Wednesday, August 30, 2023

Independent hurlers could pitch a ton

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Sunday, August 27, 2023

National tournaments

 National Baseball Federation

1919 Akron Hoover Sweepers  https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/Ray-Kolp/
1938 Detroit Altes Lager

1916-9-17 Minneapolis General Electrics 7, Omaha Armours 3. 6K ATT
    (GEs have Fred Chicken)

1918-1-17 convention - lists officers - organization hopes to establish semi-pro & amateur baseball on sound footing - setting up in the major cities
1918-6-21 vg article attendances of 80K and 90K in Cleveland in 1915 - gives overview of organization

1918 Cleveland Standard Parts

c Louis Woerth / 
p George Uhle * 
1b Jim Delahanty * 

1919-1-24 commentary on federation which had very far-reaching goals indeed 

    "Evils of amateur baseball, such as the pitting of youngsters against seasoned veterans, a thing manifestly unfair, and the importing of star players for the final championships, would all be done away with.
      Proper organization of the sandlot game will give better and broader executive managership, proper development of the players themselves and the right kind of interest from the public."
    mm 'kay
1919-5-02 NBF merges with National Amateur Baseball Association

    "The time is coming, in my estimation, when sandlot baseball will be entirely a municipal proposition. When that day comes the amateur end of the national game will boom as it has never boomed before. 
    (The Federation...) has given much thought to the matter of improving the conditions which now exist in a large number of cities where the small boy and his larger brother are exploited as athletes for the financial benefit of some selfish promoter, who does not have the good of the sport or of the athlete at heart.    
    In some cities, lads who have not passed their twelfth birthday are already professionalized. They have lost their vision of baseball as a means to the betterment of their physical selves, and as a method of recreation, and are wedded to it because it means a half dollar in their pockets each time they play. 
    It is entirely needless to dilate upon the evils of such a system. It is wrong throughout, and only exists because of the selfishness of older men, who know better, and who should be brought to book by those really concerned about the welfare and advancement of the youngsters."

    Again not totally on-board w/ this high & mighty reformism 
    judge not lest you be judged
    segregationists 

1919-12-31
    strongest in central & middle-west. Goal:  promulgation & perpetuation of non-commercialized ball. 
    Lists the planned sectional competitions (ex. Northwest: Minneapolis, St. Paul, Milwaukee, Duluth, Chicago etc...)
    Three classes:
    class A: amateur
    class AA: industrial
    class AAA: semi-pro

    "Aiming To Protect Real Amateurs:
    The officers of the NBF are much concerned about the exploitation of amateur ball players by individuals and organizations for financial gain. For some time past it has been very hard to find a simon-pure amateur ball player, except among the younger lads. The more skilled players demanded & received sums of money and other rewards for their services as ball players. Teams playing in inclosed parks participated in the division of the net gate receipts, and many firms and individuals backing clubs have paid players on the said clubs. The federation, while recognizing that the more skilled players are entitled to whatever they can secure for their skill as ball players, insists that these kind of players be segregated from those who play the game for the love of the sport, and that more attention be paid to the young boys just taking up the game." 

    Sounds sort of socialist-utopian - 

Pictures:

1919-9-07 Ambridge Our Boys, Pittsburg class A champions; Favorite Knit Team, Cleveland class A champions; fair rooters accompanying Cleveland 
        Steve Swetonic w/ Ambridge


1930-9-24 5th round

American Baseball Congress' "Amateur world series"
    1937 St. Paul J.J. Kohns

    Menke, Walter 1939 Bancroft IA
    Reider, John-Jack  1937 St. Paul J.J. Kohns - born in Germany

     1937-9-28 (Battle Creek) 1st team & second team all stars, + honorable mentions.
    1938-9-11 Pairings for series at Battle Creek are starting - will begin 9-17 and last eight days.
    1939-9-18 With tie, 17 clubs for 16 spots.
    1939-9-19 Battle Creek Post Products analysis. Fork SC, population of 41, qualified for ABC.
    1939-9-20 Games scheduled for opening day, 9-23, Sat.
    1939-9-21 Umpires assigned for Saturday.
    1939-9-22 Owatonna Aces arrived today at 4:00 in the morning. Had 14-2 record in league competition. Chattanooga, semi-finalists last year, have only two changes in roster from last year. A few full names listed. Have 34-17 record. 
    Fresno St. Alphonse CYO has a priest player-manager. 
    Each qualifying team is permitted to pick three batterymen from own league. 
    Bancroft has seven players under 21.
    Analysis of Battle Creek United Steel and Wire. 
    1939-9-24 (p.1) Owatonna boys are proud of their butter

    1937-9-20 VG boxes for all games
 
National Baseball Congress

        list of champions & MVPs



1935

    Lightfoot, Charlie 1934 LA Angels 1935 Yuma Cubs


    1935-8-20 Fords have best players of the Metro League - finished 6th (see BR Bullpen)

1938

1938-8-15 B Commentary. Claude Gilchrist, 1937 tournament MVP, has stolen 54 bases this year. Hugh Willingham drove in at least two runs each game for 24 consecutive games. 
1938-8-16 B Commentary. Dumont profile. 
1938-8-28 E Plenty of pics + what players do outside of baseball. 

1939

    Cauble, Vance p


1939-8-06 Eagle. Some previewing. Meh.
1939-8-07 Eagle. 
    Some basic facts about tournament. Duration: 8-11 to 8-23. Expected attendance: 110K. 32 team bracket from the winners of 47 state tournaments.
    Baton Rouge Esson will play (alleged.)
    18 teams have been certified with 14 to go.
1939-8-07 Beacon.
    Some details about LA Shells and Silverton Red Sox. Silverton Red Sox are 18-1, LA Shells are 24-8. Some commentary on players.
1939-8-08 Eagle. Silverton team pic. The Silverton team represents lumber mills owned by Tom Yawkey. 
    Civics are adding five new players (tho one of them, Claude Willoughby, will end pitching for Chanute)
1939-8-08 Beacon. Fairmount Collegians team pic.
    Brief previews of some of the teams. Worcester Nortons have been organized for fifteen years; have 23-5 record. Four with experience in IL and EL.
1939-8-09 Eagle
    Golden Coors beat Pueblo Peppers 10-3 to qualify.
    Denver Post tournament prizes: Enid Champlin Refiners, $5,629.48; Buford Bonna Allen, $4,222.11; Duncan Halliburton Cementers and Miami Ethiopian Clowns, $1,407.37 each; Flagstaff AZ, $100; Leoti, KS and Ogallala NE, $50 each.
    "It's going to be about as easy stopping Enid as fanning Foxx with a tennis ball, but it might be done."
    Civics lost their double play combination and winning pitcher from state-winning team. 
    Trenton team is composed entirely of prison guards. 
1939-8-09 Beacon. Four teams certified for tournament; three of them, the Manchester NH McElwains, the Ninety-Six club of SC, and the Indianapolis Firemen, will not play.
1939-8-10 Eagle. Last minute plans. Mt Pleasant MI enter tournament.
    Teams are better backed than in 1935.
    Pic: Civics' new double-play partners
1939-8-10 Beacon. Pics of players groggy after travel.
    Chanute will fill a vacancy; approved by Sisler.
    Pic of new Civics Brickell and Lang.
    Broadview Hotel is official HQ of tournament.
    Manchester NH is team coming from furthest away (they never came)
1939-8-11 Eagle.
    Pic: Red Clark(e), Civic Theater pitcher. 
    Pic: Doc Regele, umpire from Salem OR.
    George Sisler busy and excited.
    LA Shells have 27-8 record, and ex-Coast League pitchers.
1939-8-11 Beacon.
    Pic: Civics' manager and coach.
    Pic: Michigan Roosevelt Oilers
    Commentary.
1939-8-12 p.1 - Dixie belle throws out first pitch - actually makes it over home plate. 9K ATT - biggest opening day crowd.
1939-8-12 Eagle. LA Shells 9, Civics 8. 
    Silverton 5, Golden Coors 3.
    Action pic. 
1939-8-12 Beacon. Fairmount has won 11 straight games.
    Nat tournament is doing much for southern Kansas.
1939-8-13 Eagle
    Pic: Enid infield
    Pic: Brickell
    "Pairing a team with Enid is just like matching someone to fight Joe Louis for a ham sandwich a cup of coffee." But Gus Hoffman, sponsor of the Mt. Pleasant Cubs, is unafraid.
1939-8-13 Eagle. Buford 18, Fairmount ND 2. (Combined no-hitter.)
    Chanute 12, Palmer House 4.
    Claude Willoughby of Chanute had gone 35 innings w/o ER before 7th.
    Action pic. 
    Lauri Myllykangas, p-cap of Worcester. Former IL. 
    Shirts will be given by Spines to every player who hits over-fence homer during tournament.
    Combined crowds of today - afternoon and evening - are supposed to total 15,000.
1939-8-14 Eagle (p.2)
    Pic: Cecil Smith, Duncan ss, crossing plate after homer.
    Pic: Major league scouts watching
    Indianapolis police officers take Golden Coors pitcher into custody. He was wanted for parole violation.
1939-8-14 Eagle. Colo. Coors 3, Fairmont ND Collegians 2.
    Worcester 14, Mt. Pleasant MI Roosevelts 2.
    Mt Pleasant TX 8, Enid 3. 
    Duncan 11, Wichita All Steel 1.
    Pic: Cecil Smith scores one of his four runs for Duncan
    Youth will meet age today as Silverton faces Cementers.
1939-8-14 Beacon. Terrell Traweek of Mt Pleasant TX greeted at plate after homer.
    Misplaced chivalry in foul ball incident.
    Mt Pleasant Cubs are dark horses making good.
    Duncan, Enid, Buford, and Civics were seen as teams to beat going into tournament.
1939-8-15 Eagle. Vandergrift 8, Branson 3.
    Wichita All Steel 5, Chicago Palmer House 3.
    About Mt Pleasant uniforms. Colorful is the word. A few of the teams are slow in arriving and may have to default such as Rhode Island's champions, who won their tourney only 8-13.
1939-8-15 Beacon. Previews.
    George Sisler announces list of seven state commissioners for 1940.
    When a game is being played the ball players all clear out from the hotel lobby to watch. They practice every day, play every other day, and still can't keep away from the park.
    Claude Willoughby talks about why he is still successful. 
1939-8-16 Eagle. Last two nights have been rained out, but prize money is still higher than at corresponding time last year.
    Mount Pleasant's satin uniforms are causing a stir.
1939-8-16 Beacon. Lots of commentary, and vg.
1939-8-17 Eagle. Duncan 6, Silverton 0.
    Trenton 7, Slater 2. 16K
    Wichita Civics 7, Branson MO 2.
    Enid 2, Mt Pleasant MI 1.
    Struthers 5, Phoenix 3.
    Four injuries were suffered at yesterday's baseball in four different ways.
    Mt. Pleasant MI has just two players with any pro experience. Enid battery has 30 years of pro ball between the two of them (and 76 years of living.)
    Commentary. LA manager = Pete Sanchez.
1939-8-17 Beacon. 
    Pic of Phil Weinert and Lefty Nix, Buford pitchers.
    Pics: Charles Derrington, LA Shells lf. Maurice Harris, Buford. (w/ profiles)
    Pic of argument at plate. Jack Mealey, 38-year-old Enid catcher, tossed for using foul language. 
    Buford has 80-10 record this year. All their players have been in big leagues.
    Jesse Collyer, umpire, is instructor at Sing Sing. Tells of baseball there.
1939-8-18 Eagle. Buford Bona Allens 11, LA Shells 0.
    Silverton 11, Slater SC 2. Slater made ten errors.
    Rome GA 8, Sardis GA 1.
    Worcester 10, Vandergrift 5. (line only)
    Commentary, and plenty of it. Melton is on Cardinals suspended list.
    Upcoming games listed.
1939-8-18 Beacon.
    Pic: Duncan infield.
    Pic: Gus Hoffman, Mt Pleasant cf, helped off field by Johnnie Hill after ankle injury.
    Standings listed.
    Buford pitchers have allowed one hit in two games.
1939-8-19 Eagle. 4K ATT. Mt. Pleasant 3, Chanute 2.
    Buford 10, Trenton 2. (line only)
    LA Shells 5, Sardis GA 0.
    Struthers described as Slovakian.
    Buford team has worked out dissent which plagued them at Denver.
1939-8-19 Beacon. Rome has won 27 of last 32 games.
    Commentary. Claude Willoughby had given up just 2 earned runs in 43 innings - until last night.
1939-8-20 Eagle. Duncan 9, Rome 1. 
    Lots of pics.
    Pic of Frank Melton and Phil Weinert, Buford's pitching hopes.
    Plenty of commentary, some about Frank Melton. Iron man.
1939-8-20 Eagle. Action shot - play at the plate.
    Chanute 6, Phoenix Thunderbirds 4.
    Mt. Pleasant 10, Struthers 1.
    Tourney standings listed.
1939-8-21 Eagle. Enid 3, Vandergrift PA Carnegie Steel 0. 
    Silverton 6, Wichita All-Steel 0. 
    Trenton 9, Struthers OH 1. 
    Mt. Pleasant 1, Buford 0. 
    Chanute 5, Rome Tibize GA 0. 2K ATT.
    Pic of argument at plate.
    There was the possibility of a protest of Buford's pitchers Melton and Weinert, but players decided they wanted to play. Melton's situation explained. Is not an outlaw nor ineligible.
    Preview.
    5th round pairings listed.
1939-8-21 Beacon. Pic: Mt. Pleasant catcher Keith Clark congratulates pitcher Vance Cauble.
    Pic: Johnnie Hill, MT Pleasant 1b.   
    Pic: Balsavich, slick-fielding first baseman for Worcester.
    Commentary.
1939-8-22 Eagle. Golden Coors 3, Wichita Civics 2. 13 innings. 2.5K ATT.
    Red Scourge of Duncan 15, Worcester Nortons 3. 
    There were high scores in Denver tournament but low scores here. (Mostly.)
    Lefty Cauble has plenty of pro experience.
    Houston tournament starts late this week.
1939-8-22 Beacon.
    Team averages listed. Previews. Commentary.
1939-8-23 Eagle. Enid 15, LA Shells 3.
        Silverton 5, Chanute KS 1.
     Mt. Pleasant Cubs are very popular - most popular Texas club to play in Wichita since Cisco Kittens.
1939-9-23 Beacon.
    Pic: Duncan pitching staff.
    Pic of umpires - they wear striped suits.
    Pic: Keith Clark, c-MG of Mt. Pleasant
    Letter from guy saying that semi-pro is better than amateur - aboveboard - talks of Ban Johnson Leagues in Kansas City - complains that KC papers give no coverage to NBC. 
    Lots of commentary - interesting stuff - notes variety of team sponsors. 
1939-8-24 Eagle. Duncan 2, Mt. Pleasant 1. 11K ATT. 
    Buford GA 7, Worcester Norton Abrasives 2. 
    Golden Coors 3, Trenton NJ Prison Guards 2. 
    Blurry action pic from night game. 
     9.2K fans went through paid turnstiles last night, not counting 1K knot hole gang, + officials. players' wives, etc. 11K altogether - biggest sports crowd in Wichita history.
    Commentary.
    Buford Bona Allens finished 2nd in 1936, 2nd in 1937, and 1st in 1938.
    Tomorrow's games will be at 8 PM and 10 PM. Previews.
    p.1 Pic of Otto "Tarzan" Utt, 250-pound Duncan catcher whose two-run homer beat Mt. Pleasant.
1939-8-24 Beacon. Game previews. 
    Pic: Johnson Brothers, Moose and Andy, of Buford.
    Les Munns and Abe White, Buford pitchers. Munns is former BRO.
1939-8-25 Eagle. Silverton 6, Buford GA 0. 2.5K ATT.
        Mt. Pleasant 2, Golden, CO Coors 0. 
    Silverton has best young team. Roy Helser has won 20 games without a defeat this year. Is the oldest player on the team besides the manager.
    Cartoon of man speaking to fireman about to save him: "Could you wait about five minutes please - I wanna listen to this last inning of the Mt. Pleasant game?"
    Duncan-Enid preview. Both are former nat. champs. 
1939-8-25 Beacon. Enid team pic. 
    Pic: Chody and Pruitt, Duncan pitchers.
    Pic: Abe Miller, Mt. Pleasant pitcher. 
    Profile of John Henry Hill.
1939-8-26 Eagle. Duncan 5, Enid Champlins 3. p.1 6K ATT. Enid had beaten Duncan 8 out of 9 games this year, including beating them 16-10 in Denver tournament.
    Commentary.
    Pic: Doc Graves, Duncan right fielder.
1939-8-27 Eagle. 
    Duncan has retained only four players from nat. champion 1936 squad. All-new pitching staff.
    Frank Isbell says umpires need to work out ground rules (if only they had.)
    Pic: Roy Helser, MVP.
    Mount Pleasant Cubs infield. 
1939-8-27 Eagle. Mt. Pleasant 2, Silverton 0. 7K ATT. Biggest Saturday crowd in tournament history.
    Tournament youngsters' all-star team named.
    Pic: Duncan Halliburton Cementers outfield.
    Pic: Virgil and Claude Gilchrist of Enid. George Hall. McConnell.
1939-8-28 Eagle - p.1. Pic of riot. 11,500 ATT.
1939-8-28 (Eagle) Duncan 5, Mt. Pleasant 2. Box. Riot over umpire ruling - explained. 
      Total prize money of $15,027.30 given to teams, including $2,925.46 for mileage. 1st place, Duncan Cementers, got $5,000 +119.46 mileage, plus all-expenses paid trip to Puerto Rico.
    The other nine prize winners received a total of $6,982.26. 
    Crowd last night was $5,000.
    Pic of debris around home plate.
    Player awards:
    Best hitter: Bruce Sloan, Duncan
    Best pitcher: R. Helser, Silverton
    Best player: J. Morrow, Mt. Pleasant, in Enid game
    Best dressed club: Rome, GA
    Most popular player: Johnny Hill, Mt. Pleasant
1939-8-28 (Beacon) Pic of riot. Commentary on controversial decision.
    Pic of Ed Lowell, 1b-MG of Halliburton Cementers. 
    Pic of Halliburton and Mt. Pleasant managers shaking hands. 
    Pic of John Henry Hill, Mt. Pleasant Cubs 1b, receiving Eagle trophy for most popular player.
    Cementers will meet San Juan, PR, for championship of the Americas.

1939-7-12 Erle P. Halliburton fined $13K for sailing his $1.6M yacht where he oughtn't to have.

1941-6-01 eccentric innovations of Ray Dumont, the NBC pres. 

1943
1943-8-18 Enid Airs with Cot Deal & Monty Basgall - Portland Firefighters with Barney Koch

1943-9-12 "8K to 12K ATT in almost every game" - woman arbiter hired for publicity purposes - calls only one play - Portland Firemen finished 7th 

1946



1947


1951 

    1951-9-07 wrap-up - picture of champ Plymouth Oilers - all-tournament team named, MVP named.

1954

    1954-9-04 pics & talking. 


1955
    
    1955-8-31 standings, boxes etc.


"During the Korean War, an Alpine, Texas team paid Brooklyn Dodgers pitcher Johnny Podres, then in the United States Navy, $1000 a game and $100 a strikeout. Podres made $2200 in one game ," (p.2/9)

Virgil Cory of the Wichita Eagle wrote, "A national just wasn't possible. The idea had been toyed with by promoters in New York, Chicago, San Francisco and other centers of population for years and had been discarded for several reasons. Too much expense, failure to get genuine representation of teams from coast to coast, and an utter lack of a central governing organization were chief drawbacks in staging a national tournament." - (/15)

"Dumont promised Paige $1,000 to bring his Bismarck, North Dakota "colored" team to the tournament in Wichita." /16

"With Paige's entry set, Dumont enlisted more teams of color. An American Indian team from Wewoka, Oklahoma and a Japanese-American club from Stockton, California accepted invitations from Dumont. Four other teams of African Americans entered the tournament : the Texas Centennials of Dallas, Texas, the Ft . Scott Blackhawks of Kansas, the Memphis Red Sox of the Negro National League; and the Monroe (Louisiana) Monarchs. 13 Dumont filled out the tournament brackets with an eclectic group of teams from around the United States: Gadsden, Alabama ; Jonesboro (Arkansas) Giants; Shawnee (Oklahoma ) Athletics; Poplar Bluff, Missouri; Union Circulation Co. of New York; Halliburton Cementers of Duncan, Oklahoma; Lompee, Cali fornia; Phoenix, Arizona; Byron, Nebraska; Holy Name of New Orleans; Lorraine, Texas; Blue Coals of Buffalo, New York; the Eason Oilers of Oklahoma; Chicago Sheridans; the Ford V-8's of Omaha, Nebraska ; Oceanside, California; Jones Stores of Kansas City, Missouri; Cleveland Mills of Shelby, North Carolina; Stanzal Brothers of Waukegan, Illinois ; ' ~ 9 Shawnee, Oklahoma; Patterson, New Jersey; the Wichita Wings; the Arkansas City (Kansas) Dubbs; and a Kansas All10 Star team. In all, 32 teams from 24 states participated in the inaugural National Semipro Baseball tournament." /17-18

"Wichita Eagle sportswriter Pete Lightner wrote: By Sunday, teams will be arriving for the national semi-pro tourney. Some of the teams have booked games en route to help absorb the expense. It takes plenty of money to get those teams here. The tournament headquarters estimate that each team will spend at least a thousand and in some cases considerably more to get here and live while here." /18

"The tournament finished with over 50,000 fans attending over a t wo-and-a-half week span . Hap Dumont declared it a rousing financial success, making money even after paying Satchel Paige his $1 ,000 " salary."" 11/19

12-13 supported by Landis and Spink of TSN

"All- black teams would be accepted in future years, but that would be up to individual member states that were part of the National Baseball Congress to decide. From 1936 on, the wi nners of the state or regional tournaments were granted entry into the national tournament, with Hap Dumont and his associates picking and choosing teams to round out the field." /21-22

"The 1936 tournament saw Lawrence stadium expand to hold 20,000 fans . Those fans were charged anywhere from forty cents to $1 . 10 to watch the games. Ten teams eventually divided the prize money of $14,617.45. Fans of teams such as the Duncan, (OK) Halliburton Cementers were even able to listen to the games on the radio." /22 

Tightens eligibility standards /22

"The 1938 tournament incorporated almost eighty percent of the teams from industrial firms and not one of them was integrated." /23-24

"Originally, Dumont and his advisors made it extremely 22 difficult for military teams to participate in the NBC tournament. Teams would have to qualify in numerous district games, which service clubs found difficult to attend due to their military obligations. Special Services Captain Leroy Mounday of Fort Riley, Kansas, who had one o f the better military teams in the Midwest, asked the NBC hierarchy to amend the rules that better allowed the service clubs to participate in the NBC tournament. Mounday recommended that they be exempted from district qualifying and that professionals players be allowed to play (which the NBC banned from competition up until this point), permitted them to play at the site closest to their state tournaments, and gave them flexibility in scheduling games . Dumont acquiesced to Mounday's recommendations and granted the service clubs permission to play in the 1942 NBC tournament." /30-31

"Competition for the average citizen's dollar was at a premium during the war years, and Dumont knew that he had to make his tournament and program more attractive than other activities. In fact, the American Baseball Congress, a rival organization, decided to suspend operations for the duration of the war. As a result, the ABC never again was able to achieve the popularity and success of the National Baseball Congress ." /33-34

Dumont's innovations, good and bad /33-40

"Wichita Eagle columnist Pete Lightner wr ote that "the early national tournament drew around $19,000, or not so much as a present state tourney. Quite a boost , and prexy Dumont expects the national to go up a r ound $36,000 or more (in 1945), twice as high as what his first one grossed." /41-42

:By the tenth anniversary of the tournament in 1945, Dumont had lined up an international semi-pro tournament." /42

- invited Japan to play in international tournament in 1945 - PR blunder /43

"Whoever wants to know the heart and soul and mind of America had better lear n baseball, the rules and r ealities of the game-and do it by watching first some high school or small-town teams." Historian Jacque Barzun in God's Country and Mine: A Declaration of Love Spiced with a Few Harsh Words - /50

"An exhibition game in September 1950 between that year's National Baseball Congress champions, the Ft. Wayne , I ndi ana Capeharts against a Japanese semi-professional team from Osaka named the All- 44 Kanebo club was the first stage in Dumont's plan to promote his brand of baseball overseas." /51-52

"The five game series ended up drawing 317,000 Japanese fans and, if Cookson is to be believed, performed perhaps one of the greatest Trojan horse maneuvers in history" /53

"In 1954, Dumont decreed that camp teams could no longer play as units in the National Baseball Congress 46 tournament . Billy Martin, who would go on to play second base for the New York Yankees and manage numerous Major League Baseball teams, said, "As Whitey Herzog will tell you, Hap Dumont made it tough on service players in 1954 by not letting camp teams play as units, but we moonlighted, like I did from Camp Carson, Colorado with Goodland, Kansas. Nice people, nice town, even if we couldn't beat Herzog's guys from Springfield, Missouri." /53-54

"The 1951 National Baseball Congress state tournaments were ones in which eighty percent of the participating teams represented towns of 5,000 people or fewer . These teams, for the most part, were munic i pally owned franchises. The remaining twenty percent were s p lit between industry-sponsored teams and the teams from military installations. 4 The 1952 NBC tournament saw the last hurrah for military service teams, as fourteen out of the thirty-four teams were from military posts. 5 The Fort Leonard wood players, representing Springfield, Missouri , managed by Whitey Herzog, could not even make it to the finals in Wichita in time to play in the tournament due to their participation in the All-Service baseball tournament in Denver, Colorado." /54

"Johnny Braden, the general manager of the employee relations department at General Electric, headed up the Fort Wayne baseball club. The G.E. plant supported Braden and his dream of putting together a stellar baseball team, by compensating each player with $600 extra dollars. 8 During Ft Wayne's incredible run, Braden used sixty-two different players, onl y seventeen of whom were on more than one championship team . Fort Wayne was such an established semi- pro town that when the Pittsburgh Pirates tried to launch a professional farm club chere in 1948, the team folded wi thin a few years." /55-56

fn: "General Electric sponsored the team for several years and then they decided to part ways with Johnny Braden. Braden, though did not have any trouble finding sponsors: the 1950 team was called the Capeharts and the 1956 title squad was known as the Dairymen. The players were still employed at the General Electric plant."

"Braden's Ft . Wayne team beat the St . Louis Browns and the Chicago White Sox in exhibition games in 1953. In that same year, Ft. Wayne placed fourth in Wichita . Dumont did not even have to manipulate the brackets for the Ft. Wayne team to create its dynasty, as Johnny Braden explained: "Hap was sharp enough to play us as the 'villains,' the so-called team to beat, and so he ' d schedule us in the most attractive situations.•" -56

"A West Texas millionaire named Herbert L . Kokernot owned one such team, the Alpine City, Te x as, Cowboys . Koker not threw money at accomplished baseball players, such as Los Angeles Dodgers pitcher Johnny Podres, and lured them to play in a ballpark that was reminiscent of some professional baseball facilities. " /56-57

College players introduced in 1960s, quickly became big part of tournament /70
Alaska /71

Daryl Spencer during 1960s: ""Twenty years ago it seemed like every town in America had a minor league team. Everyday kids were getting released and coming back home to play semipro ball. Nowadays you don't have but a handful of minor leagues, and when a kid does get released, it seems like he always quits." /72

Boulder Collegians find recruitment easy - lots of fut. pros /73

"Dumont could not control fate, as some of the men who had influenced him and the early success of the NBC tournament passed away during the sixties. Pete Lightner died in a private plane crash in the early summer of 1960. Lightner was returning from an assignment for the Wichita Eagle, for which he had served as the sports editor for well over thirty years, when the accident occurred. When Lightner passed away the coverage of the NBC tournament in the Wichita Eagle, while still abundant, lacked the personal touch that Dumont's dear friend brought to it." /76

"At the end of the 1970s, the National Baseball Congress changed ownership hands again. Joe Ryan, the president of the American Association since 1972, acquired the NBC tournament along with a Miami attorney, Ron Fine. Ryan said at the time, "I not only respect Ray Dumont as a promoter and a person and Wichita as the traditional site of the tournament. But I also knew that with the college fountainhead of talent, the NBC was like a pretty good minor league . Basically, Class A and some teams even stronger. " 13 Ryan kept the NBC tournament in Wichita at a time when it seemed destined to ride off to greener pastures in another city." /90

Considered moving tournament to different place; Milwaukee, perhaps. (May have only been for publicity.) /58

Pushback on proposed legalized gambling /61






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Play by play

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Sunday, August 20, 2023

Cubans in baseball

 Jose Acosta 3 years in majors - 200+ pro wins
Cesar Alvarez Tampa, 1919-30.  125-100, 
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Minor league misc.

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Saturday, August 19, 2023

Louisiana Leagues

 Shreveport Victory League

    Baldwin, Clyde 1945 Grapette
    Wendling, "T-Bone" Ed 1945 Grapette
    Witkowski, Frank 1945 Barksdale
    Wood, John 1945 Barksdale

    Baczewski, Fred 1945 Barksdale
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Friday, August 18, 2023

1907 Honolulu League notes

 Use the Evening Bulletin

1907-7-22 Castle chops at ball - does not swing. Jones has bad habit of bunting on 3rd strike. "Glad to note a few of the players are sliding feet first. Keep up the good work."
1907-7-21 Hampton hard to catch. 

drawings


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Friday, August 4, 2023

OH KY IN semi-pro

 1924-6-14 Indiana Cardinals with Al Leake and spit-baller Stoneking
1927-12-05 Akron General Tires shall play no more


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OH KY IN PA IL MI WV leagues

 Central League
    1926 Ludlow & G.-H. Armco 8-9 standings 10 teams in league
    1927 Times-Star

    Leake, Al 1926 41.2 scoreless innings 1926 G.H.-Armco.  1927 Middleton

    Beckman, Jim  1927 Ludlow 6-12 threw 4th SHO
    Brady, Neal 1926 Ludlow box scores for all teams' games 1927 Ludlow
    Holland, Mul 1926 G.H.-Armco. lasted 1/3IN in start - 5.4K ATT
    Jacobus, Larry 176 pro wins 1928 Middletown 

                1926-2-21 rewards player with scarce Reds tickets for opening games
                local sports authority
                I think it's him
    1926-11-10 clubs returning for next year - league made $40 profit
    1927-2-5 Viox signed as P-M of Ludlow - roster of Izzy Slieber's team given
    

    Viox, Jim 1927 Ludlow

    1927-8-21 Wee Willie Gutzweiler, diminutive portsider & one of top pitchers in league
            lost to MLB Jim Beckman 1-0
        Larry Jacobus
    1928-2-08 *loses right eye* relied mostly on spitball

Indiana-Ohio League
    1934 Richmond Lincos
    1939
    1940
    1941
    1942 Middletown Armcos

    Bloebaum, Buddy in one pro year hit .281 in MSVL at 29 (1932) 1942 Middletown Armcos
  
    Bass, Dick 1937 Richmond Kautskys post-season
     Mackiewicz, Felix  1942 Lafayette Red Sox

    1935-5-11 game preview
    1935-6-07 REALLY GOOD list of all the notable players in league
    1935-8-06 first names given for Indianapolis Sterlings - Russ Paugh is formerly of the Indiana University, and had a 20-2 record last year - Sterlings have a 14-3 record so far
    1936-6-23 park being built in Richmond - Kautskys, former traveling team, will call it home
    1936-10-24 by mutual consent, championship series is suspended due to bad weather
    1939-10-04 teams hiring lots of pros for championship series

    1942-5-12 Jack Niemes, Cincinnati plumber, signed by Reds
    1945-4-21 Niemes is MIA

    1935-9-15 Dayton Shroyers beat Sterlings 2-1

    1936 Joe Kelly, Richmond Kautskys
    1935 Russ Paugh pic, Indianapolis Sterlings
    1935 Jimmy Tobin/ Norman Babock, Sterlings
    1935 Indianapolis Sterlings team pic w/ full names

    Weeb Ewbank Pro Football HOF - played most years - Middletown 1942
    
    Finals
    1942-9-20 Armcos 4, Red Sox 3. 1500 ATT. 
    1942-9-27 no game
    1942-10-04 Armcos 6, Red Sox 3. Red Sox 10, Armcos 8. 
    1942-10-11 Armcos 9, Red Sox 2. line score

K.I.O. Semi-pro Association
    1924 8-04 standings
    1927 Greenfield
    1928
    1929 Cheviot
    1931 6-07 standings

    Ullery 1b .527SLG in B 1923 1924 Gardner-Harvey
    Utrecht, Harvey milb 2-way 1913-14 1929 Times-Star
    
    Boehler, George 252 pro wins 1930 Lawrenceburg born & died in Lawrenceburg 1931 Harmony
    Geary, Bob 189 pro wins 1929 Harmonys
    Kopf, Larry 1931 Middletown long-time P-M
    Pott, Nelson 1929 Cheviot as outfielder 1930 Cheviot
    White, Red MLB 1909-11 1928 Cheviot  1929 Times-Star

     1924-7-20 second round of championship series produces surprises
    1924-9-01 KIO refuses to participate in NBF bc independent clubs play
    1929-9-01 500 fans traveling to Richmond
    1929-10-16 Wee Willie Gutzweiler again - beats MLB Joe Heving 1-0, runs scoreless streak to 19IN
            Redddington & co-workers consider Wally Kopf & Viox as logical candidates for MVP
                BR played 3G for 1914 PHI
            Boehler hero of series

    1924
    8-31 Before 10K, Gardner-Harvey beats Ludlow 4-0 behind masterly pitching of spitballer Al Leake
        Ludlow was previously undefeated having won 19 straight games
    9-07 Ludlow wins 2-0 Neal "King" Brady has his day
    9-14 Gardner-Harvey wins 5-3 Leake wins own game with triple - Ludlow protests
            protest turned down league pres wrote to both Heydler & Ban Johnson asking what they would             do under same circumstance

Michigan-Indiana League
    1935 La Porte Coalers
    1946 St. Joseph Auscos
    1947
    1948
    1949 St. Joseph Auscos 8-30 standings 8-30 batting commented final batting
    1950 folded mid-season. 

    Bestudik, Joe AAA - vg 1949 Lafayette
    Cyrulewski, Arthur (Art Cyrul) p vg 1949 St. Joseph Auscos
    Humay, Walter 1949 Studebakers have 7-8 record v Negro League teams
    Orphal, John p 1949 Fort Wayne defending national champs - lost 18-4
    Orphan, Hugh p 1949 Fort Wayne
    
    Brewer, Chet 1949 Michigan City Cubs
    Fields, Wilmer Negro League pitcher - of in AAA 1952 1949 St. Joseph Auscos 2
    Flanigan, Ray 1949 St. Joseph Auscos Baseball in Wartime
    McCoy, Benny 1946-48 St. Joseph  SABR bio

    1949-8-19 Joe Bestudik stole show in pre-game individual contest - made three incredibly accurate throws from center to home. Wilmer Fields was less accurate but had one longer throw so was given 1st. Felix Mackiewicz showed good breeding by bringing gloves left on field into dugout with him in flight for shelter from the rain. 
    1949-9-09 Because Augie Hixson is hurt and players cannot be added to roster for play-offs, the Lafayette Red Sox may have to play in W-I playoffs without a catcher. Joe Bestudik will probably have to catch. (And he did.)
    1949-9-10 St. Joseph Auscos will play Benton Harbor Buds in 1st round of play-offs. Prize of $1000 for playoff winner. 
     
 
    Fort Wayne NBC champs 1947-50. Terrible record in M-I in 1949. 

    essay on 1949 Windsor Canadians very informative.



    1949-9-10 Wilmer Fields, Ross Jones,  Mack Stewart. 

Northern Kentucky League
    1929



    1929-10-16 post-regular-season - Golden Rods have both MLB Joe Heving on mound and brother MLB Johnnie Heving behind plate. They lose 1-0 to Lawrenceburg, to the pitching of Wee Willie Gutzweiler - Heving behind the plate did not outdo Lawrenceburg's Tom "Red Hart"
            1931 Hart now w/ Middletown

Ohio-Pennsylvania League
    1926 Akron General Tires (1st half 14-0) 9-02 standings 
    1927 Massillon Agathons enlisting big guns for Ohio championship  General Tires batting
 
 
    Layden, Gene 1926 Erie Sailors w/ his batting stats1927 Akron General Tires
    Wetzel, Buzz 

    Ketchum, Charlie 1926
    Kelly, Eddie 1926 setting pace w/ 11 HR - has turned down many pro offers since 1921
        which are detailed - a good position in the city/semi-pro = lot more money
    1927 seven Beaver Falls Elks

    1926-4-14 Erie roster filling out 
    1926-8-16 Frank Rugg, formerly of Mount Carmel, with Erie and hitting .439 - memories of Rugg
        2nd no-hitter and 3rd shut-out in eight days - has play by play
    1927-7-31 Buzz Wetzel profile aided in curve ball by mangled hand
            had 21-5 record with Massillon
    1927-8-16 Beaver Falls Elks had 22-2 record in 1st half - first class roster listed
            their pitcher who had chosen to remain semi-pro has beaten 14 major league teams: Elvin Hilty

    Elvin Hilty

    1919-7-26 Irwin loses 2-0 to Elmer Knetzer of Allegheny Steel
    1919-9-14 Pitcairn, Pennsylvania Railroad - k'd 13 in 6 innings
    1921-8-21 story of his discovery. 
    1922 pic as of 8-20 has 35 wins, 6 losses - of 6 defeats, two were against MLB teams
    1924-6-22 "One of the old-timers who isn't far from the bleachers is Elvin Hilty"
        says he worked in the railroad shops
    1926-9-05 has 15-2 record pitched little in 1925 - had boils 
            called through two years ago when lost some games - has come back fully
    1928-4-22 signs with Coshocton Regulars of Eastern Ohio only pitcher to defeat Homestead Grays 4     times in season
    1928-5-14 "Count"
    1930-6-05 w/ Pitcairn - Ollie Carnegie in his outfield - loses 5-1 to Altoona Works
    1964-8-13 McGraw & Mathewson tried to sign him for $175/month
    1968-8-13 GREAT RESOURCE - lots of memories - would get $75/g - says he worked as plumber
            now 73

Ohio-West Virginia League
    1923 9-03 standings
    


    1923-7-29 The players manager John Olzeski of the Dillonvale Indians has gotten. He thinks his team is better than when it won the Ohio Valley League pennant in 1922. 
    Doctoring the ball is illegal in Ohio Valley - Rube Evans was ejected for it while pitching for Youngstown Valley Oils. 

Southern Indiana - Southeastern Illinois Association (Si-Si Association)
    1916


    1916-7-20 huge controversy over Warmoth obtained release under pretences of going to play with Terre Haute

Tri-State Amateur Association
    1946


    Niemes, Jack 1946 Deer Park Turf And Field 16K, 3H in 1st game since return from Navy.
    
    1946-6-03 Trailmobile is only undefeated team - their star pitcher is Billy Adkins, a 15-year old high school sophomore. Adkins will face Niemes. 

    1946-6-23 Niemes beat Adkins 6-2. 

Western Ohio League
    1924 7-14 standings
















        
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