Wednesday 27 February 2008

Tuesday, September 9, 1952

W L Pct. GB
Victoria ..... 91 53 .633 —
Spokane ...... 88 62 .587 6
Vancouver .... 71 66 .518 16½
Salem ........ 71 75 .486 21
Yakima ....... 69 77 .473 23
Lewiston ..... 69 80 .463 24½
Tri-City ..... 63 77 .450 26
Wenatchee .... 57 89 .390 35


VICTORIA [Colonist, Sept. 10]—Bill Brenner, likeable manager of the Lewiston Broncs, is one of the most remarkable figures in baseball.
A catcher throughout his playing career, and a good one although often hampered by injuries, Brenner took up pitching at a time in his diamond career when most players are ready to call it a day.
Managing at Yakima last season he got into 41 games behind the plate and started to try his luck on the mound. He appeared in nine games and managed a 2-4 record.
Moving to take over at Lewiston this season, he became a full-fledged pitcher and his is the success story this season in the W.I.L.
Last night at Royal Athletic Park he appeared in his 41st game on the mound and he became the season’s second 20-game winner by pitching his club to a 5-3 victory over the Victoria Tyees. The man he defeated was Ben Lorino, the league’s first 20-game winner, who was seeking his 26th triumph.
GOOD CONTROL
Brenner has pitched 20 complete games and 264 innings and figured in 30 decisions. His pitching is a lesson to aspiring youngsters. He is not fast and has no great repertoire, but he has head and heart and control. He walked only 66 men in his first 237 innings and he improved that last night by issuing only one base on balls.
Brenner held the Tyees to five well-scattered hits for seven innings while his team gave him a 5-0 lead. He faltered in the eighth inning, when he gave up four of the 10 hits he allowed, his lone base on balls and the Tyees’ three runs, but he pitched coolly out of the jam to save No. 20.
His win kept his club safely in sixth spot and retained for him a chance to lead it into the first division. The Broncs trail fourth-place Salem by three and a half games.
ERROR COSTS WIN
Lorino, who had a bit of a rocky going in the middle innings, lost it, as it turned out, on two unearned runs in the third inning. An error by Don Pries set the stage for the rally and the Tyees could only get back the single run scored by Lewiston in the fourth, fifth and sixth.
The series concludes tonight with either Bill Bottler or Jehosie Heard due to pitch for the Tyees. One of the season’s better crowds is expected with the appearance of Johnny Price, baseball’s leading one-man act, as an added inducement.
DIAMOND DUST—Don Hopp, the 19-year-old righthander recently signed by the Portland Beavers, is with the Tyees and has been getting a workout in the bullpen during the last two games. Recently voted the outstanding semi-pro player in Oregon, he will likely get a chance to show his wares before the season is over … Infielder John Treece rejoined the Tyees when they returned home Monday with all differences settled … Tyee players report that Cal McIrvin is to be sold to the Spokane Indians at the end of the season … With Ron and Bill Bottler, Dwane Helbig, LeRoy Han and Hopp almost certain to be here next season, the Tyees can look forward to a good club again. There is also every chance that the other Portland-owned youngsters such as Frank Chase, Adolph Satalich and Dick Waibel will be sent here. Granny Gladstone and Jim Clark came up with fine defensive plays last night.
Lewiston .... 002 111 000—5 10 0
Victoria ...... 000 000 030—3 10 1
Brenner and Lundberg; Lorino and Bottler.

VANCOUVER [Dick Beddoes, Sun, Sept. 10]—Edo Vanni removed his working clothes at Cap Stadium Tuesday night and said, cautiously; “Looks like we’ll finish a good, strong, raging third.”
The Vancouver Cap manager has learned to be cautious in his forecasts about Vancouver’s final position in the Western International League. In earlier prophecies Vanni had ‘em finishing a good, strong, raging first, and, later, a good, strong raging second.
Even now, in the last week of the season, Vanni could be wrong. Salem Senators are still threatening Caps’ third place, acting like they want Vancouver to finish a good, strong, raging fourth. Perish the thought!
Both teams won last night, Vancouver clipping Spokane Indians and Salem sinking Wenatchee Chiefs. Scores in both games were 2-1.
Results left the Caps ahead by 4½ games with each club having five games to play.
Caps hustled, too. Especially pitcher Ed Locke, who earned his 10th win of the year after batting Dick Bishop for nine innings. Locke struck out eight, walked one and gave up six hits.
Otherwise strong pitching dominated the fine, fast game—fastest game of the year locally at one hour and 40 minutes.
Bob Snyder pitches the last Spokane game tonight, beginning at 8:15. Lewiston Broncs arrive Thursday for a four-game series, which concludes Saturday with an afternoon-night doubleheader.
FROM OUR TOWER—Bob Brown does not fancy stunts but he may resort to one during the Vancouver-Lewiston series which seals off the season this weekend at Cap Stadium. He would like one player from each team to play one inning at every position, making it rough on scorers but entertainment for fans … Nobody but Bob Duretto could handle it for the Caps, and Bill Brenner would be a logical choice for Lewiston … Brenner has gone especially well at one position this season, namely pitching. Last night, in Victoria, he won his 20th game.
- - -
Gordie Brunswick was the big gun in the Vancouver attack as he cracked out his 12th homer of the season in the fourth and later scored the winning run after getting
aboard on a walk and coming home on Jim Wert's long triple.
Spokane ....... 000 100 000—1 6 1
Vancouver .... 000 100 01x—2 7 0
Bishop and Sheets; Locke and Ritchie.

SALEM, Ore., Sept. 9 — The Salem Senators scored two runs in the 11th inning to defeat Wenatchee 2-1 in a Western International League baseball game here Tuesday night.
After Wenatchee tallied its lone run in the top of the llth, Salem came back with the game-winning rally. A single by Catcher Bob Nelson scored Dick Bartle. Then Wenatchee Pitcher Frank Dasso walked Art Thrasher and Gene Tanselli to force in Jim Deyo with the winning run.
It was Dasso's 26th loss of the season. Bud Francis, who went in for Salem in the 11th, was the winning pitcher.
Wenatchee scored after singles by Lyle Palmer and Walt Pocekay and two bases on balls, forcing in Palmer.
Wenatchee ..... 000 000 000 01—1 7 1
Salem ............ 000 000 000 02—2 11 1
Oubre, Dasso (7) and Pocekay; Collins, Francis (11) and Nelson.

KENNEWICK, [Tri-City Herald, Sept. 10] — Ray Hamrick's bases-loaded homer sewed it up good Tuesday night while Bob Greenwood twirled a three-hit 8-0 shutout for the Tri-City Braves against the Yakima Bears.
Only twice during the game did the Yakima Club get a man in scoring position. The first time came in the eighth when Ernie Sheurman hit and moved to second on a sacrifice.
In the ninth Len Noran hit and moved to second when John Albini walked. Both then advanced on a wild pitch.
Then Greenwood struck out former teammate Frank Mataya to end the game.
The Braves led off with the scoring in the first inning. They picked up two runs on Don Lopes' walk, another walk, this time Hamrick, and a single to Des Charouhas.
Another run was scored in the fifth. John Kovenz singled and came home on Vic Buccola's double. Then came the clincher, Joe Scalise got a hit. Greenwood walked and Lopes got a hit. Hamrick came up and poled the ball over the left field wall for a grand slam.
The Braves picked up another run in the eighth. Des Charouhas led off with a triple—his 15th of the season—and scored on Buccola's long fly to right field.
The game was played before 219—the smallest crowd in the history of Sanders Field. Low temperatures kept many people home.
Greenwood always had control of the game. Although he was playing with a slight leg injury, the lanky hurler fanned five, and walked but three.
One of the hits was a scratch single.
The Bears used two pitchers, Ken Wright, who was touched for Hamrick's homer, and Stretch Garrott, a tall boy wiyh a breaking curve.
Yakima ...... 000 000 000—0 3 0
Tri-City ..... 200 014 01x—8 10 0
Wright, Garrett (7) and Donahue; Greenwood and Pesut.

Ball Club Purchase Drive Underway
Richland Man Pledge $1,700

[Tri-City Herald, Sept. 10, 1952]
The drive to obtain money to purchase the Tri-City Braves is under way and $1,700 in pledges were raised in the first two days in Richland.
Dwight Hendricks, Richland businessman and baseball enthusiast, who announced that amount had been obtained, said the response had been overwhelming in Richland. He said if Pasco and Kennewick get the same response, the drive should be a success.
The drive is being backed by the Tri-City Athletic Association, owners of Sanders Field, the home of the Braves. The Association also owns one-seventh of the ball club.
The other six-sevenths of the club, owned by Dick Richards, Arnold .Sanborn, Vern Johnson and Del Kidder of Seattle, was put up for sale last Wednesday after the owners announced they could no longer lose money caused by the small attendance.
The Athletic Associaton has an option to buy the club before it can be sold to anyone else or moved elsewhere.
Harold Matheson, president of the Athletic Association, said the bulk of the present stockholders in the association have said they will be hippy to maintain their stock interests if a new organization is formed.
This means the association has an initial pledge of from $40,000 to $50,000 toward buying both the field and the club. Most of the money invested in the field comes from bonds, which will be affected by the sale.
The association feels it is necessary to raise about $60,000 to purchase the club and have necessary operating capital.
Since the Tri-City Herald, which supported the plan of bringing the Braves to the Tri-City area, feels that the retention of the club will be a definite asset to the Tri-Cities, the paper will support a drive.
As part of the support, the Tri-City Herald will publish the names of all those who purchase stock in the organization. The following persons account for the $1,700 in pledges:
Russell Blakeny, C. G. Neilson, Dwight Hendricks, Robert Davis, Lee L. Azure, E.W. Brien, Otis Low, Fred Koker, Keith Pulliam, D.L. Smith, Connie Phillips, D.M. McElrath, Ira Linn, E.C. Smith, B.J. Bennett, W.O. Warder, J.L. Rogers Jr., L.C. Goodwin, J.R. Pareill, G.R. Hasack and M.D. Hogue.

Sports Notes
By Gil Gilmore
[Tri-City Herald, Sept. 10, 1952]

I wonder what happens when the two Western International League Canadian teams play each other. Vancouver and Victoria fans must show up at the games equipped with camping equipment and a stock of food.
With Cecil Garriott trotting in from center field and Edo Vanni loping in from right four or five times an inning, the Canadians are a patient lot.
In the there-oughta-be-a-law department, I suggest (1) limiting managers to infielders, pitchers and catchers; and (2) penalizing a team for too many time outs in one inning.
MARATHON
Seems as if every time the Braves have a special night they have a marathon game out at Sanders. On Eagles night, it ran up to midnight. On Elks night, things were worse. In the first game of the double-header, the pace was two innings an hour for the first three frames.
Then things picked up but it still took 2½ hours for a seven-inning game.
Of the 914 fans who started out to see that double-header, only the 14 were left when the second contest ended the following day. The ball club should give those hardy individuals an "I'm-a-Braves'-Fan-to-the-Bitter-End" certificate.
The second game moved along a lot faster. But in the second, Vancouver hurler Bud Goldberg gave up only eight scattered hits and never was in hot water. Consequently, there was no five-minute delays after every pitch while Vanni made the long march in from right field.
BICYCLE
Between games, the Elks gave away several gifts to boys including a new bicycle. For a while, the officials couldn't find the lucky winner. Finally one fan, thinking of the Vancouver manager's trips in from the outfield in the first game, quipped: "Give it to Vanni!"
Vanni didn't get the bike. But Edo, who can enter into the spirit of horseplay, got on and tried a short ride.

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