Thursday, July 3, 1952

W L Pct GB
Victoria ..... 45 24 .652 —
Spokane ...... 41 33 .554 6½
Vancouver .... 34 30 .531 8½
Salem ........ 34 37 .479 12
Lewiston ..... 33 36 .478 11
Wenatchee .... 33 40 .452 13
Tri-City ..... 32 40 .444 14½
Yakima ....... 31 43 .419 16½

VICTORIA [Colonist, July 4]—Victoria manager Cec Garriott did everything, including taking the wraps off Walter Towns, to avoid it, but he finally had to break up his planned pitching rotation to preserve a W.I.L. victory at Royal Athletic Park last night.
It was Jehosie Heard, who came on in the eighth with the bases loaded and no one out to complete the games by setting down six men in a row, four on strikes, who saved a 15-11 decision over the pesky Wenatchee Chiefs and give the Tyees a 3-2 win.
Heard’s sensational pitching in relief was about the only sane note in a comic-opera affair which saw a weakened Wenatchee team which should have been an easy victim, give the Tyees about all they could handle. The little colored southpaw was due for one of today’s two games at Spokane but his use last night turned out to be the right move. Vancouver Capilanos lost their sixth game in a row and Spokane Indians also went down as the Tyees gained a full game on their closest pursuers.
HJELMAA HURT
The Chiefs, who depend mainly on Walt Pocekay, manager Dick Adams and Bud Hjelmaa to supply what little punch they have, started the game without Adams and Pocekay and lost Hjelmaa in the third inning. The classy second baseman suffered a broken nose and a badly-swollen eye when a ground ball from the bat of Bob Moniz took a bad hop.
His loss meant the Chiefs had to complete the game with a substitute outfielder at second and a pitcher at first base but this makeshift line-up hit as seldom the Chiefs have hit this season. They banged 12 hits off Carl Gunnarson, held a 10-7 lead after they batted in the seventh, and threatened until Heard showed up.
GUNNARSON WINS
Gunnarson, making his first start for the Tyees, showed the lack of work. The veteran left-hander, who hasn’t pitched in competition in six weeks, lost a 5-1 lead in the fourth and was pounded for five runs in the seventh which turned a 7-5 edge into a 10-7 deficit. But he did get credit for his third win in four decisions when the Tyees came pounding back in their half of the seventh to score seven runs.
Dave Dahle, who came back with only one day of rest, walked the first three Tyees to open the big inning. This brought on Frank Dasso, who stopped the Tyees cold in Wednesday’s second game. Dasso walked his first hitter to force in a run, another scored as pinch-hitter Cal McIrvin grounded out. Jim Clark tied it up with a neat drag-bunt single. Bob Moniz hit his second double, the Wenatchee infield kicked in with two boots and Granny Gladstone hit for two bases. When it was finally over, the Tyees were ahead, Dasso was in the showe with his 11th setback, and Bud Bauhofer was doing the Wenatchee pitching.
WISNESKI FAILS
Bill Wisneski came on to try and hold the lead. He walked the first batter on five pitches, promptly threw two successive balls to the second. That was enough for Garriott and all for Wisneski. On came Towns, seeing his first action in weeks. He completed the walk Wisneski had started and then gave a free pass all his own to load the sacks.
That brought Garriott in again and it ended with Towns out. Heard wasted no time, striking out the first batter, giving up a run as the second grounded out, and striking out the third. He duplicated the performance in the ninth.
Wenatchee …. 010 400 510—11 12 4
Victoria …….... 005 011 71x—15 16 1
Dahle, Dasso (6), Bauhofer (6) and Robinett; Gunnarson, Wisneski (6), Towns (8), Heard (8) and Marcucci.

SALEM, July 3—Three Spokane pitchers were unable to stop Salem batsmen as Salem Thursday night won a Western International League baseball game here 6-2.
The victory gave the Senators the three-game series, 2-1.
Spokane's first run came in the sixth inning on a walk and a double by George Huffman.
One more came in the eighth on three consecutive walks—after which Salem Starter Sal DeGeorge was relieved—and the run was scored by Bob Byrne during a double-play.
Connie Perez and Bill White led the Salem hitting attack, both with three hits in five times at bat.
Spokane .... 000 001 010—2 5 0
Salem ……... 001 310 01x—6 13 0
Spring, Chase (5), Roberts (8) and Sheets, Hinz (4); DeGeorge, Edmunds (8) and Thrasher.

VANCOUVER [Keith Matthews, News-Herald, July 4]—Bill Schuster’s “comeback” may reach an end before it has a chance to last 24 hours.
The in-and-out Capilano manager came back to the baseball wars Thursday night as the Caps lost their sixth straight, 3-2, to Yakima. But Bill got himself bounced rather rambunctiously in the ninth, and therein lies the take of a possible suspension.
Let it be said right now that there wasn’t a dull moment for any of the 2200 fans while Schuster was in there. Bill was responsible for both Vancouver runs, the first on a clean steal of home in the fifth and the second on an outfield fly which scored Len Tran from third in the sixth.
THEN IT HAPPENED
But the ninth—that was the story.
Schuster was the leadoff batter in the inning, and you could almost smell the trouble. He had been battling with umpire Herm Ziruolo all evening, naturally losing all the decisions. It started in the fifth when Edo Vanni talked himself right out of the game on a balls and strikes squawk, and it didn’t finish until they closed the gates at the Stadium night onto midnight.
Ziruolo called a strike on Schuster to open the innings. Bill beefed. Then there was a ball, then a foul strike. The fourth pitch from reliefer Bob Savage was a shoulder high fast ball and Schuster let it go.
“STRRRIKE THREE!” Ziruolo yelled.
WORKED HIM OVER
Then it began. Schuster blew his top. He threw his bat to the ground savagely, almost taking Ziruolo’s toe off with the toss. Then he bumped the umpire with his chest, circling him as he did so as to get the best possible shots home. Lacking everything else, Bill then ripped the mask off the umpire’s face and might even have gone further had not Len Tran galloped out to quieten the boss.
It is almost a certainty that there will be more heard from this argument when Ziruolo’s report reaches league headquarters in Tacoma, It is highly possible president Bob Abel will order Schuster suspended until such time he has had to sit on the case and find out the story from both sides.
Vanni might be included in the suspension, too. After the little outfielder was booted in the fifth, he took a box seat along the third base and began heckling Ziruolo.
After three innings of this, Ziruolo ordered Edo right out of the park.
It was an exciting game for the most part with Schuster naturally supplying all the color.
Ed Locke pitched a dandy ball game, striking out 13 and allowing but eight hits. However, his opposition, Jack Thompson, with a big assist from Savage, was equally good and the Caps just couldn’t come through again in the clutch.
The club takes to the road today for a July 4 doubleheader in Lewiston. They remain in the Idaho town over the weekend, returning here Monday night for a week-long stand against Wenatchee and Victoria. By then, Schuster’s fate will be history.
- - -
VANCOUVER, July 3 — The Vancouver Capilanos were nipped 3-2 Thursday night for their fourth straight Western International league loss to the Yakima Bears. In all, they have lost six straight.
The Bears punched out their first run in the fourth inning and then went to victory in the fifth with two runs on singles by Pat Donahue, Charlie Malmberg and a two-run double by Jerry Zuvela.
Manager Bill Schuster figured in both Vancouver runs, which came in the fifth and sixth innings. In the filth, he walked, was doubled to third by Ray Tran and then stole home. In the sixth, he drove in Len Tran with a long fly.
The losing pitcher, Ed Locke, deserved a better fate, striking out 13 Yakima batters. Good relief pitching by Bob Savage held Vancouver hitless in the last three innings.
Auout 2,000 fans wert on hand for the game.
Yakima ......... 000 120 000—3 3 0
Vancouver .... 000 011 000—2 4 0
Thompson, Savage (6) and Donahue; Locke and Ritchey.

KENNEWICK, July 3—Tri-City nipped a ninth inning rally by Lewiston Thursday night to win its third Western International League baseball game in row, 8-5.
The Braves led from the first inning, when they scored three runs. They added three more the second after giving up one tally to Lewiston. The Broncs closed the gap slightly in the third with two runs, then went scoreless until the ninth—while Tri-City was adding two in the ninth on a homer by John Kovenz with one on.
In the ninth. Milt Smith homered with one man on for two runs in a futile last gasp effort. They couldn't add another tally.
Lewiston …. 012 000 002—5 8 0
Tri-City …… 330 000 20x—8 10 2
Powell, Thomason (2) and Lundberg; Romero and Pesut.

Eric Whitehead’s
FAN FARE
[Vancouver Province, July 4, 1952]
How insulting can life get?
Believe it or not, nobody, but nobody has to date asked this writer’s opinion on the tremendous, burning question of the day: What should be done about the epic case of Bill Schuster and his crumbling Capilanos?
Everyone else has been asked. Everyone. Even Pintail, a guy who thinks a high fly is just a drunken fish-lure.
So this morning I sez to heck with people, I sez. I’ll ask myself.
Okay, I sez: What should be done with this Schuster deal?
No answer. Maybe I’m not listening. I ask again. No answer. Once more. This time I give up because I don’t like being ignored. It gets around a fellow’s being ignored and he loses caste with the public.
This of course is a ridiculous situation when a sports writer, charter member of the greatest second-guessing clan in captivity, dodges an innocent question.
Special Delivery Brown
But ah, the evil craft of the fellow! He, or rather me, or is it I, took the easy way out: I passed the buck.
At noon I found myself, after a brief search, in the front office at Capilano Stadium, mumbling: ‘What should be done about the epic case of Bill Schuster and his crumbling Capilanos’ to an elderly gentleman who just happened to be leaning on the counter.
As luck would have it, inasmuch as I didn’t want it, the elderly gentleman—78 years, actually, to be exact—happened to be Ruby Robert Brown, the ageless sage of Capilano Stadium.
You’d think he’d been expecting the question, the way he had the answer also wrapped up for quick delivery.
“Done?” he snorted, with all the wisdom of 54 baseball years, “Why? What’s wrong? What’s all the fuss about?”
What, we countered shrewdly, eyeing him narrowly (with narrow eyes, this is easy), what about this rift between you and Schuster? Hmmm?
No Brush, No Lather, No Rub In
This time, beating the 4th of July deadline by a good ten hours, Ruby Robert exploded like an angry firecracker.
“That,” he sputtered, “is a heap of nonsense. A heap of nonsense dreamed up by you newspaper fellows. What rift? Where, by jingo, where? . . .”
He was certainly right. I swiftly cased the office with my beady eyes, and there wasn’t a rift in sight.
“Listen,” Ruby Robert went on earnestly, “Every ball club everywhere has its troubles now and then. Things go wrong once in a while and we get together and talk it over. Sure, maybe once in a while I’m critical of certain of Schuster’s decisions on the field, but then what general manager isn’t critical?”
“And say,” he continued, “have you checked our injured lists this year? Edo Vanni, Schuster, Jesse Williams, Jim Wert, all out of ailing at one time or another, and now Bob Duretto. Don’t think those troubles haven’t hurt the club.”
No Cancelled Bills Today
“And say”—just warming up—“just how terrible is this club’s record anyway? Folks go out of here mumbling about how the boys can’t hit, can’t field, and can’t win ball games.
“Yet if you’ll just look at the records, you’ll find that the club has never been below third place in the team batting averages, never below third in fielding averages, and never below third in the standings. How can they be such a no-hit, no-field, no-win club in light of that record?
“And, by jingo, we’re still in a good position to come through and beat Victoria out for the pennant.”
Are you, we ventured recklessly, satisfied that Schuster is doing a satisfactory job as manager?
“Certainly,” snorted Ruby Robert. “No question.”
And are you content to string along with Bill as manager for the rest of the season?
“No question,” he reiterated firmly. And when Ruby Robert Brown firmly reiterates ‘no question’, he always means it. Usually.