Sunday 30 December 2007

Wednesday, May 14, 1952

W L Pct
Victoria ..... 14 6 .700 —
Spokane ...... 15 7 .682 —
Vancouver ..... 9 8 .529 3½
Salem ........ 10 12 .455 5
Lewiston ...... 9 12 .429 5½
Wenatchee ..... 9 12 .429 5½
Yakima ........ 9 13 .409 6
Tri-City ...... 9 14 .391 6½


KENNEWICK [Tri City Herald, May 15]—That thump you may have heard around 10:30 last night was the Tri-City Braves clanging their way into the Western International League baseball cellar. Victoria did the shoving with a 15-4 error-filled victory. It was the second victory in as many, nights for Cece Garriott's Tyees and moved them back on top of the league.
Tonight Ralph Romero will try and do for Tri-City what a quintet of other Brave hurlers have so far this season been unable to do—beat Victoria. It will also mark the last game of the series, with the Wenatchee Chiefs scheduled to move in Friday.
Victoria led the lambs to the slaughter in the first inning last night. Starter Ken Michelson, who was charged with the defeat, was shelled from the mound after facing the first five men. Granny Gladstone, greeted reliefer Neal Johnston with a double to leave no doubt in the minds of the 273 fans of which team was going to be master of the game.
After scoring six times, in the first the Tyees settled for two in the third and eighth innings, four an the fifth and for dessert pecked away at one more in the sixth.
Tri-City kicked the ball four times all in the infield but it didn't
make much difference except to the pitcher's earned run averages.
With Vic Buccola out of the lineup because of a strained neck muscle catcher Nick Pesut took over the initial corner with rookie Clayton Carr doing the backstopping.
Olney Patterson, the only Brave apparently capable of getting the ball out of the infield with any consistency, didn't let the slaughter affect his personal batting average.
He collected three of the Braves seven hits, including a triple, and scored twice. Shortstop Des Charouhas and second baseman Tommy Marier each drove in two runs for Tri-City.
Manager Gassaway slapped a $10 fine on every player with the exception of Buccola and Romero. He said the fine was for lack of hustle and further instructed the Braves they should work out daily at noon until they are in the first division.
Harvey Allen, Victoria's right fielder who struck out four times in the first game, hammered one over the 400 foot centerfield wall last night. It was one of the longest hits, though not the longest ever recorded at Sanders Field.
Victoria ...... 602 041 020—15-12-2
Tri-City ...... 200 000 020— 4- 7-4
Larino and Marcucci, Towne (8), Martin (9); Michelson, Johnston (1), Satalich (3) and Carr.

SPOKANE, May 14 — Ross McCormack smashed a pinch-hit double to drive in the winning run in the ninth for Wenatchee's 2-1 Western International League baseball victory over Spokane Wednesday.
Dave Dahle pitched the victory for the Chiefs who Tuesday bowed to the Indians 23-3. He allowed six scattered hits, struck out three and walked four.
Ed Murphy scored Spokane's first run in the third, coming first run in the third, coming home on Wilbur Johnson's single after stealing second. Dick Adams tied the game in the seventh, scoring on Norm Ridgway's bunt.
They will play the final game of the three-game series Thursday.
Wenatchee ... 000 000 101—2 5 2
Spokane ....... 001 000 000—1 6 0
Dahle and Pocekay; Bishop, Roberts (9) and Sheets.

SALEM [Vancouver News Herald, May 15]—Paul Jones' wildness and a lot of cold weather combined to topple the Vancouver Capilanos here Wednesday night.
The Caps lost a close 5-4 decision to the hometown Salems in a game which swayed one way, then the other.
Ray McNulty, a curve-balling right hander, wasn’t too much better than Jones and at times he was almost as wild, but tight defensive play by his infield pulled him out of trouble time after time.
What turned out to be the winning run was ancient Hugh Luby’s steal of home in the seventh. He got a big jump on Bob Snyder and slid in under John Ritchey’s tat play to score.
Snyder came on in the seventh after the Caps had lifted Jones for a pinch-hitter in the sixth to start a rally. Ed Locke came to the plate with his big bat to hit for Jones and that’s exactly what he did. His single with men on second and third scored both of them and put the Caps within one run of their victors.
Jones was the losing pitcher and though his chart shows only two bases on balls, what it doesn’t show is that he worked behind the batter all the way.
Jones also balked once and tossed two wild pitches.
The clubs play again here tonight and Schuster will be going with John Guldborg (4-0).
Vancouver ...... 010 002 001—4 9 2
Salem ............ 001 300 10x—5 11 0
Jones, Snyder (6) and Ritchey; McNulty and Nelson.

LEWISTON, Idaho, May 14 — Yakima Bears swept a Western International League baseball doublebeader from the Lewiston Broncs Wednesday, winning the first game 3-2 in eight innings and taking the seven-inning nightcap 7-4.
John Albini pitched a three-hitter in the eighth-inning opener. It was scheduled for seven innings, but went into overtime when Artie Wilson scampered home with the tying run in the last of the seventh after reaching third on a single followed by a Yakima error.
Tom del Sarto gave up only four hits as he pitched the Bears to the second victory, called at the end of seven frames because of the 11:15 curfew.
First Game
Yakima ....... 000 020 01—3 8 4
Lewiston ..... 100 000 10—2 3 3
Albini and Donahue; Powell, Brenner (8) and Lundberg, Helmuth (8).
Second Game
Yakima ....... 001 041 1—7 8 3
Lewiston ..... 030 000 1—4 4 2
DelSarto, Clancy (6), Thompson (7) and Donahue; Schulte, Beerman (7) and Helmuth.

Chiefs Release Four
WENATCHEE, May 14—The Wenatchee baseball management announced Tuesday the outright reclease of two veteran pitchers, Al Treichel and Mike Kanshin, and outfielders Stan Budin and Elwin Elton. It cut the Western International League club's rosier to 18, witn one more to cut by May 22.

NON-WIL MINOR LEAGUE NEWS
Tall Hurler Fans 27 in Nine Innings

BRISTOL, Tenn.-Va.—(AP)—A new strikeout record for organized baseball apparently has been set by 19-year-old Ron Necciai of the Appalacnian League's Bristol Twins.
The six-foot-five fireballer, a Pittsburgh Pirate farmhand from Monongahela, Pa., fanned 27 batters in nine innings and pitched the Twins to a 7-0 no-hit win over the Welch, W. Va., Miners here Tuesday night.
Statisticians at Columbus, O., St. Louis and Pittsburgh riffled through all available records Wednesday but could find nothing to equal Necciai's feat.
The top mark found was hung up by Hooks Iott who struck out 25 in a nine-inning game for Paragould, Ark, June 18, 1941. Later that season Iott fanned 30 men in a 16-inning game.
In only one inning did Necciai fail to strike out the side - the second when a batter grounded out to the shortstop.
In the ninth he struck out four. The third strike on Billy Hammond eluded Catcher Harry Dunlop. Necciai then whiffed Bob Kendrick for his 28th victim and the game.
One batter reacbed first on an error. Necciai hit another with a pitched ball and gave up one base on balls.
Rookie Catcher Dunlop, a California, is believed to have set a modern record himself by handling 25 putouts and one assist.

BRISTOL, Tenn.—UP—A pitcher's dream game—27 strikeouts—has been fashioned by 20 year old Ron Necciai, a pitcher with the Bristol Twins of the class D Appalachian League.
Necclal's amazing feat, performed last night as he pitched a no hitter to beat the Welch Miners, 7 to 0, is believed to be the first time in the history of
organized baseball a pitcher has recorded the maximum number of strikeouts for a nine inning game.
Only two batters reached base against Necciai—he walked one and the other reached first when the catcher dropped a third strike.
Necciai, a Pittsburgh Pirate farm hand from Monongahela, Pa., is on option to the Twins from New Orleans of the Southern Association. He has been burning up the league with strikeouts, with 77 to 32 innings, and last night's win was his second shutout. The previous Appalachian League record for strikeouts in a single game was 21.

BRISTOL, Va.-Tenn., May 14— (U.P). A 19-year-old pitcher who struck out 27 batters in a nine inning game shrugged it off today with one remark:
"Shucks, I'm just learning to pitch."
Towering Ron Neccai at least equalled—and probably set—an all-time baseball strikeout record Tuesday night in pitching a 7-0 no-hit victory ior Bristol over Welch in the Class D Apalachian League. Only four men reached base in the near perfect game, and one of them was a strikeout victim who got on base when the catcher dropped the third strike.
Neccai, a 6-foot, 5-incher from Monongahela, Pa., has been striking out 20 in a game earlier this season. He has fanned 77 men in the last 32 innings he's worked.
Last year his record was only four victories and nine defeats for the Class D Salisbury, N. C., club—but he struck out 111 in 106 innings.

Tuesday, May 13, 1952

W L Pct. GB
Spokane .... 15 6 .714 —
Victoria ... 13 6 .684 1
Vancouver ... 9 7 .563 3½
Lewiston .... 9 10 .474 5
Salem ....... 9 12 .429 6
Tri-City .... 9 13 .409 6½
Wenatchee ... 8 12 .400 6½
Yakima ...... 7 13 .350 7½


SPOKANE, May 13 — The Spokane Indians trampled over the Wenatchee Chiefs 23-3 Tuesday in the first Western International League baseball encounter of the two this season.
Spokane scored in every inning but the first — when Wenatchee took a short-lived 1-0 lead — and tied two league records. Sam Kanelos crossed the plate six times to equal one league mark and Mel Wasley tied another by driving in nine runs. Wasley had two singles, a double and a triple in six times.
The Indians got 17 hits and 18 walks off Wenatchee pitchers Bud Bauhofer and Bob Garrett, and found some more help for their cause in four Wenatchee errors.
Wenatchee ...... 100 200 000— 3 5 4
Spokane ........... 013 426 52x—23 17 1
Bauhofer, Garrett (4) and Pocekay, Robinette (6); Marshall and Sheets.

KENNEWICK [Tri-City Herald, May 14]—They proved a couple of other things at Sanders Field last night besides the fact that Victoria won the 12-inning Western International League baseball game from the Tri-City Braves 6-5 in a marathon that lasted three hours and 20 minutes. They also proved once again that:
1. There is no defense for a base on balls and,
2. That errors can and often, do decide the difference between winning and losing a game.
And they came just about in that order. Of the 11 runs scored only four were charged to the pitching, the rest were the result of miscues. And as for walks, both the
Braves' starter, George New and Victoria's Cal McIrwin [sic] were guilty of issuing eight passes. New got off light with only run scoring as a direct result of a walk, but McIrwin had to watch three of the walks he gave up turn into runs. The most disastrous from his viewpoint came in the second when the Braves' Olney Patterson hammered one over the left field wall to score Bob Rittenberg and New, both of whom got on base via the free route. Patterson personally accounted for four of
Tri-City's runs. He also tripled and scored in the first inning, while the fifth run came in the second inning when Bill Rogers raced in from third on a passed ball.
Both starters left the game in the eighth inning. It was the Victoria eighth that tied the game as a result of Patterson's bobble in center.
[John] Treece opened the Tyees eighth with a single and then [Harvey] Allen fanned for the fourth consecutive time. Milt Martin pounded the ball deep near the 400 foot mark in center and Patterson bobbled what should have been a routine out. [Lu] Branhan's [sic] single scored Treece and it looked as though Tri-City might get out of the inning when [Bob] Moniz flied out to center. Then Manager Cece Garriott, who was the fans target for abuse last night, lashed out a double and the game was knotted, and that was all for New. Reliefer Dick Waibel got Pries on a soft fly to right to end the frame.
And there it stood until the top of the 12th with Waibel, and Victoria's Jim Propst, who took over from McIrwin, hurling flawless ball. Propst was particularly effective getting eight Braves via strikeouts over the five inning distance while Waibel gave up but three hits.
Victoria chased home the winning run after two were out and some not very bright base running. Gladstone singled and moved to second when Rittenberg misued Marcucci's attempted sacrifice. Treece moved both runners to scoring position when he laid down a perfect bunt. Then for some reason, a missed signal perhaps, Gladstone tried to come home and was caught easily by Pesut. Pinch-hitter Jimmy Clark lined a single to left that trapped Frank Mataya and Marcucci came in the way from second.
The teams will resume the series tonight at 8 p.m. Either Ken Michelson or Ralph Romero will go for Tri-City, Manager Charlie Gassaway said, while Ben Lorino will tour the hill for Victoria. The management said the attendance last night was 763.
Victoria ..... 200 000 030 001—6-10-2
Tri-City ..... 140 000 000 000—5- 5-2
McIrwin, Propst(8) and Marcucci; New, Waibel (8) and Pesut.

Yakima at Lewiston, postponed, rain.
Vancouver at Salem, postponed, rain.

ON THE INSIDE
By DON BECKER, Herald Sports Editor [May 14, 1952]
Today is anecdote day. Seems like a batch of them has piled up lately and it’s high time to be moving the cargo to make way for those that will surely follow. For one thing is certain about baseball. You can’t start kicking the subject around for very long without the laughs rumbling in from some quarter or another.
Take that game last year for instance when “our gang” was playing the outfield. You remember, the then manager Charlie Petersen had one outfielder, one fly chaser and on occasions heavens only knows who. Anyhow in this particular game some unlucky character had been staggering around out there giving the fans quite some thrills...they didn’t know whether the ball was going to hit his head or glove first. . .it was strictly a toss-up most of the time. After one really brutal display our hero came wandering into the bench after dropping a simple fly ball. However, Charlie didn’t flare into any rage at all. “Forget it,” he said smoldering, “it hit you in a bad spot. . .right in the middle of your glove.”
Pitcher Lou McCollum is supposed to be responsible for this particular incident. It happened at Tacoma, home of the league’s strongboy at that time, Dick Greco. Greco found Lou for two tremendous blasts over the right field wall, it was gust one of Greco’s nights. Anyhow Lou left the game along about the sixth inning and headed for the showers. “Wait a minute,” said the manager. “Sit down here and see how this reliefer pitches to Greco.” When the time came the reliefer wheeled on in and the big boy hammered it over the left field fence. “I got it,” sighed McCollum, “he made him change direction.”
IT WAS A TIGHT RACE
The stories about Nick Pesut are endless. Perhaps you’ve heard this one before but even if you have it still is worth a chuckle. If you’ve ever watched Big Nick behind the plate you'll notice him gagging and kidding with those hitters whom he knows. Last year [Dick] Sinovic and [John] Ritchey of Vancouver were locked in a tight race for the league batting championship and one of the final games was played here. Now it so happened that Ritchey was about four points out in front then and it looked as though he would stay there because Sinovic was having a bad night.
He and Nick are good friends but Pesut had been on Dick most of the night. Suddenly he changed tactics though and grew very sympathetic as Sinovic brought that big bat to the plate with runners aboard at a critical moment in the game.
GOT HIM ON A FAST ONE
“Too bad, Dick,” he said sadly, “that you can’t seem to catch Ritchey I really think you are a better hitter.” The hard swinging Sinovic was almost in tears as he agreed with Pesut at the injustice of it all. Listening eagerly he fouled off four successive slow balls. Then when the cagey Pesut called for a fast ball. Sinovic just fanned the breeze. “I dunno though,” Pesut snapped merrily as the furious Capilano headed for the dug-out, “maybe he’s a better hitter after all.”

Monday, May 12, 1952

Western International League baseball clubs return to action Tuesday night after a night off, with circuit-leading Spokane tackling Wenatchee and runner-up Victoria facing Tri-City in feature games.
Spokane, currently a game ahead of Victoria in the pennant chase, will host the Chiefs for a three-game series in the Indians' home ballpark. Victoria opens at Kennewick against the Braves.
Tne schedule also places Yakima at Lewiston for a three-game set and Vancouver at Salem.

Sunday, May 11, 1952

WESTERN INTERNATIONAL
W L Pct. GB
Spokane .... 14 6 .700 —
Victoria ... 12 6 .667 1
Vancouver ... 9 7 .563 3
Lewiston .... 9 10 .474 4½
Tri-City .... 9 12 .429 5½
Salem ....... 9 12 .429 5½
Wenatchee ... 8 11 .421 5½
Yakima ...... 7 13 .350 7


SPOKANE, May 11 — John Conant and Frank Chase combined to pitch the Spokane Indians to double Western International League baseball victories over the Tri-City Braves Sunday. The Indians lost the first game 8-3, and the second, 7-3.
Chase notched his fourth win of the year in the twilight end of the doubleheader, but he needed help from Bob Roberts in the sixth inning.
Des Charlhouse of Tri-City was waved out of the game in the third when he over-argued an umpire's decision.
First Game
Tri-City .......... 030 000 000—3 8 1
Spokane ......... 000 200 60x—8 12 0
Waibel, Satalich (7) and Pesut; Conant and Sheets.
Second Game
Tri-City ......... 000 003 000—3 4 1
Spokane ........ 200 221 00x—7 8 0
Porto, Gassaway (6) and Pesut; Chase, Roberts (6) and Sheets.

WENATCHEE — Wenatchee and Victoria split a Western International League baseball doubleheader Sunday afternoon. The Victoria Tyees took the opener 5-2 but were blanked in the seven-inning nightcap 7-0.
The shutout was hurled by Charley Oubre in his debut for the Chiefs. Oubre was optioned from Oakland where he appeared mainly in relief roles. He allowed the Canadians only four hits.
First Game
Victoria ........... 022 000 100—5 8 2
Wenatchee ...... 010 001 000—2 6 0
Wisneski, Heard (7) and Marcucci, Martin (7); Dasso and Pocekay.
Second Game
Victoria ........... 000 000 0—0 4 3
Wenatchee ...... 202 300 x—7 8 0
Propst, Valerie (3), Chenard (5) and Martin; Oubre and Pocekay.

YAKIMA, May 11 — The Yakima Bears wound up their Western International League series with Vancouver Sunday by taking both games of a doubleheader by identical scores of 5-4.
It gave the Bears at 2-1 edge in the series which was shortened one game by a Friday rainout.
Manager Dario Lodigiani scored the winning run for Yakima in the sixth inning of the opener with a sizzling homer over the left field fence.
Kenny Wright, late of the San Francisco seals of the Pacific Coast made his first appearance for the Bears in pitching the win. Wright, a Zillah boy, pitched for Whitman College last year.
Harry Butts, who seems to be running out of gas in each of his starts, was the victim in the first game for Vancouver. He suffered mostly from a two-run fourth inning and singles in the fifth and sixth.
Butts, now a 0-2 loser for the year, was taken out in the seventh when Bill Schuster used a pinch-hitter in order to warm things up. He did, too, encouraging his club to a single run in the eighth and another in the ninth.
However, the threat tied with the tying run on base when Wright got Edo Vanni to pop up.
The scheduled seven-inning nightcap went into an extra inning after Yakima tallied two runs in the sixth.
Two men were out, two were on and the count was three and two when Jerry Zuvela whacked a triple to bring the tying runs home.
First Game
Vancouver .......... 101 000 011—4 8 1
Yakima ............... 100 211 00x—5 8 1
Butts, Locke (7) and Ritchey; Wright and Donahue.
Second Game
Vancouver ......... 021 100 00—4 8 2
Yakima .............. 001 012 01—5 9 3
Gunnarson, Locke (6) and Wilburn; Thompson and Donahue.

LEWISTON, May 11 — A 14-hit attack gave the Lewiston Broncs a 9-3 win over the Salem Senators Sunday night in the second game of a Western International League baseball doubleheader.
The Senators won the first game, 5-4.
In recording the win, hurler Joe Nicholas yielded eight hits in the second game.
First Game
Salem .......... 003 010 010—5 10 2
Lewiston ...... 000 000 040—4 2 0
Collins, McNulty (9) and Nelson; Thomason, Powell (5) and Lundberg.
Second Game
Salem ............. 000 000 021—3 8 2
Lewiston ......... 000 620 10x—9 14 1
De George, Mann (4), Francis (8) and Nelson; Nicholas and Helmuth.

Saturday, May 10, 1952

W L Pct. GB
Victoria ..... 11 5 .687 —
Spokane ...... 12 6 .666 —
Vancouver ..... 9 5 .643 1
Tri-City ...... 9 10 .473 3½
Lewiston ...... 8 9 .470 3½
Salem ......... 8 11 .421 4½
Wenatchee ..... 7 10 .412 4½
Yakima ........ 5 13 .278 7


WENATCHEE, May 10— With lefthander Ben Lorino shutting out Wenatchee for the first time this season, the Victoria Tyees bounced out a 6 - 0 victory for their second straight Western International League win over the Chiefs Saturday night.
Lorino, tossing a wicked change-up, limited the Chiefs to three hits, including a triple by Wenatchee catcher Walt Pocekay, the longest hit of the game.
Victoria won the game in the sixth when it scored two unearned runs. The Canadians wrapped it up in the seventh with four runs on six consecutive singles.
Dave Dahle who played with Oakland of the Pacific Coast League last season and the earned-run champ of the WIL in 1950, gave up 12 hits in first appearance of the season for the Chiefs.
Cece Garriott, Victoria pilot and long - time PCL standby, led his mates at the plate with three for five, all singles.
The same two squads wind up their four-game series with an afternoon doubleheader Sunday.
Victoria .......... 000 002 400—6 12 2
Wenatchee ..... 000 000 000—0 3 2
Lorino and Martin; Dahle and Pocekay.

SPOKANE, May 10 — Ralph Romero pitched four-hit ball to lead the Tri-City Braves to a 5-2 Western International League baseball victory over Spokane Saturday afternoon.
Four third-inning runs garnered on three hits off Spokane starter Gordy Palm and two walks and an error provided the margin.
John Marshall took over the mound for Spokane after the damage was done and struck out nine men during the next four and one-third innings while giving up only three hits.
Romero gave up one hit in the first inning, another in the fourth and two more in the seventh, when the Indians made their two runs. He struck out nine and walked only two.
The teams, split 1-1, in their four-game series, will meet in a doubleheader Sunday.
Attendance at the Saturday game scheduled in the afternoon on a trial basis was 969, the lowest gate of the season.
Tri-City ....... 004 100 000—5 8 2
Spokane ...... 000 000 200—2 4 2
Romero and Pesut; Palm, Marshall (3), Wulf (9) Osborne (9) and Sheets.

LEWISTON, Idaho, May 10 — The Lewiston Broncs tapped Salem pitchers for eleven hits Saturday to win a 9 - 2 Western International League baseball decision, and a 1-1 split of their current series.
Salem got its only runs in the second inning when Andy Anderson and Johnny Moore singled. Both advanced on a double steal and then scored on a single by Dick Bartle.
Lewiston used four hits off Salem starter Ted Shandor, a walk and an error for three runs in the third. The Broncs then nicked reliefer Ted Edmunds for four singles in the sixth, which along with three walks and an error, brought in six more runs.
Bill Brenner gave up 8 hits in going the distance for Lewiston. Milt Smith made the longest hit of the game when he doubled for Lewiston in the first.
The two teams will end their series with a Sunday doubleheader.
Salem ............. 020 000 000—2 8 3
Lewiston ......... 003 006 00x—9 11 2
Shandor, Edmunds (5) and Nelson; Brenner and Helmuth.

Vancouver at Yakima, postponed, rain.

ON THE INSIDE
By DON BECKER, Herald Sports Editor [May 11, 1952]
It’s surprising in a way how important errors are in the WIL this year. They’re always important of course but we mean the critical kind . . . the kind on which the outcome of a ball game hinges. The Braves had two of those kind at Wenatchee. In that last game when the chief shortstop booted the ball that meant the difference between victory and defeat.
One thing though the pitchers won't be hurt as badly as it might at first seem. They are only charged with those runs scoring not as a result of errors. So when you figure the Braves got home seven times in that series because of miscues you see what we mean. But they are still charged as losses and in the popular mind that means a lot. A pitcher with a 3-0 record as against one with a 0-3 is thought to be better. And he usually is. It’s only when you start looking at those wholesale errors that you can appreciate the true difference.
Of course the fielders don’t appreciate being charged with those errors either. After all it does go into the record book against their field average. But it’s a funny thing, a club owner looking around for an infielder will look askance at a player who makes but few miscues. It’s generally a sign that he isn’t going after the hard ones. Probably the most significant point to look for in an infielder’s performance is the number of assists he has. That means not only is he getting to the ball in time, but furthermore he’s getting it away in time for those putouts.
STEALING ON THE PITCHER
One idea about baseball that is undergoing quite a change lately is this matter of base stealing. The old concept used to be that the runners stole on the catcher ... and for that matter the steals still are charged against him. Set in talking to and reading what some of the best in the business have to say they present quite a different picture. Eddie Murphy of Spokane, one of the best base thiefs in this league ... he holds the current season record of 90 . . . says he definitely steals on the pitcher.
Most of the other league leaders around the country have much the same thing to say, they steal on the pitcher. They’ll tell you quite frankly that if they can get that good jump on the ball no catcher can throw them out.
CATCHERS MAKE MISTAKES TOO
It isn’t meant of course that all steals are the pitcher’s faults. Many are the fault of the catcher. Taking too long in getting the throw away or taking an extra step before it is made. Those are the two biggest factors as far as the backstops are concerned.
With pitchers it can be dozens of little things that a smart baserunner will notice. Some, once they have started their motion from the set position, are just too slow. Others by the unconscious placement of their feet will tip the runner as to whether they intend to make a move to first or to the batter with the ball.
The high cost of baseball must have caught up with Spokane. They’re asking waivers on pitcher John Conant and outfielder Mel Wasley, unquestionably, two of the better performers in the league . . . and also two of the better paid. And there you have the nub of the problem. How to keep a top team together, win ball games, pay expenses and still have a little something left over. It is doubtful though if they’ll get out of the WIL. The Braves have no interest in securing either Conant or Wasley, Dick Richards said. Wasley is currently hitting in the cleanup spot which gives you some idea of his ability while Conant is reckoned as one of the best moundsmen.

Friday, May 9, 1952

Western International League
W L Pct.
Spokane ..... 12 5 .706 —
Victoria .... 10 5 .667 1
Vancouver .... 9 5 .543 1½
Tri-City ..... 8 10 .444 4½
Salem ........ 8 10 .444 4½
Lewiston ..... 7 9 .433 4½
Wenatchee .... 7 9 .433 4½
Yakima ....... 5 13 .278 7½


SPOKANE, May 9—An eleventh-inning single by Bill Sheets broke a tight pitching duel and gave Spokane a 1-0 Western International League baseball triumph over Tri-City Friday night.
With two men aboard, he lashed a hit which brought teammate Mel Wasley home. It came after Herb Souell grounded out.
Dick Bishop struck out ten and walked four as he pitched the Spokane win. Ken Michelson gave up only seven hits in going the distance for the Braves.
In the first, fifth and sixth innings, Tri-City was retired with the bases loaded.
Tri-City ..... 000 000 000 00—0 10 1
Spokane ..... 000 000 000 01—1 7 0
Michelson and Pesut; Bishop and Sheets.

WENATCHEE, May 9 — The Victoria Tyees rallied behind the airtight relief pitching of Jehosie Heard Friday night to edge the Wenatchee Chiefs, 3-2, in the first game of a four-game Western International League series here.
Victoria ............. 000 111 000—3 8 2
Wenatchee ....... 000 011 000—2 5 0
McIrvin, Heard (8) and Marcucci; Kipp, Tierney (7) and Pocekay.

YAKIMA [Vancouver News Herald, May 10]—The Vancouver Capilanos ran their win streak to four straight here Friday night, brushing off a late Yakima rally to win their WIL baseball game with the Bears, 13-9.
A six-run first inning stood the Caps in good stead until they made mince-meat out of Yakima pitching.
The game was almost completely lacking in anything which resembled pitching as the two clubs warmed up their bats and went at each other in a wild basehit party.
WILD GAME
Yakima got 13 hits, but didn’t start to move until Vancouver had established an 11-1 lead. After the six-run first, Caps scored a single in the second and four in the third, then it was Yakima’s turn.
The Bears bounced back with three in the sixth, then had the Caps almost on the ropes with three more in the eighth and two in the ninth. Around about the time it was getting serious, Bill Schuster called John Guldborg in from the bullpen to relieve Billy Whyte to get the side out. Which is just what John did—on one pitch.
Billy Whyte was called in for his first action this season and pitched long enough to gain credit for the victory.
CHENARD RELEASED
Bill was hit almost as freely as the rest, five runs on eight hits in five innings he pitched. However, he struck out five and his big lead saved him from disaster. It was Whyte who faltered in the ninth and needed a helping hand from Guldborg.
Jimmy Wert with a pair of doubles and shortstop Jesse Williams with two-for-four led the Capilano attack.
Pat Monahan, a left-hander, was the losing Yakima pitcher.
DIAMOND DUST—Gordie Brunswick didn’t show up in time to play and is now expected to report here today . . . The Caps cut their roster to 20 Friday by releasing pitcher Len Chenard outright . . . Len signed with Victoria . . . Then, in still another move, the Caps signed catcher John Wilburn when the Tyees let the big fellow go . . . Vancouver returned their second-string receiver, Don Lundberg, to Seattle and the Rainiers re-assigned him to Lewiston . . . The same clubs play here again tonight with Paul Jones or Carl Gunnarson pitching for the Caps . . . Bob Snyder, if he arrives, and Harry Butts will go Sunday in a split doubleheader.
Vancouver .... 614 000 110— 13 15 1
Yakima ......... 100 030 302— 9 13 2
Fletcher, Whyte (5), Guldborg (9) and Ritchey; Monahan, Stites (1), Donley (5), Del Sarto (8) and Meyers, Donahue (4).

LEWISTON, Idaho, May 9 — The Salem Senators scored eight runs in the first three innings and coasted to an 8-1 Western International League baseball victory over the Lewiston Broncs Friday night.
Salem .................... 125 000 000—8 9 1
Lewiston ............... 000 000 100— 1 9 2
McNulty and Nelson; Owen, Spearman (3), Humphries (3) and Helmuth.

Thursday, May 8, 1952

W L Pct.
Spokane .... 11 5 .688 —
Victoria .... 9 5 .643 1
Vancouver ... 8 5 .615 1½
Tri-City .... 8 9 .471 3½
Lewiston .... 7 8 .467 3½
Wenatchee ... 7 8 .467 3½
Salem ....... 7 10 .412 4½
Yakima ...... 5 12 .294 6½

WENATCHEE, May 8 — Poor fielding cost the Wenatchee Chiefs another Western International League baseball game Thursday night as the Tri-City Braves squeezed out a 6-5 victory in 11 innings to take the rubber game in their series.
The winning run for the Braves was unearned, as were three others they tallied. It was scored by Shortstop Des Charouhas who tripled to left center and then belly-slid in when outfielder Bill Cleveland's throw was dropped and kicked by shortstop Norm Ridgeway.
It was the Braves first road win this season.
Tri-City ............ 210 000 110 01—6 9 2
Wenatchee ....... 002 011 100 00—5 14 5
Satalich, Waibel (8) and Pesut; McCoy, Bauhoffer (11) and Pocekay.

YAKIMA, May 8—The Yakima Bears tallied two runs in the ninth inning on four walks, a sacrifice bunt and an error to take a 6-5 victory over the Salem Senators in a Western International League game Thursday night.
Salem Pitcher Larry Mann walked two men and Jack Hemphill relieved him on the mound.
Yakima player-Manager Dario Lodigiani attempted a sacrifice bunt and Hemphill's bad throw to first filled the bases. Then Charles Malmberg and Jack Thompson stood with their bats on their
shoulders for two successive walks, forcing in the tying and winning runs.
Salem ......... 001 301 000—5 3 0
Yakima ...... 200 000 202—6 8 3
Mann, Hemphill (9) and Nelson; Del Sarto, Clancy (4), Dials (6), Thompson (8) and Meyers, Donahue (8).

Spokane at Lewiston, postponed, wet grounds.
Victoria at Vancouver, postponed, wet grounds.

Brunswick Is Sent to Caps
SEATTLE, May 8 — Rookie outfielder Gordy Brunswick has been assigned by Seattle's Coast League Rainiers to Vancouver and may turn his talents to pitching.
He is scheduled to report to Mgr. Bill Schuster of the Western International League team Friday in Yakima.
Brunswick, who played first base while at Washington State College and has been an outer gardener in pro baseball, has been throwing to the hitters in batting practice for Seattle. His speed and control prompted Mgr. Bill Sweeney to recommend that Schuster give him a chance on the mound for Vancouver.

Wednesday, May 7, 1952

W L Pct.
Spokane ..... 11 5 .688 —
Victoria ..... 9 5 .643 1
Vancouver .... 8 5 .615 1½
Wenatchee .... 7 7 .500 3
Lewiston ..... 7 8 .467 3½
Tri-City ..... 7 9 .438 4
Salem ........ 7 9 .438 4
Yakima ....... 4 12 .250 7


LEWISTON, Idaho — Spokane moved back into the lead in the Western International League baseball race Wednesday by nosing out Lewiston 5-4 while Victoria lost its game to Vancouver.
Spokane Pitcher Frank Chase won his own game, his ninth inning single driving in Pat Simmons with the winning run.
Spokane ....... 011 000 021—5 6 2
Lewiston ...... 000 300 010—4 9 2
Marshall, Chase (8) and Sheets; Shulte, Powell (8) and Helmuth.

VANCOUVER [Keith Matthews, News Herald, May 8]—Ed Locke has never met Bob Snyder before, but when news broke Wednesday that Robert was coming “home,” Ed must have decided to show the boys that the baseball world is filled with guys who can do a little of everything.
Locke is the guy Bill Schuster calls “my one-man bench.” He can play the outfield and hit, pitch, and still hit. Once, he even offered to catch—so he could hit, of course.
Last night Ed pitched. It was a four-hitter and a 7-2 Vancouver win over Victoria, the third straight Capilano success and strictly a one-man performance by Mr. Locke. Incidentally, Eddie did quite a bit of hitting last night, too.
The four-hitter was a thing of beauty in itself. He allowed only one earned run, struck out six and walked only three. Fifteen minutes after the game ended, Locke requested an audience with Schuster, and his question was this: “Is it all right if I look after the bullpen tomorrow night, Bill?”
The funny thing about it, Ed was in the bullpen Tuesday night, warning up his flipper when John Guldborg got into some ninth inning hot water.
Then he went a full nine last night, and don’t kid yourself that he was fooling when he wanted to be the number one relief man tonight.
The 7-2 win was a ball game only as long as Locke kept it that way. He came up in the fourth inning with Bob Duretto and Bud Isham on base and unloaded a 380-foot triple to the right-centre field wall. It gave Vancouver a 3-2 lead, and that was that. There was more to come, but it was sort of incidental.
The victory was satisfying for many reasons. One of the biggest was that the losing pitcher was Jim Propst, and he’s been making a habit of beating Vancouver these past two seasons. Jim was okay as long as he stayed in there, but not on a par with Locke.
Behind the fine hitting and pitching performance of their pitcher, the Caps played badly. They kicked the ball four times, and in the early innings seemed to be trying to give the ball game away.
WILfan note: Locke had two singles and a triple.
Victoria ........... 101 000 000—2 4 4
Vancouver ....... 001 200 13x—7 11 3
Propst, Randolph (8) and Martin; Locke and Ritchey.

WENATCHEE, May 7 — Frank Dasso, one-time strikeout king of the PCL, gave the Tri-City Braves but eight scattered hits and whiffed nine batters here Wednesday night. The resulting 10-2 victory gave the Chiefs an even split with the Braves in their Western International League series. The two teams conclude the series Thursday.
Dasso struck out nine and only four batters faced him in each inning after the first.
Meanwhile the Wenatchee batters pounded a pair of Brave hurlers George New and Al Porto for a total of 19 base hits, 18 of them singles to help Dasso to his victory.
Second baseman Bud Hjelmaa's double was the only extra base blow off the Tri-City hurlers.
A long fly ball by Vic Buccola and a slashing single by Olney Patterson drove in the Braves' only two runs of the game. They came in the first inning.
Tri-City moves over to Spokane to open a four-game series starting Friday.
Tri-City .......... 200 000 000— 2 8 3
Wenatchee ..... 021 040 30x—10 19 0
Porto, New (5) and Pesut; Dasso and Pocekay.

YAKIMA, Dick Bartle, Salem first-sacker, slammed out a bases-loaded triple in the fourth inning Wednesday night as the Senators whipped Yakima. 7-1, and took a 2-0 lead in their three-game Western International League series.
Salem added two more runs in the eighth on a Yakima error and singles by Bartle and Third Baseman Glen Tuckett.
Salem ......... 000 500 020—7 10 3
Yakima ....... 000 000 010—1 9 2
DeGeorge and Nelson; Slikes, Albeni (8) and Meyers.

Memphis Returns Snyder To Caps
VANCOUVER, B. C., May 7—Bob Snyder, Vancouver's 27-game winner in the Western International League last season, is rejoining his old club.
The Caps announced Wednesday Snyder is being returned from Memphis of the Class AA Southern Association.
Snyder was the WIL's best hurler in 1951. He had only seven losses against his 27 wins.

Waivers Asked On Trio Of Chiefs
WENATCHEE, May 7 — Officials of the Wenatchee Western International League Baseball Club Wednesday announced the purchase of lefthanded Pitcher Dave Dahle from Oakland of the Pacific Coast League.
Dahle had a 13-8 record with Wenatchee in 1950 and 4-4 in 1951 while on option from Oakland. Vice President Perk Low also announced the release of Outfielder Stan Budin, and said waivers have been asked on Pitchers Al Treichel, Don Tierney and Mike Kanshin.

Bevens Fails To Stay With Major League
CINCINNATI, May 7 — Big Bill Bevens, hardluck hero of the 1947 World Series, is going back to the Minor leagues after another try in the big time.
The National League Cincinnati Reds announced Wednesday night they have sold husky righthander to San Francisco of the Pacific Coast League. The purchase price was $15,000, Seals' officials said in the Bay City.
Bevens failed to get into a single inning of play with the Reds this season. He was trying to make a comeback with the Reds after a siege of arm trouble which caused him to be sent to the minors previously.
Bevens injured his arm in 1948. He hit the comeback trail with Salem in the Western International League last year, winning 20 games for the Senators.
He said his arm was sound once again when he reported to Cincinnati in spring training this year. He had been obtained by the Reds in the winter player draft.
His release was a sad thing for Dr. Wayne Anderson, Reds' coach, who thought he had brought the once great righthander back to form.
Bevens is in the record books as the hurler who pitched a one-hitter for New York against Brooklyn in the 1947 Series, He had a no-hitter until he faced Cookie Lavagetto with two out in the last of the ninth Lavagetto got the hit that won the game for Brooklyn.
Bevens' release reduced the Reds' squad to 26, one over the limit. The team must get rid of another player by May 15.

Tuesday, May 6, 1952

W L Pct.
Victoria ..... 9 4 .692
Spokane ..... 10 6 .667
Vancouver .... 7 5 .583
Lewiston ..... 7 7 .500
Tri-City ..... 7 8 .467
Wenatchee .... 6 7 .462
Salem ........ 6 9 .400
Yakima ....... 4 11 .267

VANCOUVER [Keith Matthews, News Herald, May 7]—When Len Tran came back to the Capilanos from Seattle, he admitted he’d need a lot of time to shake the rust out of his batting eye, and hoped the fans would be patient while he got back into the swing of things.
However, just in case the people who pay the freight should fret, Len has given them something to keep them occupied in the interim—some of the most miraculous fielding feats since Nap Lajoie set the standard for all second basemen.
Tuesday night, Len and his glove were instrumental in a 7-4 Capilano baseball win over Victoria, the Caps’ second in a row over the WIL league leaders. It gave the Tyees only a game and a half bulge over third place Vancouver.
GETS TWO ERRORS
According to the box score, Len’s performance was just so-so. It is in this statistical organ that Tran shows two errors for the night’s work.
What it doesn’t show is three ‘impossible’ chances which the red-head turned into acrobatic ‘outs.’ Two of them were similar, over the head catches of Texas Leaguers. The last of these came in the sixth inning when Victoria had the bases full and were pressing to get into the ball game.
In the eighth, with Victoria on the move again, Len broke their backs once again. There were men on first and third when John Treece rapped a one-bounce line drive to Len’s right. It was a cinch single, maybe even a double. Chuck Abernathy raced in to score and Granny Gladstone got himself to round second and lit out for third.
FLYING CATCH
But somehow, Tran got to the ball. He did it with a desperation dive and stuck out his gloved hand. The ball hammed in the web, Len somersaulted twice and flipped to Jesse Williams in time to force Gladstone. The play defied belief.
Things like this made John Guldborg’s job rather routine. He allowed nine hits in picking up his sixth straight win, and in the pinch if it wasn’t Tran, then Guldborg’s curve ball was the next best thing. John got six of the Victorians on strikeouts, including Gladstone in the ninth with the bases full.
FIRST HOMER
Gladstone, before this, had been dangerous all night. He hit the season’s first homer in the stadium in the second inning, 350 feet over the left field wall. He also doubled and singled.
The Caps, however, didn’t confine their attack. Everybody got into the act with rookie Bud Isham and John Ritchey driving in two runs each.
- - -
VANCOUVER, B.C., May 6 — Never behind after the fourth inning, the Vancouver Capilanos Tuesday night trounced the Victoria Tyees 7-4 in the second game of their four-game Western International League baseball series.
The Capilanos scored their first run in the first then went ahead to stay in the fourth on singles, by Jim Wert, Joe Scalise and a double by Bud Isham. Granny Gladstone homered for Victoria in the second, tying the score at 1-1 temporarily.
It was Vancouver's second win in a row over the league leaders.
Victoria ......... 010 001 011—4 9 1
Vancouver .... 100 222 00x—7 10 3
Valerie, Randolph (5), Heard (7)and Marcucci; Guldborg and Rltchey.

LEWISTON, Idaho, May 6 — A tenth-inning home run by Mel Wasley broke a tight pitching duel Tuesday and gave Spokane a 2-1 Western International League baseball victory over Lewiston.
It was Spokane's first homer of the season.
Wasley's single drove in the first Spokane run in the third inning.-
Lewiston had tied it in the eighth, Jack Helmuth scoring on Nick DeLucca's outfield fly.
Bobby Roberts replaced John Conant in the eighth with the bases loaded and one out and pitched out of the jam. He went on to get the victory.
Spokane ....... 001 000 000 1—2 7 3
Lewiston ...... 000 000 010 0—1 6 1
Conant, Roberts (8) and Sheets; Nlcholas and Helmuth.

YAKIMA, May 6 — Nine-hit pitching by Bob Collins, coupled with four Yakima errors, gave the Salem Senators a 6-0 Western International League baseball victory over the Bears here Tuesday night.
The Senators got four of the safeties off Yakima hurler Jack Thompson in the fifth inning, however, and converted them into three runs, the downfall.
Hugh Luby accounted for two of his clubs' runs with a single in the first inning and a 400-foot double in the fifth, which got the Senators off to a flying start. Salem's centre fielder, Ollie Anderson, drove in two more, both on a triple. Anderson also singled and walked in four trips to the plate.
Dario Lodigiani's Bears, however, could do little. They came their closest to scoring in the fifth when they had two runners aboard with only one out, but failed to bring them around. It was much the same story as in most of Yakima's 11 losses this season, no punch in the clutch.
Salem ......... 000 130 002—6 9 0
Yakima ...... 000 000 000—0 9 4
Collins and Nelson; Thompson and Donahue.

WENATCHEE, May 6 — Tri-City got three runs off Bud Bauhoffer in the third inning and went on to defeat Wenatchee 5-2 in a Western International League game Tuesday night.
Catcher Nick Pesut drove in two runs and score a few minues later on Bob Rittenberg's two-bagger.
Tri-City's Ralph Romero picked up the win and snapped the Chiefs' four-game winning streak.
Bob "Stretch" Garrett, former Whitman College pitcher, worked the last four innings for the Wenatchee and gave up one run.
Tri-City ......... 003 010 100—5 8 1
Wenatchee .... 000 100 010—2 8 3
Romero and Pesut; Bauhoffer, Garrett (8) and Pocekay.

Saturday 29 December 2007

Monday, May 5, 1952

W L Pct.
Victoria ..... 9 3 .750 —
Spokane ...... 9 5 .643 1
Vancouver .... 6 5 .545 2½
Lewiston ..... 7 6 .538 2½
Wenatchee .... 6 6 .500 3
Tri-City ..... 6 8 .429 4
Salem ........ 5 9 .357 5
Yakima ....... 4 10 .286 6


VANCOUVER [Keith Matthews, News Herald, May 6]—It was 11:58 Monday night when pinch-hitter Don Lundberg hit a towering fly to centre field which made a beautiful picture up there in the evening darkness.
The bases were loaded at the time, it was the 13th inning, and this baseball game had been going along for three hours and 45 minutes. With nobody out, Victoria manager Cece Garriott had both his infield and outfield pulled in and when Lundberg’s fly fell in safely Jesse Williams scored easily from third. All we all went home happy.
All of us wasn’t many last night, because just over 1000 sat in on a game which had just a little bit of everything.
There was bad feeling between the clubs. Rhubarbs came a dime a dozen. And enough uncertainty about each and every play to make you wonder what could possibly happen next.
When it came into the 13th, Jesse Williams opened with a single and Bob Duretto, after bunting unsuccessfully twice, blasted his fourth hit of the night into centre field. Then Joe Scalise bunted and Don Pries couldn’t make up his mind whether to throw to second, to first or put the ball in his mouth and eat it.
It finally went for another base hit and Lundberg’s single fixed it up properly.
ONLY TWO HITS
Van Fletcher was the winning pitcher and he went a brilliant four-plus innings and allowed only two hits. He was the third Vancouver pitcher and there were four of the same from Victoria. The fans almost had a chance to see the entire roster of each club as Garriott and Bill Schuster threw everything at each other.
Edo Vanni got himself chased in the ninth inning after a close play at second base in which the little fellow came off second best in every respect.
BAT SLIPS
The bad feeling started in the seventh when Jim Wert took a wild swing at a curve ball and the bat slipped out of his hand. Victoria pitcher Ben Lorino retrieved the bat and brought it back to Wert only to drop it on the ground in front of him. When Lorino came to the plate in the next inning, Ed Locke, the second Vancouver pitcher, let got a fast ball which made Ben sit down in a hurry. It was also as if to say “That was a very unmannerly thing to do.”
Tonight the same two clubs play again at 8:15. And Schuster will be pitching his ace, big John Guldborg. Garriott will probably come right back with Jimmy Propst, an old Capilano beater.
Victoria ........... 000 000 302 000 0—5 9 4
Vancouver ...... 100 301 000 000 1—6 10 4
Heard, Randolph (5), Townes (7) Lorino (7) and Martin; Butts, Locke (7), Fletcher (9), and Ritchey.

ONLY GAME SCHEDULED

Braves Change Mound Staff
UNDATED, May 6 — The Portland Beavers have signed Roy Welmaker, a left handed pitcher. Welmaker, recently released by the Hollywood Stars, won 16 games and lost 10 for San Diego n 1950.
To make room for Welmaker, Portland sent young right hander Dick Waibel to Tri-City of the Western International League.
Waibel is a former University of Oregon pitcher. He was assigned to Tri-City by in part payment of the Vic Buccola deal. Waibel is said to be fast with a good curve.
Over the past weekend the Braves announced another change in their pitching roster, the sale of Joe Nicholas to Lewiston.

Wenatchee Gets Pitching Help
OAKLAND, Calif., May 5—Wenatchee of the Western International League received pitching help from Oakland of the Pacific Coast League Monday.
The Acorns optioned 22-year-old Charles Oubre of Hahnville, La., a righthander, to the Chiefs. Oubre came to Oakland as a free agent this spring.

ON THE INSIDE
By Don Becker, Herald Sports Editor [May 6, 1952]
Actually just because the Tri-City Braves are currently in the second division is no reason for the fans to lose heart. The team hasn’t, and with the race still as early as it is they could just as easily be in the first half of the league within another week or so as not.
No question that this year's edition is a hustling ball club. And should the front office persist in their efforts to strengthen the team ... as they are doing ... it could be that last year’s baseball famine may be a feast. What we mean by adding strength is the acquisition of pitcher Dick Waibel. Waibel is coming to the Braves from Portland apparently as part of the Vic Buccola deal.
Waibel is a hurler that Victoria also had hopes of landing. Big, he’s reported to be fast with a good jug. And he’s still a youngster, at least in the baseball world, having less than three years experience.
ABOUT THIS RACIAL QUESTION
Speaking of baseball we heard an interesting theory from WIL President Bob Abel about what colored players may mean to this league. His point was that these fellows, anxious to stay in baseball, and to move up in the business, are going to make the others get out and hustle if they want to hold their jobs. One thing always brought out, and unfortunately we hear it has already occurred here, are the smart
cracks from those who mistakenly believe in a racial line. Most teams today do have colored players and those we've seen have not had to take a back seat in the matter of ability. Of course this situation will in time iron itself out. But it will help to straighten it out if people will accept these men as they are ... ball players trying to get along in this world.
SOME COLOR IS A GOOD THING
One of the reasons Jim Marshall, known heretofore as the “Showboat” of the WIL didn't come up with more of his usual antics during the Spokane series is because he was told not to. In case you’ve never seen Marshall it might be hard to explain the big fellow’s appeal. But in talking to him after the game he said that Umpire Mickey Hanich told him to calm down on some of his stuff because it made him look bad. And no question that Hanich has a good point there. After all there is no point in carrying the game to the ridiculous point. But some color is a good thing, something every sport always can use.
Hanich by the way stands a good chance of moving up to the PCL. It may not come this season but we understand we stand well with the boys who hire the umpires for the Coast League.

Sunday, May 4, 1952

W L Pct. GB
Victoria ..... 9 2 .818 —
Spokane ...... 9 5 .643 1½
Lewiston ..... 7 6 .538 3
Vancouver .... 5 5 .500 3½
Wenatchee .... 6 6 .500 3½
Tri-City ..... 6 8 .429 4½
Salem ........ 5 9 .357 5½
Yakima ....... 4 10 .285 6½


SALEM, May 4 — Spokane combined timely hitting with tight pitching by Frank Chase and Bob Roberts to sweep a Western International League doubleheader from Salem, 2-0 and 4-2, here Sunday.
Spokane won the series, three games to one.
Chase struck out six batters and allowed only five hits as he blanked Salem and outpitched Ray McNulty in the opener.
The Indians scored the only runs in the sixth inning on Ed Murphy's walk, Jim Brown's single, Sam Kanelos' infield hit an error and a single by Mel Wasley.
In the seven-inning nightcap Salem got only four hits off Roberts.
The Indians scored in the first inning on a single and three bases on balls. Salem tied it in the fourth with an unearned run.
Spokane forged ahead in the fifth when hits by Brown, Wasley and Merlin Bertleson produced a run.
First Game
Spokane .......... 000 002 000— 2 7 1
Salem .............. 000 000 000— 0 5 1
Chase and Sheets; McNulty and Nelson.
Second Game
Spokane ........... 100 012 0— 4 9 2
Salem ............... 000 100 1— 2 4 0
Roberts and Sheets; Shander, Edmunds (5) and Nelson.

KENNEWICK, May 4 — Lewiston swept both ends of a Western International League baseball double-header Sunday, taking the wild first game 15-3 and the nightcap 4-3.
The wildness of starting Pitcher George New gave the Broncs an edge they never lost in the opening game New walked the first four men to face him and set the stage for four Lewiston runs.
First Game
Lewiston ..... 402 020 025— 15 16 1
Tri-City ...... 200 100 000— 3 3 1
Owens and Helmuth; New, Johnston (1), Gassaway (3), Stalich (9) and Pesut.
Second Game
Lewiston ...... 000 112 0— 4 9 3
Tri-City ........ 000 100 2— 3 5 0
Brenner and Helmuth; Michelson and Pesut.

YAKIMA, May 4 — The Wenatchee Chiefs clipped the Yakima Bears twice, 11-3 and 3-2. in their Western International League doubleneader here Sunday.
Wenatchee jumped to an early lead in the opener and ran up an eight run margin before the Bears could score.
Wasting no time, the Chiefs started the parade in the first inning, scoring two runs on singles
by Ross McCormick and player-manager Dick Adams and a double by Bud Hjelmaa. Three more came home in the third where Bill Cleveland's double was the big blow.
Yakima Pitcher John Albini allowed two more in the fifth and one in the sixth.
In a wild seventh inning three runs were given up on two hits, three walks and a hit batsman. Albini was pulled halfway through the nightmare and followed briefly by Bill Dials, who issued one of the walks and clipped the batter.
Pitcher Jerry Tamelier took over retired the side and held the Chiefs scoreless throughout the rest of the contest.
First Game
Wenatchee ....... 203 021 300—11 14 0
Yakima ............. 000 003 000— 3 6 1
Tierney, Kapp (6) and Pocekay; Albini, Dale (7), Tamelier (7) and Donohue.
Second Game
Wenatchee ..... 000 000 3—3 8 0
Yakima ........... 000 200 0—2 10 1
Treichel and Pocekay; Monahan and Donahue.

ONLY GAMES SCHEDULED.

Vancouver Chief Makes Comment
Ducey Answered
VANCOUVER, May 4 — (CP) — General Manager Bob Brown of the Vancouver Capilanos in the Western International Baseball League had an answer Sunday for John Ducey,
president of the Edmonton Senior Baseball League.
Earlier in the week Ducey in a letter to a Vancouver sports editor reported Edmonton would be willing to join the W.I.L. if New Westminster were given a franchise. He also proposed other changes in the league setup.
“Where does Ducey get off making suggestions like that?” asked Brown. “That’s the first time I’ve ever heard of a fellow trying to get into a league and laying down conditions like he’s proposed. It’s like Vancouver trying to get into that prairie
football league—if they moved the Regina franchise to Moose Jaw or Saskatoon.”
Brown has territorial rights which extend 15 miles from the city limits and can keep New Westminster out of all organized baseball.
But he declined to discuss this angle. “No comment,” he said.
Ducey also suggested that Edmonton had a chance to get in a “C” league in Montana or a prairie setup with Moose Jaw, Regina, Calgary and Lethbridge.
Brown’s comment: “Once you're in an organized league you can’t just pack up and leave. That might stop them from ever getting into the W.I.L.”

Saturday, May 3, 1952

W L Pct. GB
Victoria ..... 9 2 .818 —
Spokane ...... 7 5 .583 2½
Vancouver .... 5 5 .500 3½
Tri-City ..... 6 6 .500 3½
Lewiston ..... 5 6 .455 4
Salem ........ 5 7 .416 4½
Wenatchee .... 4 6 .400 4½
Yakima ....... 4 8 .333 5½


VICTORIA, B.C., May 3 — The Victoria Tyees swept a day-night doubleheader with the Yakima Bears Saturday to increase their lead at the top of the Western International League.
The hard-hitting Islanders downed the Bears Saturday night 8 to 5 after taking the afternoon game 6-4 to win the series 3-1. The double victory game them a 9-2 record for the season and a 4-1 mark in their first home stand.
First Game
Yakima ........ 110 000 002—4 9 1
Victoria ........ 101 010 21x—6 11 2
DelSarto and Donohue; McIrvin and Martin.
Second Game
Yakima ........ 030 000 200—5 10 2
Victoria ........ 500 000 03x—8 13 1
Clancy, Stites (1) and Donahue; Lorino and Marcucci.

SALEM, May 3 — A four-run rally in the ninth inning Saturday night gave Salem a 5-4 win over Spokane in a Western International League baseball game.
Salem, trailing 4-1, came back in the ninth to score four runs Dick Bartle doubled, Glen Tuckett was safe on an error and Hugh Luby's infield hit filled the bases. Gene Tanselli singled to score one run.
John Conant was brought in to relieve Spokane Starter Gordon Palm. But Conant walked Andy Anderson forcing in another run. Curt Schmidt got a single which scored the other two.
Spokane ...... 000 000 013—4 7 1
Salem .......... 000 010 004—5 8 3
Palm, Conant (9) and Sheets; DeGeorge and Nelson.

VANCOUVER [Keith Matthews, News Herald, May 5]—Bill Schuster ordered an extra session in the batting cage Sunday afternoon after his powerful Capilanos guns fired nothing but blanks for the second successive game Saturday night.
This time the Caps were beaten 3-1 by the powerless Chiefs of Wenatchee, and got only five hits in all their tries.
If you were of fair and open mind, it would be possible to point to the week-long rainouts and the lack of hitting as a prime alibi for the Caps. Until Friday, they hadn’t seen any pitching since Monday, and on both Friday and Saturday nights, the batting drills were excused because of a very wet field.
However, we’ll forget all the alibis and go more into the facts.
LOOKED GOOD
Vancouver unveiled Paul Jones, a loose right-hander who was a question mark all through spring training. Paul looked good until he was lifted for a pinch-hitter in the seventh. His relief, Don Tisnerat, didn’t—in fact, as we write this Don is low man on the totem pole as far as local pitchers are concerned.
Wenatchee was hardly awesome in its victory, though they did score the most runs and that’s what counts.
Schuster pointed to his club’s last two performances and made the issue quite plain that nobody had beaten them but themselves. “We’ve scored two runs in two games—one on a steal of home and the other when their shortstop fell down fielding an easy hopper.”
TWO PLATOONS
Saturday, Schuster tried the two-platoon system against the Chiefs’ left-hander, Dick McCoy. Bill had Marty Isham in left field to replace left-handed hitting Bob Duretto and Don Lundberg catching in place of John Ritchey, another southpaw swinger. Neither of the newcomers got a base hit, and in the ninth when runs were needed, Schuster called on Ritchey. John lined out to the shortstop, but the ball was well socked.
All of this will have to come to a stop, of course, and it couldn’t happen at a better time than tonight [Monday]. Victoria Tyees, the league leaders, are in town for a four-game series this evening, and it just wouldn’t do to have the attack bog down again as it has the past couple of days.
Schuster is going to pitch Harry Butts, his touted left-hander this evening and follow with John Guldborg, the winner in the home opener here last Monday.
WHERE IS JIM?
Speaking of highly-touted left-handers, what ever became of Jim Hedgecock? Bob Brown might have cleared up the mysterious issue a little Saturday when he said, “I’m not really counting on Jim any more. He should have let us known one way or another by now, but the fact is I think he’s ashamed to write and say he’s not going to play this year.”
Wenatchee ......... 001 001 010—3 8 0
Vancouver ......... 000 010 000—1 5 2
McCoy and Pocekay, Jones, Tisnerat (8) and Lundberg.

Lewiston ... 000 000 010—1 6 1
Tri-City .... 002 064 42x—18 12 2
Powell, Allen (5), Merrill (6) and Helmuth; Satalich and Carr.

WESTERN INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE AVERAGES
For games through April 25
Victoria averages through May 3
Howe News Bureau

AB R H RBI Ave
Marcucci, Vic ..... 7 1 4 0 .517
Schuster, Van ..... 21 4 12 8 .500
Koinger, Yak ...... 20 8 10 9 .500
Pries, Vic ........ 45 14 21 12 .467
Perez, Lew ........ 21 6 10 7 .476
Luby, Salem ....... 27 6 12 4 .444
Moniz, Vic ........ 47 14 20 13 .428
Monroe, Wen ....... 19 0 8 3 .421
DeLucca, Lew ...... 15 3 6 1 .400
Adams, Wen ........ 27 1 10 1 .370
Tanselli, Sal ..... 30 4 11 5 .367
Wert, Van ......... 30 6 11 5 .367
Garriott, Vic ..... 44 18 16 10 .364
Andring, Yak ...... 33 8 12 6 .364
Charouhas, T-C .... 28 5 10 7 .357
Murphy, Spo ....... 31 6 11 6 .355
Ritchey, Van ...... 23 7 8 4 .348


Donahue, Yak ...... 32 3 11 6 .344

IT BEATS ME
By Jim Tang [from Victoria Colonist, May 4, 1952]
Victoria baseball fans have certainly warmed up to their Tyees despite the weather. Attendance has been promising with about 10,000 fans, including youngsters, taking in the five games the club managed to play in its first home stand, and there is general approbation.
And with good reason. Although the pitching obviously needs to improve and the defense has not bee consistently good, the Tyees have been impressive enough to leave a definite feeling that their early-season success is no flash in the pan and that they will have to be reckoned with this season, unless there is a loss of key players. The club is hitting and it has shown a happy faculty for the big inning. Trouble can break out at any time at any place in the batting order and the speed and aggressiveness is being shown on the bases is providing excellent spectator baseball. Every player is hustling and there is fine team spirit. It’s quite a change.
To Cece Garriott goes the credit for this sudden upswing in Victoria’s baseball fortunes. While two weeks don’t make a season by any means, there is no doubt in Victoria now that he hasn’t already earned his managerial spurs.
Garriott’s formula for success is as simple as it has been unusual here in the past. He is working at his job and has hit players working at theirs. He is continually correcting and instructing and there is little likelihood that any setbacks will be the result of any lack of condition. His players are worked hard but they have already found out that baseball is fun when it’s winning baseball. He and his players are in the game from the first pitch to the last out and most of the mental mistakes made have been the result of over-zealousness and lack of experience and not a lack of thought.
Strategically, even the most critical can find little, if any, fault with his baseball. He sticks to the percentages, doesn’t dawdle when a pitching change appears necessary, plans a forcing, aggressive game that makes and keeps paying customers—and wins—and he thinks ahead. He may not be easy to interview but that hardly matters when he has results that speak for themselves.

Friday, May 2, 1952

W L Pct.
Victoria ..... 7 2 .778 —
Spokane ...... 7 4 .636 1
Vancouver .... 5 4 .556 2
Lewiston ..... 5 5 .500 2½
Tri-City ..... 5 6 .455 3
Yakima ....... 4 6 .400 3½
Salem ........ 4 7 .364 4
Wenatchee .... 3 6 .333 4

VICTORIA, May 2—Bill Andring opened the game with a homer and the Yakima Bears went on to trounce the Victoria Tyees, leaders of the Western International League, 9-2 in a baseball game at Victoria Friday night.
The win nipped the league leader's victory skein at four straight.
It was Yakima's first win over the Tyees in five attempts this year.
Andring altogether tallied four runs.
Yakima ........ 140 103 000—9 10 1
Victoria ........ 000 000 110—2 11 3
Thompson and Meyers, Donohue (2); Propst, Valerie (5), Randolph (9) and Marcucci.

SALEM, May 2 — Spokane scored two runs in the ninth inning to win a Western International League series opener, 2-0, here Friday night.
Bill Sheets came in with the first Spokane run. He had walked, advanced on a single by Dick Bishop and a walk to Eddy Murphy. Then Jimmy Brown connected with a single to score Sheets. Jim Allicotti walked to score Bishop with the only other run of the game.
Spokane ....... 000 000 002— 3 6 2
Salem .......... 000 000 000—0 8 0
Bishop and Sheets; Collins and Nelson.

VANCOUVER [Keith Matthews, News Herald, May 3]—The rain in the past three days might have washed away all the Capilanos’ power, but whatever it was Bill Schuster’s attack went phht on him Friday at Cap Stadium and he lost a ball game to Wenatchee 2-1.
The Caps managed only four good strokes off Wenatchee pitching last night, and had to author a steal home to get their only run.
These things will happen, of course—from the murderous Yankees, to the modern day Murderer’s Row they call the Dodgers or, as we found out last night, to the Capilanos.
FLETCHER SHINES
It wasn’t a complete lost evening for the local brethren, for they watched a long, loose right-hander who should put in quite a successful summer of it in a Vancouver uniform.
“He” is van Fletcher, the youngster from East Bend, North Carolina, and it was a tough way to break in for the kid.
Until the ninth Van had a five-hitter, then he allowed three more and the damaging run. However, it was nothing to be ashamed of, for Van will win nine out of every 10 he pitches like this one.
DASSO STARTED
Jesse Williams, the skinning Cap third baseman, had quite a night of it, too. He almost, in fact, performed the transition from hero to goat—that is if you could call his ninth inning daring the work of a goat.
In the field Jesse was spectacular. He took a basehit away from Bud Hjelmaa in the second which smacked of thievery, then if this wasn’t enough he made a play on Dasso’s smash in the sixth which was downright robbery.
HE ROBBED HIM
Dasso hit a one-bounce liner to Jesse’s left which should have been past him like a shot. With one desperation dive, however, Jesse grabbed the ball in his glove, righted himself and threw a strike to Jim Wert for the out.
In the ninth, Jesse could have made it a complete evening. He got a life on Norm Ridgeway’s error to start it, moved to second on a passed ball and third on a wild pitch. Then, when Bauhofer missed with a curve ball again and the ball rolled eight feet to Walt Pocekay’s right, Jesse made his spirited dash for the plate.
CAUGHT SHORT
It didn’t work because Bauhofer was there to cover and Walt’s throw was in plenty of time to nip the infielder. But it was an interesting climax to a ball game which had many of those exciting moments.
The Caps were ahead 1-0 in the fifth after Bob Duretto’s triple and following steal of home. Wenatchee squared it in the seventh when Ross McCormack’s triple and Pocekay’s single, then won it in the ninth on another McCormack double and Hjelmaa’s single.
Today, the same clubs meet twice, 2:30 in the afternoon and 8:15 at night. Paul Jones goes for the Caps in the matinee and Harry Butts (0-1) in the evening. Monday, the league-leading Victoria Tyees come to town to start a four-game series.
Wenatchee ........ 000 000 101—2 8 1
Vancouver ........ 000 010 000—1 4 0
Dasso, Bauhoffer (8) and Pocekay; Fletcher and Ritchey.

KENNEWICK, May 2 — Tri-City turned 10 hits and four Lewiston errors into a 10-2 victory in a loosely played Western International League baseball game Friday night.
Second Baseman Smith put on a one-man offensive show for the losers, with a home run and a triple for two of his team's six hits. He scored both runs. Sol Israel's single brought him home after he tripled in the first inning. His homer was the first of the season in the Tri-City park.
Bill Rogers drove in Tri-City's first two runs in the first with a double and the winners stretched it to 6-1 in the first three innings.
A crowd of about 650 witnessed the four-game series opener.
Lewiston ......... 100 000 100— 2 6 4
Tri-City ........... 213 021 01x—10 10 0
Jacobs, Humphries (3) and Helmuth; Porto and Pesut.

Thursday, May 1, 1952

W L Pct.
Victoria ..... 7 1 .875
Spokane ...... 6 4 .600
Vancouver .... 5 3 .625
Lewiston ..... 5 4 .556
Salem ........ 4 6 .400
Tri-City ..... 4 6 .400
Yakima ....... 3 6 .333
Wenatchee .... 2 6 .250

VICTORIA, B. C., May 1 — The Victoria Tyees made it four in a row and seven out of eignt Thursday night by trimming the Yakima Bears, 18-10, in the opener of a four-game Western International League series.
It took the Tyees and the Bears two hours to complete the first four innings. Victoria finally won after:
1. Five pitchers had give up 22 bases on balls (seven short of the league record set by Spokane and Tri-City Tuesday).
2. Every Victoria player had made at least one hit and scored at least one run.
3. Each Victoria player had batted in one or more teammates.
Twenty-three runs were scored in the first four innings. Victoria added two more in the eighth and Yakima scored the last three runs in the top of the ninth.
The Bears drew 13 walks and picked up only six hits off the two Victoria pitchers.
Yakima ...... 060 100 002—10 6 5
Victoria ....... 441 700 02x—18 17 1
Albini, Dials (2), Tamelier (4)and Donahue, Myers (6); Wisneski, Heard (2) and Martin.

KENNEWICK, May 1 — Tri-City and Spokane split a Western International League doubleheader Thursday night, Tri-City blanking the Indians 4-0 in the nightcap
after dropping the opener 6-3.
It gave the Braves a 2-1 edge in their first 1952 series at home.
Spokane won the first game on a three-run splurge in the ninth inning after Tri-City had tied the game 3-3 in the sixth. Bob Roberts went in for Spokane Pitcher John Conant, who was trying to tie the league record of 12 consecutive wins in that inning and received credit for the victory.
In the second game, Tri-City got its first run in the third inning when pitcher Ralph Romero walked and scored after a pair of Spokane errors. The Braves added three more runs in the fifth on two hits and two more Indian errors.
First Game
Spokane .... 200 100 3—6 9 1
Tri-City ..... 020 010 0—3 8 1
Conant, Roberts (6) and Sheets; New, Johnston (1), Satalich (7) and Pesut.
Second Game
Spokane ..... 000 000 000—0 6 4
Tri-City ....... 001 030 00x—4 4 0
Marshall and Sheets; Romero and Pesut.

SALEM, May 1—Three consecutive infield errors ruined the Salem Senators Thursday night and they dropped a 7-2 decision to Lewiston in a Western International League game.
The errors came in the fourth inning, when Lewiston worked in a walk and hits by Sol Israel and Charlie Mead to score five times.
Manager Bill Brenner, pitching for Lewiston. was in control the rest of the way, using a slow ball style that Salem could not solve. He fanned four and gave up no walks.
The weather was cold, limiting the crowd to 522.
Lewiston ..... 000 501 001—7 12 2
Salem .......... 001 000 001—2 10 4
Brenner and Helmuth; Mann, Hemphill (8) and Nelson, Leavitt (9).

Vancouver and Wenatchee were rained out.

DON CARLSON
[Vancouver Province, May 2, 1952]
Prairie Ball
Local baseball ears should prick up at John Ducey’s promise in The Province Thursday that Edmonton would welcome membership in the Western International League if New Westminster also joined.
Ducey, a veteran baseballer on the prairies, who sits on a potential gold mine in Edmonton, where stars like Heinie Manush started, raises the obvious objections to the WIL as now constituted: too great traveling distances spread among too small centres.
He suggests a shift of the WIL geographically to the northeast, paring off Salem, Tri-City and Lewiston, reviving of Tacoma, shifting of Salem to New Westminster. It is a reasonable play, and, I suggest, the very thing the WIL has been groping for since its post-war revival.
Edmonton, Calgary and New Westminster offer us a combined population, including the Fraser Valley, of at least half a million.
*
Including of New Westminster offers us inter-city rivalry for box office which professional hockey has capitalized on to its salvation ever since the post-war Coast League’s infancy, when Frank Dotten and Coley Hall and Kenny MacKenzie were not the hockey figures they are today.
New Westminster, if Doug Grimston is any spokesman, would go for WIL baseball with enthusiasm and vigor. Grimston suggested assistance would be given a new club for its first year, at least, in the form of free or reduced park rent.
“We helped MacKenzie when he was getting his Royals started,” said Grimston, “and there is no reason why we wouldn’t go to bat for baseball, too. We’d love it.”
*
There is only one hurdle at this writing and that appears to be Bob Brown. Although on record as anxious to include Edmonton and Calgary in the WIL, Brown is historically suspicious of allowing a competitor in New Westminster.
He zealously guards what he calls his “territorial rights” which takes in the Royal City, and unless he concurred, his fellow WIL directors, of course, would not override him. He is too respected. His baseball judgment is too sound, on its record, to reject.
Nevertheless, I suggest to Bob that hockey has certainly killed this spectre of his that New Wesminster baseball would hurt his Caps. It has actually shown that competing teams in each city complement each other. The Ducey plan, I believe, is worth a lot of serious thought by the WIL.

Wednesday, April 30, 1952

W L Pct. GB
Victoria ..... 6 1 .875 —
Spokane ...... 5 3 .625 1½
Vancouver .... 5 3 .625 1½
Lewiston ..... 4 4 .500 2½
Salem ........ 4 5 .444 3
Yakima ....... 3 5 .375 3½
Tri-City ..... 3 5 .375 3½
Wenatchee .... 2 6 .350 4½

SALEM, April 30 — Wildness by Starter Cal Humphries sent Salem's Senators off to a lead they never lost as they downed Lewiston here Wednesday night, 9-5, in a Western International League baseball game.
Salem got four hits off Humphries, but his wildness allowed Salem to convert them into five runs in the first two innings.
Lewiston chipped away at this lead. Catcher Jake Helmuth lofted a two-run homer over the left field fence in the fourth inning, and crept within one run of Salem in the fifth frame.
Then Salem turned three more walks and two hits into three more runs to put the game beyond recall.
Lewiston .... 001 210 001—5 10 2
Salem ......... 230 030 01x—9 9 0
Humphries, Spearman (2), Morrell (6) and Helmuth; McNulty and Nelson.

Wenatchee at Victoria, postponed, wet grounds.
Spokane at Tri-City, postponed, rain.
Yakima at Vancouver, postponed, cold weather and poor ground conditions.

Edmonton Ready To Enter WIL If New Westminster In Circuit
Brown Must Approve Royal City Entry
By DON CARLSON
[Vancouver Province, May 1, 1952]
Edmonton is definitely prepared to join the Western International League, The Vancouver Province learned today, if Vancouver Capilanos’ general manager, R.P. Brown, will agree to a professional baseball franchise being granted to New Westminster.
The Edmonton proposal was outlined by John Ducey, president of the Edmonton Senior Baseball League, Ltd., in a letter to Province sports editor, Don Carlson.
In New Westminster, park commissioner Doug Grimston hailed the Edmonton proposal with the announcement that “we are so keen to get professional baseball that in all likelihood we would be quite prepared to assist its start by providing Queen’s Park Stadium free, or at a nominal rent, for the first season.”
PARK SEATS 7500
The stadium now seats 7500, and is equipped with lights. Its infield and outfield are in excellent condition. The stadium is newly renovated. It is much bigger than several parks now operating in the WIL.
Ducey said that both Edmonton and Calgary are recognized by organized baseball as “tremendous assets” in its “expanding dominion.” Speaking for Edmonton, he said his city has three choices: Entry in the class A, WIL; in a class C league with Great Falls, Billings and Butte; or in a “solid western Canada league of Regina, Saskatoon, Moose Jaw, Lethbridge, Calgary and Edmonton.”
The Edmonton executive said that “who we go with I do not know, it whoever moves first, Edmonton will listen to the proposal.”
SMALL TOWNS IN
Smallest member cities in the WIL now are Lewiston, Tri-City and Wenatchee. New Westminster, Edmonton and Calgary, combined, boast many times their combined population.
In voicing his plea for Brown to authorize a franchise in New Westminster, Ducey was referring to the Caps’ recognized territory rights in Greater Vancouver, a concession which Brown would have to accept at a WIL meeting of directors.
“Geographically,” wrote Ducey, “the WIL as presenting constituted is not attractive to Edmonton. Salem is too far south.
LEWISTON “TOO SMALL”
“Were Bob Brown prepared to allow the transfer of the Salem franchise to New Westminster, provided New Westminster is a good pro baseball town, the league would have more appeal to us.
“I cannot visualize the little town of Lewiston surviving in class A baseball and its location is not attractive to us.
“Provided New Westminster could have the Salem franchise, provided Tacoma were revived to a strong financial and fan interest peak, then Victoria, Vancouuver, Spokane, Calgary, Edmonton and Yakima would have some merit.”


Eric Whitehead’s
FANFARE

[Vancouver Province, May 1, 1952]
Since the noisy advent of Bill Schuster as field boss of the Vancouver Capilanos, local baseball has taken on a vigorous New Look.
Schuster, a garrulous, belligerent competitor, is no dainty tactician. His blunt philosophy for winning ball games evolves around an ancient yet surprisingly little-used theory in sport: that the best defense is a good offense.
Right in the opening game the other night out at the Stadium, this simple Schuster design for winning picked up right where it left off last September: Plenty of power at the plate and a constant stream of razzle-dazzle on the basepaths.
At least twice in that opening game, Schuster, coaching at third base, was guilty of (by the book) bad baseball: Waving runners on to an extra base when, theoretically, they should have been held up. In both cases, as happened so many times last year when these unorthodox dashes rattled the opposition, the runners were safe.
Schuster, in this colorful but dangerous scheme of attack, has an amazingly high success average.
While the knowing second-guessers in the stands wag their heads disapprovingly and murmur: “He shouldn’t have done it . . .” Schuster’s wayward firehorse comes rollicking in with the winning run.
Plenty Hit Plus Plenty Field
Wild Bill has plenty of reason to be jubilant these days. His current club flaunts an old baseball tradition—the one that says the bulk of a club’s batting power should be supplied by the outfield.
So far, there is no reason to believe that the current Cap outfield of Edo Vanni, Joe Scalise and Bob Duretto will be at all short of power. But there is every reason to believe that Schuster’s infield might out-hit the outfield.
The way the Caps infield is lined up right now, it is possibly the best unit, defensively and offensively, in Class A baseball. It could probably run at least beck and beck with many an infield unit in Double A ball.
Brown-Schuster Inc., Pays Off
Including league batting champ John Ritchey behind the plate, the 1952 Cap infield is quite capable, on its immediate past record, of tracking up an amazing combined batting average of at least .325!
Ritchey, Len Tran, Jesse Williams and Jim Wert could all approach or surpass that figure, and the fifth man, Ray Tran, figures for a steady .290 or better.
Schuster himself, shunted to the sidelines by his ailing knee, represents a powerful reserve replacement, missing the magic .300 ring by one percentage point last season.
All of which points up the highly profitable partnership of Schuster, the climate just isn’t warm enough to get a ball-club a shrewd field operator when he sees one.
The working relations of Schuster and Bob Brown—the man who is responsible for procuring the type of player that Schuster wants—are not all sugared with milk and honey.
A Couple of Birds of a Feather
Schuster can be, and has been, bitterly critical of some of Bob Brown’s theories. Bill has been particularly vehement over Brown’s influence to train the club at Penticton, where, insists Schuster, the climate just isn’t warm enough to get a ball-club into shape. Schuster this spring pulled hard for a training site in California, but was over-ruled.
However, around about 50 or so years ago, there was no more outspoken more more fiery young rebel in all baseball than second baseman Bob Brown, the raucous red-head who played alongside another aggressive young gent name of Joe Tinker.
Schuster has a tremendous respect for the 60 years of baseball savvy crammed into the Boss’s gnarled old noodle, and the Boss in turn has plenty of respect for the Schuster fire that will keep the customers warm on chilly nights out at the Stadium.


IT BEATS ME
By Jim Tang
[Colonist, May 1, 1952]
The North American Indian is generally recognized as a taciturn, expressionless sort of a fellow given to long silences and one-word sentences. There is no reason to believe that the latest addition to the race, “Chief Big Shot of Vancouver Island,” perhaps still better known as Cece Garriott, is likely to tarnish that reputation in the slightest.
Certain that Victoria baseball fans would like to get a first-hand report of the rather surprising Tyees and busting out all over with questions, this enterprising reporter hied himself off to the airport Monday afternoon to greet the chief and his incoming heroes.
“He’s bound to loosen up this time,” I thought. “The team has won five out of six. He must feel pretty good. It should be a good story.”
Matters opened auspiciously. The Chief was spotted hiding behind a huge pair of glasses.
“Oh, hello, Jim. I didn’t see you there at first,” came with a proffered hand.
I counted. Ten unsolicited words when two could have done. Things were looking up. All I needed was to get him by himself.
“You can come in with us,” I ventured, pointing to cameraman Bud Kinsman as players started to board the bus.
“Yeah. Okay.”
Past experience told me it was no use wasting my time. No sooner in the car I opened up.
“Well, I see the boys are hitting that ball.”
“Yep. They’re meeting pretty good.”
“Having trouble with the pitching by the looks of things, eh?”
“It’s been bad.”
“How’s Gladstone been doing at shortstop?”
“Fine.”
“Branham filling the bill at second okay?”
“He’s doing all right.”
“What about Abernathy?”
“He’s going okay.”
“Pries still hitting to right field?”
“Not all the time.”
“What happened to Propst Sunday?”
“Didn’t have it. Sharp his first time.”
“How did Yakima and Lewiston look?”
“They’ve got no pitching either.”
Not Susceptible
Half-way back and that was it. I decided to try another approach. Perhaps a little subtle (?) flattery would do the trick.
“Hear you really got a hold of one in Lewiston.”
“Yeah, it felt pretty good.”
“Hitting in the clutch, eh? Got a hold of another one Sunday I see.”
“Crossed them up. Pulled her down the left-field line with Moniz running. Got to second. Pries bunted. Abernathy scored me.”
No dice. I bored in from another angle.
“The boys happy at being on top? Everybody hustling?”
It almost did the trick: “I got a good competitive club. The boys are hustling—fine fellows.” There was a trace of pride there.
It didn’t last too long. “They’d better,” came in the next breath, the little chuckle not taking a thing away from the threat promise.
I don’t discourage easily—at times, that is.
“Had your dinner yet?”
“Ate at Seattle at noon.”
“Got any plans for tonight.”
“Nope.”
“How about eating with me?”
“Okay.”
All was excitement at the hotel. The opposition, probably forewarned, had sent two chroniclers down to get what I was trying to get myself. Business manager Reg Patterson was there. So was sports announcer Bill Stephenson. Everybody was talking except the Chief. I got hungrier and hungrier.
Things quietened when the phone jangled. The Chief sounded like a man listening to his wife.
“That was Reynolds,” he explained. “Wants me to go on the air. I’ll have to hurry.”
I ate alone. Poor Ted, I thought. It’s too bad he got in on this so late. He won’t get a thing, the guy is all talked out. Guess I’d better phone him up later tonight and give him what I found out. And that there’s a pretty good story in the W.I.L. standings.

ON THE INSIDE
By DON BECKER, Herald Sports Editor [May 1, 1952]
There can't be any question that the hitters are way ahead of the pitchers thus far in the WIL race. To come right down to it the batters aren't getting much of a chance to get a basehit anymore. . .not the way the bases on balls are being so liberally handed around. It isn't any one or two teams either. . .the whole league is filled with pitchers who can't find the plate. Perhaps it is a bit early in the season but then most clubs spent a full month or more in spring training getting their staff ready. And after that long a time it's only reasonable to suppose a pitcher is ready to go.
Of the first 16 games this year only six pitchers managed to go, the distance and only one game saw two starters finish. Perhaps it is a case of too many would be hurlers in the spring training camps.' An overload would prevent many from getting in enough time in the Grapefruit League swing. However, the situation should iron itself out as soon as the rookies found wanting are cut off the club rosters. Ania also where the PCL makes its cut and starts to fill up their farm teams here forcing the farms to cut down.
JOTS AND DOTS. . .HERE AND THERE
Lewiston is unofficially the smallest city in the nation to field a baseball team in either class A or B ball. That distinction moved to the Broncs from the apple picking city of Wenatchee, . .the newly paved surface at Sanders Field should prove a boon to the ladies. . .particularly those who sport the open-toed style of shoes. . .no more pebbles to creep inside.
The way those grounds-keepers dashed out to fix up the bases Tuesday night, and all dressed in white. . .four men for four bases, it looked like the opening of a Major League game Tuesday night. The Braves' front office must have parted with a pretty hefty chunk of loot to add the many conveniences they have.

'Kewpie' Barrett Unemployed But Not Ready for Boneyard
SEATTLE, May 1 — Round Richard Barrett, the all-time strikeout king of the Pacific Coast League, is en baseball's unemployed list for the first time in 27 years — but not ready to quit.
He wants to make it 28 and equal the term that Denton (Cy) Young, a baseball immortal, served on the diamond's rockpile.
Won't Quit Now
The rotund right-hander who whiffed 1,866 Coast League clouters in his long career sees no reason for quitting now. On the chance that he might land a job, “Kewpie” Dick has been doing road work to melt off a suet surplus he insists is merely eight pounds.
And he keeps his arm loose by throwing to his 18-year-old son, Donnie, a high school senior.
Last year the Kewp left the Coast League to be playing manager of Victoria in the Western International Loop. A sore arm and sorer relations with the head office broke off the arrangement in mid-season.
Record Good
Never a giver-upper, cheerful Richard caught on with Yakima in the same circuit and won eight of the last 10 games he pitched.
“I could have won in the Coast League,” he reports, with no trace of boastfulness. “My control was better than ever. I quit concentrating on striking out batters and concentrated on getting the side out I faced only 28 batters in two games and 29 in another.”
After playing with leagues both high and low for 27 seasons. Barrett has a few connections and stout hopes. If nothing turns up he'll probably have to retire to his local insurance business.
“But,” says Dick, his smile fading, “how I would have to quit baseball!”

Tuesday, April 29, 1952

W L Pct.
Victoria ..... 6 1 .875
Spokane ...... 5 3 .625
Vancouver .... 5 3 .625

Lewiston ..... 4 3 .471
Salem ........ 3 5 .375

Yakima ....... 3 5 .375
Tri-City ..... 3 5 .375

Wenatchee .... 2 6 .350

VICTORIA [Colonist, April 30]—Only the fact that Victoria’s league leading Tyees won made it worthwhile for the hardy Victorians who turned out at Royal Athletic Park last night to watch the W.I.L. opener here.
Opening night conditions were probably the worst in seven years. It was cold, it was windy and it was wet. Yet most of the crowd of nearly 3,000 stayed to the last out to see the Tyees eke out a 7-6 victory over the Wenatchee Chiefs.
The win was the third in a row for Cece Garriott’s surprising crew and their sixth in seven decisions. It left them in first place by a game and a half over the Vancouver Capilanos.
GOOD BASEBALL
Considering the conditions, the game produced good baseball. The Tyees failed to show the attack which they displayed in the first week of the season and Ben Lorino was not at his best on the mound but they did manage to come up with the big inning which has been the feature of their play to date.
It wasn’t exactly much of an inning but it did produce five runs, mainly on the strength of some daring base-running with capitalized to the fullest on two scratch hits and three short singles and two bases on balls.
Held hitless by Bud Bauhofer, promising 20-year-old rookie righthander for three innings, the Tyees broke through in the fourth. It started when Garriott opened by drawing a base on balls. Don Pries topped a ball down the third base line and beat it out for Vancouver’s first hit. Then Chuck Abernathy beat out a bunt to load the bags.
KEPT RUNNING
Garriott scored after the catch on Granny Gladstone’s short fly and the Tyees never stopped running. Pries was picked off second and caught in a rundown between second and third with Abernathy moving to second on the play. John Treece then walked. Milt Martin dropped a hit in front of the centre-fielder, scoring Abernathy and moving Treece to third, and wet to second on the play to the plate. Lorino blooped a hit behind third and went to second as Martin thundered across the plate behind Treece to the surprise of everyone, particularly the Chiefs. Luther Branham got a ground hit into left field and Lorino chugged in all the way from second fro the fifth run.
Bauhofer’s bad throw to second base on an attempted force out gave the Tyees their last runs—both unearned—in the sixth.
They were needed with Lorino keeping himself in trouble with bases on balls. Manager Dick Adams doubled behind two walks to give the Chiefs a 2-0 lead in the first inning. Adams doubled in the sixth and went to third as Walt Pocekay’s wind-blown fly fell for a double in right field. Elwin Elton plated both with a bloop single and then doubled in two more in the eighth. The Chiefs left the tying and winning runs on in the ninth while Gladstone clutching Bud Hjelmaa’s high pop for the final out.
Lorino wound up with nine strikeouts and was charged with seven bases on balls. He didn’t allow a hit from the first through the fifth, struck out the side in the seventh after his shaky sixth inning and just got by in the last two innings.
ERRORLESS BALL
The Tyees played errorless baseball with Lorino proving a defensive wizard. The Chiefs tried to bunt on him in the fifth after his base-running but he tossed two runners out at first with neat plays. He also made a good play on a topped ball in the sixth to forced a runner at second. Left-fielder Elton and right-fielder Ross McCormack both came up with good catches for the Chiefs, robbing Abernathy and Treece respectively.
On the hitting side, Pries picked up three singles in five trips and catcher Milt Martin had two in four tries to lead the Tyees. Adams, with two of Wenatchee’s five doubles, and Elton with his single and double, did most of the damage for the losers.
Second game of the series is billed tonight with rookie Bill Wisneski out for his third hit for Victoria. Don Tierney is the probable mound choice for the Washingtonians.
Wenatchee ..... 200 002 020—6 6 3
Victoria ........... 000 502 00x—7 9 0
Bauhofer, Kanshin: (7) and Pocekay; Lorino and Martin.

KENNEWICK [Herald, April 30]—They did a lot of walking and a lot of standing around last night at Sanders Field when the Tri-City Braves made their first home appearance of the 1952 baseball season. And in between times a marathon game was played that took three hours and 10 minutes.
It all added up to one new league record, a new park record and a couple of near misses at further denting the book.
In chalking up the 11-5 victory the Braves snapped a jinx that has pursued them for two years. The win was the first in three attempts by Tri-City to come out on top in their first home appearance. Incidentally it was also pitcher Kenny Michelson's first of the year. Michelson took the hill in the third relieving starter Joe Nicholas.
The five pitchers who appeared in the game gave up a total of 28 bases on ball to erase a league record that has stood since May 18, 1947 when Yakima and Wenatchee combined to give up 26 free passes.
And all that standing around added up to 30 base runners' left stranded, one shy of tieing the WIL mark of 31. set in 1949 by Salem and Wenatehee.
Tonight Manager Charlie Gassaway will send Ralph Romero to the mound to oppose Spokane's John Conant. Currently working on a string of 11 consecutive victories, nine of them from last season, Conant will be looking for his 12th. Should Conant be able to come through he will tie a league record currently held by three pitchers.
HUGE CROWD ATTENDS
Approximately 3,268 fans jammed into Sanders Field last night for the opening contest, and that too comes close to the record park attendance. All in all it was a night for much to happen. . .and it did.
The Braves got all the runs they needed to win the game in the first two innings. In the opening stanza second baseman Tom Marier lashed out a double to score Pat Patterson and Vic Buccola. Patterson had drawn a walk and Buccola got on when he was hit by a pitched ball.
A long single by cleanup hitter Bill Rogers cleated the Braves plate with two in the fourth while Buccola drove in another. The fourth one came when Spokane's hurler Frank Chase obliflingly walked Des Charouhas with the sacks loaded.
Nicholas started for the Braves but the usually reliable side armer just didn't have his control last night. He finally gave way to Michelson in the third with the bases all filled up. Michelson promptly got out of the hole on a double play started by Charouhas that finished up in Buccola's glove.
The two teams had four twin killings, two apiece.
Tri-City picked up another run in the fourth, Charouhas scoring on Roger's single. A big seventh that counted four finished off the evening's parade for the Braves. Charouhas' single accounted for two while the others walked home from third. Again it was the by now old story of Spokane's hurler, this time Wulf, failing to find the plate with the bases clogged.
Spokane made an effort in the top of the ninth but Michelson snuffed that effort by striking out the side.
Spokane ......... 102 000 002—5 12 1
Tri-City .......... 240 100 40x—11 6 1
Chase, Wolf (5), Osborne (7) and Sheets; Nicholas, Michelson (3), and Pesut.

SALEM, April 29 — Lewiston scored three runs in the top of the 12th inning to defeat Salem 11-8 in Salems Western International League baseball opener here Tuesday night.
Snag Moore opened the 12th inning Lewiston scoring attack with his single. That was followed by a sacrifice, a walk, a single by Sol Israel and a double by Artie Wilson. That scored three runs to give Lewiston the ball game.
Wilson was the star batter of the night. He got three hits in six times at bat— two doubles and a triple. His teammate Charlie Mead collected two hits for Lewiston.
Lewiston ... 500 021 000 003—11 16 2
Salem ......... 110 013 011 000—8 14 1
Owens, Thomason (6), Powell (9) and Helmuth; DeGeorge, Edmunds (1), Shandor (7) and Nelson.

Yakima at Vancouver, postponed

Home Plate Ritual Names Garriott ‘Chief Big Shot’
[Victoria Colonist, April 30, 1952]
Victoria Tyees are now led by an Indian chief. Manager Cece Garriott was made “Chief Big Shot of Vancouver Island” in a colorful and unusual pre-game ceremony at home plate last night and the name is doubly appropriate.
Big shot is the translation of the word Tyee, and with the Tyees riding along at the top of the W.I.L. standings, Garriott has a good claim to the name.
Percy Ross, chief of the Songhees Indians, officiated at the ceremony, aided by Chief Thunderbird, well-known Indian wrestler of the Saanich Tribe, and Mike Underwood and Abraham Joe of the Cowichan Tribe.
The quartet also officiated in tossing out the first ball with Thunderbird fanning completely on a high, hard one, inside, delivered with good form by Ross. Underwood did the catching and Joe was the umpire.
Garriott was presented with a totem pole and each of the Tyees received a small totem pole, stopping in front of their manager, and greeting him in accepted Indian fashion as they received their mementos from Laurie Wallace, treasurer of the Victoria Baseball and Athletic Co. Ltd. and the Athletic Booster Club, who acted as master of ceremonies.
Players were introduced by their managers prior to the ceremony which made a chief out of Garriott.
DIAMOND DUST: The Chiefs didn’t take kindly ton the decisions of plate-umpire Russ Kimpel and base-umpire George Behringer. They protested often, particularly when Vic Solari was called out trying to steal second with what would have been the tying run in the sixth and when Kimpel called Norm Ridgeway’s drive down the third base line foul in the seventh. Kimpel, umpiring his seventh season in pro ball and his first in the W.I.L., spent the past four seasons in the Western League. . . Behringer spent part of last season in the W.I.L. and the previous two seasons in the Arizona-Texas League. . . More than 300 fans were seated an hour before game time and the crowd in view of conditions was amazing. With good weather, Victoria would undoubtedly have surpassed Spokane’s opening crowd of 4,500, highest of the season. . . Gusts of wind several times almost carried the press box right off the grandstand roof and occupants didn’t feel safe until Fred Barnes, Colonist managing editor, showed up. A father for the first time yesterday, he managed to stay until the last out. . .The game opened auspiciously with Chuck Abernathy making a good catch of a foul fly near the first-base stands . . . Chief Thunderbird’s gravely voice is probably the result of too many strangleholds in 18 years of big-time wrestling . . . Fans who clamored for the game to start before the chief-making ceremonies were over could stand a lesson in manners . . . Cal McIrvin, the southpaw optioned to Portland by Victoria, reported yesterday afternoon. Catcher Lilio Marcucci is expected today and tomorrow . . . Outfielder Ben Jeffey and pitcher John Tierney of last season’s clubs are both reported in Korea with the U.S. armed forces . . . John Treece played for Ed Henry’s Vancouver Arrows about seven years ago . . . Almost a dozen light bulbs broke with a bang as the wind blew in the rain and bleachers fans must have had an uncomfortable time with hot glass flying about . . . Charlie Stroulger, one-time V.M.D. shortstop, was noticed among the Up-Island fans who showed up . . . Judging from last night’s display, the Tyees won’t have any stop lights at third base. They just keep on coming and the Chiefs looked weak defensively several times in failing to cut down Garriott’s speedsters.