NOVEMBER 3, 1975
WILD COLLEGE FOOTBALL SEASON JUST GOT A LITTLE WILDER You have to go back to 1949 when the Oklahoma City State Wranglers of the Plains Athletic Association won the national title to find a college football season that did not end with either an independent school or a member of the "big five" conferences ending the year as the number one team in the nation. However, there is a decent chance that the lower prestige conferences finally get their due with small fry's El Paso Methodist and Provo Tech ranked one-two in the nation following another week of upsets.
Being number one seems to be a curse as for the third week in a row the top ranked team in the nation was knocked off by a conference rival. This time it was the Eastern State Monitors who fell from the ranks of the unbeaten, following in the footsteps of Central Ohio and Georgia Baptist each of the previous two weeks.
The Monitors now find themselves in a five-way tie for top spot in the South Atlantic Conference after Maryland State quarterback Andrew McClung threw a pair of first quarter touchdown passes to lead the Bengals to a 27-14 triumph over the formerly number one ranked Monitors.
*** Deep South Foes Knocking Each Other Off ***
The Eastern State loss drops the Monitors to 10th in the latest poll and they were not the only previously undefeated school to fall on Saturday. The Deep South Conference is arguably the deepest conference in college football and the grueling section slate has crushed many a national title dreams with the Northern Mississippi Mavericks being the latest to feel the sting. The Mavericks entered Saturday with a perfect 5-0 mark and ranked #3 in the nation but the running of Rafael Martin and William Ward, who combined for 194 yards and 3 touchdowns, was enough to carry the Alabama Baptist Panthers past the Mavericks 21-16 and send Northern Mississippi spiraling in the polls.
Central Kentucky also fell in Deep South play as the Tigers lost for the second week in a row. Noble Jones College, led by 106 yards and 3 touchdowns from junior running back Melvin Edgar, rolled over Central Kentucky 26-6. That improves the Colonels conference record to 3-0 and leave them as the lone Deep South school yet to drop a section game. With Opelika State and Cumberland in their immediate future there is a good chance the Colonels will still be unbeaten heading into their challenging final three games that include road contests against both Mississippi A&M and Georgia Baptist.
The Generals and the Gators both won on Saturday but each had a tough time doing so. In Athens, the Gators needed a strong fourth quarter that saw them score 17 unanswered points to hold off Western Florida 27-6 while the situation in Jackson, MS., was even more tense as somehow the Baton Rouge State Red Devils, who have not won a conference game in two years, took Mississippi A&M to overtime. The Generals finally prevailed 44-36 but not until the third overtime period.
*** Can Bandits Reverse Trend ***
El Paso Methodist is in uncharted territory being ranked number one in the nation in November. The Bandits have won the Southern Border Conference title five times in the past seven years and reached a high point of 9th in the 1973 poll when they finished 10-2 but the school has never had an undefeated season. All four of their remaining games are against conference foes including Saturday's meeting with 4-2 Canyon A&M but the Armadillos are a school that has given the Bandits fits over the years, losing to them 11 times in the past 18 seasons.
El Paso Methodist will be at home to face Canyon A&M as they were on Saturday when Mark Wilson, who leads the nation in rushing yards with 1,021 through seven games, ran for 110 in a 37-17 victory over Valley State. A win over Canyon A&M would reverse the three week old trend of top ranked teams falling and leave likely just a November 22nd trip to Tempe College as the only thing standing between the Bandits and an undefeated regular season.
If El Paso Methodist stumbles another unlikely school could step into the number one slot. That would be Provo Tech which is also 7-0 after the Rocky Mountain Athletic Association leaders dumped Custer College 38-6 on Saturday. With the Classic slate expanded this year from 7 to 10 games it stands a good chance the Lions will play on New Year's Day for the first time since appearing in the long defunct Volunteer Classic way back in 1948.
*** St Blane Lurking In the Shadows ***
Having a team from either the Southern Border Conference or Rocky Mountain Athletic Association win the national title would be unprecedented but there are three other undefeated teams still in the mix. Two of them, quite surprisingly belong to the Academia Alliance with both George Fox University and Brunswick sitting at 5-0 after each won on the weekend. They won't both end up undefeated as the two schools will face off in the game that might well decide the conference title on Thanksgiving weekend in the season finale for each. Never have two schools from the Academia Alliance played on New Year's Day in the same year but the expanded classic slate lends that to being a possibility.
The fifth and final school that is still undefeated would be the St Blane Fighting Saints, who ran their record to 6-0 with a 21-18 victory over Penn Catholic. The game was not as close as the score might suggest with the Crusaders scoring a late touchdown to make things a little tighter. Freshman quarterback Henry Sneed is fitting in nicely as a replacement for Allen McAllister, who was drafted first overall by the Atlanta Firebirds of the American Football Association during the summer, with Sneed enjoying the best game to date of his young career. The freshman completed 16 of 20 passes for 209 yards and 3 touchdowns in the win over Penn Catholic.
Next up for the Fighting Saints, who have five games remaining, is a visit from Annapolis Maritime to the Saints Tyrone, PA. campus. The Navigators blanked Pittsburgh State 16-0 on Saturday to improve to 4-2 on the season.
*** Great Lakes Alliance Showdown Looming ***
The biggest game on next weekend's schedule is in Lansing where the fifth ranked St Ignatius Lancers and fourth ranked St Magnus Vikings meet in a Great Lakes Alliance showdown. Each school is 6-1 on the season but the Vikings have a conference loss while the Lancers, along with Detroit City College, share the GLA lead at 4-0. St Ignatius needed a Don Moultry touchdown run with just 13 seconds left in the game to nip Minnesota Tech 17-14 on Saturday while St Magnus handed Whitney College its fourth consecutive conference loss, dumping the Engineers 31-10. Detroit City College, which started the season with 3 consecutive non-conference losses, improved to 4-0 in league play with a dominant 38-0 shutout of Wisconsin State.
There is still a very good chance that Detroit City College and Redwood will meet in the East-West Classic for the third straight year as the Mammoths are now the only undefeated team remaining in the West Coast Athletic Association's conference slate. John Coughlan attempted just 7 passes but two were for touchdowns to help the Mammoths beat Lane State 24-17 and drop the Emeralds to 2-1 in conference play. Northern California also lost for the first time in conference action this season, falling 13-10 to CC Los Angeles thanks to a last second 25-yard touchdown pass from Mike Byers to Kevin Klos.
There is much left to be decided as college football runs headlong into its final month of the season. Another Detroit City College-Redwood East-West Classic might lend some stability to what has been a very unpredictable season.
WEEKEND COLLEGE GRID RESULTS
Maryland State Bengals - 27, Eastern State Monitors - 14
Carolina Poly Cardinals - 28, Charleston Tech Admirals - 17
North Carolina Tech Techsters - 9, Columbia Military Academy Cadets - 3
Cowpens State Fighting Green - 34, Coastal State Eagles - 17
Canyon A_M Armadillos - 49, Abilene Baptist Chaparrals - 27
El Paso Methodist Bandits - 37, Valley State Gunslingers - 17
Tempe College Titans - 21, Texas Panhandle Cowboys - 20
College of Omaha Raiders - 28, Iowa A_M Bulls - 21
Lawrence State Chippewa - 20, Eastern Oklahoma Pioneers - 17
Oklahoma City State Wranglers - 13, Eastern Kansas Warriors - 7
Boulder State Grizzlies - 23, Daniel Boone College Frontiersmen - 3
Central Ohio Aviators - 22, Lincoln Presidents - 21
St Ignatius Lancers - 17, Minnesota Tech Lakers - 14
Detroit City College Knights - 38, Wisconsin State Brewers - 0
Indiana A_M Reapers - 30, Western Iowa Canaries - 3
St Magnus Vikings - 31, Whitney College Engineers - 10
George Fox Reds - 31, Dickson Maroons - 14
Grafton Scholars - 6, Sadler Bluecoats - 0
Ellery Bruins - 27, Pierpont Purple - 3
Brunswick Knights - 7, Henry Hudson Explorers - 3
Payne State Mavericks - 63, Queen City Monarchs - 0
Topeka State Braves - 48, Cleveland Tigers - 10
McKinney State Renegades - 15, Ferguson Wildcats - 13
CC Los Angeles Coyotes - 13, Northern California Miners - 10
Redwood Mammoths - 24, Lane State Emeralds - 17
Portland Tech Magpies - 20, Rainier College Majestics - 10
Coastal California Dolphins - 18, Spokane State Indians - 16
Cumberland Explorers - 34, Bluegrass State Mustangs - 0
Georgia Baptist Gators - 27, Western Florida Wolves - 6
Noble Jones College Colonels - 26, Central Kentucky Tigers - 6
Mississippi A_M Generals - 44, Baton Rogue State Red Devils - 36
Opelika State Wildcats - 33, Bayou State Cougars - 30
Alabama Baptist Panthers - 21, Northern Mississippi Mavericks - 16
Utah A_M Aggies - 47, Colorado Poly Redbirds - 0
South Valley State Roadrunners - 33, Cache Valley Cowboys - 7
Provo Tech Lions - 38, Custer College Cavalry - 6
Wyoming A_I Prospectors - 42, Mile High State Falcons - 7
Central Carolina Lions - 41, Petersburg Patriots - 27
Bulein Hornets - 16, Potomac College Pelicans - 14
Mobile Maritime Middies - 36, Richmond State Colonials - 13
Alexandria Generals - 16, Chesapeake State Clippers - 10
Arkansas A_T Badgers - 25, Texas Gulf Coast Hurricanes - 22
Red River State Rowdies - 17, Lubbock State Hawks - 10
College of Waco Cowboys - 29, Travis College Bucks - 24
Amarillo Methodist Grizzlies - 38, Darnell State Legislators - 25
Commonwealth Catholic Knights - 22, Liberty College Bells - 7
Huntington State Miners - 44, Chicago Poly Catamounts - 28
St Pancras Lions - 38, St Patrick's Shamrocks - 6
Minns College Mavericks - 20, Miami State Gulls - 17
St Blane Fighting Saints - 21, Penn Catholic Crusaders - 18
Annapolis Maritime Navigators - 16, Pittsburgh State Finches - 0
Garden State Redbirds - 12, Boston State Pirates - 3
Idaho A_M Pirates - 13, Lambert College Stags - 9
Wisconsin Catholic Cavaliers - 23, American Atlantic Pelicans - 10
THIS WEEKEND GAMES INVOLVING TOP 20 SCHOOLS
Canyon A&M (4-2) at #1 El Paso Methodist (7-0)
South Valley State (5-2) at #2 Provo Tech (7-0)
Annapolis Maritime (4-2) at #3 St Blane (6-0)
#4 St Magus (6-1) at #5 St Ignatius (6-1)
#6 Central Ohio (6-1) at Western Iowa (0-6)
#23 Oklahoma City State (5-2) at #7 Lawrence State (6-1)
Bayou State (2-4) at #8 Georgia Baptist (5-1)
#9 George Fox (5-0) at Grafton (4-1)
#10 Eastern State (6-1) at Columbia Military Academy (2-5)
#11 Mississippi A&M (5-1) at Cumberland (2-4)
Central Carolina (2-5) at #12 Alexandria (6-1)
#13 Amarillo Methodist (5-1) at #14 College of Waco (6-1)
Opelika State (3-3) at #15 Noble Jones College (5-1)
#16 Brunswick (5-0) at Dickson (3-2)
St. Patrick's (0-7) at #17 Huntington State (6-1)
Iowa A&M (2-4) at #18 Boulder State (5-2)
Penn Catholic (3-4) at #19 Minns College (6-1)
#20 Northern Mississippi (5-1) at Central Kentucky (4-2)
WASPS STING LATE, STEAL ONE IN BOSTON
Washington Scores Ten Inside Final Two Minutes to Stay Perfect For 55 minutes Sunday afternoon, it was Boston’s game. For the final five, it belonged to the Washington Wasps. And in a span of just 87 chaotic seconds at the end, it slipped away from the Boston Americans entirely.
Washington scored ten points inside the two-minute warning to pull out a stunning 27–24 victory in Boston, pushing the Wasps to 7–0 and leaving a stunned crowd at Minutemen Stadium trying to make sense of what it had just witnessed.
*** Boston in Control Most of the Way ***
The Americans came in two games back of the front-running Wasps in the American Conference East and played like a team intent on closing that gap.
They forced three Washington turnovers and capitalized, highlighted by a 35-yard touchdown strike from quarterback Juan Huff to the league’s leading receiver, Ben Jacobson. By midway through the third quarter, Boston held a commanding 24–10 lead and had the unbeaten Wasps wobbling.
Washington steadied itself late in the third, putting together a 13-play, 86-yard drive that cut the lead to 24–17. Halfback Scott Houle was the workhorse on the march, ripping off three key runs before plunging in from a yard out to finish it.
Still, Boston answered in the fourth quarter the way good teams do — with defense.
*** Chances to Put It Away ***
The Americans forced turnovers on Washington’s first two possessions of the final period.
First came a Thomas Green interception deep in Wasps territory. It also set up a long field goal attempt by Americans kicker Ryan Delgado. It was over 50 yards but he missed it wide right, marking the third time in the game he had come up short, although each of the misses was from more than 50 yards out.
Then, in a play that seemed certain to define the game, defensive back Rusty Gosselin knocked the ball free from receiver Alva Hallman just as he reached for the goal line. Gosselin recovered, preserving the lead with 10 minutes to play.
Boston bled the clock expertly after that, working it down near the five-minute mark before being forced to punt.
That’s when everything changed.
*** The Comeback Begins ***
Starting deep, Washington’s offense finally found its spark.
Aided by a pair of Boston penalties and a 48-yard strike from quarterback Charles Hartman to Ellis Wood — the longest play of the day for the Wasps — Washington suddenly had life. The drive carried them inside the 10-yard line as the two-minute warning arrived.
Two plays later, Hartman went back to the air. This time Hallman held on. Touchdown.
Jimmy Casper’s extra point tied the game at 24 with 1:33 remaining.
*** From Hope to Heartbreak ***
Boston still had time — and a chance.
Stephen McKeever’s solid kickoff return gave the Americans decent field position, and for a brief moment the thought of a game-winning drive flickered through the stands. Then it vanished.
Huff, who had played a steady game to that point, forced a throw at the worst possible time. Washington cornerback Ty Estes — who had already intercepted him once earlier in the afternoon — stepped in front again.
Interception.
Estes returned it 11 yards, placing Washington squarely in field goal range. Three plays later, Casper came on and drilled a 29-yard field goal.
With that, the Wasps had the lead. With that, the comeback was complete. Unbeaten — But Tested
The final seconds ticked away with Boston unable to respond, and the Wasps walked off still perfect at 7–0.
But they know — and Boston knows — how close that record came to changing. For nearly an entire afternoon, the Americans were the better team. They forced mistakes, controlled the tempo, and had the game exactly where they wanted it.
Until they didn’t.
And in the American Football Association, that’s all it takes.
COWBOYS WIN, RAMBLERS UPSET
The Kansas City Cowboys once more have a little breathing room atop the National Conference Central Division. The Cowboys, who suffered their first loss of the season in St Louis last week that left both teams at 5-1, pulled a game ahead of their rivals in advance of the rematch between the two foes at Prairie Park next Sunday.
The Cowboys had little trouble with the struggling San Diego Admirals, romping to a 31-13 victory behind a banner day from Cowboys running back Tom Whitney, who gained 115 yards on the ground and also caught 6 passes for an additional 32 yards. Cowboys quarterback Joshua Sellers threw for 212 yards and a score to regain the league passing lead.
Meanwhile the Ramblers had there hands more than full in Minnesota. Quarterback Gus Robards had himself a day for the Lakers, completing an amazing 22 of his 23 pass attempts, throwing for 280 yards and 3 touchdowns as he Lakers rallied from a 14 point halftime deficit to trim St Louis 28-27. Minnesota improves to 4-3 on the season and now sits just a game back of the second place Ramblers in the Central Division.
Dallas is also 4-3 in the National Conference Central after the Stallions rode into the Big Apple and dealt another crushing blow to the Titans, blanking New York 20-0. New York has now lost three straight games and four of its last five.
FINCHES SURVIVE A SCARE FROM MILWAUKEE
The Cleveland Finches had their hands full with the Milwaukee Stags, needing a long fourth quarter drive that culminated in a 7-yard Danny Boudreaux to Anthony Henderson touchdown pass inside the two minute warning to claim a hard fought 13-9 victory over the visiting Stags. The Finches are 5-2 and lead the Detroit Maroons by a half game atop the American Conference Central Division while the third place Stags drop to 2-5.
Detroit (4-2-1) kept pace with Cleveland by heading to Philadelphia and downing the winless Frigates 21-9. It marked the second consecutive victory for quarterback Bennett Smoot. The 1969 rookie of the year, who helped Miami win the World Classic that year, had not played in two years before the Maroons signed the free agent to fill in for the injured Charles Sonnenberg. Smoot did not dominate, completing just 11 of 22 passes for 96 yards, but he did add composure to the struggling Detroit offense. The Maroons running backs had a field day against the Frigates as Gerald Edwards scored a pair of touchdowns and ran for 127 yards on just 12 touches while Caleb Luce chipped in with 97 yards.
In Pittsburgh the visiting Chicago Wildcats allowed a season low in sacks against. Unfortunately that number was still awful as quarterback Chuck Pederson was running for his life once more and sacked "only" 8 times. Note entering the game he had been sacked 61 times in six games. Chicago fell 27-9 to the Paladins and the Wildcats still have only scored three touchdowns all season. Three happens to be the exact same number of touchdown catches that Pittsburgh receiver Marcus Christianson caught in this game alone.
DOMINANT DISPLAY BY RIVERMEN
Chuck Rayford threw for 217 yards with Marco Weir making 7 catches for 92 yards as the Cincinnati Riverman easily navigated their way past National Conference East Division rival Miami, blanking the Mariners 31-0. The Rivermen, who at 5-2 now lead Miami by a game atop the East Division, travel to Atlanta next weekend to face division doormat Atlanta while the Mariners also face a division rival on the road, meeting the slumping New York Titans.
The Atlanta Firebirds fell to 0-7 with a 24-3 loss in Buffalo. Jason Myers threw for 227 yards and 3 touchdowns to lead the Red Jackets with two of his scoring tosses going to Christian Jenkins. Buffalo's other big receiver, Tom Bowens Jr., had 4 catches for his second straight strong game and appears to be fully recovered from the dislocated finger that slowed the playoff MVP from last season. Buffalo is 3-4 and with a date with the undefeated Washington Wasps on the calendar for next week, the defending World Classic champions playoff hopes for this season are very much in doubt.
DRILLERS COME UP WITH BIG WIN OVER NEW ORLEANS
The other team to reach the World Classic a year ago is also off to a slow start but the Houston Drillers came up with a big victory on Sunday, topping the New Orleans Crescents 16-6 to leave both American Conference West Division rivals at 4-3. It was a classic Drillers game, relying on their mighty defense to shut down a Crescents team that has also developed a dominant defense this season. Randall Silva's 65-yard touchdown pass to James Estrella late in the fourth quarter put the game away for Houston but the big story was the Drillers defensive line led by Roger Hansen, who had 7 tackles, a sack and forced a fumble. The 26-year-old Hansen seems to be taking the role of Drillers defensive star away from Bobby Barrell Jr. just as Barrell himself succeeded John Padgett giving Houston a terrific lineage in elite defensive ends.
Houston will have a tough test next week when they travel to Cleveland while the Crescents visit the Los Angeles Tigers. Both teams are chasing the San Francisco Wings who lead the division with a 5-2 record follow a 16-3 victory at Golden Gate Stadium over the New York Stars. Charles Singletary led the Wings with 213 yards passing but he was also intercepted twice. San Francisco is off to Milwaukee next week to face the 2-5 Stags.
For the second time this season to Los Angeles Tigers went to overtime. The winless Tigers settled for a tie against Detroit a month ago but this time they came up on the short-end as the cross-town Los Angeles Olympians beat the Tigers 16-10 on a 9-yard touchdown run by Michael Lafferty. It marked just the third meeting ever between the two Los Angeles clubs. The Olympians lead the series 2 wins to one.
Finally in Seattle the visiting Denver Mountaineers won for the third consecutive week, nipping the Seattle Roughnecks 20-13 in a meeting of National Conference West Division rivals. Robert Haas had another big day for the Mountaineers, throwing for 166 yards and 2 touchdowns while also carrying the ball for 82 yards. The Mountaineers are 5-2 and will host the Olympians next Sunday. Los Angeles is also 5-2 and shares the division lead with Denver. Seattle, at 3-4 welcomes Pittsburgh to Seattle Municipal Stadium next weekend.
LALLY, PARKER, SECURE 47 OF 48 FIRST PLACE WHITNEY AWARDS
By TWIFS Baseball Editor Tip HarrisonAfter the All-Star game debacle, I was worried that obvious Whitney winner Tom Lally would once again be foiled by an anti-LA voter (or at least a Copperhead fan), as this time the superstar shortstop received all votes, with Copperhead Jack Blair (.334, 17, 114, 37) and Lally's Robin in Sam Forrester (.281, 27, 116, 43) a distant second and third. It's not really their faults, they had elite, Whitney quality seasons, but when the games are regular, there's no one better then Lally.
Winning back-to-back Whitneys, Lally was worth an absurd 10.3 WAR, over a full win higher then his league leading 9.1 last season. Appearing in 158 games, he hit a strong .319/.396/.539 (158 OPS+), totaling 32 doubles, 5 triples, 31 homers, 111 runs, 107 RBIs, 77 walks, and 9 steals. Along with WAR, Lally led the Fed in homers, slugging, runs, total bases (390), extra base hits (68), ISO (.221), and wOBA (.418), while his OPS+ was just one point behind Kellogg winner Lou Strader (.329, 19, 68).
An obvious choice for the award, Lally not only performed statistically, but helped his team capture their second consecutive divisions title and first World Championship appearance. Rightfully ranked as FABL's top position player, he'll enter year five 4-for-4 on All-Star selections, and his 30.6 WAR in just 596 games is a total that some quality players spend the better part of a decade trying to reach. Paired with a .302/.385/.472 (145 OPS+) batting line, he's punched out 80 homers with 108 doubles, 309 RBIs, and 371 runs, drawing almost as many walks (295) as times he's been struck out (305).
Of course, the postseason is different, and that may be all he's remembered for. This year, he was at least above average, 10-for-39 with a homer, 2 doubles, and a 113 WRC+, but he was hitless in the first two games of the WCS, and came up short in major run scoring opportunities. It's unfair to let a few October games take away from four seasons of greatness, but until Lally gets over the postseason hump, his detractors will always harp on his lack of "clutch" when his team needs him most.
In the Conti, all but one vote was cast in favor of Nick Parker, who unlike the inconsistent Wranglers, consistently mashed the ball all season. Whether it was injury or his teammate's poor performance, there was nothing that could impede his bat. While not even half the glove Lally is, Parker is actually the superior hitter, as his .345/.448/.565 (177 OPS+) batting line is a step above Lally's, and one of the best you'll see in any season. Parker came two average points way from a triple crown, leading the Conti with his 29 homers and 110 RBIs, as well as OBP, slugging, OPS, hits (193), WAR (7.2), walks (105), ISO (.220), OPS+, and wOBA (.431). A complete offensive season, very few did anything better then he did, and it's a slight recompense for Dallas falling from title contender to barely over .500.
As crazy as it sounds, he almost had a better claim for the award then Lally, but unlike the Stars star he did not convince everybody. One vote went to the Kings' catcher Fred Tollefson, who was a crucial part of Seattle winning a Conti best 107 wins, and a talented player in his own right. An oddity as a 20/20 catcher, Tollefson hit a strong .289/.358/.494 (134 OPS+) with 21 doubles, 24 homers, 22 steals, 86 runs, 88 RBIs, and 54 walks. His 6.8 WAR came second to Parker, as his catching defense and baserunning make up a lot of the gap in offense. Whether he was deserving or not of the first place vote is up to interpretation, but his numbers were still Whitney worthy, and the only impact it had was preventing both winners from being unanimous.
Comets Continue to Collect Relief Pitching- I'm not sure if Comet GM Allen Jones realizes it, but you do not need to only acquire relief pitching. In the past two weeks, the Comets added three more pitchers that will likely throw out of the pen, giving them six since the offseason started. Following up the three trades with Baltimore, they made three with Cincinnati, starting with last week's acquisition of Bob Nelson, who during the season went from Baltimore to Cincinnati. A well traveled vet, the now 36-year-old debuted at 21 for the Saints in 1961, where he spent parts of ten seasons. An even 89-89 with 29 saves and 29 holds, he's thrown 1,597 FABL innings, though a vast majority came in his first five seasons when he was primarily a starting pitcher. He's started just 7 games since 1969, and all 45 appearances this season came out of the pen. Nelson was effective in his work, holding a 3.26 ERA (118 ERA+) and 1.28 WHIP in 58 innings.
- On the 30th, they added two more arms, picking up Max Reed and Jack Turner. Reed, like Nelson, went from Baltimore to Cincy midseason, but he did make some starts. 10 of his 23 outings came as the starter, and he was 7-3 with a save, 4.19 ERA (92 ERA+), 1.31 WHIP, and 40 strikeouts in 86 innings between the two spots. Turner then is the closest thing to a full-time starter, as he started 11 of 14 games for Cincy this season, and only started games from 1970 to 1974. Now 32, the former first rounder will return to Houston, where he spent the '69 and '70 season. Appearing in 76 games (55 starts) he went 16-23 with a 4.07 ERA (105 ERA+), 1.41 WHIP, and 236 strikeouts. It's his best team performance, and the Comets will hope to get similar production from him this coming season.
- The trio of trades netted the Cannons four prospects, with two coming from the Reed deal this added almost 25-year-old righty Leo Mondi and almost 23-year-old infielder Eddie Poinsot. The younger Poinsot has gotten all the way up to AAA, though neither ranks inside the league's top 500. Righty Eddie Baker, acquired for Turner, and catcher Harry Gayle, acquired for Nelson, rank outside as well, with Gayle the only prospect inside the Cannons' top 40. He checks in at 20 and is now their currently highest ranked unranked prospect. A former 7th Round pick of the Millers, he was actually cut by them a year after the draft, and spent three months unemployed before joining the Comets organization. A hard working 21-year-old, he got into limited action this season, but despite that OSA thinks he has great bat speed and an elite hit tool. His new organization may look to involve him more, and with a strong showing he could crack the top-500.
Managerial Notes: Starr, Chiefs
- Along with being active in the trade market, the Cannons picked up a new manager, signing Keystone first base coach Wayne Starr to a 2-year, $38,500 per year contract. An Ohio native, Starr went to Queen City College -- not too far from Tice Memorial Stadium -- and was drafted by the Minutemen in the 23rd Round of the 1935 draft. A career minor league outfielder with no relation to current outfielder Bob Starr (.248, 15, 81), it will be his first managerial job, which may not be the best position for him. Receiving rave reviews as a base coach, he's great at teaching all facets of the game, with numerous Keystone players reporting he aided them in improving their defense or baserunning. Starr replaced 61-year-old Charlie Britton, who managed the Cannons for each of the last five seasons, and did not receive a contract extension. His best season was 1972, when he finished 91-71, but he finished below .500 in three of the other four years.
- Plenty of FABL teams have coaching roles open, but after replacing Britton, the only open managerial spot belongs to the Chicago Chiefs. Their staff is almost completely barren, with just GM and hitting coach currently filled. They did not bring back Ollie Howard for year four, as the former Chief manager finished his tenure 231-255. Before Chicago he spent six years as the Imperials bench coach, and if he wants to work for a FABL team in 1976, it will have to be in a different role. Chicago has kept their managerial candidates close to the vest, but Britton would be a legitimate candidate, as would fired Pioneers manager Babe Johnson and fired Sailors manager Bob Harris, but there are plenty of first time choices if they don't need an established option.
RODGERS HAS MOTORS ENGINE RUNNING HOTA loss last night poured a little cold water on the Detroit Motors but the club is surprisingly the hottest team in the North American Hockey Confederation as the season approaches the end of its first thirty days. Few would have expected Motors to reel off a stretch of play that saw them earn eight victories and a tie in nine outings but that is exactly what Detroit did until their run came to a close with a 6-3 loss to the Grizzlies in Calgary last night.
Detroit, which missed the playoffs last season and then traded scoring star Yves Dagenais -who finished second in league scoring a year ago- to the Philadelphia Rouges to do much of anything this year. The expectation was the Motors would be lucky to be in the playoff hunt but, and yes it is still early, the Motors have been the surprise team of the league going 8-2-1 to start the season... a record surpassed only by that of the defending Challenge Cup champion Montreal Valiants.
It is easy to point to Charlie Rodgers as the key cog in the Detroit revival. Rodgers replaced Dagenais as team captain and the 28-year-old who had been playing alongside the stellar playmaker for the past couple of seasons, seemed to have found new heights as a solo performer. Rodgers set a career high in goals with 27 in his first season with Detroit two years ago after coming over in a trade with St Louis but he is threatening to surpass that total by Christmas with the start he has had. The left winger leads the NAHC with 13 goals in 11 games and also tops the league in points with 23.
Joining Rodgers on the Motors top line has been center Andy Allenson and right winger Joel Couture. Allenson, just 21 and a second round pick in the 1972 draft, spent each of the past two seasons with Detroit but played sparingly and collected just 44 points in 157 games over that span. This year he has picked up a thing or two from watching Dagenais, the reigning NAHC assist leader, and counts 13 assists among his 17 points while Couture has 12 points although only three of them are goals. Couture is 29 and has spent the past 8 years in Detroit meaning he was a part of a pair of Challenge Cup wins on teams led by Dagenais and Hobie Barrell.
Couture is not ready to compare the current group of Motors to the Cup champions of 1970 and 1972 but he sees a lot of similarities and feels this team will surprise some clubs. So far the Motors have done exactly that counting wins over league powerhouses Boston and Philadelphia as part of their early run of success.
NAHC NOTES
- Defenseman Mark Moggy of the Montreal Valiants was named the NAHC player of the month for October. The eight-time Dewar Trophy winner as top defenseman who also won a McDaniels Trophy as league MVP in 1968-69, collected 20 points in 11 games last month helping the defending Challenge Cup champions to a league leading 18 points.
- The news was not all good for the Vals as they learned winger Brooks Ivey will be sidelined at least 3 more months. The 34-year-old, who collected 48 points a year ago, was injured in the season opener. Originally expected to be out about a month, the news came this week that Ivey will be sidelined much longer.
- New York also received unwelcome news when it was revealed rookie center Larry Palmer will miss a month with an injury. The 25-year-old had 6 points in 10 games.
- Detroit Motors defenseman/left winger Andrew Williams has moved into a tie with Paddy O'Donoghue for 13th all-time in NAHC goals with 317. Former Toronto legend Quinton Pollack is the all-time leader with 788.
- Danny Cabbell of the New York Shamrocks had a night to remember against the Chicago Packers on Saturday. The 29-year-old had 7 points, a goal and 6 helpers, in one of the wildest games seen in quite some time. The two teams skated to a 10-10 tie. Cabbell, the son of long-time Shamrocks captain Orval Cabbell, finished one point shy of the single game record of 8 which has been accomplished several times including most recently by Ollie Perreault with Toronto three years ago.
- Three players collected hat tricks last week: Charlie Rodgers of Detroit, Milt Young of Toronto and Pat Valentine of St Louis.
DEMONS COME OUT FLYING IN FBL DEBUTIf this is a dream, nobody in New Jersey is in any hurry to wake up.
The New Jersey Demons — a club that barely existed two months ago — now sits atop the Federal Basketball League with a sparkling 9–1 record.
Read that again. Nine wins. One loss. First place. And this from a franchise that was the doormat of the old Continental Basketball League just a year ago.
The story of how the Demons even landed in the FBL has been told often, but it still sounds like something cooked up on a long train ride.
When the CBL folded last June, New Jersey wasn’t among the four clubs selected to move into the new league. That might have been the end of it — except owner Kevin Oliphant had other ideas.
He went out and bought one of those teams outright — the Pittsburgh Ironmen — and promptly moved it east. Then came the arm-twisting. New Jersey had to win approval from both the New York Knights and Philadelphia Phantoms to share their territorial backyard.
That took time. It took money. It took persistence. What nobody expected was that it would also produce a winner — and this quickly.
*** A Team That Came Together in a Hurry ***
The Demons didn’t just change leagues. They changed almost everything.
Larry Jurgielewicz was handed the coaching reins after seven seasons as an assistant with Pittsburgh, and much of that Ironmen roster — a club that finished second in the CBL last year — made the trip to New Jersey with him. It gave the Demons something most expansion teams lack: a foundation.
Then came a key addition.
Center Jack Bicknell, one of the few bright spots from the Demons’ previous, forgettable existence, has found new life. Surrounded by better talent, he has blossomed into one of the league’s most dangerous scorers, pouring in better than 30 points per game.
The pieces fit. Quickly.
Sometimes that happens in basketball. More often, it doesn’t.
*** Statement Wins Turning Heads ***
The record alone would raise eyebrows. The way the Demons have built it has people paying attention.
They’ve already knocked off the defending CBL champion Cincinnati Steamers and outgunned the high-powered St. Louis Rockets in a wild 146–133 shootout. That night, even a 46-point explosion from league legend Jack Brantner wasn’t enough to slow them down.
This isn’t a team sneaking up on anyone anymore.
*** The Question Everyone Is Asking ***
The Demons now sit three games clear of both Boston and New York atop the Atlantic Division. That’s the good news. The question — the only question — is whether this can last.
It’s one thing to sprint out of the gate when nobody knows quite what you are. It’s another to hold that pace once the league adjusts, once the scouting reports thicken, once the road gets longer.
But that’s a question for another day.
For now, New Jersey has a team worth watching — and a start nobody saw coming. Around here, they’re enjoying it while they can. And maybe keeping one eye open, just in case someone tries to wake them up.
The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 11/02/1975
- President Ford asked Congress to approve legislation to ensure police and fire protection and other essential services continue if New York City defaults on its debts but Ford announced for the first time he will veto any bail-out legislation that provides federal debt guarantees or other financial help for the nation's largest city.
- The House has killed legislation to raise the national debt ceiling, forcing the Ways and Means Committee back to planning stages after it had offered a bill for a $20 billion increase of the debt to $597 billion.
- In a major reshuffling of his top national security posts, Ford has dismissed Secretary of Defense James Schlessinger as well as his director of central intelligence William Colby. He has also asked Henry Kissinger to relinquish his post as the national security advisor in the White House but to stay on as head of the State Department.
- Egyptian President Anwar Sadat made a formal request before the UN General Assembly for an early resumption of the Mideast peace conference with the participation of the Palestine Liberation Organization but the plan was immediately shot down by Israel which responded that it "would be ludicrous to image that we would sit down with the PLO."
- Battling Lebanese factions agreed to a cease-fire in Beirut while security forces in armored cars evacuated a dozen foreigners trapped in two tourist hotels but it held barely 48 hours before machine gun and rocket battles waged once more. 41 were killed and 76 wounded in the past 24 hours.
- The Spanish government removed critically ill Francisco Franco from power and named his hand-picked heir, Prince Juan Carlos de Borbon, temporary head of state. It marks the end of the generalissimo's 36-year domination of Spanish affairs.
- Two daring burglars with Alpine ropes climbed down through air ducts into the cellar treasury of medieval Cologne Cathedral and escaped with priceless Roman Catholic art works and gems stripped from other church relics. Police estimate the value of the haul at well over $1 million US dollars and call it the biggest postwar art theft in Germany.