OCTOBER 11, 1975
PITCHING PIVIOTAL IN LA AS SERIES HEADS TO NEW YORK TIED AT 1 When you think of the New York Imperials and Los Angeles Suns, you think of the bats.
Even if injured, New York has breakout star Woody Richardson (.347, 13, 82) and slugger Phil Terry (.301, 17, 71, 14), while the healthy Al Reece (.337, 9, 66, 18), Owen Drake (.268, 17, 61), and George Love (.261, 21, 80, 23) are excellent run producers. Of course, LA has the dynamic duo of Tom Lally (.319, 31, 107, 9) and Sam Forrester (.281, 27, 116, 43), and a deep supporting cast that includes FCS MVP Larry Hurlbutt (.269, 12, 44, 10), still dangerous as the as the 7-hitter in the lineup.
And you know what? That's why the winner scored 7 runs in both games!
But the pitching is why the winner won.
In the opener, it was strikeout machine Jim White (19-10, 3.63, 225), who has now won all three of his postseason starts. The Imperials ace held the Kings to just a single run in wins in Game 1 and 4, and then took his dominance to the next level in the WCS opener. He held Lally and Forrester hitless, each 0-for-4 with a pair of strikeouts, punishing Suns hitters while rookie Al Whitman (5-3, 3.18, 52) was bashed in for 6 runs in just 2 innings, allowing 7 men to reach. White allowed 6, twirling a 3-hit shutout with 9 strikeouts in a commanding 7-0 win where everyone contributed. Injury replacement Freddie Curtis (.254, 4, 30, 7) reached base three times and crushed the only homer of the game, while Reece (4-5, R, RBI, 3B), Drake (3-5, 2 R, 2B, 3B), and Love (2-5, R, 3 RBI, 2B, SB) all came up big when called upon.
But on Friday, it was the Suns offense who got into the fun. It helped having a much better pitcher, Pete Meissner (17-8, 3.08, 173) in game two, as while he didn't match White's shutout, he did match the lack of runs allowed. The Imps did manage a pity run in the 9th, but the June and July Pitcher of the Month held them to 4 hits and 3 walks, picking up 4 strikeouts in 8 shutout innings.
Again Lally was held hitless, 0-for-4 with just a single strikeout, but most of the lineup had no trouble with veteran righty Emmett Thornton (17-6, 1, 3.45, 91), who also started the Imperials only loss in the CCS. The FCS MVP hit another homer, 2-for-3 with a walk, 2 runs, and 3 RBIs, and leadoff man Eddie Kellum (.284, 2, 27, 12) managed to clear the seats himself, something he did only twice in nearly 400 PAs this season. The bottom of the order did most of the damage, with multi-hit games from Bill Perry (.255, 9, 74, 20), Hurlbutt, Bucky Gray (.323, 3), and even Meissner himself. The bottom four went a combined 9-for-14 with 2 walks, 4 runs, and 5 RBIs, making up for the 1-for-13 from the top three.
After today's travel day, we'll catch the top two clubs at Dyckman Stadium. Since the Imperials are rolling with a three man rotation, we'll see all three starters, with a fully rested Don Bradner (10-9, 3.31, 117) expected to take on Jim Place (13-10, 3.74, 137) in game three. Neither had much success in the first round, but both were effective during the regular season. White and Thornton then follow, but they will face different pitchers then before. Instead of Whitman, White could get fellow ace Heinie Schmidt (16-11, 3.07, 147) if the Suns don't push him up to game 3. Considering he threw 137 pitches in Atlanta, the extra rest would be nice, and it would open the door for the two aces to duel in a hypothetical game 7.
No matter who pitches, all eyes may be on Tom Lally, who's 0-for-his-last-13, and hitting just .214/.312/.357 (86 OPS+) through 7 games. Set to be a two-time Whitney winner, you'd expect a player as talented as him would shine, but the postseason has been an issue for him. It's a very small sample, but his first trip saw him go just 2-for-16, a big reason why the Suns failed to advance last year. In 11 playoff games he has a poor .182/.280/.273 (56 OPS+) batting line, something that you almost never see next to a hitter of his caliber. To win in the postseason, you need production from your stars, and so far the biggest star of FABL has not been able to produce in the clutch.
Milestone Watch: Norris, Strikeouts, Williams, Homers, Turner
- While two teams are still completely focused, the rest of the league is thinking about what they can accomplish next season. For some players, it's even a shot at history, and 45-year-old Jim Norris (12-8, 4.21, 84) is one of those guys. He's still given no indication that this will be his last season, but based on his second half, it may not be in the cards anymore. On August 9th, he was 11-4 with a 3.03 ERA, and then it all fell apart. In his last 10 starts he picked up just one win, allowing 4 or more runs in 7 of his 10 outings. Only one saw a game ERA below 3, and only one of his outings had fewer hits then innings pitched. This shot his ERA up all the way to 4.21 (91 ERA+), and after 24 seasons he has 337 wins. Sitting 5th in FABL history, he needs two more to tie Jack Long, another two to tie Aaron Wright, and one more to put him by himself as the 4th winningest pitcher in league history. 5 wins in his final season is certainly doable, but whether a 46-year-old wants to keep playing baseball at the highest level is not a straight forward question.
- Another thing for Norris to consider is 900 games, as he's 23 appearances away from becoming just the fourth player to reach that mark. Currently tied for 6th all-time, he hasn't appeared in fewer then 23 games since his 1952 debut season, and his 29 appearances this year was the first time below 30. If Norris can reach 900 next year, and Pug White (10-14, 4.46, 92) returns for season 24, the 1976 Chicago Cougars can be the first, and likely only, FABL team to employ two 900 appearance pitchers. White's 933 and counting are most in FABL history, with all appearances coming in a Cougar uniform. Norris is also competing with Jorge Arellano (8-13, 3.79, 116) for top-10 in WAR. Both are at 112, but Arellano has a slight .71 to .12 edge, as the 44-year-old Keystone had a better season and passed Norris for the first time in his career.
- Norris also ranks 4th with 3,007 strikeouts, but unless he has two more seasons in him, he won't reach Bill Temple (3,131) who sits in third. White is 9th with 2,687, and would need 40 more to tie Rufus Barrell for 7th. Vern Osborne (0-4, 1, 7.04, 14), who announced his retirement, ended up 13th with 2,597, but he can be passed by a trio of active pitchers. Jim Stewart (9-15, 5.23, 109), Floyd Warner (16-9, 3.40, 132), and Marco Middleton (16-3, 1, 2.86, 136) occupy 14 through 16, with all near locks to pass him. If Stewart and Warner maintain their strikeouts from this season, they'll pass him next year, while the 32-year-old Middleton needs about one and a half typical seasons. With their age, Stewart and Warner may not pass Mike Marner (2,667) for 10th, but even if Middleton's K% dropped to what would be a career low 14%, he'll reach 3,000 before he turns 37.
- He may have expected to still be playing now, but whether the Kings won or not, Hank Williams (.258, 14, 72) would not have been able to get closer to the 3,000 hit mark. Finishing his season with 2,938 after a 114 hit season, the 4-Time Whitney winner is just 62 hits away. As long as he returns next year, that's a near lock, and it would make him the 20th player in FABL history, with the most recent member of the club Buddy Miller back in 1973. At print, Williams' has the 23rd most hits, and an easier path to crack the league's top-5 for home runs. His 505 longballs are 2 shy of Rod Shearer for 5th, and considering Williams has hit at least 10 in each season since 1958, just three should be nothing. He's also in striking distance of top-10 for runs, again chasing Shearer, who's at 1,731 in 10th place. With 1,712, Williams is within 20, something he should manage quickly in the Kings lineup. He's already top-10 in RBIs, and if he can get 50 he'll be move from 9th to 7th.
- Plenty of players are close to milestone home runs, but in most cases they'd need a good chunk of the season to get there. For example, WCS participant Sam Forrester is getting close to 400 homers, and if he hits 27 home runs for the third straight year, he'll get it on the nose. A return to norm for Dixie Turner (.264, 13, 62, 48) could get him the 18 homers for 450, but he's on a power decline that saw him slug just 13 in '75. And Bobby Garrison (.283, 23, 96, 38) in theory is a lock for 16 homers to reach 350, but he fractured his rib, and may not quite have his general slug. But barring injury, Chief star Bob Starr (.248, 15, 81) will easily get 5 homers to reach 300 in his career. Acquired in a deadline deal back in 1962, Starr has developed into a prestigious slugger, and has hit more homers then every Chief except Rod Shearer. He hasn't quite given them the top level production they were used to receiving, but in each season he's managed 100 games, he's hit at least 12 home runs.
- Back to Dixie Turner, he's much closer to becoming the 31st FABL batter with 1,500 runs scored, as he finished his season with 1,469. One of his few stats that hasn't taken a hit, the 8-Time Whitney winner scored 98 times this season, giving him 12 seasons with 90 or more runs. He's even closer in RBIs, needing just 10 to reach the 1,500 mark, something 21 other players have managed before him. If he can also produce approximately 2 WAR, he'll be the 14th player to reach the 120 mark, and despite spending a good chunk of his career in Pittsburgh, he's just over 5 WAR shy of second in Montreal franchise history.
PIONEERS MAKE MANAGERIAL CHANGE
The St. Louis Pioneers made the first of what could be several managerial changes announced in the coming weeks as the club opted to cut ties with Babe Johnson after four years at the helm and replace him with Jackie Alexander, who had spent the past six years as the skipper of the independent Pueblo Chiefs of the Western Baseball League.
Under the 54-year-old Johnson the Pioneers finished with the second worst record in baseball this season, their 69-93 mark bettering only the Boston Minutemen. It marked the second time in four seasons with Johnson that the Pioneers finished in last place in the Federal Association, a rough ending to a stint that started so well. In Johnson's debut campaign with the club of 1972 he guided St Louis to a division title but was swept by the eventual World Championship Series winning Pittsburgh Miners (now Atlanta Copperheads) in the Federal Association Championship Series.
Alexander, 46, will be getting his first taste of life in the major leagues next spring and there are questions about his experience as he has never managed above the Class A level.
GLA OPENERS PUT SPOTLIGHT ON MIDWEST SATURDAYIf you’ve been watching college football the past month and wondering when the real season starts, the fellows in the Great Lakes country will tell you the answer is simple.
Today.
That’s when the ten schools of the Great Lakes Alliance finally begin playing the games that count. The warm-ups are finished, the schedules turn serious, and for a lot of coaches the explanations stop and the standings begin. Most of the other big conferences — including the powerful Deep South Conference — wait another week before diving into league play. The GLA, never one to linger around the diving board, jumps in first.
Two of the most interesting games on the entire weekend college schedule will be played on Alliance turf, and both could have a great deal to say about what kind of autumn lies ahead in the Midwest.
The marquee matchup is in Columbus where the sixth-ranked Central Ohio Aviators finally make their home debut against the twelfth-ranked Whitney College Engineers. Both teams are 3-0 and feeling fairly good about themselves, which makes this one more than a routine conference opener.
For years the series hasn’t been much of a contest. Central Ohio has taken 14 of the last 15 meetings and usually by enough points to make the bus ride home unpleasant for the Engineers. The two schools didn’t meet last fall, which was probably just as well for Whitney because that was the year the Engineers put together a surprising 10-2 campaign, capped by a Desert Classic victory and a fifth-place finish in the national polls — their first appearance in the top twenty since the modern rankings began back in 1941.
Whitney College arrived at this season believing it might not have been a one-year wonder. Victories over Cowpens State, Rainier College and Queen City have done nothing to dampen that confidence. Much of the optimism rides on sophomore quarterback Robert Guenther, who turned heads as a freshman and now looks even more comfortable running the Engineers’ offense.
Still, the Aviators remain the solid favorite. They’ve opened with three convincing road victories and now finally come home with an eye on returning to the East-West Classic for the first time since 1971. The early stumbles by two-time defending GLA champion Detroit City College have only strengthened the feeling around Columbus that this might be the year the Aviators reclaim the conference throne.
Detroit City College, meanwhile, finds itself in a situation few people predicted a month ago. The Knights are 0-3 and hearing more questions than cheers as they prepare to host the ninth-ranked St. Magnus Vikings. That alone would have sounded strange in August, but college football has always had a sense of humor.
St. Magnus is one of the season’s early surprises. The Vikings have bolted out of the gate with three straight wins and find themselves ranked for the first time since 1966. The past decade has been a rough one in Viking country — no more than six victories in any season, and a pair of 4-7 campaigns in 1972 and 1973 before climbing back to 6-5 last fall.
Now they arrive in Detroit unbeaten and full of confidence, thanks largely to a running attack sparked by freshman halfback Clark Bynes and an attacking defense spearheaded by sophomore end Chris Hopkins.
The Knights, on the other hand, are trying to figure out how a team that nearly won the national championship a year ago could stumble so badly out of the gate. Last week’s 35-17 loss to lightly regarded Red River State only deepened the concern. Any talk of national titles has vanished for Detroit City College — they haven’t celebrated one since 1956 anyway — but the conference opener gives them something else to chase: respectability and perhaps a path back to the East-West Classic for the third straight year.
History, at least, offers a little comfort to the Knights. They’ve beaten St. Magnus in 12 of the last 16 meetings and oddsmakers still list them as a slight favorite despite the difference in records.
But in mid-October, when conference races finally begin, history tends to matter a little less than what happens on Saturday afternoon. And today is when the Great Lakes Alliance season really gets underway.
CAN RED JACKETS TURN SEASON AROUND?There are still eleven games left on the schedule, but don’t kid yourself — Sunday already feels like October judgment day in Buffalo. The defending champions, the Buffalo Red Jackets, are 0-3. In a 14-game season, that’s not a stumble — that’s a hole. And the team digging it just happens to be the one that lifted the World Classic trophy barely ten months ago. That’s what makes Sunday’s meeting with the Miami Mariners at Red Jacket Stadium feel less like Week Four and more like a playoff game played three months early.
Buffalo isn’t just winless. They’re already three games behind the division-leading Cincinnati Rivermen in the National Conference East, and perhaps more troubling, the Red Jackets are already 0-2 inside the division. Anyone in Buffalo who remembers last season knows just how dangerous that can be. A year ago, the Red Jackets finished tied with the Rivermen at 8-6 and only slipped into the postseason because they owned the head-to-head tiebreaker. That narrow door eventually led all the way to the World Classic title, punctuated by a gritty 12-6 victory over the Houston Drillers.
But this season is shaping up differently. Lose Sunday and Buffalo would fall to 0-4 — a record that has buried more than a few promising seasons before Halloween. Head coach Tom Bowens has guided this club through rough patches before. In fact, the Red Jackets limped into the playoffs last season after losing their final three regular-season games. Yet Bowens knows the difference between a late skid and a season that never finds its footing.
Complicating matters is the quarterback situation, which has turned into something resembling a hospital ward.
Starter Jason Myers went down with a knee injury in the first half of the opener against the New York Titans and hasn’t played since. Backup Chris Kennedy was hurt the following week, and third-stringer Cal Matlock limped off last Sunday giving way to journeyman rookie Roger Boatwright who made it four different Buffalo quarterbacks seeing meaningful action in just three weeks.
Bowens is keeping everyone guessing, but Myers did practice throughout the week and insists he’s ready to go. If he is, Buffalo will gladly take him back. Because without him the offense has been nearly invisible.
Myers lasted barely a half in the season opener against the Titans but still managed to complete 11 of 14 passes for 82 yards and a touchdown before his knee buckled with the score tied 7-7. Since then, Buffalo’s quarterback carousel has produced just 21 completions in 60 attempts and only one offensive touchdown in more than ten quarters of football. That’s not exactly the formula for defending a championship.
Unfortunately for Buffalo, the opponent arriving Sunday isn’t likely to be sympathetic. The Mariners are 2-1 and as steady as ever, a club that has reached the playoffs nine straight seasons. Miami also remembers last December very well — the Red Jackets knocked them out of the postseason with a convincing 31-14 victory in the divisional round.
Miami won’t need extra motivation, but they’ve certainly got it.
All of which makes Sunday’s contest something more than just another early-season game. It’s a test of the Red Jackets’ resilience, their health, and perhaps their championship mettle. Three losses in September can be overcome. Four? That’s when even champions start running out of road.
The Week That Was
Current events making news on October 11, 1975
- A shootout in Houston left three escaped convicts and one police officer dead. Two of the convicts died in the fire after a gas cannister used by police ignited a blaze that gutted the house. The third convict was killed by police bullets. A second police officer was wounded in the shootout.
- President Ford is calling for the creation of a federal corporation to invest, led or guarantee $100 billion to put risky new energy sources into business. The President made the details of the "Energy Independence Authority" public yesterday when Ford sent the bill to Capitol Hill.
- The National Council of Churches has okayed plans for a statement saying the use of plutonium as a nuclear fuel is "morally indefensible and technically objectionable."
- The embargo on grain sales to Poland have been lifted but there are no plans to do the same with shipments to the Soviet Union. Sales to the two countries were halted this summer after purchases of U.S. grain soared, causing fears that American consumers might see another round of skyrocketing food prices.
- The Soviet Union launched a campaign to discredit Nobel Peace Prize winner Andrei Sakharov, accusing the dissident physicist of being anti-Soviet, unpatriotic and against East-West detente.
- Papua New Guinea, the former Australian trust territory in the South Pacific, was admitted yesterday as the 142nd member of the United Nations.
- A newspaper columnist in Portland, Oregon, says the "wild and wonderful story of 20 missing citizens going off to another planet is nothing more than a wild and wonderful hoax." However, authorities say they have not discounted the possibility of a fake but they can't find the 20.