All things Figment - from the pages of The Figment Sporting Journal

[tward13]

We're kind of switched around. The Gothams are in Queens and the Imperials in northern Manhattan.

[Tiger Fan]

OCTOBER 8, 1975

FIVE RUN FIRST FUELS FIRST EXPANSION FORAY IN FINALS

Flipping the script, it was the Los Angeles Suns who scored first, and for some Atlanta Copperhead fans, they weren't even in their seat before the visitors got on the board. It took one pitch for a baserunner, as the consistently injured Eddie Kellum (.284, 2, 27, 12) kicked things off with a single. The next at bat needed more pitches, and after working Howie Burt (16-7, 3.39, 114) full, Larry Hurlbutt (.269, 12, 44, 10) laced a doubled to quickly plate the first one.

Almost everything was working in the first for the Suns, even if Tom Lally (.319, 31, 107, 9) wasn't part of it, as after an unlikely 2-run homer from Bill Anderson (.309, 5, 27, 5), all five runners that reached base ended up scoring. And with Heinie Schmidt (16-11, 3.07, 147) on the mound, five runs is usually enough.

To Atlanta's credit, they didn't give up, as they didn't want to be remembered as just the team with the most FABL wins. They wanted to be remembered as the 1975 World Champions.

No runs were scored in the first, but Jim Duchesne (.267, 15, 87) got them on the board in the second with a solo shot, and his single in the 4th scored the speedy Jack Blair (.334, 17, 114, 37), who reached on an error and stole second. But for the most part, Schmidt put up zeros, and got one more run of support in the 6th.

Atlanta's last chance came in the 8th, when Gus Richards (.320, 10, 49, 15) and John Newton (.305, 13, 68, 29) kicked things off with a single apiece, bringing up the heart of the dangerous Copperhead order. Schmidt did get a ground out from former Whitney winner Al Hubbard (.333, 13, 75, 25), but Hubbard avoided a double play by beating the return throw to first. This bought up the speedy Jack Blair, who lined a double down the right field line. Hubbard tried to score, but was cut down by Sam Forrester (.281, 27, 116, 43) in right, killing what looked to be a big rally. Now with two outs, Schmidt was able to lock back in, getting an easy ground out to put his team three outs away from their first pennant.

LA didn't add anything in the 9th, but they still brought Schmidt out to finish things off. He got two quick outs, a ground out and strike out, but after walking reserve catcher Jack Abasi (.289, 4, 23, 6), they turned to FABL save leader Ron Clark (6-4, 40, 2.32, 81). Like he did so often during the season, he got a strikeout to end it, as the West Coast visitors were able to celebrate on their opponents home field.

Rookie outfielder Larry Hurlbutt was named series MVP, as after going 1-for-5 with an RBI double in the finale, he finished 10-for-21 with a homer, 4 runs, and 7 RBIs. Overshadowed by some of the stars on his team, the 25-year-old was worth 3 WAR in 104 games, batting .269/.327/.406 (103 OPS+) with 16 doubles, 12 homers, and 44 RBIs.

This now sets up not only a new champion, but out first expansion champion, as two of the four clubs established before the 1962 season will meet in an unlikely World Championship Series. Defeating two juggernauts with well over 100 wins, the Los Angeles Suns and New York Imperials have made baseball history, giving us an unlikely showdown that should be just as exciting and exhilarating as the Kings/Copperheads matchup nearly everyone expected.

SHOCKTOBER, COURTESY OF THE KIDS

I have covered enough Octobers to know one thing: when the script looks tidy, the game reaches for a match.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Shocktober. The Atlanta Copperheads won 112 games. One hundred and twelve. That ties a FABL record and usually earns you a parade permit in advance. The Seattle Kings won 107 and carried the polished glow of defending champions.

Both are now polishing their golf clubs.

Instead, the 1975 World Championship Series will feature the 84-78, black-and-blue, ice-pack-on-every-limb New York Imperials and the upstart, sunburned, nobody-invited-us-but-we-came-anyway Los Angeles Suns.

If you predicted that, please report to your nearest carnival and collect your stuffed bear.

*** The Imperial Improbability ***

Let’s start in Seattle, where the Imperials were supposed to provide four evenings of polite resistance before the Kings returned to their regularly scheduled coronation.

Instead, New York won the series in four games.

Four.

This from a club mocked for having the worst regular-season record ever to reach the postseason. This from a roster that looked like it had been assembled from the trainer’s waiting room.

The kid who saved them? Twenty-three-year-old rookie Brian Miller, pressed into duty by late injuries and apparently unaware he was meant to be overmatched. Seven runs batted in. Continental Association Championship Series MVP. The boy hit like he had a subway schedule to catch. And on the mound, no fairy tale — just excellence. Two-time All-Star Jim White, 19-game winner in the regular season, delivered two gems against Seattle. Calm. Efficient. Ruthless.

Meanwhile, the Kings’ vaunted arms developed October allergies. Moe Lowery, a 21-game winner, was merely human. Swede Hawkins was worse than that. The royal procession turned into a stumble.

*** The Sunset Surprise ***

Out west in the Federal Association, the Suns had a more respectable 96 wins, but they were still cast as the warm-up act for Atlanta’s victory speech.

The Copperheads were baseball’s steamroller — until they weren’t. Los Angeles won the decisive fifth game, 6-3, and sent 112 victories into storage.

The heroes arrived from unlikely addresses.

Larry Hulbert, a 25-year-old outfielder who began the season in the minors, batted .476 in the series and walked off with the Federal Association Championship Series MVP as if he’d been doing this since Little League.

Gene Meadows? He didn’t play a single regular-season game. He was on the roster because injuries demanded a body. All he did was hit a game-winning homer to steal Game Three. That’s not a résumé — that’s a movie script.

Across the diamond, Atlanta’s decorated pitching cracked. Four-time Allen Award winner Marco Middleton labored. Fellow laureate Howie Burt was battered in both starts, posting an ERA north of seventeen. Seventeen! That’s not an ERA, that’s a bus route.

*** Expansion Brothers, First-Time Guests ***

Here’s the lovely symmetry: both the Imperials and the Suns entered the league together in 1962, alongside the Minneapolis Millers and Dallas Wranglers. It has taken thirteen seasons and a mountain of second-guessing to get here.

Neither club has ever reached the World Championship Series before. Now one of them will win it.

Los Angeles has watched the Los Angeles Stars collect four titles and eight playoff trips over the past decade. New York has mostly collected skepticism.

There will be no rematch of last year’s Atlanta-Seattle epic. No familiar villain. No defending giant.

Just something new.

*** So Who Wins? ***

You’re asking the wrong man.

After watching 219 combined regular-season victories exit through the side door, only a fool would offer certainty.

Are the Imperials a team of destiny — stitched together, overlooked, and fearless? Or are the Suns finally ready to step out of the Stars’ long shadow and claim their own October spotlight?

I will say this: when unlikely heroes start multiplying and favorites start blinking, baseball is telling you it has plans of its own.

We asked for a coronation. We got a revolution.

And somewhere, a rookie with grass stains on his uniform is about to become immortal.

Monthly Awards: Federal

• Houston may not have managed to pass the Suns, but after a nice 17-10 September, two of their players were awarded for their performance. 31-year-old outfielder John Edwards saved his best month for last, taking homer Batter of the Month by slashing .289/.378/.536 (149 OPS+) with 6 doubles, 3 triples, 4 homers, 14 walks, 19 RBIs, and 24 walks. The 9-Time All-Star did not have the greatest first full season with the Arrows, hitting just .259/.374/.403 (113 OPS+) in 679 trips to the plate. While not bad, his 113 OPS+ and 120 WRC+ were both the lowest marks he produced since 1963, a season he started when he was just 18. Edwards did draw 104 walks, his seventh time walking 100 or more times, and gave his new team 27 doubles, 6 triples, 14 homers, 88 RBIs, and 106 runs scored.
• On the pitching side, it was #2 Johnny Blackburn, who should receive consideration for the Allen award. Blackburn was a perfect 4-0 in 6 September starts, finishing with a Fed high 20 wins in 35 starts. Blackburn held a 1.77 ERA (219 ERA+) and 1.12 WHIP, striking out 24 in 45.2 innings pitched. One of the top pitchers in the game, he started 35 or more game for the fifth consecutive season, working to a 2.70 ERA (144 ERA+), 3.30 FIP (84 FIP-), and 1.14 WHIP. The 27-year-old struck out 153 with 80 walks in 257 innings pitched, and currently ranks as the 3rd best pitcher in FABL.
• The only non-Comet to come home with an award came from an unlikely source, as Eagles starter-turned-stopper Don Eddy saved his best for last. 1975 was not easy for the lefty, but his 1976 fortune could be improved by the way he finished his year. September was his second month in the pen, where he made 14 appearances and threw 21.2 innings for the 5th place Eagles. Eddy worked to a 1.66 ERA (232 ERA+) with 6 saves, though more walks (12) then strikeouts (10) led to an elevated 1.38 WHIP. Command has been an issue for the former 8th Rounder all season, as he walked 97 hitters in 150.2 innings, finishing 6-12 with 14 saves, a 4.60 ERA (84 ERA+) and 1.69 WHIP.

Monthly Awards: Continental

• Nick Parker firmly established his Whitney candidacy, as after taking the August Batter of the Month off, he won his third Batter of the Month in September. Joining his nominations in June and July, the 2-Time All-Star hit an astronomical .420/.549/.705 (243 OPS+) with 7 doubles, 6 homers, 23 runs, 27 RBIs, and an absurd 22-to-8 walk-to-strikeout ratio. "Healthy" enough to appear in 154 games, Parker hit a robust .345/.448/.565 (177 OPS+) while leading the Conti in hits (193), homers (29), RBIs (110), walks (105), OBP, slugging, OPS (1.013), WRC+ (176), wOBA (.431), and WAR (7.3). Add in 34 doubles and just 49 strikeouts, it's hard to find a better seasonal production in his association, and he's more then earned my vote for the Whitney. While not as obvious as the Fed race, the only other guys I can sort of see getting votes are 20/20 catcher Fred Tollefson (.289, 24, 88, 22) and the injured Imperial breakout star Woody Richardson (.347, 13, 82), but almost every important offensive category was led by the Wrangler's first basemen.
• Despite finishing a game short, the Arrows can't blame Pitcher of the Month Jim Hart for them missing the postseason, as their almost 28-year-old stopper was key in their last attempt for the division. Hart threw 21.2 innings across 12 appearances, finishing 4-1 with 4 saves, a 1.66 ERA (233 ERA+), 2.19 FIP (55 FIP-), and 0.97 WHIP. Paired with a 15-to-4 strikeout-to-walk ratio, he was as efficient as he was dominant, but the offense didn't give him enough opportunities to close games. On the year, he was 9-10 with 23 saves, a 2.40 ERA (162 ERA+), 2.64 FIP (67 FIP-), and 1.13 WHIP. The second year stopper struck out 87 in 112.2 innings, but unlike September he did allow free passes. There were 40, and his 8.6 BB% was actually an improvement from the following season. Walks aside, he's a dominant back-end arm, and was rewarded with his first All-Star selection this Summer.
• For the first time since ERA leader Bill Bartlett's (13-5, 2.14, 72) June debut, the Continental Rookie of the Month went to another player. In part due to Bartlett making just four starts, one of which saw him beat down for 7 runs in 3.2 innings, but he still held a 2.93 ERA and 1.08 WHIP and was an error away from two shutouts. But to Lew Cross' credit, he was dangerous for pitcher's facing the Sailors, batting .312/.330/.542 (139 OPS+) with 4 doubles, 6 homers, 13 runs, and 21 RBIs. Now 28, this increase the first basemen's season line to .296/.342/.448 (118 OPS+) with 9 doubles, 11 homers, 34 runs, and 41 RBIs in 84 games. A former 13th Rounder, just getting to San Francisco was a big achievement, and hopefully after Bartlett's Hall of Fame career ends, he can take pride in knowing he was the only Continental rookie to prevent him from winning Rookie of the Month.

The DAY That Was
Current events making headlines on October 8, 1975

• President Ford made a pitch for his $28 billion tax cut, matched by an equal reduction in federal spending. The President also expressed concern about natural gas shortages across the country.
• The President's tax cut was deemed "an impossible one" according to the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, noting the President is asking the Committee to put a ceiling on a budget it hasn't seen.
• Ronald Reagan unofficially launched his Presidential campaign, declaring for the New Hampshire primary and telling supporters "I must be able to demonstrate the ability to stand on my own two feet" with a challenge to President Ford in the first primary election of 1976.
• Nervous police in guerrilla-harassed Barcelona opened fire on a carload of innocent passersby and a police jeep, killing 3 civilians and two of their own officers. It raised the death toll to eight policemen and four civilians in seven days of political violence.
• Leading doctors claimed yesterday that Britain's 27 year-old socialized medicine system is headed for collapse dur to an exodus of doctors seeking better pay in other countries.
• A cornered bank bandit took 10 hostages in New York and demanded as the price for freedom the release of newspaper heiress Patricia Hearst. The gunman was captured 8 hours after the siege began, and the last of his captives was freed unharmed.

[Tiger Fan]

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 SATURDAY

If 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.

[Sevsdast]

Wow... congrats to the suns and Imps! Also, WOW the Academia Alliance is getting hot!

[Tiger Fan]

OCTOBER 14, 1975

IMPERIALS INCHES AWAY FROM UNLIKELY CHAMPIONSHIP

When the New York Imperials limped into the postseason, no one gave them a second look.

Now all they need is one more win to etch their name into baseball history.

Despite the hitting being what got them here, it's the rotation that's the reason they are on the cusp of becoming the first expansion team to win a World Championship Series.

Back in New York, in front of their still young and passionate fanbase, the scrappy squad did exactly what they needed to. Scoring was tough to come by, but when it mattered most, they did that too.

Game three got going quick, as after Don Bradner (10-9, 3.31, 117) got a quick 1-2-3, the Imps went right to work. George Love (.261, 21, 80, 23) worked a full count walk, stole second, got to third on a ground out, and then scored on a sac-fly.

After that, Suns starter Bob Hinzman (15-11, 3.00, 127) matched Bradner pretty well. Neither team got anything else through seven, which ended up being Bradner's exit. The veteran was outstanding, 7 scoreless with 4 hits, 2 walks, and 6 strikeouts, but in a 1-run game, Imperial manager Jim Abernathy decided that 102 pitches was enough for his starter, and it was time for stopper Ed Cooper (2-11, 33, 3.36, 55) to finish things off.

It was one of New York's rare missteps, as after a quick first out, it was time for Tom Lally (.319, 31, 107, 9) and Sam Forrester (.281, 27, 116, 43) to finally get something going. Both guys singled, leaving runners on second and third with just one out. Ike Brown (.222, 1, 5, 1) came in as a pinch hitter to make something happen, and while it wasn't what he might have wanted, a sac-fly got his Suns back even, and allowed Bill Perry (.255, 9, 74, 20) to break the tie with a double.

Cooper did get a quick third out, but at that point the damage looked like it was done. Instead, the Imps didn't let their guy down, and got going right away in the bottom half. Bob Scott (.295, 4, 25) got things going with a bases loaded walk, but he didn't stay there too long. Again, George Love made things happen, going from scorer to producer with an RBI double to re-tie the game. Unfortunately for him, Abernathy told Al Reece (.337, 9, 66, 18) to bunt, despite his elite ability to get on base, and it was such a poor bunt that Love got gunned at third.

But, as the Imperials appear to be a team of destiny, they found another way. With just one out, they had plenty of chances left, and CCS MVP Brian Miller (.254, 4, 21) added to his postseason legacy. He bashed a double of his own, allowing Reece to scurry home and retake the lead. No insurance could be added, but the Imps were right back where they needed to be. On top.

Cooper came out for the 9th, and this times kept the shenanigans to a minimum. Two quick outs put him in a good position, and after Eddie Kellum's (.284, 2, 27, 12) first pitch single, no more damage would be done, giving New York the lead.

Game 4 got started in a similar way, and with Jim White (19-10, 3.63, 225) back on the mound, giving up early runs is not a great strategy. White got a quick 1-2-3, but Suns' ace Heinie Schmidt (16-11, 3.07, 147) was not as lucky. Things got going with Owen Drake's (.268, 17, 61) leadoff double, eventually scoring on George Love's fielder's choice.

Again though, the lead didn't last, as Schmidt managed zeros until his guys could tie it back up. It came to start the fifth, as Jim Thurman (.306, 10, 69) unloaded a massive solo shot. It wasn't enough to shake the short-rested ace, as he quickly recovered and finished seven. It came with 3 hits, a run, 3 walks, and 4 strikeouts, but with no lead, he couldn't pick up a win.

But lucky for the Imperials, the 8th inning worked again. Schmidt came back, as he was pitching quite well, and it really wasn't his fault things fell apart. I mean, Drake reached on an error and Brian Miller put down a pretty nice bunt that no one could field easily. But what came next is solely on Schmidt, as the talented pitcher might have let the context get to him. He got ahead of Al Reece, let him work the count back full, and then watched a pitch fly 406 feet from home plate, as a rowdy Reece and Dyckman Stadium yelled, screamed, and jumped as they realized they were one game away from the crown.

Schmidt did recover, a nice 1-2-3, but it was too little too late. Back for a second inning, Ed Cooper was much better then the night before, as while he allowed another hit to Bill Perry, the other three outs came easier, and all momentum was with the home team.

With their back's now against the wall, LA needs to be perfect, and needs dominance from their rotation. Whether it's Game-1 starter Al Whitman (5-3, 3.18, 53) or a short-rested Pete Meissner (17-8, 3.08, 173) dominance is needed, as the offense has not been able to put runs together outside of game two. They have just three total runs in their three losses and a single multi-hit game, as they've had very few opportunities to get things going.

On the bright side, they'll at least see Emmett Thornton (17-6, 3.45, 91) again, as he's been the only Imperial pitcher they've really been able to solve. He was hit hard in game two, charged with 4 runs off 10 hits and 2 walks in 5.2 innings. The bottom of the Suns did a lot of damage in that one, but has been silent ever since. Thrust into an elimination situation with underperforming stars, the task in front of LA seems insurmountable, but we all know far too well what happens when you underestimate a team, or count another out.

Just ask the Imperials! They know first hand not to underestimate a team when glory is on the line. Seattle sure did, and maybe LA did too.

Oh well, their loss!

WASPS, COWBOYS LAST UNBEATENS AFTER FOUR WEEKS

With the first month of the American Football Association season now in the books, the list of perfect teams has been trimmed to two: the Washington Wasps and the Kansas City Cowboys. Both improved to 4-0 with victories over the weekend as the early-season picture around the league began to take shape.

Washington’s win came the hard way. The Wasps were held scoreless through most of the first half by the visiting New York Stars before finally breaking through late in the second quarter. A methodical 14-play, 83-yard march — helped along by three Stars penalties — ended with a 6-yard touchdown reception by Michael Alexander from quarterback Charles Hartman with two minutes left before halftime.

That proved more than enough for the Washington defense, which smothered the Stars the rest of the afternoon. New York managed just six first downs and 162 total yards as the Wasps cruised to a 17-0 victory. Alexander added a second scoring catch in the closing minutes while kicker Jimmy Casper chipped in with a third-quarter field goal.

Next up for Washington is another American Conference East opponent, the winless Philadelphia Frigates.

Philadelphia nearly pulled off a comeback of its own Sunday in Milwaukee but fell short in a wild 44-38 loss to the Milwaukee Stags. Frigates quarterback Butch White threw for 277 yards and four touchdowns but was also intercepted three times, including a 38-yard return by Stags safety Brian Reade that helped Milwaukee build a commanding lead before the late Philadelphia rally.

*** Sellers Leads Cowboys Past Denver ***

The other unbeaten club, Kansas City, had to work a little harder.

Quarterback Joshua Sellers outdueled reigning league MVP Robert Haas as the Cowboys edged the Denver Mountaineers 30-22 in an entertaining passing battle. Sellers completed 19 of 35 passes for 211 yards and two touchdowns while Haas countered with 188 yards and two scores of his own.

Kansas City will host the Detroit Maroons next week after Detroit suffered a rough afternoon in Cleveland. The Cleveland Finches rolled to a convincing victory behind quarterback Danny Boudreaux’s 213 passing yards and two touchdowns. Detroit, forced to start Jimmy Moore while regular quarterback Charlie Sonnenberg recovers from a broken wrist, struggled badly in the passing game and allowed five sacks, three by Finches tackle Todd Ward.

*** Red Jackets Finally Get One ***

The defending champion Buffalo Red Jackets finally found the win column, holding off the Miami Mariners 23-20 in a game that may have salvaged Buffalo’s season.

The key moment came late in the third quarter. After Miami quarterback Jeff Conroy connected with Preston Riendeau on a touchdown pass to pull the Mariners within three points, Buffalo return man Dwight McAllister answered immediately with a dazzling 105-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. That play restored a ten-point cushion and proved decisive as the Red Jackets improved to 1-3.

Quarterback Jason Myers returned to the lineup after missing nearly three games with a knee injury but looked rusty, completing 10 of 23 passes for just 80 yards. Still, the victory kept Buffalo from slipping to a potentially disastrous 0-4 start.

*** Roughnecks Upset Rivermen ***

One of the weekend’s bigger surprises came in Seattle where the Seattle Roughnecks knocked off the previously unbeaten Cincinnati Rivermen 10-3.

Seattle quarterback Ellis Rich engineered the game’s only touchdown drive late in the first half, connecting with rookie wide receiver Bobby Gatewood on a 22-yard scoring pass. The Roughnecks defense handled the rest, holding Cincinnati to just 56 rushing yards. The victory lifted Seattle to 2-2 while dropping the Rivermen to 3-1.

Around the League

The New York Titans rebounded from last week’s loss to Cincinnati with a 19-7 win over the winless Atlanta Firebirds. Quarterback James Tovar completed 25 of 38 passes, eight of them to wide receiver Richard Salcedo.

In Boston, the Boston Americans staged a dramatic finish to defeat the San Francisco Wings 34-27. Tight end Kendrick Sullivan caught a 22-yard touchdown pass from Juan Huff with just 46 seconds remaining to break a late tie. Running back Jeff Shelton paced Boston’s ground attack with 151 yards.

Down in Texas, the Houston Drillers shut out the Los Angeles Tigers 17-0 behind a strong defensive effort led by veteran end Bobby Barrell Jr., who recorded nine tackles and his fourth sack of the season. Rookie running back Scott Starling chipped in with 109 rushing yards and his first AFA touchdown.

The Chicago Wildcats remain the league’s most beleaguered club. Chicago fell to 0-4 with a 17-7 loss to the New Orleans Crescents as quarterback Carl Pederson was sacked a staggering 14 times. That brings the Wildcats’ season total to 50 sacks allowed in just four games.

The San Diego Admirals picked up their first win of the season, defeating the Minnesota Lakers 23-15 behind quarterback Emery Cartwright’s 198 yards passing and two touchdowns.

The Dallas Stallions slipped past the Pittsburgh Paladins 16-13 to leave both clubs at 2-2, while the St. Louis Ramblers defeated the Los Angeles Olympians 10-6 thanks largely to a 41-yard interception return for a touchdown by cornerback Tobias James. It was the first time in four meetings that St Louis had ever defeated the Olympians.

Four weeks down, the Wasps and Cowboys remain perfect — but as the rest of the league showed this weekend, no one else is far from the chase.

AVIATORS DERAIL ENGINEERS IN GLA OPENER
Detroit City Stops the Bleeding With Win Over Vikings

The Great Lakes Alliance dove head first into conference play over the weekend and the conference provided plenty of excitement on the football field. Among the highlights included a 4th straight victory for Central Ohio and the Detroit City College Knights finally getting a victory after dropping all three of their out of conference contests to commence the campaign.

In Columbus it was a battle of unbeatens as a determined Whitney College squad, 3-0 and -a rarity- ranked in the top twenty invaded southern Ohio with an eye on upsetting the Aviators. Central Ohio, always a power in the Great Lakes Alliance but has not won the conference crown in four years, also was perfect entering the game and ranked #6 entering the game. Sophomore quarterback Robert Guenther, who seems to have found a new level after a very good freshman campaign that guided Whitney College to a New Year's appearance for the first time in school history, had a great start on Saturday and thanks to a pair of touchdown passes to Sal Foot, his Engineers led 14-7 at the break. Central Ohio eventually prevailed with a 66-yard touchdown pass from George Stephens to Michael Smith with less than two minutes remaining provided the margin of victory in a 17-14 Aviators win but Central Ohio knew it was in a game. The Engineers matched the mighty Aviators all day and likely deserved a better outcome but this showing proved their 10-2 season of a year ago was not a fluke and if Central Ohio stumbles, Whitney College might just challenge for a spot in the East-West Classic.

The Detroit City College Knights have headed to Santa Ana each of the past two New Years, but this season has been a disaster as junior quarterback Pete Patterson has had his struggles trying to step into the big shoes formerly filled by graduated stat Harold Robinson. DCC lost each of its opening three games but Patterson looked like a new man in the conference opener. He threw 4 touchdown passes, completing 13 of his 16 throws as the Knights knocked St Magnus from the ranks of the unbeaten with a 31-24. Sophomore Knights running back Bruce Roberts also had a big day, gaining 160 yards on the day. The Vikings entered the game ranked 8th in the nation but indicative of how lightly the Knights are now being taken, St. Magnus dropped out of the top 25 entirely with the loss.

St Ignatius climbed in the polls and knocked Indiana A&M out after the Lancers upset the Reapers in Terre Haute by a 23-10 score. The St. Ignatius defense completely shut down the Reapers offense, holding Indiana A&M to just 115 total yards and their only touchdown came on a 102-yard kick-off return by John Parker. Backs Christopher Agnew and Cory Shinn combined for 195 to lead the Lancers offense. Both schools are now 3-1. St. Ignatius has another tough road game next weekend as they face Whitney College.

In other Great Lakes Alliance opening week action Minnesota Tech took advantage of four Lincoln College turnovers as the Lakers dumped the Presidents 26-7 while in Milwaukee the Wisconsin State Brewers had little trouble with Western Iowa, blanking the Canaries 29-0 on the strength of a pair of James Jackson touchdown passes.

FIGHTING SAINTS REMAIN PERFECT WITH WIN OVER HENRY HUDSON

Henry Sneed threw for 237 yards and four touchdowns to help the St. Blane Fighting Saints improve to 3-0 with a decisive 25-19 victory over the Henry Hudson Explorers. The game, played before a capacity crowd at New York's Gothams Stadium, was a showcase of the Saints offense which ended up compiling 473 yards nearly equally dividend between precision passing from the freshman quarterback Sneed and an impressive ground game keyed by the backfield duo of senior Raleigh Cutler and sophomore Boyd Freeman who rushed for 115 and 114 yards respectively.

Henry Hudson, which has never defeated St Blane, looked outgunned from the opening St Blane possession, which needed just four plays to take the lead including a swing pass to Cutler that the Saints back turned into a 48-yard touchdown run. A pair of first down runs by Cutler on the next Saints possession set up a 1-yard scoring dive by Freeman to put St Blane up 14-0 before the game was eight minutes old. Henry Hudson did get on the scoreboard a short time later with a 43-yard field goal and early in the second quarter the Academia Alliance squad cut the lead to 14-10 when Explorers safety Clark Hager intercepted a Sneed pass and raced 65 yards untouched for a touchdown to cut the St Blane lead to 14-10. That would be as close as the Explorers would get as St Blane extended its lead to 28-13 at the half thanks to a pair of Sneed touchdown throws to wide receiver Javier Chappell.

Next up for St Blane, which defeated Detroit City College and Rome State in its opening two games, is a trip to Boston to face the St. Patrick's Shamrocks, another school that has never defeated the Saints. St. Patrick's fell to 0-4 on Saturday after absorbing a 28-10 loss to the Pittsburgh State Finches in the rain at Fitzpatrick Park.

*** Bandits Extend Win Streak to Five ***

El Paso Methodist, which finished a school best ninth in the polls two years ago when they went 10-2 and played in the Desert Classic for the fifth time in a six year span, are off to a 5-0 start and ranked third in the nation following a 41-3 blasting of Bulein in Greeneville, SC on Saturday. The Bandits were once more led by the rushing duo of senior Mark Wilson and sophomore Grant Chacon who combined for 261 yards on the ground. They do not play a tough schedule but an early season win over defending national champion Redwood has added some credibility to the Bandits 5-0 start and while it is still very early it appears that only a Thanksgiving weekend matchup with Southern Border Conference rival Tempe College stands in the way of a perfect regular season for El Paso Methodist. Tempe College improved to 4-1 with a 26-7 victory over Petersburg on Saturday.

Red River State pulled off its second big upset of the season. The Rowdies opened the season with losses to Chesapeake State and Maryland State but followed that up last week with a convincing victory over struggling Detroit City College. Now they added Lawrence State to their upset victims, knocking the Chippewa from the ranks of the unbeaten with a wild 34-31 victory. The game went back and fourth with the winning touchdown -a 2 yard run by Micheal Hutcheson- coming with just over 2 minutes left in the game and as the culmination of a 17-play drive that saw the Rowdies take over seven minutes to move the ball 63 yards without completing a pass.

In other weekend games of note

• Richard Childress, who leads the nation in passing yards, threw for 188 yards and a touchdown to help Daniel Boone College past Charleston Tech 23-15.
• American Atlantic handed winless Annapolis Maritime its third straight loss. The Pelicans remained perfect with a 24-3 triumph over the naval academy.
• Brian McNeill caught a pair of touchdown passes and ran for a third to pace 4-0 Eastern State to a 27-13 win in Nebraska over College of Omaha.
• Carolina Poly, which meets Eastern State in the South Atlantic Conference opener for both next weekend, ran its record to 3-1 after upsetting Darnell State on the road 23-17. Robert Lightner ran for 142 yards and a touchdown for the Cardinals, who rallied after falling behind 14-0 midway through the opening quarter.
• Minns College is 4-0 after barely surviving an encounter with Commonwealth Catholic. Rob Wilbur scored the game winning touchdown on a 4-yard run with less than two minutes remaining to give the Mavericks a 19-15 victory.
• A late score also kept Provo Tech unbeaten as the Lions needed a 59-yard Domingo Patterson to John Johns touchdown pass with 2:30 remaining in the game in order to hold off Alexandria 27-20.
• College of Waco, which knocked off Detroit City College in its season opener, is also 4-0 after the Cowboys edged North Carolina Tech 13-9 at home on Saturday.
• Harold Cox, a sophomore running back, went off for Wyoming AA&I against Richmond State. Cox ran for 246 yards and three touchdowns on 22 carries in a 51-10 victory for the Prospectors.
• Rome State's dismal season continues as the Centurions remain winless following a 23-7 loss to St. Pancras. The Lions are a surprising 4-0.
• Both Los Angeles schools won with Coastal California, behind 151 yards rushing from Lou Sledge, beating the Ferguson Wildcats 33-14 while CCLA, with freshman quarterback Mike Byers using his legs to run for 169 yards, downing Northern Minnesota 38-3. The Dolphins are 2-2 while the Coyotes finally picked up their first victory after starting the season with 3 consecutive losses.

WEEKEND COLLEGE FOOTBALL SCOREBOARD
Detroit City College Knights - 31, St Magnus Vikings - 24
Minnesota Tech Lakers - 26, Lincoln Presidents - 7
St Ignatius Lancers - 23, Indiana A_M Reapers - 10
Wisconsin State Brewers - 29, Western Iowa Canaries - 0
Central Ohio Aviators - 21, Whitney College Engineers - 14
St Pancras Lions - 23, Rome State Centurions - 7
Minns College Mavericks - 19, Commonwealth Catholic Knights - 15
Pittsburgh State Finches - 28, St Patrick's Shamrocks - 10
Miami State Gulls - 16, Garden State Redbirds - 14
Penn Catholic Crusaders - 41, Idaho A_M Pirates - 7
American Atlantic Pelicans - 24, Annapolis Maritime Navigators - 3
College of San Diego Friars - 41, Boston State Pirates - 14
Liberty College Bells - 41, Lambert College Stags - 3
Huntington State Miners - 42, Wisconsin Catholic Cavaliers - 3
Chicago Poly Catamounts - 31, Topeka State Braves - 24
St Blane Fighting Saints - 35, Henry Hudson Explorers - 19
Travis College Bucks - 9, Coastal State Eagles - 7
Carolina Poly Cardinals - 23, Darnell State Legislators - 17
Amarillo Methodist Grizzlies - 38, Maryland State Bengals - 3
College of Waco Cowboys - 13, North Carolina Tech Techsters - 9
Daniel Boone College Frontiersmen - 23, Charleston Tech Admirals - 15
Eastern State Monitors - 27, College of Omaha Raiders - 13
Oklahoma City State Wranglers - 24, Cowpens State Fighting Green - 14
Eastern Oklahoma Pioneers - 19, Columbia Military Academy Cadets - 6
Boulder State Grizzlies - 23, Arkansas A_T Badgers - 13
Lubbock State Hawks - 9, Iowa A_M Bulls - 6
Red River State Rowdies - 34, Lawrence State Chippewa - 31
Eastern Kansas Warriors - 34, Texas Gulf Coast Hurricanes - 27
Valley State Gunslingers - 14, Potomac College Pelicans - 9
Tempe College Titans - 26, Petersburg Patriots - 7
Central Carolina Lions - 33, Abilene Baptist Chaparrals - 3
El Paso Methodist Bandits - 41, Bulein Hornets - 3
Mile High State Falcons - 20, Texas Panhandle Cowboys - 16
Custer College Cavalry - 9, Canyon A_M Armadillos - 6
Mobile Maritime Middies - 22, South Valley State Roadrunners - 10
Provo Tech Lions - 27, Alexandria Generals - 20
Utah A_M Aggies - 27, Chesapeake State Clippers - 20
Wyoming A_I Prospectors - 51, Richmond State Colonials - 10
Lane State Emeralds - 51, Colorado Poly Redbirds - 3
Cache Valley Cowboys - 29, Spokane State Indians - 13
Portland Tech Magpies - 51, Queen City Monarchs - 0
Redwood Mammoths - 55, Cleveland Tigers - 10
Rainier College Majestics - 51, McKinney State Renegades - 3
CC Los Angeles Coyotes - 38, Northern Minnesota Muskies - 3
Coastal California Dolphins - 33, Ferguson Wildcats - 14

MATCHUPS INVOLVING TOP TWENTY SCHOOLS NEXT WEEKEND
#1 Georgia Baptist (3-0) at #6 Central Kentucky (3-0)
#2 Mississippi A&M (3-0) at Bayou State (0-3)
#17 Minnesota Tech (3-1) at #4 Central Ohio (4-0)
#5 American Atlantic (4-0) at Boston State (2-2)
#23 Carolina Poly (3-1) at #7 Eastern State (4-0)
#8 Minns College (4-0) at Chicago Poly (2-2)
Wyoming A&I (1-3) at #9 Prove Tech (4-0)
#10 St Blane (3-0) at St Patrick's (0-4)
#11 College of Waco (4-0) at Texas Gulf Coast (1-3)
#12 St Pancras (4-0) at Commonwealth Catholic (2-2)
Opelika State (2-1) at #13 Northern Mississippi (3-0)
Sadler (1-1) at #14 George Fox (2-0)
#19 Boulder State (3-1) at #15 Lawrence State (3-1)
Oklahoma City State (3-1) at #16 Daniel Boone College (3-1)
#18 St Ignatius (3-1) at Whitney College (3-1)
Ellery (1-1) at #20 Dickson (2-0)

ROGUES RACE OUT OF GATE AS NAHC SEASON GETS UNDERWAY

Adam McPherson picked up right where he left off as last season's NAHC scoring champion had 4 goals and 8 points in his first three games to lead the high-flying Philadelphia Rogues to three straight victories to open the season. The Rogues, Challenge Cup winners two years ago but upset by the Los Angeles Stingrays in the opening round last spring, looked like they have something to prove this time around.

Philadelphia already had plenty of offense a year ago but they took it a step further over the summer by acquiring 31-year-old playmaker Yves Dagenais from Detroit. All Dagenais did last season was lead the NAHC in assists with 85 and his 117 points were just one behind McPherson's Denny Trophy winning pace. The question was would the Rogues break up their talented Scotch Line of McPherson, Glenn McKenzie and Gary Yeadon to accommodate Dagenais on the top line?

The answer came in the season opener, a 4-1 victory at the Liberty Center over the visiting Pittsburgh Sentinels and the answer was in the affirmative as Dagenais replaced McKenzie at center on the top unit between McPherson and Yeadon. The trio combined on a second period goal while McKenzie had a helper as he added to the depth by centering a second line between Andy Kapeller and Louis Nolet.

The depth of firepower became glaringly obvious in the Rogues second game, a 13-3 lambasting of the Calgary Grizzlies. The top line combined for 9 points including a McPherson hat trick while the second unit enjoyed a 10 point performance keyed by two goals and two assists off the stick of Nolet. Philadelphia made it a perfect week by doubling the Sentinels 4-2 in a rematch in Pittsburgh, a game that saw Dagenais pick up three points.

After three games new fewer than 7 Rouges players have accumulated at least five points. The only bad news from Philadelphia in the opening week was a serious injury that will sideline promising newcomer Gord Whitaker for up to two months. A rookie in the NAHC's eyes but far from raw as the 25-year-old has spent the past three seasons playing in the Continental Hockey League with the Denver Peaks and scored 19 goals a year ago. He was off to a great start in his NAHC debut with 3 goals and 5 points before getting hurt in Pittsburgh.

*** Vals Doing Just Fine Without Rucks ***

There was plenty of concern in Montreal after Fred Rucks decided to retire at the age of 34 and just a few months removed from winning the David Welcombe Trophy and leading the Montreal Valiants to their 10th Challenge Cup. Making matters worse is the fact that Rucks waited until early July before informing Montreal General Manager Felix Levesque that he had decided not to return.

Without a solid goaltender in their system the Valiants tried unsuccessfully to acquire one and instead were forced to start the season with only long-time backup Bob Stoffer and 27-year-old rookie Gerry Cormack, who had been playing in the Quebec senior league since 1972. The goaltending was not strong in the opening week but the Vals did manage to go 2-0-1 in their three games.

Cormack made his NAHA debut in the opener on the coast against Los Angeles and Montreal won 6-5 but it was despite the goaltending as the rookie surrendered 5 goals on just 17 shots. Fortunately the Valiants had plenty of offense, led by Roger MacKinnon's four point night. Long-time Montreal coach Matt McGranahan, who has lifted the Cup five times in his 13 years at the helm, elected to go back to the rookie on Saturday against New York. Cormack played a little better but the Vals again needed MacKinnon to bail them out as the 32-year-old scored the tying goal on the power play midway through the third period to earn Montreal a point in a 2-2 draw at Bigsby Garden. Last night against Calgary Stoffer got his first start of the season in a game that the Valiants outshot the Grizzles 55-26 and won 6-4 behind a 3-point evening from all-star rearguard Mark Moggy.

The other big news of the week saw Pat Valentine ink a five-year extension to remain with the St Louis Sawyers. The 27-year-old center was named the NAHC's Most Valuable Player last season after setting career high's with 43 goals and 114 points. Valentine and the rest of the Sawyers, tabbed as one of the favourites this season, have had a slow start. The center is scoreless in two games - a tie against New York followed by a 5-3 loss in Cincinnati.

EDBERG AS GOOD AS ADVERTISED FOR EAGLES

Swedish import Stefan Edberg, signed to much ballyhoo by Coach Quinton Pollack and the New York Eagles following last year's World Hockey Championships in West Germany, is looking like he is worth the hype. The 24-year-old scored twice in New York's season opening 5-3 win over Cleveland and followed that up with 2 goals and 2 assists in the Eagles 8-2 drubbing of the Toronto Raiders on Saturday. What is interesting is that Pollack has broken up the two Swedes he brought over, playing Edberg on the wing with his son Jack Pollack and Ben Hirsh while having Sven Holmqvist center the second line with Pollack's youngest sin Billy and another European newcomer in Finnish winger Paavo Virta. It has worked in the early going as Edberg has six points and each of his linemates have collected each.

[Tiger Fan]

OCTOBER 15, 1975

IMPERIALS WIN EXTRA INNING THRILLER, COMPLETE UNLIKELY CHAMPIONSHIP
By Tip Harrison, TWIFS Baseball Editor

Honestly, after Game 4 I knew it was just a matter of time before the Imperials finished it off. And guess what? That's exactly what they did!

It wasn't easy. In fact, it was anything but. But when you're a team of destiny, you get the job done.

Emmett Thornton (17-6, 1, 3.45, 91) left a lot to be desired in Game 2, but Jim Abernathy kept faith in the veteran, and gave him another start. It didn't' start great, as a trio of singles led to a Suns run in the 1st, but Thornton's Imperials supplied him runs early. Freddy Curtis (.254, 4, 30, 7) crushed a 2-run homer in the 2nd, his second of the series, and a now healthy Mike Counts (.250, 5, 35, 4) made it 3-1 with a third inning single.

LA didn't give up, and the deficit did not last a full half inning. Despite doing very little in the regular season, Bill Perry (.255, 9, 74, 20) came up big again for the Suns, tying things up with a 2-run homer, and injecting life into the Suns offense.

Thing is, all the bats fell asleep. On both sides. With the game tied, Al Whitman (5-3, 3.18, 53) looked better, putting together back-to-back 1-2-3 innings before exiting, and Thornton looked good. No runs of support, but he kept the Suns off the board, recording 25 of the 27 outs in regulation. Bud Pace (8-6, 7, 3.21, 29) got those last two, setting up a walk-off opportunity in the ninth.

It did not come, as despite some traffic on the bases, Bill Smith (1-0, 1, 2.83, 8) completed his second inning of work, providing the fans in attendance with some bonus baseball. Starter Howie Weston (11-11, 3.84, 102) started extras for the Imperials, throwing perfect 10ths and 11th. In between, LA went with their stopper, but Ron Clark (6-4, 40, 2.32, 81) didn't have quite the same luck. No runs, but guys got on base in his 10th, before a perfect 11th.

Despite Weston's stamina, he did not come out for the Imps in the 12th, with low leverage arm Joe Velazquez (4-2, 2, 4.45, 42) trusted in an important moment. He lived up to it with another 1-2-3, as the Suns went through the entire lineup without a baserunner, having to go back to Thornton's last hitter in the ninth to find one.

Of course, now they'll have to look to 1976, as a third inning of Ron Clark proved to be too much. He got two quick outs, but the Imperials' 3-4-5 is no easy feat. Al Reece (.337, 9, 66, 18) doubled, got to third on a George Love (.261, 21, 80, 23) single, and set up the unlikely hero Mike Counts (.250, 5, 35, 4) for his moment in history. Activated from the IL before the series, he went from starter to bench role, but got time this series against lefties. Entering the contest, he was just 1-for-6, but three walks got him on base.

Today's game was different, as all five times he came up to the plate, he reached safely. He singled in the 2nd, had the RBI in the 3rd, walked in the 6th, singled in the 8th, and was walked intentionally in the 10th. With first and third, an intentional walk would have been a good idea, but Jim Coulter trusted his stopper and the single season save leader, hoping to extend the game one more inning. Counts fouled off the first pitch, but took three pitches out of the zone, and was on the cusp of loading the bases.

Instead, Clark left one in the zone, Counts ripped a swing, and neither the first basemen or second basemen could catch the screaming line drive that landed in the right field grass, scoring Reece easily and sending the stadium into a frenzy.

For some, yesterday's 4-for-4 spectacular would be enough to earn MVP, but it was the guy who scored the winning run, Al Reece, who was bestowed with the honor. 2-for-5 with a pair of doubles and runs scored in the clincher, he reached base in all five of the WCS. One of the breakout stars who made this successful season happen, he went 10-for-20 with 3 doubles, a triple, a homer, 3 walks, 10 runs, and 4 RBIs. One of the more effective bats this season, the 25-year-old corner bat was one of the only guys to last the season. Losing him not only costs the Imps the title, but likely their division, and the former Cougar first rounder looks to be a legitimate cornerstone as the Imperials go for a second title while the rest of the expansion clubs remain at zero.

It was a heart-breaking loss for the Suns, who felt confident after upsetting the most winningest FABL team. Their star offense was kept in check all series long, ending up with just 6 runs in the 4 losses. Tom Lally (.319, 31, 107, 9) and Sam Forrester (.281, 27, 116, 43) just could not get in going, and when your best players aren't producing, you aren't going to get the results you desire. This team is too good not to return to the postseason, and despite falling short, they've been extremely successful in the early years of the franchise. That dynamic duo will be hungry for more, and with a little more depth they could finally capture the crown they watched slip away from them.

Somewhere old-timers are squinting into their coffee this morning wondering if they saw what they think they saw.

The New York Imperials are world champions.

That’s not a misprint and it’s not the punch line to a clubhouse joke. Last night in twelve innings they beat the Los Angeles Suns 4–3 to wrap up the World Championship Series in five games and bring the first baseball title to the Big Apple since the New York Gothams did it back in 1956. And if you’re wondering how the Imperials managed such a trick, join the club. Most of baseball spent the summer wondering how they managed to reach the playoffs in the first place.

But October, as I learned a long time ago while trying to hit a decent curveball, has a way of ignoring the arithmetic.

The Team Nobody Expected

Let’s remember what this club looked like not very long ago. The Imperials limped into the postseason with the worst record of any playoff team at 84-78 and needed the final day of the season to clinch their spot. By mid-September they were missing their batting champion, their top slugger, and one half of their pitching ace duo. If you walked through their clubhouse you could trip over ice bags and trainer’s tape.

And then they went out and knocked off the mighty Seattle Kings in four games.

Seattle won 107 games. The Imperials won just 84 but they won the series anyway.

Then they met the Suns, who had just bounced the 112-win Atlanta Copperheads. At that point the postseason had already turned into one of those circus mirrors where everything looks backwards.

Last night it finally ended with the Imperials celebrating in a pile near second base sometime around midnight.

A Few Heroes From Unlikely Places

The Imperials didn’t win with a cast of superstars. They won with the kind of fellows who usually sit quietly at the end of the bench.

Mike Counts came off the injured list — again — and went 4-for-4 in the clinching game like a man who had been waiting all summer for one night. George Love, the club’s very first draft pick who suffered through that dreadful 114-loss Imperial team back in 1965, finally got his champagne shower.

Youngsters Owen Drake and Brian Miller stepped into everyday roles when injuries forced the issue. They didn’t blink.

And on the mound there was Jim White, who pitched like the fellow at the county fair who knocks down every bottle with three throws. White went 3-0 in the postseason with a tidy 0.87 earned run average to cap up the greatest season to date of the 28-year-old's career.

That’ll play in any October I’ve ever seen.

As the New York boys like to say this morning: when you’re missing half the orchestra and the band still plays the music, who cares what the regular season record was?

But the Old Ballplayer Wonders

Now before the confetti settles, allow an old ex-ballplayer a small moment of reflection.

Baseball has been changing.

We’ve had divisions since 1969 and most of us have grown used to that extra playoff round. But this year something new happened. The team with the weakest regular-season record of the four playoff clubs just walked away with the championship.

The Imperials now hold the lowest winning percentage of any club ever to win the World Championship Series. Does that make their title illegitimate? Of course not. They played by the rules that were handed to them and beat every team put in front of them. But it does make a fellow wonder.

A lot of people expected a heavyweight fight between Atlanta’s 112 wins and Seattle’s 107 — the two best teams in the game slugging it out for the crown. Instead the bracket coughed up two expansion cousins who entered the league together in 1962 and had never reached the big dance before.

It was exciting. It was unpredictable. But it wasn’t quite the same as watching the two giants meet in the center of the ring.

And More Changes Are Coming

If you think the game has already changed, wait until you see what’s coming down the tracks.

Free agency. Player movement. Contracts that may send your favorite ballplayer packing for another city before you’ve even finished buying his jersey.

In my playing days you could follow a team and know the roster the way you know the neighbors on your street. These days — and especially the days ahead — players may bounce around like barnstormers.

Will fans follow clubs the same way if the heroes keep changing uniforms?

Maybe they will. Maybe they won’t.

But the game is shifting under our cleats.

Credit Where It’s Due

All that said, none of it should take a speck of shine off what the Imperials accomplished. They were battered. They were underestimated. They were statistically inferior to every other playoff club. And then they got hot at exactly the right moment.

They beat Seattle. They beat Los Angeles. They survived twelve innings in the clincher.

That’s not luck. That’s baseball.

The Imperials are the champions of 1975 and nobody can take that away from them.

But as the champagne dries and the winter meetings creep closer, an old ballplayer can’t help asking one last question:

They’re the champions.

But are they really the best team in baseball?

TOP-RANKED GATORS FACE STIFF TEST IN DEEP SOUTH OPENER

Conference season arrives in earnest across the Deep South Conference this Saturday, and the spotlight falls squarely on Lexington where the nation’s top-ranked team faces what could be its sternest examination of the season. The unbeaten Georgia Baptist Gators (3-0), chasing their fifth national title and first since their perfect 1969 season, open league play on the road against the sixth-ranked Central Kentucky Tigers.

It is a matchup rich in history but perhaps richer in intrigue this time around.

Georgia Baptist has largely owned the series over the years, winning 16 of the past 18 meetings between the schools. Yet there is a growing belief around Lexington that this Central Kentucky team may finally be equipped to turn the tide. The Tigers are unbeaten, confident, and hoping to claim their first conference crown since their national championship season of 1950.

Much of the optimism stems from a balanced and productive offense led by junior quarterback Joe Dobson. Dobson currently leads the conference with 485 passing yards and shares the league lead in touchdown passes with seven, tying Georgia Baptist sophomore signal caller Alfred Morgan.

The Tigers’ attack doesn’t stop there. Junior halfback Louie Fierro has been equally impressive, piling up 310 rushing yards in three games while averaging nearly seven yards per carry. Wide receiver David Jennings gives the Tigers a dangerous deep threat with nine receptions for 219 yards already this season.

Defensively, Central Kentucky has also made its presence felt, pitching shutouts against both Rome State and Spokane State while surrendering points in only one of its three outings.

Still, the Gators arrive in Lexington as the nation’s top team for a reason.

Georgia Baptist opened the season ranked No. 1 and has done nothing to lose that standing, rolling past Portland Tech, Rainier College and Northern Minnesota in convincing fashion. Any preseason questions surrounding quarterback Alfred Morgan — a sophomore who had never thrown a collegiate pass before this year — have largely disappeared after his strong early performances.

Saturday, however, will present a very different challenge. The Tigers’ defense, anchored by defensive end Joe Quinn and linebacker Andrew Baum, is expected to test Morgan more than any opponent he has faced so far.

If conditions become sloppy — rain is forecast in Lexington — the advantage may shift toward Georgia Baptist’s powerful running game. The backfield tandem of John Garvey and Derek Cross has been outstanding through the season’s first month and could play a decisive role if the contest becomes a ground battle.

While the Georgia Baptist–Central Kentucky showdown figures to shape the early conference race, another contender lurks quietly in the background. Second-ranked Mississippi A&M Generals are off to another strong start and appear determined to end a 13-year drought without a conference championship. The Generals boast one of the nation’s most dangerous offensive combinations in quarterback Jimmy Ray Johnson and halfback Marcus Butler. Mississippi A&M opens conference play Saturday at Bayou State, which enters the weekend winless at 0-3 and struggling through its third consecutive difficult season.

In a quirk of the schedule that has not gone unnoticed around the conference, the Generals do not face either Georgia Baptist or Central Kentucky during league play this year — a circumstance that could provide them a clearer path toward the conference title.

Elsewhere around the Deep South this weekend, Noble Jones College (2-1) travels to meet Bluegrass State (2-1), while Cumberland (1-2) visits Western Florida (1-2). Thirteenth-ranked Northern Mississippi (3-0) hosts Opelika State (2-1), and long-suffering Baton Rouge State (0-3) tries to get into the win column when it welcomes Alabama Baptist (2-1).

Around the Nation

While much of the focus will be on the showdown in Lexington there are a number of other intriguing matchups to keep an eye on this weekend. In the Great Lakes Alliance 4th ranked Central Ohio looks to run its record to 5-0 by knocking off a ranked conference opponent. A week ago the Aviators handed Whitney College its first loss and now they remain in Columbus and look to knock Minnesota Tech out of the top 20. The 17th ranked Lakers are 3-1 but coming off a win over Lincoln in their GLA opener last Saturday. For Minnesota Tech to have any hopes of upsetting the Aviators, they will need to find a way to contain quarterback George Stephens and the most dangerous passing game in the Great Lakes Alliance.

The South Atlantic Conference openers go this weekend and the section wasted no time providing a terrific matchup as #7 Eastern State hosts #23 Carolina Poly in a game the Monitors are heavily favoured to win.

Elsewhere, American Atlantic, which is 4-0 and a mild surprise appearing in the top five, will head to New England to face a 2-2 Boston State team that has had some success stopping the pass this season, and the passing game is the strength of the Pelicans behind sophomore quarterback Terry Embry.

Both St. Blane (3-0 #10) and St Pancras (4-0, #12) will look to continue their winning ways in Boston as well. The Fighting Saints play winless St. Patrick's - a school they have never lost to- while the Lions look to build on a solid victory over Rome State with a strong performance at Commonwealth Catholic (2-2). The Lions have not finished ranked in the top twenty since 1962 but generally fare well against the Knights.

Chicago Poly had a tough start, losing on the road to both Payne State and Garden State to open their season but the Catamounts won at home each of the past two weekends and now welcome 8th ranked and unbeaten Minns College to the Windy City. This one has the makings of an upset, but the Catamounts need to stop the run where the Mavericks have excelled with their backfield duo of junior Rob Wilbur (416 yards, 5 TD's) and sophomore Spencer Dumas (378 yds, 4 TD's).

The Academia Alliance also gets its conference slate underway this weekend with the highlight game featuring league power Dickson hoping to run its overall record to 3-0 when they host the Ellery Bruins. The conference is enjoying some early success with three schools ranked in the top 25. The Maroons are 20th and sandwiched between George Fox at #14 and 22nd ranked Brunswick. The Reds are home to Sadler while the Brunswick Knights head to Bridgeport, CT., to face Pierpont.

MATCHUPS INVOLVING TOP TWENTY-FIVE SCHOOLS NEXT WEEKEND
#1 Georgia Baptist (3-0) at #6 Central Kentucky (3-0)
#2 Mississippi A&M (3-0) at Bayou State (0-3)
#17 Minnesota Tech (3-1) at #4 Central Ohio (4-0)
#5 American Atlantic (4-0) at Boston State (2-2)
#23 Carolina Poly (3-1) at #7 Eastern State (4-0)
#8 Minns College (4-0) at Chicago Poly (2-2)
Wyoming A&I (1-3) at #9 Prove Tech (4-0)
#10 St Blane (3-0) at St Patrick's (0-4)
#11 College of Waco (4-0) at Texas Gulf Coast (1-3)
#12 St Pancras (4-0) at Commonwealth Catholic (2-2)
Opelika State (2-1) at #13 Northern Mississippi (3-0)
Sadler (1-1) at #14 George Fox (2-0)
#19 Boulder State (3-1) at #15 Lawrence State (3-1)
Oklahoma City State (3-1) at #16 Daniel Boone College (3-1)
#18 St Ignatius (3-1) at Whitney College (3-1)
Ellery (1-1) at #20 Dickson (2-0)
Northern Minnesota (2-3) at #21 Payne State (3-1)
#22 Brunswick (2-0) at Pierpont (1-1)
#24 Travis College (3-1) at Amarillo Methodist (2-1)

WEST SHOWDOWN HIGHLIGHTS WEEKEND PRO GRID SLATE

The San Francisco Wings and New Orleans Crescents engage in a key, but unexpected battle for top spot in the American Conference West Division this Sunday. Between the two of them they have made just one playoff appearance since 1960, but they find themselves tied for top spot in the division at 3-1 as they prepare to do battle at Golden Gate Stadium. Neither has ever won the division since it was created in 1969 as top spot in the American West has been exclusively held by the Houston Drillers.

The Drillers, who were thumped by the Wings 34-10 two weeks ago, are still lurking in the background at 2-2 with plenty of time left to make it six straight division titles, but so far at least Houston has lacked its dominance of past years that saw the Drillers reach the World Classic a record 6 times including each of the last three years.

Perhaps this is the time that either San Francisco or New Orleans emerge from behind the Drillers immense shadow and make their own mark on the sport. The Wings have been around since 1946, getting their start in the old Continental Football Conference before joining the AFA in 1950. They won their lone AFA title back in 1956 and reached the title game again the following season but have accomplished little since then. New Orleans is a 1967 expansion team that endured three straight 3-11 seasons before finally breaking even at 7-7 in 1970. The Crescents won a club record 8 games a year ago but that was still not good enough to earn them their first playoff berth.

New Orleans dropped its season opener to Detroit but has won the last three games thanks to what has been one of the best defenses in the league led by Alfred Delany, a third year defensive end who has already recorded 6 sacks this season. Another third year player, quarterback Royce Neill is playing well and will be counted on to match San Francisco signal caller Charles Singletary throw for throw on Sunday. The Wings are listed as three point favourites.

AROUND THE LEAGUE

• There seems to be no reprieve for the beleaguered Chicago Wildcats offense. Chris Lee, arguably the best of a weak offensive line, will be out for the second week in a row with a sprained wrist and missing their starting guard against Cleveland only weakens what has already been the worst pass protection in the AFA. Lee's backup, Jerome Wheeler, set a record no one wants to hold as he allowed an AFA worst 7 sacks in the loss to New Orleans last weekend.
• The record for sacks allowed by an offensive lineman in a single season is 22 set by Detroit center Johnny Fry way back in 1952. Two Wildcats, center Robby Espinosa and Wheeler, have already allowed 9 each and that is only through 4 games.
• The league does not track team sacks allowed but you have to think the Wildcats, who have already surrendered 43 sacks in just 4 games, may already own the record and they still have 10 more games to play. No other team has allowed more than 18 this year and a year ago the most anyone surrendered all season was Pittsburgh which allowed their quarterback to be sacked 29 times.
• The Wildcats returned four of their five starting linemen from last season with only tackle Jake Weber gone. But the difference has been astounding particularly from center Robby Espinoza and guard Chris Lee.
  
  
• AFA pundits Jim Nox and Darren Francis are calling for an upset in Kansas City over the weekend where the Cowboys put their perfect 4-0 record on the line against the visiting Detroit Maroons. Nox points out the Detroit defense has been terrific this season and is calling for the upset despite the Cowboys being favoured by 5 points. Francis agrees, noting Maroons coach Ralph Butterfield always has his team ready to play. The 2-1-1 Maroons will once again be missing quarterback Charles Sonnenberg, who is out with a broken wrist.
• The other 4-0 team is the Washington Wasps, and they travel to Philadelphia to face the Frigates on Sunday. For Philadelphia to have any chance they have to minimize the turnovers as the Frigates have already committed 8 turnovers including 6 interceptions thrown by quarterback Butch White. Philadelphia is also worst in the league in yards allowed, allowing opposing offenses to rack up more than 360 yards per game. Only Boston (387) has produced more than the Wasps 346 yards of total offense per game which means we could be in for a blowout victory by the Wasps.

KNIGHTS, PHANTOMS AGREE TO DEAL WITH DEMONS
Last Minute Agreement Paves Way For New Jersey Basketball Club

There was plenty of legal wrangling but just days before the 1975-76 Federal Basketball League season was set to commence the loop confirmed an agreement had been reached to allow the Pittsburgh franchise purchased by Kevin Oliphant to shift his club to New Jersey where it will be known as the Demons. The team had been previously known as the Pittsburgh Ironmen and were one of four teams from the now-defunct Continental Basketball League that were absorbed by the FBL.

The Ironmen, along with the league champion Cincinnati Steamers, the San Antonio Outlaws and the Denver Bighorns were admitted to the FBL in a decision announced in the summer. Shortly after the announcement was made Oliphant, who originally was livid that his New Jersey club was not admitted to the FBL, took matters into his own hands by purchasing the Ironmen from Michael Briones. Once the purchase was approved, he announced the club would play out of New Jersey, but he ran into vehement opposition from both the New York Knights and Philadelphia Phantoms, who felt their territory was being invaded.

The discussions dragged on most of the summer until last week when FBL commissioner Egon Ibsweiler basically locked Oliphant, Phantoms owner William Huber and Knights chairman Andrew Roberts in a room and declared no one was leaving until an agreement was reached. Terms were not disclosed but it is believed Oliphant wrote a large cheque to both the Phantoms and the Knights to allow his club to shift to New Jersey.

The big loser, once again, is the city of Pittsburgh which is now stripped of its basketball team just two years after its baseball club - the Pittsburgh Miners- was sold and moved to Atlanta. That leaves the Steel City, once home to teams in each of the four major team sports, with just the American Football Association's Pittsburgh Paladins and 1967 North American Hockey Confederation expansion team the Pittsburgh Sentinels.

The Demons will see plenty of both the Knights and Phantoms this season as they will join the Atlantic Division which also contains the Boston Centurions and Washington Statesmen and was the most competitive in the FBL last season. The Steamers will go to the Central Division with the Bighorns joining the Midwest and the San Antonio Outlaws will be placed in the Pacific Division.

The Week That Was
Current events making headlines on October 15, 1975

• The leader of the teachers union agreed to pour $150 million into New York City less than two hours before the city was to default on $453 million in debts. The agreement came after a frantic search for funds from other sources including the federal government, but President Ford refused to come to the city's aid.
• Stock and bond prices tumbled as a result of the uncertainty, but the Federal Reserve has promised to come to the assistance of New York City banks, which have invested billions in city bonds and notes.
• Secretary of State Kissinger arrives in Communist China for his eighth visit tomorrow in an effort to keep alive an outwardly friendly but uncertain US-China relationship.
• The Argentine government mobilized an army of 10,000 to guard against left-wing guerrilla attacks at a massive rally in Buenos Aires called by President Isabel Peron.
• 3 U.S. cancer researchers won the 1975 Nobel Prize for their work in discovering how viruses may cause malignant tumors in humans. It was called "a giant step in cancer research."

[Wallabee4]

Lot to process here, first of all, a hearty congrats to the New York Imperials for pulling of the most improbable of championships! Proof that it isn't the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog.

On the other side, it really sucks that Pittsburgh lost yet another team. At least the Demons logo looks pretty nice. I also assume the Demons will play in Newark.

Also, why is San Antonio in the Pacific and Denver in the Midwest? Just seems like odd considering the Texas teams are split up. And how come Seattle changed from the Emeralds to the Jets?

[Tiger Fan]

Thanks again for following along.

To answer your questions, I agree it really sucks that Pittsburgh lost its basketball team. The Demons logo is nice but had they been forced to stay in Pittsburgh new owner Kevin Oliphant would have renamed them from Ironmen to Demons and they would have had what I think is an equally impressive logo.

It has not been specified by out league commissioner, but I would assume your guess of the Demons playing out of Newark is the correct one.

As it stands the Pittsburgh Demons will live on but as a minor league basketball team affiliated with the New Jersey club. It is much like baseball where Pittsburgh lost its big league team but continues as a AAA club, affiliated with the Detroit Dynamos.

The Pittsburgh Sentinels remain in the North American Hockey Confederation, but they were the worst team in the league last year while perhaps there should also be concern for the survival of the Pittsburgh Paladins football club as they continue to play out decrepit Fitzpatrick Park which is the same stadium that was deemed too outdated for the Miners to remain.

As to why San Antonio went to the Pacific and Denver to the Midwest Division, I am not sure other than the fact there were 4 new teams and one was assigned to each of the 4 existing FBL divisions.

Finally, I asked about the Seattle basketball name change from Emeralds to Jets and the answer was the name was being used by another Seattle team as our commissioner mentioned he named the hockey team the Emeralds. The hockey team, which is part of the Continental Hockey Association and not the long-running NAHC in Seattle is actually called the Chinooks so perhaps he misspoke but the name change could possibly be justified as coming from legal action taken by Lane State University.

The Eugene, OR., school has been known as the Emeralds since the 1930s and perhaps they threatened legal action or even obtained a judgement to force the Seattle pro basketball team to abandon the name Emeralds. Not certain, just spit balling possible reasons to justify the change which also could be as simple as team owner Billy Dobbins just wanted a rebrand.

[Tiger Fan]

OCTOBER 20, 1975

PAIR OF UPSETS IN DEEP SOUTH HIGHLIGHT COLLEGE FOOTBALL WEEKEND

The Deep South Conference is known for its parity and how many national championship hopefuls were upended by conference rivals. It might be a little early to declare Georgia Baptist's dreams of a record seventh AIAA football title dead, but the Gators dug themselves a deep hole with a loss to Central Kentucky in their conference opener, a defeat that knocked Georgia Baptist from the top of the rankings. The Gators had company in their misery as Mississippi A&M, which entered the weekend ranked second behind only the Gators, also was knocked off by a conference rival.

In Lexington, the Central Kentucky Tigers and Gators met in what was billed as the top game of the weekend and it did not disappoint with the Tigers pulling out a 24-17 victory in a wild finish. The game was scoreless at the break and tied at 10 entering the final 15 minutes. A Frank McKethan field goal with 2:14 left on the clock put the Tigers up 16-10 and with the biggest lead of the day, but that lead would change two more times in the final 78 seconds.

Gators quarterback Alfred Morgan, who went 13-for-19 for a rather pedestrian 133 yards connected with wide receiver Marvin Bautista on what was the Gators longest play from scrimmage all day - a 40-yard touchdown pass that put the Gators ahead 17-16 following William Tharp's extra point with only 1:18 left on the clock. Fans in the visitors section of Tiger Stadium began celebrating but Tigers quarterback Joe Dobson had a big play of his own up his sleeve. On third and four near midfield and with only 34 seconds remaining, Dobson found senior wideout Wilbur Hicks for a 49-yard score that proved the difference and gave the Tigers the upset victory.

Dobson was outstanding on the day as the junior quarterback completed more than 70% of his pass attempts for 250 yards and two big play touchdowns. The game winner to Hicks, of course, plus a 65 yard scoring toss to David Jennings on the opening play of the second half.

Having vanquished what is sure to be their toughest test, the Tigers seem well positioned to make a run at their first Deep South title in 25 years. Central Kentucky is on the road next week, heading to Louisiana to face the Bayou State Cougars but that is a game they cannot take lightly as it was the Cougars who pulled off the other big upset on opening weekend for the conference.

Bayou State fell behind second ranked Mississippi A&M 9-0 early but scored 27 straight points including three touchdown throws from John Andres and held on to upset the Generals 27-12

The remainder of the slate in the Deep South Conference went according to script including Northern Mississippi's 31-10 drubbing over Opelika State. Other results saw Noble Jones College double Bluegrass State 12-6, Alabama Baptist blank Baton Rouge State 27-0 behind 189 yards rushing from Rafael Martin while in Tallahassee Western Florida nipped Cumberland 16-14.

AVIATORS FLY TO TOP OF POLLS

The Georgia Baptist loss opened the door from Central Ohio to move to the top of latest college football poll. The Aviators improved to 2-0 in Great Lakes Alliance play and 5-0 overall with a hard fought 16-13 victory over Minnesota Tech. Central Ohio needed a late 74 yard scoring drive that culminated in a 3-yard touchdown run by Guy Bennett to secure the comeback win over a gritty Lakers squad that matched the Aviators blow for blow nearly all game.

Elsewhere in the Great Lakes Alliance the Detroit City College Knights are 2-0 in section play after starting the season with three consecutive non-conference losses. Freshman running back Ricky Jones scored three touchdowns and ran for 140 yards to help the Knights roll over Western Iowa 44-6. Whitney College is 0-2 in conference play and St Ignatius 2-0 after the Lancers last minute touchdown pulled them to a 37-30 road victory over the Engineers. St Magnus topped Indiana A&M 37-27 while Lincoln blanked Wisconsin State 26-0 in the other GLA contests.

In the South Atlantic Conference Eastern State remained perfect with a relatively easy victory over Carolina Poly 28-3. The victory in the conference opener helps the Monitors climb to number two in the rankings.

The St Blane Fighting Saints had a statement victory over St. Patrick's, clubbing the Shamrocks 57-6. Raleigh Cutler ran for 135 yards and a touchdown for the Saints who are now 5-0 all-time against St. Patrick's. The win runs St Blane's record to 4-0 and moves them up to fifth in the polls behind idle El Paso Methodist.

WEEKEND COLLEGE FOOTBALL RESULTS
Cowpens State Fighting Green - 22, North Carolina Tech Techsters - 10
Charleston Tech Admirals - 16, Columbia Military Academy Cadets - 6
Eastern State Monitors - 28, Carolina Poly Cardinals - 3
Maryland State Bengals - 21, Coastal State Eagles - 14
Iowa A_M Bulls - 23, Eastern Oklahoma Pioneers - 17
Oklahoma City State Wranglers - 31, Daniel Boone College Frontiersmen - 24
College of Omaha Raiders - 20, Eastern Kansas Warriors - 13
Lawrence State Chippewa - 7, Boulder State Grizzlies - 3
St Ignatius Lancers - 37, Whitney College Engineers - 30
Lincoln Presidents - 26, Wisconsin State Brewers - 0
Central Ohio Aviators - 16, Minnesota Tech Lakers - 13
St Magnus Vikings - 37, Indiana A_M Reapers - 27
Detroit City College Knights - 44, Western Iowa Canaries - 6
George Fox Reds - 10, Sadler Bluecoats - 9
Brunswick Knights - 45, Pierpont Purple - 6
Dickson Maroons - 27, Ellery Bruins - 17
Henry Hudson Explorers - 35, Grafton Scholars - 28
Queen City Monarchs - 38, Ferguson Wildcats - 20
Topeka State Braves - 21, McKinney State Renegades - 14
Payne State Mavericks - 41, Northern Minnesota Muskies - 7
Spokane State Indians - 17, Portland Tech Magpies - 14
Northern California Miners - 20, Coastal California Dolphins - 14
Lane State Emeralds - 20, CC Los Angeles Coyotes - 16
Redwood Mammoths - 17, Rainier College Majestics - 7
Noble Jones College Colonels - 12, Bluegrass State Mustangs - 6
Western Florida Wolves - 16, Cumberland Explorers - 14
Central Kentucky Tigers - 24, Georgia Baptist Gators - 17
Alabama Baptist Panthers - 27, Baton Rogue State Red Devils - 0
Bayou State Cougars - 27, Mississippi A_M Generals - 12
Northern Mississippi Mavericks - 31, Opelika State Wildcats - 10
Provo Tech Lions - 48, Wyoming A_I Prospectors - 7
Utah A_M Aggies - 40, Mile High State Falcons - 34
Cache Valley Cowboys - 27, Colorado Poly Redbirds - 0
South Valley State Roadrunners - 34, Custer College Cavalry - 10
Chesapeake State Clippers - 34, Mobile Maritime Middies - 3
Potomac College Pelicans - 21, Central Carolina Lions - 14
Richmond State Colonials - 30, Petersburg Patriots - 24
Alexandria Generals - 23, Bulein Hornets - 17
Amarillo Methodist Grizzlies - 23, Travis College Bucks - 9
Arkansas A_T Badgers - 31, Red River State Rowdies - 27
Texas Gulf Coast Hurricanes - 30, College of Waco Cowboys - 6
Darnell State Legislators - 26, Lubbock State Hawks - 20
Huntington State Miners - 42, Rome State Centurions - 7
Commonwealth Catholic Knights - 29, St Pancras Lions - 6
Chicago Poly Catamounts - 30, Minns College Mavericks - 19
St Blane Fighting Saints - 57, St Patrick's Shamrocks - 6
Pittsburgh State Finches - 20, Miami State Gulls - 13
Garden State Redbirds - 12, Penn Catholic Crusaders - 9
Annapolis Maritime Navigators - 34, Idaho A_M Pirates - 0
Boston State Pirates - 17, American Atlantic Pelicans - 6
College of San Diego Friars - 48, Lambert College Stags - 12
Liberty College Bells - 25, Wisconsin Catholic Cavaliers - 3
Abilene Baptist Chaparrals - 17, Cleveland Tigers - 13

THIS WEEKEND'S GAMES INVOLVING TOP 20 TEAMS
#1 Central Ohio (5-0) at #16 St Magnus (4-1)
#2 Eastern State (5-0) at Coastal State (0-5)
Lambert College (0-5) at #3 El Paso Methodist (5-0)
#4 Central Kentucky (4-0) at Bayou State (1-3)
Miami State (2-3) at #5 St Blane (4-0)
Utah A&M (3-2) at #6 Provo Tech (5-0)
Cumberland (1-3) at #7 Northern Mississippi (4-0)
#8 Georgia Baptist (3-1) at Opelika State (2-2)
Daniel Boone College (3-2) at #9 Lawrence State (4-1)
Lincoln (3-2) at #10 St Ignatius (4-1)
#11 Oklahoma City State (4-1) at Iowa A&M (1-3)
Pierpont (1-2) at #12 George Fox (3-0)
Canyon A&M (2-2) at #13 Payne State (4-1)
Ellery (1-2) at #14 Brunswick (3-0)
#15 Dickson (3-0) at Grafton (2-1)
Bluegrass State (2-2) at #17 Mississippi A&M (3-1)
Valley State (3-2) at #18 American Atlantic (4-1)
#24 Noble Jones College (3-1) at #19 Alabama Baptist (3-1)
#20 Amarillo Methodist (3-1) at Texas Gulf Coast (2-3)






WASPS WITHSTAND LATE PHILLY PUSH, BEAT FRIGATES 27-20
Washington and Kansas City Each Win to Remain Undefeated

It ended up as a much tighter game than expected but both when the final gun sounded the Washington Wasps were 5-0 and their American Conference East Division rivals from Philadelphia were 0-5. The 27-20 Wasps win leaves Washington, along with the Kansas City Cowboys, with their perfect records intact.

The Wasps were heavily favoured and enjoyed a 27-10 lead heading into the fourth quarter until the Frigates, who have had their struggles this season, put together a pretty solid 15 minutes of football and closed the gap but eventually fell just short. Butch White had a strong game at quarterback for the winless Frigates, throwing for 200 yards and a pair of scores but the Wasps, led by running back Charlie Radley's 138 yards on the ground proved to be just a little to much for Philadelphia.

The National Conference Central Division leading Cowboys had a much easier time running their record to 5-0 as they completely shutdown Detroit's offense in a 24-7 victory over the visiting Maroons. Tom Whitney, a backup at running back each of the previous two seasons, continues to shine in a co-starring role with Armando Close. Whitney set a career high with 136 yards rushing while Close chipped in with an additional 57 on the ground. The Maroons defense had a solid game, led linebacker William Peebles, who leads the AFA in sacks, but there was no way they could keep up with the Cowboys, especially with Detroit forced to use backup quarterback Jimmy Moore once more in place of the injured Charles Sonnenberg. Moore completed just 7 of his 32 pass attempts on the afternoon.

Possibly the most anticipated game of the weekend was the American Conference West Division showdown in San Francisco and it lived up to expectations with the New Orleans Crescents improving to 4-1 with a hard fought 27-24 victory over the Wings. Both teams entered the game tied for the division lead at 3-1 and the two sides proved to be very evenly matched but it was the Crescents who held on for the victory but barely as New Orleans led 27-10 at the two-minute warning before the Wings scored two touchdowns in the final 22 seconds but simply ran out of time. The win came at a cost for the Crescents who lost starting quarterback Royce Neill early in the game with a hamstring issue that is expected to force him to miss next weekend's game in Cleveland. Crescents backup Mark Glover did a solid job in relief, completing 13 of 19 throws for 95 yards and a touchdown.

In other action the New York Stars did all their scoring in the opening 12 minutes and went on to beat the winless Los Angeles Tigers 13-3. Stars defensive lineman Justin Thompson had two sacks and forced a pair of Los Angeles fumbles.

A last second 36-yard field goal by James Trask gave Pittsburgh a 20-17 win on the road in Cincinnati and completed the biggest comeback of the day. The Paladins trailed 17-10 after Cincinnati scored with 1:30 remaining in regulation. It took just 4 plays and 57 seconds for Pittsburgh to re-tie the game on a 32 yard Charlie Stillwell to Vic Walker touchdown pass. Inexplicably with just 14 seconds left on the clock and deep in his own territory, Rivermen quarterback Chuck Rayford attempted a pass and was intercepted by rookie Paladins cornerback Chad Goss, who alertly fell to the ground with 4 seconds remaining to set up the game winning field goal and avert overtime.

After an 0-3 start the Buffalo Red Jackets won for the second week in a row, dumping 0-5 Atlanta 13-3. The Buffalo offense was practically non-existent with quarterback Justin Myers completing just 5 of 24 pass attempts and the Red Jackets running game was held to 89 yards but the Firebirds were no better.

If the lack of offense was bad in Atlanta it was downright offensive in San Diego where the hometown Admirals defeated the Milwaukee Stags by a hockey score that read 6-5. Milwaukee led 5-0 at the break on a Robert Acker field goal and a safety recorded by defensive end Mel Weigert. The only touchdown came on a 6-yard run by San Diego's Ted Shaffer early in the fourth quarter to complete a long drive that advanced primarily because of 4 Stags defensive penalties on the possession.

The New York Titans strong start has slowed as they were defeated for the second week in a row, falling 20-17 in Los Angeles to the Olympians. Jim Moran's 7-yard touchdown pass to Joseph Oliver with 3:23 remaining in the game proved the margin of victory. It was the second time in the game Moran and Oliver teamed up on a scoring play in the contest. Any hopes for a Titans comeback were crushed when Olympians linebacker Louis Gonzales sacked New York backup quarterback Louis Snyder in the final minute. Snyder was forced into the game when starter James Tovar was knocked out earlier in the fourth quarter following another of the Admirals four sacks on the day.

Small victories I suppose in Chicago where the Wildcats scored a season high 10 points in a game. They still lost to fall to 0-5 after Cleveland tamed the Wildcats 32-10 and the offensive line was once more to blame, allowing Chicago quarterback Carl Pederson to be sacked 14 times in the game.

The Houston Drillers were impressive for the second week in a row, edging the visiting Boston Americans 24-21 to put both teams at 3-2 on the year. Randall Silva led the Houston offense, throwing for 204 yards and a touchdown while Bobby Barrell Jr. was once more a force on the defensive line and collected his 5th sack of the season.

It was a tight game in Miami as well where the Mariners nipped the Seattle Roughnecks 20-17. Miami quarterback Jeff Conroy had his ups and downs but a 77-yard touchdown strike to Marco Ellison midway through the fourth quarter helped secure the win. The Seattle loss took away from a terrific game from Roughnecks cornerback Tim Handshoe, who returned an interception for a touchdown and also forced and recovered a fumble.

Denver had little trouble with Minnesota as Mountaineers quarterback Robert Haas threw for 139 yards and a score while also rushing for 51.

Finally in Dallas the visiting St Louis Ramblers marched the ball 80 yards in the closing minutes of the game, completing the drive with a 9 yard touchdown pass from Pat Kelly to Freddie Hopkins with just 33 seconds remaining and give the Ramblers a 21-17 win over the Stallions.

END OF AN ERA: FIVE FABL STARS SEE NUMBERED RETIRED IN HISTORIC OFFSEASON
By TWIFS Baseball Editor Tip Harrison

It's not every year the game says good bye to their stars, but you know what never happens? Saying good bye to five!

Chicago Cougars fans may hate seeing Pug White and Jim Norris hanging it up when they still had something to give, but Philly fans were thrilled to find out they wouldn't have to see Buddy Miller ever wear anything but his Keystones #8 jersey. Future Cougars could wear Norris' 15, but you won't catch another Dynamo in an 11. Or a Chief with a 4. Or a Cougar or Pioneer with a 35. Those numbers are reserved for legends.

You have to imagine most will enter the Hall-of-Fame, but they certainly won't all be in the same class. Miller didn't play a FABL inning this year, so the 3-Time Whitney and Championship winner will see his name on a ballot one year earlier. A potential unanimous selection, the legendary Keystone finished his career with a .313/.376/.504 (143 OPS+) batting line. Miller ended his career with 441 doubles, 434 homers, 924 walks, 1,556 RBIs, and 1,621 runs. Some of the highest marks in FABL history, they rank 37th, 13th, tied for 83rd, 15th, and 23rd, and his 85.47 WAR is 51st among FABL batters, one spot ahead of legendary catcher T.R. Goins (85.32) and one behind two-time WCS MVP Pete Layton (86.85). Miller is also one of 19 players with 3,000 hits, and his 3,105 currently sit 15th in league history.

He appeared in exactly 2,220 games with the Keystones, the third most in team history. Their former 5th pick hit a robust .323/.380/.530 (150 OPS+) with 374 doubles, 79 triples, 397 homers, 1,359 RBIs, 1,414 runs, 710 walks, and almost all (83.3) of his career WAR. His name is all over the Keystones top-10, including average (10th), OBP (8th), slugging (3rd), OPS (2nd, .910), WAR (5th), runs (4th), hits (4th, 2,686), doubles (5th), homers (3rd), RBIs (4th), and walks (8th). A lot of times the guys ahead of him are Rankin Kellogg or Bobby Barrell, sometimes a Zebulon Banks or George McDermott, players of the highest caliber.

Miller earned all ten of his All-Star selections and three Diamond Defense awards with the Keystones, but they didn't really do him any favors at the end of his career. He could have climbed higher on the counting stats leaderboards, but by time he left the organization his playing time was almost gone. He never quite turned into a regular, but he appeared in at least half of the Saints games all five years he spent there. He followed that up with two seasons in Boston, including a non-Keystone high 385 PAs in 1973. He clearly wasn't the same player, but when he returns for his ceremony next season all he'll be remembered for were the multitude of five star plays in his time with Philly.

A more shocking retirement came in Chicago, with one of the game's most winningest pitchers announcing his end. Sure, being 45 should have been a giveaway, but Jim Norris had agreed to a contract for 1976 with the Cougars, and until September was an extremely effective pitcher. By choosing to retire, he's giving up the opportunity to be one of the five most winningest pitchers in FABL history. He was two away from 5th and two more away from 4th, finishing his career with 337 wins.

The long time Dynamo ace finishing his career 337-248 in 877 outings and 5,338.2 innings pitched. His appearances are tied for 6th and his innings 8th, while his 3,007 strikeouts are 4th among all FABL pitchers. Norris is one of just 11 pitchers with triple digit WAR, as his 102.1 is 11th after being passed by Jorge Arellano. A 3-Time Allen winner, 4-Time World Champion, and 8-Time All-Star, he's about as obvious as a Hall of Famer as it gets, and he has a case for being the best Dynamo pitcher.

215 of his 337 wins came with the Dynamos, where he started 411 of his 449 appearances. He held an excellent 3.45 ERA (120 ERA+) and 3.50 FIP (83 FIP-), striking out 1,884 in 3,320 innings pitched. A common entrant on the franchise's top-5 list, he places in wins (2nd), win percentage (5th, .613), WAR (2nd, 73.5), games (3rd, 449), starts (2nd, 411), shutouts (2nd, 39), innings (2nd, 3,320), and strikeouts (2nd), generally trailing just 1910s standout Jim Golden (269-158, 2.27, 2,060), who pitched in a much different game. When he was at his best, there was no one better, as he had the innate ability to take the bats out of batters hands. Even at 45 he was generating whiffs, and for the first time since 1951 baseball will be played without an appearance from Gloversville's most successful product.

His teammate and fellow 45-year-old Pug White retired too, but all 933 of his FABL record games pitched came with the Cougars. They didn't draft him -- that was Montreal's doing in the 5th Round of the 1948 draft -- but the veteran southpaw will always be remembered for all he gave to the team. Acquired for former #1 pick and thought to be future Hall-of-Famer Sal Pestilli, it might be Pug who gets his named called, though his case would be his longevity and consistency opposed to multiple awards. Hall-of-Famer or not, he'll end his career as the Cougars All-Time wins (261), WAR (75.8), starts (535), innings (4,390.1), strikeouts (2,687) and of course, games. Every FABL pitch he threw was with a Cougar jersey, and I imagine it's only a matter of time before he puts it back on as a coach.

Pug did get selected to 7 All-Star games, but he was never in consideration for any Allen awards. His sheer number of appearances helped him build counting stats, but his 4,390 innings were 31st in FABL history. That makes his placements on league leaderboards still legitimate, as he's tied for 31st in wins, 9th in strikeouts, and 39th in WAR. He finished his career with an outstanding 3.37 ERA (117 ERA+) and 1.26 WHIP, as while their certainly was quantity, it tended to be of the upmost quality as well. He did whatever he needed to help his team, sometimes the ace, sometimes the stopper, sometimes a middle rotation arm, but regardless of role he was dependable up until his last FABL pitch.

Two other pitchers saw their numbers retired, but both retirements were planned, and the eventual announcements expected. One came from the crosstown Chiefs, who retired the number of former 6th overall pick Vern Osborne. Osborne, selected by the Gothams, came to Chicago for former #1 pick John Stallings, and spent all but the last three years of his FABL career with the Chiefs. It was where he was best, winning a title, going to 6 All-Star games, and leading the league in wins (1967, 21) and ERA (1956, 2.65) with a few top-3 Allen finishes.

4,173 of his 4,345 innings came with the Chiefs, and his franchise strikeout record will remain at 2,530. He doesn't have wins, as his 252 are second to Hall-of-Famer Al Miller (327-256, 3.49, 2,344), as is his 78.7 WAR, 572 starts, and his innings count. He has a few notable appearances on the All-Time lists too, with his 2,597 strikeouts 13th, his 257 wins tied for 34th, and his 77.36 WAR 35th. After two decades in the big leagues, he finished with a solid 3.60 ERA (110 ERA+) and 1.27 WHIP, and while not scary in his time with the Cannons, Fed hitters will be glad they'll never see a #4 on the mound for the Chiefs at Whitney Park.

Last, but certainly not least, was a second 3-Time Allen winner, as the Pioneers honored their former 5th rounder Billy Hasson who wrapped up his seven year stint with the Keystones. Part of the dominant Mack-Hasson-Madden three-headed monster, he ended up with the most wins of the three, and should join Frenchy in the Hall. Mack had more as a Pioneer, finishing with exactly 200 wins, as just 174 of Hasson's 266 FABL wins were with St. Louis. Granted, St. Louis was where all his Allens and all but one of his seven All-Star selections came, finishing with a 3.02 ERA (128 ERA+), 1.18 WHIP, and 2,881 strikeouts. His 68.2 WAR is second to Mack, as are his 25 shutouts and 2,064 strikeouts. Even though he wasn't always the "ace" of the rotation, Hasson was an ace, giving you a consistent 31+ start 230+ inning his entire Pioneer career.

Including his somewhat successful time in Philly, he was able to pass Frenchy Mack in strikeouts, becoming the pitcher with the 5th most in FABL history. His 2,881 beat Mack's 2,766 by just over 100, but he could not join Jim Norris in the 3,000 club. Hasson also finished 26th in WAR (86.12) and 30th in wins (266), putting himself in truly elite company. In his prime, few hitters could touch him, it may be some time before we see someone with the combination of endurance and whiff generation that Hasson and Norris both displayed during their reigns of terror.

OFFSEASON OPENS WITH TRIO OF TRADES
Why they couldn't do it all in one, I do not know, but the Houston Comets and Baltimore Clippers agreed to three separate trades in short succession to kick off what could be a busy offseason for FABL GMs.

It was a concerted effort to upgrade their pen, as the second place Comets looked to shore up the back of their pen, as behind All-Star stopper Bob Young (11-8, 28, 2.05, 76) there were a lot more questions then answers. They'll get to add a guy with plenty of high leverage experience, picking up soon-to-be 34-year-old righty Davey Cronin.

Signed as a Free Agent by the Clippers in April, Houston will be Cronin's fourth FABL stop, spending two years in LA and seven with the Kings before his release. It made sense, he was really bad in each of his two previous seasons, but he had an excellent bounce back in Baltimore. Their stopper went 9-7 with 23 saves, working to a 3.40 ERA (113 ERA+) and 1.39 WHIP in 127 innings pitched. He has experience as a starter too, but Cronin will enter 1976 with 526 appearances, with 65% of his outings coming out of the pen. An 11-year vet, he's 105-104 with 78 saves and 23 holds, worth 14.1 WAR in 1,721.1 innings. An up and down career, his 3.84 ERA (93 ERA+) is a little below average, but he seems to make adjustments when guys start figuring him out. It may take him some time to do it, but the Comets don't need greatness, they just need a little better so they can take first from the Suns.

In return, the Clippers picked up 20-year-old infielder Claude Middlefield, who ranks outside the league's top 500 prospects. A 17th Rounder in 1973, he didn't have the greatest season in A-ball last year, but he swings a quick bat and has a cannon at the hot corner. Baltimore might see something they can get out of him, as it's a position of weakness on the big league club.

The day after, two more righties were added, picking up veterans Stan Boone (2-6, 2, 3.93, 18) and Roy Brandt (4-1, 5.73, 15). Neither pitcher had much of a season, and Brandt was downright awful, but both are experienced depth arms who can eat up innings. Plus if it doesn't work out, they're easy to cut bait with, but it does seem like they cost them more then Cronin, who's a far better pitcher.

I'll try not to confuse you, but this netted the Clippers a Bernard and Barnard, both of who rank in the club's top-20 and the league's top-500. Melvin Bernard is higher, 13th and 318th respectively, and is praised for his work ethic and hit tool. An OSA darling, the 19-year-old infielder is projected to be a reliable hitter, with average power and an elite hit tool. Taken in the 5th Round of last year's draft, he hit a respectable .254/.365/.385 (97 OPS+) in Low-A, picking up 15 doubles, 8 triples, 5 homers, 36 RBIs, 53 runs, and 58 walks. An intriguing, high-upside pickup, getting him for Boone is a huge pickup and one that might give them props in the future.

Willard Barnard is no slouch himself, but as a strictly bullpen arm with three fastballs his overall upside might be capped. Also 19, he doesn't tun 20 till June, and has all the makings of a high leverage reliever. The stuff isn't great, and he doesn't throw too hard, but he locates his pitches well, and the subtle differences in break makes them tough to adjust too. He plays off his fastball, using his cutter and sinker almost as half-slider and change up. This is also his second time being trades, going from Dallas to Houston last season. It's a lot of movement for a guy taken in the 7th Round just two drafts ago, and Barnard is hoping he has now found his forever home.

One can expect more moves to be made, as both the defending champion Imperials and the Chicago Cougars are expected to be active in the offseason. A speculative match could be Phil Terry, who's still recovering from a severe hip strain he suffered in August. When healthy he was one of the Imperials most effective hitters, batting .301/.369/.466 (128 OPS+) with 17 homers, 71 RBIs, and 14 steals. New York's most desirable piece, WCS MVP Al Reece (.337, 9, 66, 18) is one of a few listed untouchables, something Chicago should have gone three offseasons ago. As nice as Bob Goldman (13-10, 3.32, 105) has been, the Cougars could have really used the former 9th Overall pick. He was one of four prospects in the blockbuster, and now both him and Bud Pace (8-6, 7, 3.21, 29) carved out important roles in the Big Apple.

Houston could also, especially in the power department. Terry would work well there too, as despite missing most of the last two month's, he'd have led the Comets in homers. They do have a crowded outfield with Stan Francis (.332, 3, 51), Hank Andrew (.301, 14, 76, 19), and John Edwards (.259, 14, 88, 27) left, right, and center, but they could shift Francis to center and send Andrew to the hot corner. Terry could provide much needed thump to the Comet lineup, and they have shown early that they won't shy away from making a move.

[b]
]NORRIS, WHITE, RENEG ON EXTENSIONS, FOREGO 1976 SEASON

As if their awful September wasn't bad enough, the Cougars rotation was hit with two big blows, as despite having contracts agreed for the 1976 season, likely Hall-of-Famers Jim Norris and Pug White decided that 1975 would be their last dance.

Both pitchers still had it going, with respectable 1975 seasons, but instead of their continued pursuit of history, the cleats were hung, with father time finally catching up.

Norris, who was a few months older, had a chance to enter the top-5 All-Time in FABL wins. He was two away from 5th and two more away from 4th, finishing his career with 337 wins -- all with the Cougars and Dynamos -- as the sixth most winningest pitcher. He got their by picking up 12 wins in 29 starts, finishing his career 337-248 in 877 outings and 5,338.2 innings pitched. His appearances are tied for 6th and his innings 8th on their own, and his 3,007 strikeouts are 4th in FABL history. His name is littered across the top-10 in league history, as well as 11th in WAR as one of 11 pitches worth more then 100 WAR.

As nice as his late career time with the Cougars was, he'll always be known as a Dynamo, where 215 of his wins came. After his retirement announcement they quickly announced his number would hang, and that #11 would never be worn by another Dynamo. Long their 2nd Round pick, he won 3 Allens and was named to 8 All-Star games, twice leading the Fed in wins, once in ERA, once in WHIP, twice in innings, and once in starts. He had just one below average season with them, his last, and finished with a 3.45 ERA (120 ERA+), 3.50 FIP (83 FIP-), 1.26 WHIP, and 1,884 strikeouts in 3,320 innings pitched. He added 68.2 more in the postseason, winning titles in four of his five postseasons.

Pug, however, spent every FABL appearance in a Cougar uniform, even though he wasn't drafted by them. Picked up over two decades ago from the Saints, he debuted in 1953, and by time he retired he pitched 933 times, more then any other FABL pitcher. He spend time in both the rotation and pen, as 535 of those appearances were starts. He had four full seasons out of the pen, with a few more where he split time in both roles. He did what he needed to help the team, but it's a real shame he never got to pitch in the postseason. In his 23-year career, he finished 261-220 with 91 saves, a 3.37 ERA (117 ERA+), 3.55 FIP (89 FIP-), 1.26 WHIP, and 2,687 strikeouts.

Like Norris, his number will be retired, as no more Cougars will wear #35. Obviously he leads the franchise in appearances, but Put is also the team leader in wins, WAR (75.8), starts, innings (4,390.1), and strikeouts. He went to 7 All-Star games, two as a stoper and five as a starter, and despite suffering two major injuries in his first two FABL seasons, he only had one later injury lasting more then a month. Availability was one of his best abilities, as you knew regardless of when he was called upon, he would provide you with results.

So what does this mean for our Cougars? Instead of focusing soley on offensive upgrades, they now need at least one starting pitcher, losing two of the five members of their rotation. One spot can be filled by veteran Hal Adams (3-9, 2, 4.41, 43) who was hurt and then pushed to the pen after Bill Bartlett's (13-5, 2.14, 72) breakout, but internal options after him are few and far between. Waiver claims Leroy Williams (0-5, 4.09, 13; 0-6, 6.75, 14) and Bob McKinney (1-0, 5.01, 16; 5-5, 2, 3.30, 76) and AAA righty Walt Wilson are possibilities, but neither inspire much confidence if the intent is to contend.

White and Norris weren't the only two Cougars to retire either, as they accounted for four of the eight notable retirements off of active FABL rosters. The other two didn't play key roles on the 1975 team, but the Cougars also said goodbye to the franchise home run leader. A former 1st Rounder of the Saints, he joined the same way as Pug, just a few seasons later. He also spent his full big league career in Chicago, batting .277/.322/.450 (119 OPS+) with 288 doubles, 284 homers, 991 runs, 1,083 RBIs, and 139 steals. He didn't have much of a role with the Cougars lately, but in his first six seasons he was one of the top sluggers, putting together 20 or more homers each year, as well as two over 30.

Charlie Lawson was the last to call it quits, but like Watson his retirement was expected. The ultimate "peak early" story Lawson led the CA in ERA (2.91) and WHIP (1.07) as a rookie, and after four ace-level seasons, he was mysteriously demoted and seemed to lose all his pitching ability. He only had 9 starts from 1966 to his retirement, coming after at least 33 in each of his first four seasons. In that same post-peak period he had just three above average ERA+ seasons, but those nine seasons saw well under half of his career innings. That's why his 4.03 ERA (100 ERA+) stayed average, but 105% of his career WAR (18.6) comes in his first four seasons. He spent parts of four seasons with the Cougars, and his 173.2 innings in Chicago were second only to his time with the Sailors. He was average, working to a 3.73 ERA (99 ERA+) and 1.21 WHIP, and had similar numbers to his norms in his final year.

LALIBERTE HAS TOTEMS STANDING TALL

The Vancouver Totems are tied for the overall lead in the NAHC thanks in no small part to the emergence of Charles Laliberte between the pipes. The 22-year-old goaltender made the club as a 19-year-old right after being drafted with the 16th selection in 1972 but he had his ups and downs during his first three seasons in the league. He did show signs of promise with a quick start a year ago, something that earned Laliberte a spot in the mid-season all-star game before struggling down the stretch. Laliberte did help Vancouver reach the Challenge Cup finals two years ago but last spring had his struggles as his club made a first round exit.

It is early but at 22 he is displaying much more confidence in the net and is a big reason the Totems are off to a 4-0-2 start. The young goaltender has played four of the six games and leads the NAHC among qualified goaltenders with a sparkling 1.75 goals against average and a .931 save percentage that trails only Quebec's Cliff Graham.

NAHC WEEKLY RESULTS
TUESDAY OCTOBER 14

Vancouver 4 Cincinnati 2: Third period goals from Hugo Lafreniere, Ian Markle and Scott Spencer lifted the Vancouver Totems past the Cincinnati Ironclads 4-2. It was Cincinnati's first loss of the season after starting 2-0-1.

Detroit 8 St Louis 2:Charlie Rodgers scored twice and added two assists as Detroit continued its surprising start with an 8-2 drubbing of the struggling Sawyers. St Louis, a preseason Challenge Cup favourite, is still searching for its first victory.

Atlanta 5 Philadelphia 3: The Rogues three game winning streak comes to an end with a 5-3 road loss despite a two-goal night from Gary Yeadon. Atlanta, which missed the playoffs a year ago, now has 5 points to show from its first four games after scoring three answered goals in the third period to rally past Philadelphia.

WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 15

Chicago 4 New York 1: Four different Packers scored as Chicago evened its record at 2-2-0 with a 4-1 victory keyed by a 33 save effort from veteran goaltender Rejean Gillies.

Philadelphia 3 Washington 3:Gary Yeadon scored his fourth goal of the season and third in two nights to help Philadelphia salvage a point in Washington. Yves Dagenais was involved in all three Rogues goals.

Montreal 9 Minneapolis 4: Roger MacKinnon had the hat trick and defenseman Mark Moggy collected 4 points as Montreal remained unbeaten by blasting the Norsemen.

San Francisco 3 Los Angles 2: The Gulls improved to 3-0-1 while the Stingrays suffered their third consecutive loss to open the season. Marty Jensen got the winner for San Francisco with his 4th goal of the season midway through the third period.

Toronto 4 Pittsburgh 3: The Dukes handed the winless Sentinels their third consecutive loss, with newcomer Alain Ducharme leading the way for Toronto with 3 points. Another new addition to the Dukes, 31-year-old forward Milt Young, collected his 900th career point in the game, becoming just the seventh player in NAHC history to reach that milestone.

THURSDAY OCTOBER 16

Chicago 4 Quebec 2: Kevin Kelly scored for the fourth straight game while Terry Foster had two assists to give him 10 points in the last five outings to lead the visiting Packers to a victory in Quebec City.

Boston 4 New York 2: Boston doubled the New York Shamrocks 4-2 with Matt Brophey's goal and an assist leading the way.

Calgary 6 St Louis 2: The Sawyers woes continue as St Louis falls to 0-3-1 on the year with a 6-2 loss to the Grizzlies. 28-year-old rookie defenseman Liam Nason, who has spent nearly a decade bouncing around the minors before getting his shot with Calgary, scored his first career NAHC goal and added a helper.

FRIDAY OCTOBER 17

Vancouver 4 Los Angeles 3: The Totems continue to be one of the hottest teams in the league with the Stingrays the coldest. Vancouver held off a third period really to improve to 4-0-1 while Los Angeles has lost all four of its games this season.

Montreal 7 Philadelphia 2: A battle in Montreal between the last two Challenge Cup winners proved to be a one-sided affair with a dominant showing from the host Valiants. Charles Thibeault and John Partridge each had three points for the winners with Montreal defenseman Mark Moggy picking up two more assists to give him 9 points in his last three games.

Washington 3 Atlanta 1: Federals winger Bert Fenwick scored a pair of second period goals to snap a 1-1 tie and carry Washington to a victory over Atlanta.

SATURDAY OCTOBER 18

New York 4 Pittsburgh 1: The Sentinels remain winless after Larry Palmer scored twice to pace the Shamrocks to a 4-1 victory.

San Francisco 6 Toronto 3: The Gulls remain hot and run their record to 4-0-1 with a road win. Sam DaSilva scored twice in the opening period for the Dukes who led 3-0 at one point before the Gulls took complete control of the game.

Boston 4 Vancouver 4: Neither club has tasted defeat yet this season as the Bees and Totems battled to a 4-4 tie at the Vancouver Civic Coliseum.

St Louis 4 Quebec 2: The Sawyers finally notched their first victory of the season, outshooting Quebec 54-18 but had their troubles trying to solve Citadels goaltender Cliff Graham for much of the game.

Detroit 4 Los Angeles 3: Andrew Williams had two assists while Charlie Rodgers scored his 5th goal of the season to help the Motors run their record to 3-1-0. The Stingrays have lost each of their five games.

Montreal 4 Washington 4: Vals defenseman Mark Moggy continues his torrid scoring pace with another 3 points and leads the NAHC but it was not enough to earn his club a win as the Federals scored three times in the third period to earn a draw on home ice with the defending champs.

Minneapolis 4 Chicago 1: The Norsemen finally earned their first win of the season thanks to some strong goaltending from Al Ferguson. The only puck to elude the veteran goaltender was fired by the Packers Kevin Kelly, who has now scored in five consecutive games.

Cincinnati 6 Calgary 5: Bryan Coulter scored twice and added two assists while his linemate Alan Porter also enjoyed a 4-point night in the Ironclads win on home ice over the Grizzlies.

SUNDAY OCTOBER 19

Chicago 3 Minneapolis 3: The back half of the home and home weekend between the Packers and Norsemen ended in a draw with Kevin Kelly scoring another one for Chicago. The 28-year-old right winger has scored in each of the last six games and has 13 points through 7 games. Last year he finished with a career best 73 in 76 games.

Boston 4 Toronto 1: Eddie Lafleur finally got his first goal of the season while Boston backup goaltender Jim Goodrunning stopped 30 of 31 Toronto shots in the Bees win. Boston has not lost in 5 games this season but does have 3 ties.

Philadelphia 6 Quebec 1: Gary Yeadon had 3 goals and an assist as Philadelphia handed the Citadels their third consecutive loss while snapping the Rouges 3 game winless streak.

San Francisco 6 Atlanta 3: The Gulls are now 5-1-0 and tied with Vancouver and Montreal for the most points in the NAHC following 6-3 doubling of the Blazers. Don McTavish scored twice and had two assists while Mark Collins chipped in with 4 helpers for the winners.

Calgary 2 New York 0: Jon Girard made 39 saves in the Calgary net for his first NAHC shutout in 3 years. Archer Cook and Andrew Cleverly were the Grizzlies goal scorers.

EAGLES OFFENSE SOARING

The New York Eagles have had little success in the their first three years of existence. The team in the Continental Hockey League's biggest market won just 18 games -lowest in the league- in it's first season and missed the playoffs twice in three tries including last year. Things may be changing and it is all thanks to a European road trip taken by a pair of hockey legends in coach Quinton Pollack and Eagles owner Badger Rigney.

It may turn out that failing to qualify for the postseason last April may be the best thing to ever happen to the franchise as it allowed Pollack to attend hockey's World Championships in West Germany. It was there that Pollack restocked his team with the signing of three European forwards including Swedes Stefan Edberg and Sven Holmqvist. The others were Finnish forward Paavo Virta along with 31-year-old West German defenseman Dieter Schloss.

With the newcomers joining holdovers like Pollack's two sons Jack and Billy plus the addition of Ben Hirsch from the Cleveland Immortals, the Eagles offense has been the most dangerous in the CHL in the early going. New York has outscored its opponents 21-9 over its first four games and Edberg, with 9 points, leads the CHL in scoring.

Each of their first games have been in the friendly confines of the Chelsea Arena, which has made the job easier but New York has looked very difficult to stop in the early going. The Buffalo Keepers are the only other team in the 14 team league that has yet to lose a game. The Keepers are 3-0 with the goaltending tandem of Antoine Charbonneau and Nick D'Amico a big reason for the Keepers early success.

FEDERAL BASKETBALL LEAGUE CAMPAIGN TIPS OFF

The Federal Basketball League commenced its 30th season last week, complete with a record number of teams. The rival Continental Basketball League is no longer but four of the CBL teams- the Cincinnati Steamers, Denver Bighorns, San Antonio Outlaws and New Jersey Demons have joined the established loop boosting its membership to 22 teams.

The Outlaws and Demons wasted no time getting in to the action as they squared off on opening night in Texas. It was the visitors who came out on top, squeaking out a 127-126 victory that was keyed by 35 points off the bench from New Jersey's Jack Bicknell. San Antonio would get its first win a night later, downing the Washington Statesmen 117-101. Denver would also pick up a win in its debut Friday, topping the Chicago Panthers 112-102. Of the four newcomers only the Cincinnati Steamers are yet to notch their first FBL victory. The Steamers, who won the CBL title in the league's swan song last June, started the season with two games in Texas but fell to both Houston and CBL cousin San Antonio over the weekend.

While much has changed at least one thing remains the same. That would be the scoring dominance of John Brantner. The FBL scoring legend and 4 time league MVP poured in 36 points to lead his St Louis Rockets to a 113-97 win on the road in Seattle against the Jets on Saturday. It was the Rockets only game of the week.

The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 10/19/1975

• China's Foreign Minister welcomed US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger to Peking with a thinly-veiled warning on the dangers of detente with the Soviet Union. Kissinger responded in a way that would keep his lines of communication open in Moscow as well as Peking, saying that US-China relations "would threaten no one" but made it clear that the United States would stand up to the Soviet Union if the security of third countries were involved.
• A bipartisan group of seven Senators began laying the groundwork for cutting the defense budget, calling for even more cuts that the nearly $1 billion requested by the House appropriations bill if Congress is to demonstrate "fiscal responsibility" and make its new budgetary process work.
• New York City continues to struggle even with recent investment. Mayor Abraham Bearne says even if the city defaulted and was thereby spared from paying interest on its debts, it would still be $1 billion short of cash needed to meet payrolls from December to March. The chiefs of the city's police, fire and other front-line unions said they planned to tell President Ford that default "could trigger riots and anarchy" if welfare and payroll cheques were stopped.
• Parti Quebecois leader Rene Levesque has confirmed that his party, if elected in the next Quebec provincial election, will not implement Quebec independence from Canada without first holding a referendum to gauge public reaction. Levesque says his party will benefit greatly during the next provincial election, which he estimated may be held as soon as next spring, if Quebecers realize that they will have the final say on independence for Quebec by way of a referendum.
• The Montreal Citizens Movement says that the 1976 Olympic games will carry a $1 billion price tag by the time total costs have be tallied, noting that mismanagement and rising costs for contractors rushing to meet deadlines has caused the cost to soar well above original projections.

[Tiger Fan]

OCTOBER 27, 1975

MOST MAJOR AWARDS ANNOUNCED: WHITNEY UNVEILED TOMORROW
Lowery, Hunt Capture Allen Awards
By TWIFS Baseball Editor Tip Harrison

As there is with any award season there is plenty of controversy, but when it comes to the Allen award, it seems like FABL sportswriters made the correct decision. Spurned by a biased Big Apple voter, Moe Lowery was not the unanimous Allen winner he should have been, instead capturing 23 of the 24 first place votes, with the last going to someone who let the postseason judge their influence. I mean sure, Jim White (19-10, 3.63, 225) struck out a ton of guys, but his ERA was nearly a full point higher then Lowery. White also won fewer games, lost more, allowed more hits, allowed more runs, walked almost twice as many batters, had a significantly higher WHIP, a lower ERA+, a higher FIP, a higher FIP-, and less WAR.

But he had more innings and won three postseason games! That's enough for one voter!

Lowery, now a two time Allen winner, is easily one of, if not the best pitcher in all of baseball, and he has the hardware to prove it. Just 27, Lowery finished 21-8 with a 2.68 ERA (143 ERA+), 2.63 FIP (67 FIP-), 1.08 WHIP, 178 strikeouts, and a 7.8 WAR. He led all Continental pitchers in wins, WAR, complete games (11), FIP, and FIP-, while placing top five in ERA (3rd), innings (4th, 248.2), strikeouts (5th), K/BB (3rd, 2.7), BB/9 (2.4), WHIP (2nd), ERA+ (3rd), and quality starts (t-5th, 24). A veteran of 6+ seasons, Lowery currently ranks as OSA's top pitcher, and he'll enter 1976 a career 107-62 pitcher with a 2.81 ERA (132 ERA+), 1.15 WHIP, and 1,010 strikeouts.

There were multiple good options for the Fed Allen, and despite the low total of wins, Jay Hunt looks to be the right choice. His toughest competition came from teammate and 20-game winner Johnny Blackburn (20-6, 2.70, 153), but 14 of the 24 first place votes went to the Fed's ERA leader. Like Lowery, Hunt is a 2-Time All-Star, but the soon-to-be 25-year-old won his first Allen. Despite his youth, he's already finished six seasons, and was a model of consistency before his breakout. His 13-10 record may have cost him a few first place votes, but the 2.40 ERA (162 ERA+), 1.20 WHIP, and 144 strikeouts made up for it. The former 2nd Overall Pick only led the Fed in ERA and ERA+, but unlike the CA leaderboards which were dominated by two pitchers, 9 different pitchers led categories that were one's you'd want to lead.

Blackburn, Marco Middleton (16-3, 1, 2.86, 136), and Eddie Yandow (12-13, 2.93, 164) all led important categories and had legitimate claims to the Allen, which does make it surprising Hunt captured so many first place votes. Blackburn, Middleton, and LA's Pete Meissner (17-8, 3.08, 173) all picked up first place votes, but along with Yandow even Heine Schmidt (16-11, 3.07, 147) and Harry Inge (13-7, 2.90, 136) had outside cases. If anything, it shows just how deep the Fed is on the mound, and it will be very tough to pick a favorite for the award next year.

*** Strader, Drake, Named Kellogg Winners ***

I expected that both Kellogg awards would be easy. unanimous decisions.

I was half right.

In the Fed, Lou Strader expectedly picked up all first place votes, as he was leaps and bounds better then every other Fed rookie. The association leader in OPS (.942) and OPS+ (159), Detroit's former 1st Rounder hit a robust .329/.419/.523 with 25 doubles, 19 homers, 67 walks, 68 RBIs, and 78 runs. If Tom Lally (.319, 31, 107, 9) didn't exist, Strader would have had a legitimate Whitney claim too. He finished top-5 in average (4th), OBP (2nd), and wOBA (2nd, .418), and had he started the season in Detroit, he'd have likely been among the best in counting stats as well. A model of consistency, Strader had at least a 135 WRC+ in each month of his FABL career, and outside of just hitting a single September homer, it's really hard to find an issue with his season.

In the Conti, there was major surprise, as not only was the voting not unanimous, but Owen Drake won the award. Perhaps given too much credit for his team winning the World Championship Series, Drake didn't rank top-10 in FABL in any stat. Among 133 qualified players his, highest placement was tied for 18th with 17 home runs. He was 90th in RBIs, 104th in runs scored, tied for 47th in OPS+, 53rd in WAR, 112th in hits, 44th in OPS, 76th in average, 93rd in walks and OBP, and 23rd in slugging.

In fact, even as a hitter who spent all year in New York, he didn't lead all rookies in WAR. With only two qualified position player rookies, it was easy for him to beat out Art Davis (.256, 10, 60) for rate stats, but he couldn't even lead rookies in RBIs (3rd), hits (4th), triples (6th), and walks (4th), and his 21 doubles were tied with an unqualified player.

And he not only beat the pitcher that led all of FABL in ERA (2.14), ERA+ (183), WHIP (1.05), and opponent average (.214), as well as tied for the most shutouts (4), but finished with twice as many first place votes.

Surprising to say the least. I'm sure someone else will say more.

*** Abernathy, Fox Named Theobald Award Winners ***

Even if he didn't end up winning it all, just bringing the New York Imperials to their first postseason was enough for Jim Abernathy to earn Manager of the Year, but winning it all definitely did not hurt his case. A former minor league outfielder, Abernathy has been at the helm for three seasons, and this year really tested his mettle. Aside from Al Reece (.337, 9, 66, 18) and Jim White (19-10, 3.63, 225), all their useful players spent way too much time on the injured list, but every decision he made seemed to work.

Abernathy got a huge hit from Dud Garrison (.292, 1, 6), a true Dud of a player that even the above average FABL fan doesn't even know, a series MVP from a non-descript 23-year-old Brian Miller (.254, 4, 21), and you have to credit him for at least a portion of Woody Richardson's (.347, 13, 82) breakout season, as he went from under the radar offseason acquisition to batting title winner. The pen of castoffs held up under the highest level of scrutiny, even with Ed Cooper (2-11, 33, 3.36, 55) regressing after his dominant '74 season. Against all odds, Abernathy and his Imperials succeeded, though this recognition is secondary from the euphoric feeling of winning a championship.

The Fed choice was obvious, and arguably moreso, as even if they sucked in the playoffs, no FABL team has ever won as many games as the Atlanta Copperheads. Plus there was no surprising division winner or big improvement to force the award elsewhere. It's the 3rd Theobald win in four seasons for Don Fox, and he now has six since his FABL Managerial Debut in 1955. Four came with the Miners/Copperheads organization, which he's called home since 1969, but Fox also won two with the Keystones in '61 and '65. Considered an All-Time Managerial great, he's on track to win #2,000 next year, and holds a 1,901-1,580 record with 3 WCS titles.

*** 5-Time Winner Al Hubbard Headlines Diamond Defense Award Winners ***

Don't let Al Hubbard's 142 career WRC+ fool you. This guy is an elite defender.

Since his emergence as a full-time player in 1971, he's won each of the last five Diamond Defense awards at second base, a position that he's really made his home. His 12.2 zone rating and 1.055 efficiency are actually career lows at the position, but still a well above-average mark. In 941 career games at second, he's accumulated an excellent 95.6 zone rating, and his 1.076 efficiency is actually more above average then his WRC+. A true two-way superstar, he's starting to have more competition the award, but between his age and glove there's a chance he can finish with double digits.

FABL announced eight first-time winners, close to half of the twenty selected each year. One is Chiefs outfielder Joe Siniscalchi, who recently celebrated his 37th birthday. Very few players wait this long until they win one, but he posted a career high 6.5 zone rating and 1.032 efficiency. On the other side of the spectrum, Sailors rookie Charlie Jarzombek is now 1-for-1, with a 13 season difference between the Fed and Conti awarded left fielder.

Officer, I'd like to report a robbery: Bill Bartlett just had his Kellogg stolen

Okay, I've covered baseball for a long time, especially Cougars. And yes, I have a vested interest in the team. But I just cannot believe what I just witnessed. It made me put by writing cap right back on.

Now look, I get if leading all rookies in ERA and WHIP isn't enough for you to name a pitcher the Kellogg winner. But when it is all qualified FABL pitchers, do you really have to look further then that?

Not Moe Lowery. Not Jay Hunt. Not Pete Rosenbaum. Not Johnny Blackburn. Not Roger Alford. Not Pat Fortier. Not Jim White. Not Bill Dunham. Not Heinie Schmidt. Not Herm Quinn. Not any other non-rookie. None of them were the qualified FABL pitcher with the lowest ERA and WHIP.

That, of course, was Bill Bartlett, who not only was unjustly not the unanimous Kellogg winner, but not even the first place guy.

AND IT WASN'T EVEN CLOSE!?!?!

We're talking about a guy who allowed one earned run in a 43 inning span. The guy who led FABL in ERA+ and opponent batting average, and also was tied for the most shutouts with a guy who made 15 more starts. Among Continental pitchers, he ranked top-5 in complete games (2nd), win percentage (3rd), and FIP (5th), and led all rookie pitchers in every stat except losses, saves, innings, strikeouts, walks, K/9, homers allowed, shutdowns, holds, and quality starts. That's three stats you don't want to lead, three stats for relievers, one pure counting stat, and one stat you want to lead in.

That stat? Quality starts.

Bartlett's rank? Tied for second and one off the leader.

He had 17. 81% of his starts were quality. You don't see those numbers anywhere.

So who not only won, but got twice as many first place votes as him?

Owen Drake.

The same Owen Drake who doesn't rank Top-15 among qualified batters in any stat. The same Drake who is one of just two qualified Continental rookies, but still couldn't lead Continental rookies in RBIs, hits, triples, and walks and he had less WAR then Bartlett despite having the advantage of being a position player. And I'm not even going to knock him for his lack of speed. That would be like punishing Bartlett for no saves.

In fact, add the Federal rookies and he's pretty much third or fourth in any rate stat. He leads none of them. None of the counting stats either. A guy who would have been a complete after thought in the Fed, even if Lou Strader wasn't a Whitney candidate in a world without Tom Lally.

An afterthought.

Let's compare him to the 133 qualified FABL position players:

PAs: 123rd
Hits: 113th
2B: 91st
3B: 39th
HR: t-18th
RBI: 90th
R: 104th
BB: 94th
SO: 66th (fewest)
AVG: 77th
OBP: 90th
SLG: 23rd
OPS: 43rd
OPS+: t-48th
WAR: 53rd

So that's one top-20, three more in the top-50, and three outside the top-100.

Just for fun, let's see where Bartlett ranks among the 94 qualified starters:

GS: 94th
W: 43rd
IP: 94th
ER: 1st (fewest)
BB: 1st (fewest)
K: 90th
ERA: 1st
AVG: 1st
WHIP: 1st
HR/9: 1st
BB/9: 10th
K/9: 87th
K/BB: 53rd
ERA+: 1st
FIP: 12th
WAR: 36th

So if you rank the top-10 rankings between the two "finalists" for the Kellogg, you get:

1st, Bartlett
1st, Bartlett
1st, Bartlett
1st, Bartlett
1st, Bartlett
1st, Bartlett
1st, Bartlett
10th, Bartlett
12th, Bartlett
t-18th, Drake

Ha. Would you look at that. He got one!

Best of all, Bartlett ranks 43rd in wins when Drake ranks 43rd in OPS. 43rd is Bartlett's 11th best. Despite being a counting stat for the guy with five fewer starts then the rest of the qualifiers. It's Drake's 4th best.

Before you say he didn't play that much, neither did Drake. He was 123rd of 134 qualified FABL batters in plate appearances.

And you know who was #134? The rightful Kellogg winner in the Fed.

So yeah, voters don't know what they're doing. I'm not afraid to say that. It's an absolute travesty that when people look in the record books for eternity, they see the name "Owen Drake" as Continental Kellogg winner and not "Bill Bartlett".

A travesty.

The fifth best hitter on his team took an award from the fifth best pitcher in baseball. These two players should never have their name in the same sentence unless it's Bill Bartlett gets Owen Drake to roll over a fastball for the out. I just don't know how we can call ourselves experts when we can't collectively make the right decisions.

But really, why should I be surprised? Someone didn't think Tom Lally was worthy of the All-Star game. I'm sure some chucklehead didn't vote him for the Whitney too. Even when faced with the easiest, most rational decisions, we still get them wrong.

I guess this must be what it feels like getting rung up on a pitch well outside the zone. You know it was a ball. The pitcher knows it was a ball. The catcher chuckling after framing it knows it's a ball. Everyone that should matter knows it's a ball.

Except the one making the decision. He called it a strike. And now you have to walk back to the dugout knowing quite well that you should be on first base, but no. You "struck out" on a "good pitch."

That's what history remembers. The strikeout. Not that it was three inches out of the zone. Not that you made the right choice not swinging. Not that all is right and just. Just that it was a backwards K. Classic baseball.

Now I have to live in a world where "Owen Drake" is the answer to the trivia question of "Who won the 1975 Continental Kellogg Award?"

And I absolutely hate it.

RAMBLERS UPSET KANSAS CITY 31-24
Cowboys Loss Leaves Only Washington Undefeated

The St Louis Ramblers held off a late charge from the Kansas City Cowboys to knock the Cowboys from the ranks of the undefeated with a 31-24 victory at Pioneer Stadium on Sunday. It is the latest installment of one of the best rivalries in the sport and was the 47 all-time meeting between the two. Kansas City holds a slim 26-21 edge in the series but the bragging rights this week belong to the Ramblers.

St Louis built a 31-3 lead midway through the third quarter after usually dependable Kansas City quarterback Joshua Sellers was intercepted 3 times in a span of less than four minutes. That led to three Ramblers touchdowns including a pair of scoring runs from Robert Spooner, who ended up with 85 yards rushing on the day.

Sellers righted himself quickly and drove Kansas City to three touchdowns to cut the deficit to 7 points but simply ran out of time. Aside from the three picks, it was a banner day for the veteran Cowboys quarterback who completed 25 of 34 throws for 262 yards.

The result leaves both clubs tied for first place in the National Conference Central Division and they will stage a rematch, but at Prairie Park this time, two weeks from now.

WASHINGTON 49 PITTSBURGH 9

The Kansas City loss leaves the Washington Wasps as the only unbeaten team left after six weeks of the 14-game AFA schedule. The Wasps won a laugher on Sunday, scoring 35 second half points to sting the Pittsburgh Paladins 49-9. Charles Hartman, who missed the first two weeks of the season with an injury, threw for 193 yards and two touchdowns. Both Hartman scoring tosses were to Ellis Wood including a 77-yarder in the fourth quarter.

The Wasps will face a test next week in the Boston Americans, who are second in the American Conference East Division and have one of the most potent offenses in the game. Washington leads the league in points scored with Boston third so do not expect a defensive struggle. Pittsburgh is third in the East at 3-3.

BOSTON 41 PHILADELPHIA 26

How dominant is the Americans offense. Only Joshua Sellers of Kansas City has thrown for more than the 1,298 yards that Boston quarterback Juan Huff has accumulated. Boston receivers Ben Jacobson and Mark Allison are 1-2 in the league in receiving yardage and before you go and think the Yanks are just one dimensional take note of the fact that Boston running backs Stephen McKeever and Jeffrey Stockton each have more rushing yards than any other player in the league and have combined for 12 rushing touchdowns in 6 games.

That offense was on display at Minutemen Park against Philadelphia as McKeever ran for 197 yards on 26 carries, Stockton gained 108 and scored three touchdowns while Huff threw for 206 yards. Frigates quarterback Butch White had a strong game, completing 21-of-28 for 241 yards and two scores- but Boston just proved to be far too much for the Frigates, who drop to 0-6. Boston is 4-2 and has a crucial divisional matchup next weekend when they host the 6-0 Wasps.

MIAMI 22 NEW YORK TITANS 3

Two teams that appear to be heading in opposite directions met at Suncoast Stadium on Sunday. The visiting New York Titans started the campaign with great fanfare beating both World Classic participants from a year ago - Houston and Buffalo- in their opening two games but have since dropped three of four with the only victory coming at the expense of the hapless Atlanta Firebirds.

Miami meanwhile lost its opener to Denver and won just two of its first four games but back-to-back wins over Seattle and now the Titans have the Mariners tied with Cincinnati for the National Conference East Division lead.

Sunday's win was not pretty as the Mariners gained just 215 yards of total offense and had no success at all running the ball but the defense, led by linebacker Chris Etheridge, carried Miami to the victory.

CINCINNATI 22 BUFFALO 14

The Cincinnati Rivermen snapped their two game losing streak by defeating National Conference East Division rival Buffalo for the second time this season. The Riverman, who won 10-7 at home in mid-September, also took care of business in the rematch by pulling out a 22-14 victory.

Thomas Bennett ran for 109 yards to lead the Rivermen offense while their aggressive defense was in Red Jackets quarterback Jason Myers' face all day, sacking the Buffalo signal caller five times and limiting Myers to just 10-for-25 for 128 yards and an interception. Buffalo dips to 2-4 and any momentum the defending World Classic winners might have built with two consecutive wins appears to have disappeared.

DALLAS 13 ATLANTA 10

The Atlanta Firebirds, owners of the league's worst record a year ago when they suffered through a 2-12 campaign, are now winless in six outings this season following a 13-10 loss to Dallas. Atlanta, which managed only 7 first downs all afternoon and was held to just 160 total yards, stuck with the Stallions all day but just could not quite do enough to notch their first victory of season. The Stallions record is evened at 3-3, which ties them with Minnesota for third place in the National Conference Central Division.

MINNESOTA 23 LOS ANGELES TIGERS 3

Gus Robards completed 18 of 24 pass attempts while Juan Romo ran for 91 yards and a touchdown to help the Lakers keep pace with Dallas in the National Conference Central Division with a 23-3 win over the struggling Los Angeles Tigers. Minnesota defensive end Greg Isaac had 3 sacks in the game and now, with seven on the year, is just one shy of his career high. The Tigers are still searching for their first victory at 0-5-1.

SEATTLE 19 CHICAGO 9

One has to wonder just how much longer Chicago Wildcats offensive line coach Matthew Cormier will have a job. It has been a historically bad season for the Wildcats line under Cormier, who joined the team after a season in the same role with Philadelphia last year. The Wildcats allowed quarterback Carl Pederson to be sacked 10 times by the Roughnecks and that was actually an improvement over the previous week. In six games the Wildcats quarterback has been sacked 62 times. No other team in the entire league has allowed more than 28 so far this season.

Seattle quarterback Ellis Rich threw for 172 yards with 100 of them, on 5 catches including a touchdown grab, were gained by wide receiver Phillip Owens.

At 3-3 the Roughnecks continue to alternate weekly between a win and a loss, but their 3-3 record is only 1 game out of first place in the National Conference West Division.

DENVER 13 NEW YORK STARS 3

Robert Haas and Ronald Cormier connected on a 21-yard touchdown pass late in the second quarter and that was the only touchdown in a defensive struggle between the Mountaineers and the Stars. Denver linebacker Warren Hudson had a big game with 10 tackles in a contest dominated by both defenses. The Mountaineers are 4-2 and on a two game winning streak heading into back to back key games against National Conference West Division rivals Seattle and the Los Angeles Olympians.

LOS ANGELES OLYMPIANS 21 SAN DIEGO 9

The Olympians kept pace with division rival Denver by improving to 4-2 with a 21-9 triumph over the San Diego Admirals, who fall to 2-4. Hal Jagger led the Los Angeles offense as the veteran halfback who topped the 1,000 yard mark for the first time in his 11 year career last season, gained 156 yards on the day and sits sixth in the league on the season with 465 yards rushing.

DETROIT 13 MILWAUKEE 0

An impressive showing by their defense allowed the Detroit Maroons to snap a two-game losing streak by picking up their second shutout victory of the season. It marked the third time in the past four weeks that the Milwaukee Stags ended up on the losing end of the score.

Neither club had much success moving the ball with Detroit's offense, which has struggled mightily this season, using a new quarterback in free agent pickup Bennett Smoot. Smoot was offensive rookie of the year in 1969 and guided Miami to a World Classic win that same year but has not played in the past three seasons. He looked rusty, completing just 6 of 17 pass attempts for 46 yards but a couple of big runs from Caleb Luce and Gerald Edwards late in the first quarter set up the game's only touchdown, a 1-yard plunge from Edwards.

SAN FRANCISCO 19 HOUSTON 14

Turnovers cost the Drillers dearly as Houston slipped to 3-3 and a game behind both New Orleans and San Francisco in the American Conference West Division after falling 19-14 to the Wings. Houston quarterback Randall Silva was picked off three times including one that Wings cornerback Dale Forsyth returned for his first career touchdown in the opening minute of the game.

It marked the second time this season the Wings defeated the Drillers. Houston faces another key division opponent next Sunday when they travel to New Orleans to play the Crescents. For the Wings, who host the New York Stars next weekend, the victory snaps a 2-game losing skid.

CLEVELAND 23 NEW ORLEANS 10

In a battle of division leaders the Cleveland Finches prevailed, downing the Crescents 23-10 at Cleveland's Forester Stadium. The New Orleans pass defense is among the most feared in the league but the Finches beat the Crescents by focusing on the running game. Javier Headley led the way for Cleveland with a 143 yards on just 18 attempts including a first quarter 12-yard touchdown run. Scott Hastings also had a big day for the Finches, carrying the ball for 125 yards.

Cleveland will look to extend its 3-game winning streak with an American Conference Central Division matchup with 2-4 Milwaukee next Sunday.

AVIATORS GROUNDED IN MINNEAPOLIS, POLL PICTURE TURNS UPSIDE DOWN
Eastern State Rises to No. 1 as Season Enters Final Six Weeks

With just six weeks remaining in the 1975 college football season, the national picture continues to shift like sand in a windstorm.

For the second straight week the nation’s top-ranked team has been knocked from its perch by a conference rival. A week after the Georgia Baptist Gators were stunned by Central Kentucky Tigers, it was the Central Ohio Aviators taking their turn at the top — and their turn at defeat.

The Aviators were thoroughly grounded in Minneapolis on Saturday, falling 38–14 to the surging St. Magnus Vikings. Central Ohio was held scoreless for the first three quarters before finally breaking through late in a game that belonged to the Vikings almost from the opening whistle. Freshman quarterback Ralph Smithey led the way for St. Magnus with two touchdown passes while tailback Clark Bynes powered the ground game with 123 rushing yards and a score. The upset sent shockwaves through the rankings and cleared the path for a new team to sit atop the polls.

Eastern State Climbs to No. 1

The Central Ohio loss moves South Atlantic Conference leading Eastern State to the top of the latest rankings as the Monitors are one of just seven schools yet to taste defeat in what has been a topsy-turvy college football campaign. Joining Eastern State at 6-0 are the El Paso Methodist Bandits and Provo Tech Lions who are second and third in this week's rankings. A pair of 5-0 schools in the St. Blane Fighting Saints and Northern Mississippi Mavericks are fourth and fifth while the only other schools in the nation yet to lose are a pair of Academia Alliance clubs in the George Fox Reds and Brunswick Knights, who each are 4-0.

The Monitors are one of seven undefeated teams remaining in what has become one of the most unpredictable seasons in recent memory. Joining Eastern State among the unbeaten are the 6–0 El Paso Methodist Bandits and Provo Tech Lions, who sit second and third in this week’s rankings.

Two more perfect records belong to the 5–0 St. Blane Fighting Saints and Northern Mississippi Mavericks, while the George Fox Reds and Brunswick Knights of the Academia Alliance remain unbeaten at 4–0.

Eastern State did little to damage its new standing with a steady 20–10 victory over Coastal State, but tougher tests await. The Monitors travel to Baltimore this weekend to face the unpredictable Maryland State Bengals.

East–West Classic Race Opens Up

The race for a berth in the East-West Classic has also taken several unexpected turns.

Few observers imagined that both Detroit City College Knights and Redwood Mammoths would still be serious contenders after miserable starts to the season. Detroit City dropped all three of its non-conference games while Redwood, the defending national champion, also stumbled out of the gate at 0–3.

Yet both clubs now find themselves firmly back in the race.

In the Great Lakes Alliance, Central Ohio’s loss has tightened the standings considerably. Both St. Ignatius Lancers and Detroit City College sit atop their section at 3–0 in conference play. The Lancers looked sharp in a 34–14 victory over Lincoln behind the dynamic play of freshman quarterback Dan Moultry. The dual-threat signal caller rushed for 122 yards and completed nine of ten passes in a breakout performance.

Detroit City, meanwhile, escaped with a far less comfortable victory, edging Indiana A&M Reapers 31–28 in Terre Haute on a late field goal by Howard Lucas. History favors the Knights should the race come down to their annual meeting with St. Ignatius. Detroit City has won 15 of the last 18 games in the rivalry and the Lancers have not beaten the Knights in Detroit during that stretch.

Redwood Back in the Western Hunt

On the Pacific side of the East–West Classic equation, the Redwood Mammoths appear to have rediscovered the form that carried them to last year’s national championship. Senior quarterback John Coughlin accounted for all three touchdowns in Redwood’s 21–14 win over Coastal California, rushing for each score. The victory keeps the Mammoths firmly in contention in the West Coast Athletic Association where Northern California Miners and Lane State also remain unbeaten in conference play.

Redwood faces a difficult road test next week against Emeralds before its traditional late-season showdown with Northern California.

Small Conferences Making Noise

Two of the season’s most impressive unbeaten teams continue to come from conferences that rarely receive national attention.

El Paso Methodist improved to 6–0 with an overwhelming 84–0 rout of Lambert College. Senior running back Andrew Freitas accounted for five touchdowns in the lopsided victory. Similarly dominant has been Provo Tech, which has outscored its conference opponents 77–13 in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Association. The Lions face struggling Custer College this week in what should be another comfortable outing.

Saints Quietly Building Momentum

While the headlines have been dominated by upsets, the St. Blane Fighting Saints continue to move quietly through the schedule. St. Blane improved to 5–0 with a convincing 30–6 victory over Miami State. A trip to face Penn Catholic appears to be the next step toward a potential unbeaten season. Only Boston State later in November and a December showdown with Northern California appear likely to threaten the Saints’ march toward another championship bid.

Deep South Chaos Continues

Meanwhile, the Deep South Conference has once again proven to be its own worst enemy in the national title race. One week after its upset of Georgia Baptist, Central Kentucky stumbled with a shocking 17–14 loss to Bayou State.

That leaves Northern Mississippi Mavericks as the conference’s highest-ranked representative. The Mavericks improved to 5–0 overall and 2–0 in conference play with a hard-fought 13–7 victory over Cumberland. But Northern Mississippi now faces perhaps its toughest stretch of the season with back-to-back road games against Alabama Baptist and Central Kentucky.

With six weeks left in the season, the only certainty in college football is uncertainty. Top-ranked teams are falling. New contenders keep emerging. And the road to the East–West Classic remains as wide open as it has been in years.

WEEKEND COLLEGE FOOTBALL RESULTS
Charleston Tech Admirals - 20, Cowpens State Fighting Green - 10
Eastern State Monitors - 20, Coastal State Eagles - 10
Columbia Military Academy Cadets - 31, Maryland State Bengals - 10
North Carolina Tech Techsters - 17, Carolina Poly Cardinals - 0
Iowa A_M Bulls - 18, Oklahoma City State Wranglers - 7
Lawrence State Chippewa - 30, Daniel Boone College Frontiersmen - 13
Eastern Kansas Warriors - 13, Eastern Oklahoma Pioneers - 10
Boulder State Grizzlies - 48, College of Omaha Raiders - 7
Detroit City College Knights - 31, Indiana A_M Reapers - 28
Minnesota Tech Lakers - 10, Western Iowa Canaries - 6
Wisconsin State Brewers - 12, Whitney College Engineers - 10
St Ignatius Lancers - 34, Lincoln Presidents - 14
St Magnus Vikings - 38, Central Ohio Aviators - 14
Grafton Scholars - 41, Dickson Maroons - 17
George Fox Reds - 42, Pierpont Purple - 16
Brunswick Knights - 24, Ellery Bruins - 17
Henry Hudson Explorers - 23, Sadler Bluecoats - 12
Topeka State Braves - 52, Queen City Monarchs - 7
Ferguson Wildcats - 30, Cleveland Tigers - 6
Northern Minnesota Muskies - 24, McKinney State Renegades - 10
Lane State Emeralds - 16, Rainier College Majestics - 0
Redwood Mammoths - 21, Coastal California Dolphins - 14
CC Los Angeles Coyotes - 24, Spokane State Indians - 0
Northern California Miners - 29, Portland Tech Magpies - 26
Western Florida Wolves - 27, Baton Rogue State Red Devils - 0
Noble Jones College Colonels - 20, Alabama Baptist Panthers - 17
Georgia Baptist Gators - 13, Opelika State Wildcats - 7
Bayou State Cougars - 17, Central Kentucky Tigers - 14
Northern Mississippi Mavericks - 13, Cumberland Explorers - 7
Mississippi A_M Generals - 52, Bluegrass State Mustangs - 0
Cache Valley Cowboys - 28, Custer College Cavalry - 6
South Valley State Roadrunners - 28, Mile High State Falcons - 14
Wyoming A_I Prospectors - 56, Colorado Poly Redbirds - 3
Provo Tech Lions - 29, Utah A_M Aggies - 6
Chesapeake State Clippers - 34, Petersburg Patriots - 6
Mobile Maritime Middies - 25, Central Carolina Lions - 3
Alexandria Generals - 45, Abilene Baptist Chaparrals - 3
Bulein Hornets - 38, Richmond State Colonials - 3
Amarillo Methodist Grizzlies - 23, Texas Gulf Coast Hurricanes - 20
Travis College Bucks - 27, Arkansas A_T Badgers - 10
Red River State Rowdies - 23, Darnell State Legislators - 20
College of Waco Cowboys - 12, Lubbock State Hawks - 10
Liberty College Bells - 41, Rome State Centurions - 0
Huntington State Miners - 24, Commonwealth Catholic Knights - 7
St Pancras Lions - 27, Chicago Poly Catamounts - 13
Minns College Mavericks - 27, Texas Panhandle Cowboys - 24
St Blane Fighting Saints - 30, Miami State Gulls - 6
Penn Catholic Crusaders - 24, Pittsburgh State Finches - 17
Annapolis Maritime Navigators - 9, Garden State Redbirds - 7
Boston State Pirates - 27, Idaho A_M Pirates - 21
American Atlantic Pelicans - 30, Valley State Gunslingers - 7
College of San Diego Friars - 41, Wisconsin Catholic Cavaliers - 3
Canyon A_M Armadillos - 29, Payne State Mavericks - 21
Tempe College Titans - 17, St Patrick's Shamrocks - 0
El Paso Methodist Bandits - 84, Lambert College Stags - 0

NEXT WEEKEND GAMES INVOLVING TOP 20 TEAMS
#1 Eastern State (6-0) at Maryland State (3-3)
Valley State (3-3) at #2 El Paso Methodist (6-0)
#3 Provo Tech (6-0) at Custer College (1-5)
#4 St Blane (5-0) at Penn Catholic (3-3)
#5 Northern Mississippi (5-0) at Alabama Baptist (3-2)
Whitney College (3-3) at #6 St Magnus (5-1)
Minnesota Tech (4-2) at #7 St Ignatius (5-1)
#8 Lawrence State (5-1) at Eastern Oklahoma (1-4)
Lincoln (3-3) at #9 Central Ohio (5-1)
Baton Rouge State (0-5) at #10 Mississippi A&M (4-1)
#11 American Atlantic (5-1) at Wisconsin Catholic (0-6)
Western Florida (3-2) at #12 Georgia Baptist (4-1)
Dickson (3-1) at #13 George Fox (4-0)
#14 Liberty (5-1) at Commonwealth Catholic (3-3)
#15 Alexandria (5-1) at Chesapeake State (3-3)
Henry Hudson (2-2) at #16 Brunswick (4-0)
Darnell State (3-2) at #17 Amarillo Methodist (4-1)
#18 Central Kentucky (4-1) at #25 Noble Jones College (4-1)
Redwood (3-3) at #19 Lane State (5-1)
#20 Huntington State (5-1) at Chicago Poly (3-3)









FEDERALS, MOTORS AMONG EARLY SURPRISE TEAMS

Not much was expected from either the Washington Federals or Detroit Motors this season but in the early stages those two clubs are forcing the league to take notice. Neither made the playoffs a year ago but the Motors sit atop the Yeadon Division with a 5-1-1 record while the Federals, after losing their first three games to start the season, are presently riding a 7 game unbeaten streak.

Detroit fans were expecting the worst from their local outfit after the club, which picked up just 63 points a year ago, traded away all-star center Yves Dagenais to Philadelphia over the summer. The Motors were expected to struggle to score without the league's top playmaker but that has not been the case as Detroit has scored 33 goals in its seven games and has not lost since dropping the season opener to the Vancover Totems.

Charlie Rodgers, a 28-year-old in his third season with the Motors after starting his career in St Louis, has taken over for Dagenais as the pivot on the top line and is among the league's scoring leaders with 14 points through seven games while Adam Jordan, a 30-year-old lured from Edmonton of the Continental Hockey League has added 5 goals. The other big improvement in the Motor City comes between the pipes where veteran goaltender Ken Stonechild has played all seven games and his save percentage and goals against average are far better than they were a year ago.

The Federals, a second year club that went a respectable 29-40-11, stumbled out of the gates with road losses in Cincinnati, Vancouver and San Francisco but Washington has gone 4-0-3 since then including a 3-0-1 week that included wins over St Louis and Minneapolis - two clubs that had been tabbed as potential Challenge Cup candidates.

The best record in the league currently belongs to the only club that has yet to lose a game. That would be the Vancouver Totems who are 6-0-3 and two years removed from an appearance in the Challenge Cup finals. Defending Cup champion Montreal tops the Connelly Division led by defenseman Mark Moggy, who's 19 points top the individual scoring parade.

NAHC NOTES

• With an assist in Tuesday's 2-0 victory over Philadelphia, Detroit defenseman Andrew Williams moved past former Boston star Neil Wilson and into ninth place all-time in NAHC scoring. Williams, who played forward much of his career and spent seven years with Toronto before being moved to Detroit in 1967, added three more assists during the week to give him 872 points.
• Kevin Kelly's six game goal scoring streak came to an end when his Chicago Packers tied Washington 4-4 on Wednesday. Kelly has 6 goals and 14 points through 10 games.
• The Pittsburgh Sentinels were the worst team in the NAHC a year ago and are off to another poor start at 1-5-0 but the news got even worst when the Sentinels learned they will be without the services of goaltender Cliff Michaud for at least three months. The 29-year-old fractured his leg early in the third period of the Sentinels first win of the season, 3-2 over Cincinnati.
• Charlies Laliberte continues to shine in net for the Vancouver Totems picked up his second shutout of the season when the league-leading Totems blanked Calgary 2-0 on Thursday. Laliberte was between the pipes for all 3 Totems games last week with a 6-2 victory over San Francisco and a 2-2 tie against Atlanta being the other two results.
• Looking at the minors we see that Brian Forysth is on a mission to prove the Philadelphia Rogues wrong. The 26-year-old who had 43 points for the Rogues a year ago but was sent to the minors this season, leads the Hockey Association of America with 23 points in just 12 games.

APOLLOS IN ORBIT ABOUT QUICK START

The Houston Apollos have made slow incremental improvement over their first six seasons as a member of the Federal Basketball League but the franchise has yet to win a playoff series. It is far too early to be talking about that as the season is only two weeks old but at 5-0 the Apollos are off to the best start in franchise history.

Houston opened the season with a victory over the best team in the now-defunct Continental Basketball League a season ago, getting 21 points from forward Frank Crossman and 18 from center Rich Shelley in a 104-86 victory over the Steamers. A day later they went into Chicago and behind Shelley's 19 points and 13 boards the Apollos tamed the Panthers 104-93. Road wins over New Orleans, by a 104-80 score, and Seattle (105-91) this week proceeded another win on their home court as Houston wrapped up the week with an easy 116-93 victory over New Orlean in which Shelley once more led the way with 28 points and 10 rebounds.

There are only two teams in the FBL that have yet to taste defeat as the Apollos are joined by their new Midwest Division rivals from Denver. The Bighorns were another one of the CBL teams to join the established league and their 4-0 record includes road wins in Minneapolis, New Orleans and Seattle. 26-year-old forward Jack Turner, who spent the past four years with Denver during its CBL days, has been a force off the bench for the club this season and sits third in scoring with 31.3 points per game.

Another former CBL club has been as impressive as Denver and will have a showdown with the Bighorns tonight. That would be the New Jersey Demons, who blazed out to a 5-1 starts with veteran center Jack Bicknell leading the way. The 30-year-old suffered through an awful year last season as part of a Demons team that, at 19-59, owned the worst record in pro basketball. This season's Demons have a lot of new faces from the struggling team they fielded a year ago but Bicknell has been the leader, scoring at a 28.2 points per game clip.

On the other side of the coin things have not gone well at all for the Cincinnati Steamers or Seattle Jets. The Steamers, widely considered the best of the Continental League after winning the league title a year ago and reaching the finals three other times in the previous four years, are still searching for their first Federal Basketball League victory. The Steamers are 0-6 and really haven't been close in any of their losses. Meanwhile the Jets may be rethinking the nickname change from Emeralds after starting the season 1-5. This from a team that has made the playoffs in the FBL each of the previous five years.

The Week That Was
Current events from the week ending 10/26/1975

• The White House has announced a five-year grain deal with the Soviet Union has been reached. It provides for the purchase of at least six million metric tons of wheat and corn annually at prevailing market prices. Officials say the deal is worth about $1 billion a year. In a parallel move, the Soviets agree to offer for sale 200,000 barrels of crude oil and other petroleum products a day over the five-year period.
• In a move that he says will save the government $1.2 billion a year, President Ford has asked Congress to approve a new food stamp program that would deny food stamps to families whose income exceeds the government's new entry level. If approved the plan is expected to mean an estimated 3.4 million persons now in the program would be disqualified.
• Minnesota Senator Hubert Humphrey reiterated he is not a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination but made a speech that sounded like a whale of campaign speech. "I am not a candidate and I'll tell you why - I don't want people to suspect about what I say, I want to tell it like it is" Humphrey declared in a long but rousing address.
• Fighting has flared up in Beirut with 23 persons killed in clashes in Lebanon's civil strife between Christians and Moslems bring the death toll to 6,000 since April. Adding to the tension in Lebanon was a 45-minute Israeli artillery barrage against targets in the southern part of the country.
• A "very shaken" Caroline Kennedy narrowly escaped injury and possible death when a bomb believed set by Irish terrorists exploded in the London townhouse of a crusading anti-terrorist member of British Parliament with whom she was staying. The bomb, placed under the car of Conservative Hugh Fraser, killed a prominent British cancer specialist who lived next door.
• U.S. auto companies reported that their sale of cars from October 11 to 20 were the strongest for any mid-month period since May 1974 and up 34% from the same period a year ago.