are Maryland State and defending conference champion Charleston Tech as both the Bengals and Admirals are ranked in the top ten. RECENT KEY RESULTS Harry Pratt, who had a brief twirl as the heavyweight champion before losing to Walt Phillips in July, returned to the ring for the first time since that defeat. The 27-year-old knocked out Louie Doyle in the first round of their bout in Santa Ana, CA. to run Pratt's record to 30-5. Norm Robinson, one of the top heavyweight contenders, knocked out Artie Wilson in the 5th round of their bout slated for ten in Detroit last week. The 27-year-old Los Angeles native was a perfect 26-0 when he got a title shot against George Galleshaw in October of 1960. Galleshaw beat Robinson by a TKO and Robinson would also lose his next outing - falling on points to Bert Parks. However, since then he has won three straight, all by knockout and at 29-2 is likely not far off from getting another shot at the title. 25-year-old Rudy Bentley scored a 9th round TKO over Tim Larsen in Atlanta last week. Bentley, a Dallas native, is 25-9-2 after the win. The baseball world is mostly quiet as teams are focused on the draft, but teams are still looking to trade. Washington has announced they are looking for a center fielder. After moving on from Chief Lewis (.247, 14, 62, 11), the expectation is that utility man Al Marino (.226, 8, 42) would get most of the time in center. A natural shortstop, the 24-year-old has appeared in 115 or more games in each of his four FABL seasons. Most of his appearances and starts came at short in 1962, but he played a fair amount of left and center with a few games in the corner infield. On the flip side, the Chiefs are looking to sell and get younger. No center fielder option, but both ace Vern Osborne (13-11, 5.30, 126) and 6-Time All-Star second basemen Irv Clifford (.279, 66) were mentioned by name among the veterans available. When reached for comment, Chiefs' assistant GM was quoted saying that while they'd consider moving most players, but franchise cornerstones Ed Bloom (.284, 12, 53, 10) and Rod Shearer (.305, 20, 88, 13) are untouchably. "Both Ed and Rod are great ambassadors for the club, and we fully intend for them to finish off their historic careers in Chicago. TWIFS head baseball columnist Archie Irwin fully intends to vote both into the Hall-of-Fame once they call it quits, and imagines they will get plenty of support from the rest of the league, pointing to their placement on the team's leaderboard. Both have claims to the best hitter in team history, with Bloom the career OBP leader (.431) and Shearer the top slugger (.547). They're all over the lists, both top 10 in OPS (Shearer: 1st, .925; Bloom: 3rd, .876), WAR (1st: Shearer, 78.5; 4th: Bloom, 6.73), games (4th: Bloom, 1,895; 8th: Shearer, 1,755), runs (Bloom: 2nd, 1,314; Shearer: 5th, 1,200), hits (Bloom: 7th, 2,003; Shearer: 8th, 1933), doubles (Bloom: 5th, 370; Shearer: 6th, 309), triples (Shearer: 5th, 104; Bloom: 6th, 101), homers (Shearer: 1st, 388; Bloom: 7th, 138), RBIs (Shearer: 1st, 1,435; Bloom: 7th, 824), and walks (Bloom: 1st, 1,558; Shearer: 3rd, 849). Neither owns a FABL record, but Bloom ranks 6th All-Time. He drew 101 walks to lead the Fed, completing his 12th consecutive season with more then 100. 35 in February, two 100 walk seasons would put him at 1,758, 11 behind Dick Walker (1,769) for second. Max Morris (1,772) is three more, giving Bloom a legitimate chance to set and shatter the FABL record. The Week That Was Current events from the week ending 11/11/1962 India has asked the United States for planes to aid in their border war with Red China. The planes would be part of the arms aid America is giving India's efforts to expel the Chinese Communist invaders from the Himalayan borderlands they have seized. India has hostilities escalated over the weekend. President Kennedy spent much of the weekend reviewing negotiation plans in the Cuban crisis with his chief advisors and negotiators. The meetings, conducted under a cloak of secrecy, included the three-man team responsible for carrying on negotiations with Soviet representatives at the United Nations in New York. The United Nations Congo Command is threatening action against secessionist Katanga's Air Force after reports of bombings over the weekend. The British defense minister says that his country will carry out an underground nuclear weapons test in the near future. He called the test something that was "required for essential military purposes." A televised appearance of Alger Hiss on a program entitled "The Political Obituary of Richard Nixon" was met with a flood of phoned and telegraphed protests, cancellation of the program by several ABC stations and picketing of network studios. Nixon, who lost his battle for Governor of California last week to incumbent Pat Brown, did not comment but his press secretary said the program "set a new low in undistinguished reporting." Typhon Karen -described as the worst tropical storm in Guam's history- left one person dead, injured hundreds and caused an estimated $100 million in damage. The world she tried so unceasingly to better said good bye to Eleanor Roosevelt last week, as the widow of former President Franklin D. Roosevelt, passed away and was buried in grave beside that of her husband.