W L Pct GB
Salem ........ 6 0 1.000 —
Tacoma ....... 4 2 .667 2
Wenatchee .... 4 2 .667 2
Spokane ...... 3 3 .500 3
Vancouver .... 3 3 .500 3
Bremerton .... 2 3 .400 3½
Victoria ..... 2 5 .286 4½
Yakima ....... 0 6 .000 6
SALEM—An unearned ninth inning run gave the Salem Senators a 10 to 9 victory over Spokane and kept the baby Beavers the unbeaten leader in the Western International league.
Spokane ......... 014 202 00x— 9 10 3
Salem ............ 210 011 041—10 12 6
Cadinha, Bass (8), Powers (8) and Clifford; Soderburg, Adams (4), Gerkin (9) and Daniels, Kerr (6), Salmon.
VANCOUVER [Clancy Loranger, News-Herald]—Manager Spencer Harris of Yakima used one player too many against out Capilanos at Capilano Stadium last night, and the locals came up with their second straight victory over the Stars, 3-1.
The lad the Stars could have done without was Jerry Bohnen, their starting pitcher. Sylvester Johnson’s crew got to the lanky right-hander for four hits in the second inning for all their runs, and that was the ball game. Earl [sic] Strait, who replaced Bohnen on the hill in the second, blanked the local Western International League entry the rest of the way with one hit.
PALICA WORKS WELL
Of course, the Brownies were getting a little pitching of their own. Alex Palica, the Lomita, Cal., youngster with the easy pitching motion, had the Yakima hitters well in hand, allowing just four hits.
Palica, whose starting effort in Spokane was spoiled by a bad first inning, had one bad frame last night, the fifth, when the Harris men got three of their hits and notched their only counter. A double by Bill McCloskey, the ex-Capilano, Strait’s single, another bingle by Bud Dawson which Sid Van Sinderen lost momentarily in left field, did the damage. Van Sinderen might have nipped McCloskey at the plate at that, but he apparently didn’t see the runner either.
Alex was in complete charge the rest of the way, setting down the Stars without a safety in seven of the nine stanzas, as the Caps won their third game in six starts.
Yakima’s Mr. Bohnen got safely past the first inning, but ever-dangerous Frank Mullens opened the second with a sharp single to right. Cleve Ramsey followed through with a single through shortstop and a walk to Art Bonnell loaded the bases.
GOSNEY COMES THROUGH
This was the cue for the much-maligned Frank Gosney, our first sacker who has been accused of not hitting, among other things. Big Frank slapped the ball solidly inside the right field foul line for two sacks, sending Mullens and Ramsey scampering home.
Manager Harris then decided to walk Ray Spurgeon to get to pitcher Palica, but he outsmarted himself as Alex, forgetting that pitchers aren’t supposed to hit, pounded the first ball through the middle to score Bonnell with out last run. Strait came in at this point, and Yakima promptly doubled Spurgeon off at home plate on Jimmy Estrada’s fly to right, after Gosney had been forced at home for the first out.
Strait had everything under control until there on until Gosney got his second hit of the night with two out.
* * *
CUFF NOTES—Al Kretchmar beaned in the opening game Tuesday, say out last night’s contest, which was well-played on both sides … Mullens, Bob Moore and Gene Thompson all pulled off more than standard catches in the outfield … Mullens also had the folks off their hands when he tossed McCloskey out at first base after a large rap to right …. Large Doug Ford will do the tossing for the Vancouver nine tonight, and Kretchmar will probably be back, too.
Yakima .......... 000 010 000—1 4 3
Vancouver ..... 030 000 00x—3 6 0
Bohnen, Strait (2) and Stagg; Palica and Spurgeon.
VICTORIA—Tacoma Tigers unleashed an 18-hit barrage off three Victoria pitchers as they swamped the Athletics 17-2 in a lopsided game. Victoria had scored a 10-inning 6-5 victory in an afternoon game.
The Tigers jumped on Bob “Cannonball” Jensen for four runs in the first inning of the opener, but Victoria got them back in the fourth on Ed Murphy's homer. Both teams exchanged runs before the Athletics won it in the tenth. Frank Cirimele, Walt Raimondi and Murphy singled to load the bases. Ian Lowe then hit a grounder to shorstop Roy Peterson, who bobbled the ball, and Cirimele raced over the plate to end the game.
Jensen, husky righthander, had control trouble after giving up three base hits and walking in a run in the two-thirds of an inning. He went to the showers in favour of Al Raimondi.
Displaying a good exhibition on the slab and giving the Tigers very few good pitches, Raimondi went the route, yielding only four scattered base knocks and a single run.
Jack Jimmink paraded to the mound for the Tigers and lasted three and two-thirds innings. The A’s attack in the fourth finished his pitching chores for the afternoon. He was nicked for seven safeties and four runs during his stay on the hillock.
Bob Hedington took over in the fourth and finished the game for the Tigers,. He was nicked for six base hits and two runs.
In addition to displaying plenty of power at the plate, Murphy pulled off the best fielding play of the game with a perfect throw to the plate in the eighth inning to cut off a run and check a Tacoma uprising.
Richie Colombo tossed a two-hitter in the nightcap, a single by Les Mulcahy and a triple by Bob Cherry.
Manager Laurel Harney paraded three hurlers—Ralph Bruno, Leo Jones and Rudy Biale—to the mound in an effort to halt the rampaging Tigers, but the Tacomas hit everything thrown their way.
Dick Kemper had four of the Tigers' 18 hits, including three doubles.
First game:
Tacoma ......... 400 000 001 0—5 8 4
Victoria ......... 000 400 010 1—6 13 3
Jimmink, Hedington (4) and Kuper; Jensen, A. Raimondi and Mulcahy.
Second game:
Tacoma ......... 001 070 531—17 18 0
Victoria ......... 020 000 000— 2 2 4
Colombo and Kemper; Bruno, Jones (5), Biale (5) and Mulcahy.
BREMERTON—Twenty-year-old Joe Vivalda walked into a tight spot and pitched his way out of it Wednesday night to lead Wenatchee to a 6 to 1 victory over Bremerton. Vivalda took over in the second with the sacks loaded, choked off the threat and tossed four-hit ball for the rest of the route to get credit for the win.
Wenatchee ......... 121 000 110—6 9 0
Bremerton .......... 010 000 000—1 4 3
Orphan, Vivalda (2) and Pesut; Kittle, Curran (7) and Volpi.
Babich Leaves Cal’s Capital For B.C’s
VICTORIA [May 2]—The Victoria A’s pitching staff was strengthened yesterday with the arrival of George Babich, former Sacramento southpaw, who started the season with the Spokane Indians. Babich played first base for the Athletics in yesterday’s twin bill, replacing the injured Hardy Mollath.
New Park Step Towards Coast League Ball Here
[Vancouver News-Herald, May 2, 1954]
First step towards Vancouver’s ultimate entry into the Pacific Coast Baseball League will be made sometime this year, when Sick’s Capilano Brewing Co. constructs a $350,000 seat stadium in the Little Mountain area.
With a population of approximately 400,000 now, Vancouver belongs in the Coast circuit. The new park, with a proposed seating capacity of 10,000, will be an asset when Vancouver makes another attempt to gain a berth in the triple A loop.
The stadium, designed along the lines of Hollywood’s Gilmore Field, will be situated at Riley Park, 33rd and Ontario. If materials are available, the park will be constructed in time for a grand opening before the current W.I.L. season ends in September.
Saturday, June 2, 2007
Wednesday, May 1, 1946
Tuesday, April 30, 1946
W L Pct GB
Salem ........ 5 0 1.000 —
Tacoma ....... 3 1 .750 1½
Spokane ...... 3 2 .600 2
Wenatchee .... 3 2 .600 2
Bremerton .... 2 2 .500 2½
Vancouver .... 2 3 .400 3
Victoria ..... 1 4 .200 4
Yakima ....... 0 5 .000 5
SALEM —The Salem Senators won their first game on home field in the 1946 season Tuesday night by scoring eight runs off four Spokane pitchers in their Western International league opener here to win 8 to 5.
Spokane .......... 200 020 010—5 9 4
Salem ............. 030 012 02x—8 9 4
Nelson, Kinnaman (2), Carson (4), Prosser and Cole; Kowalski, Gerkin and Salmon, Daniels.
VICTORIA—Dick Greco, pinch-hitter, realized a batter's dream when he slammed a homer in the eighth inning with the bases loaded to put Tacoma Tigers ahead for their winning margin in an 8-7 victory over Victoria Athletics.
Greco's homer came after Tony Ferrara had uncorked a wild pitch with the bases loaded to allow a run to come in.
Victoria got a run in the first and two in the third before Hank Valle tied it for Tacoma one inning later with a home run over the Pembroke Street fence, the first homer of the year at Royal Athletic Park.
The Tigers turned in an erratic fielding display with a total of nine errors.
Loaded bases were the order of the game. Victoria filled the bases in the fourth but were unable to score. Tacoma did it in the first, and the Athletics came back in the seventh to score a pair of runs.
A crowd of 4,114 fans took in the first professional game in Victoria in 25 years.
Tacoma .......... 000 300 050—8 11 9
Victoria .......... 102 001 210—7 11 1
Martin, Greenlaw (7) Jungbluth (8) and Kemper, Kuper; Ferrara, Jones (8) and Mulcahy.
BREMERTON—Filling the bases in the 10th inning, Frank Volpi drove in Hooks De Vaurs, who had tripled, with a long fly to the scoreboard as Bluejackets defeated the Wenatchee Chiefs 3 to 2.
Bremerton's Jack Smith pasted a two-run homer in the fourth and the Chiefs Chuck Cronin did the same in the sixth.
Wenatchee ..... 000 020 000 0—2 11 0
Bremerton ...... 000 200 000 1—3 8 3
Cronin and Pesut; C. Federmeyer and Volpi.
VANCOUVER, B.C.—The Vancouver Capilanos led off their 1946 home town schedule with a winning effort as they downed the Yakima Stars 11-6.
Although outhit 12 to 9, the Vancouver squad made the best of a big third inning for seven runs off Joe Kralovich while Ronnie Bryant kept Yakima well-scattered to turn in his second victory against no losses this season.
In the wild third, Cleve Ramsey and Earl Silverthorn hit solid home runs eight batters apart. Ramsey's tied the game at 4-all, but Silverthorn's came with two mates aboard to make it a 10-4 game. It was the fifth hit of the inning and came after two errors.
- - -
VANCOUVER [Clancy Loranger, News-Herald]—Almost everything was new at Capilano Stadium Tuesday night for our Capilanos’ Western International League home debut against Yakima Stars. There was a new grandstand (nearly), new paint, a new scoreboard, new (and better) umpires. But it was something old and familiar that the Caps liked best—that low, beckoning right field fence.
The short fence inspired Syl Johnson’s boys to a display of batting power that astounded the experts who saw them in their first series in Spokane, where they didn’t raise a suspicion that they were hitters. Slapping out two home runs and three doubles the Brownies overpowered Spencer Harris’ crew, 11-6, in the opener of their seven-game series.
The victory was the home club’s second in five starts, and they can bring their average to an even .500 with another win tonight over the luckless Yakima nine, which has yet to score its first triumph. The Stars drew a blank in their first four-game series with Salem. Alex Palica, who so far has looked the best of the locals’ pitchers, has been nominated to toss ‘em at the visitors tonight. Game time is 8 p.m.
It looked for awhile last night as if the sad Spokane story was going to be a twice-told tale, as Ronnie Bryant gave up two walks and three hits, good for three runs, in the first inning.
CAPS TEE OFF
But the Capilanos teed off on ex-Vancouver hurler (pre-war vintage) Joe Kralovich for one run in their half of the stanza, evened it up in the second, and had the game neatly tucked away in the third inning.
Young Cleve Ramsey, back in action after a knee injury, established the tempo for the local swatsmiths by walloping a choice Kralovich offering over the wall. Sweet-swinging Frank Mullens bounced another off the boards, and the Caps were away. A walk, and error and two more singles got the works oiled up, and Earl Silverthorn wrapped it up with the second four-base blow of the inning. The grand total for the inning: seven runs, five hits, two errors and one ball game won.
CUFF NOTES—You may have been wondering about Spencer Harris’ strategy in leaving Kralovich on the mound after the uproarious third stanza, but Spencer, and Joe, fooled ‘em … The Caps didn’t get a hit off him after that frame … Suppose Bryant’s win makes him the ace of the staff, because he got credit for the Caps’ only triumph in Spokane when he relieved lefty Jim Hedgecock … Vancouver’s fielding, which is sparkling after a slowish start, was again bright last night … A couple of smart double killings gave Bryant, who s not yet at his best, a helping hand, and a running catch by Silverthorn plus a toss to home plate by Mullens, pulled on out of another hole … Al Kretchmar became the Caps’ third casualty when he stopped a Kralovich special with his head in the fifth … Al was packed off to hospital, where he’ll be x-rayed today … Watts Gulan, still nursing a torn back muscle, went to third base when Kretchmar was hurt, but his first swing at bat put him on the sidelines again.
Yakima ............ 301 100 001— 6 12 4
Vancouver ....... 127 000 10x—11 9 1
Kralovich and Stagg; Bryant and Spurgeon.
It Says Here
By CLANCY LORANGER
[Vancouver News Herald, May 1, 1946]
If anybody gets around to writing a booklet called “So You Want to be a Baseball Manager?”, Syl Johnson, who is serving his freshman year in the managerial ranks, would like to toss in a couple of pungent paragraphs.
Although the ball season is barely out of the cradle, the big easy-going Vancouver Capilano boss is learning, very fast, there is more to running a club than naming your starting pitcher.
SYL NO AMATEUR
Of course, Syl has had more than a passing acquaintance with ball teams in the last 25 years, so he may have picked up a couple of ideas en route. He served a term as a coach with the Phillies as well as with Seattle, and a coach in the majors and the Coast League, he says, has to ride herd on the players and practically runs the crew. But don’t tell Joe McCarthy.
Anyway, things are a little different in Class B ball. You don’t have a large, competent staff to handle the dirty work on the road.
The manager has to serve as a combination secretary (to make sure the boys get their meal money); porter (to carry the bats and see that they’re put on the right train); nurse maid (some fellows have to have their eyes opened in the morning); and chaperone (the 20-year-olds’ mothers, and the 25-year-olds’ wives worry about them when they’re away from home).
MIGHT WIN ONE
That’s just to mention a few extra-curricular activities. Making his expense money, and the figures in the book, come out even is also rather important. It’s kind of nice to pick up one or two wins for the folks back home, too.
Syl had a rather rugged time of it on the first trip, what with two sets of uniforms, a set of players’ wives, a large collection of bats and balls, a bus ride from Sunnyside to Spokane, a long train trip from there, getting various forms signed at the border, and what not. What not included shelling out a few bucks as deposit on a couple of portable radios the boys brought across the line.
It would be a lot better next time, of course, when the equipment problem, and the players themselves, are better organized. The first 1000 miles are the hardest when you’re travelling.
STRATEGY, YET
Yep, the easiest part of running a club is directing traffic on the diamond, and though there’s still a club or two with a better record than the Caps, Syl hasn’t guessed wrong in that department.
He came up with a dazzling piece of strategy Sunday afternoon that won us our only ball game from the Spokane club.
The Caps had just blown a 5-2 lead, and with the game tied up 5-5, classy Vic Picetti opened the last of the ninth for Spokane with a double. Large Bob Paterson, who will be one of the stars in the loop, sacrificed him to third, and with nothing but a long fly ball needed to win the contest, nobody in the park was anxious to change places with Sylvester. Especially with Jack Lohrke, the Spokes’ cleanup hitter at the dish.
ONE BIG BOUNCE
But Johnson, who is not really perturbed, shouted at Ronnie Bryant, his pitcher, to put Lohrke on. The idea, of course, was to play for a double killing.
And fanged if the thing didn’t work. Big Chief McCormack, the most popular man in the inland empire, hit down to Al Kretchmar at short, who forced Lohrke at second, and Art Bonnell’s relay was taken, on a big hop, by Frank Gosney at first base for the third out, while the fans moaned.
The fact that the Caps went on to win in the next inning made Johnson look even smarter.
You can second-guess, naturally, that Syl was fairly lucky to have McCormack fall in line with his plan. But that’s the kind of luck that wins pennants.
Standings of April 29, 1946
W L Pct. GB
Salem ...... 4 0 1.000 —
Spokane .... 3 1 .750 1
Wenatchee .. 3 1 .750 1
Tacoma ..... 2 1 .668 1½
Bremerton .. 1 2 .333 2½
Vancouver .. 1 3 .250 3
Victoria ... 1 3 .250 3
Yakima ..... 0 4 .000 4
No Games Monday.
This Week's Games
Yakima at Vancouver.
Tacoma at Victoria.
Wenatchee at Bremerton.
Spokane at Salem.
Salem Paces WI League
The Salem Senators, booming along in first place after sweeping their initial four-game series at Yakima last weekend, entertain second-place Spokane's Indians for the one and only week of the season this week in Western International league play.
They open a seven-game series Tuesday night.
Because of the vagaries of the W-I schedule, it will be Spokane's only stop in the Oregon capital, while Salem must play 15 games in the Inland Empire metropolis during the 143-game season.
Salem, getting both hitting and pitching, looked good in outdistancing Yakima last week, and Spokane surprised by taking the short series from the touted Vancouver Caps.
It will be the debut before the home folks in three of Tuesday's four games. Besides Salem, which is making its bow at Waters Park, Vancouver is home to entertain Yakima's Stars, and Victoria goes into Royal Athletic Park to play its first professional baseball game since 1921, with Tacoma furnishing the opposition. Bremerton stays at home for its second week, this time entertaining Wenatchee.
Both Canadian clubs lost three out of four in their first series. Vancouver hopes to recoup against the tail-end Stars, while Victoria should find stiff opposition in Tacoma; which got the odd game in three against Bremerton. Bremerton won't have any soft touch with Buddy Ryan's Wenatchee Chiefs.
SPORTS SLANTS
by Sid Thomas
Professional Baseball Returns Tonight
Marking another important milestone in the athletic progress of this capital city of British Columbia, professional baseball makes its return to Royal Athletic Park tonight after an absence of exactly a quarter of a century.
The lads who "play for pay" last frolicked on a Victoria diamond in 1921, when the baseball stadium was located on Douglas Street, where the Crystal Garden now stands.
Return of the professional baseball pasttime has created new interest in baseball in this city, as evidenced by the large turn-out on hand last night at the Caledonia Avenue ball lot to see the Victoria Athletics go through a pre-game training session.
Victoria businesmen with confidence in their city and the future of sport here have made possible the return of professional baseball. More than 200 of them, sgareholders in the Victoria Baseball and Athletic Co. Ltd., are the sponsors of the Athletics and the men responsible for bringing the "play for pay" sport back to this city.
In keeping with their policy to give Victoria fans the comforts and attractions comparable to other cities in the Western International Baseball League, directors of the local company, in co-operation with the city, have made extensive improvements to Royal Athletic Park, home diamond of the Victoria team.
Addition of new seating accomodation, improvements to the playing field, and the addition of a modern lighting system has made the park one of the best in the circuit.
Victoria's team in comprised mostly of hustling young players, players in whom Manager Laurel Harney has every confidence. Chatting with the local pilto yesterday, we learned that he is confident his club will finish in their first division. "I have every confidence in the Victoria Athletics, and appernt weaknesses in the team will be plugged at the earliest moment," Harney stated last night.
The Victoria manager, commenting on the lack of southpaw pitching, is endeavouring to locate two strong portsiders to complete his pitching staff.
Victoria Athletics will make their home-town debut this evening at Royal Athletic Park, and with the whole town takking baseball we expect to see the largest crowd in history at the Caledonia Avenue lot tonight. When the umpire calls "Play ball" it will be the signal for the start of the first professional baseball game here in a quarter of a century. Another step forward in the athletic whirl of progress.
New Capilanos Greet Fans, Yakima, as Baseball Opens
by ALF COTTRELL
Tonight at Capilano Stadium, the chef will gingerly pry the lid off postwar professional baseball, sniff suspiciously a couple of times for flavours delicious or otherwise, then serve it up regardless to the numerous guests of Mssrs. Tommy Turner, Bob Brown, et al, at 8 o'clock.
Representing the hosts, the 1946 Capilanos will attempt to outshine the visiting artists, the Yakima Stars.
There will be a band and brief ceremonies that will include individual introductions of the performers by the rival managers, but the piece de whatever will still be the ballgame.
SPENCE A TOUGHIE
A lesser part of the attraction in actuality but of a certian importance in pre-game fanning will be the appearance of two managerial chieftains, silvery Syl Johnson and fiery Spencer Harris of the home and away forces respectively.
Johnson, still a pitcher in his own right when he isn't thinking ferociously on bench or in coaches' box, is a veteran of some 20-odd openers, 17 of them under baseball's big tent.
As for Mr. Harris of the high, hard oratory, old Spence is a time-scarred Double-A operator who can't abide to lose.
TOUGH CHOICE
The Caps bow into the home fold with an unimpressive .250 mark in the percentage of wins and losses dept., but they aren't that bad. In fact, they figure to start getting quite good as their pitching staff hits top condition.
Manager Johnson has had to make a tough join between Alix Palica, who made an impressive debut though losing the Spokane opener, and Ronnie Bryant, who was late in coming to hand owing to his being a late arrival from the U.S. Navy. Ronnie looked good for an innig and a half against Spokane, however. In fact, he won a ball game in that brief fling, making him the only Cap flinger to have anyb standing on the black ink side of the balance sheet.
As for the balance of the cast, well here are some thumbnail sketches of the Caps, with the nine probable starters listed first:
RON BRYANT - Had 15 won, 6 lost record last season in WIL. Is 24, married. In Navy 3½ years. Pitcher, of course. Home Los Angeles.
RAY SPURGEON - Catcher. Only season in pro ball—shoved classy Roy Younkers out of first string Tacoma catching berth. Is 23, was in army three years. Home Tacoma. Married, has cute kid, 2 1/2, named Danny.
FRANK GOSNEY - Big, raw-boned Goose has power at plate. Rated poor fielder but his first baseing featured the Spokane series. From La Jolla, California. He is 23, was in navy 4 years and is single.
ART BONNELL - Flashy, handsome and tall second-sacker from Long Beach, Calif., hits the ball well and is considered great prospect by Seattle Rainiers. Is 23, was in army 2½ years, is married and poppa of Sandra, idol of Caps camp.
AL KRETCHMAR - The popular ex Coast guard ace, too well known to need description, but is 23 and was in Uncle Sam's strip 3½ years. Married. Home is in Seattle, though he has sold it and takes a Kitsilano residence over.
JIM ESTRADA - The sturdy graceful Indian will play third if Watts Gulan's side is still too sore to start. Jim at 25 is a veteran of 3 years highly active army service in Europe and several minor leagues. Hits sharply and well. Is single and hails from Rialto, Cal.
FRANK MULLENS - straight, tall and statuesque, Frank is the solid sticker of the party. Plays right field. Is fast, handles himself brilliantly out there, is married and a pop. Is 22 was in the army air corps two years. Home is Roscoe, Calif.
EARL SILVERTHORNE - Can go head and head with Mullins for speed, is a ballhawk, hits hard and far for his size. Is 22, was in the navy 3½ years and is married. Home Sedro Woolley, Wash. CLEVE RAMSEY - bad knee but may start in left. Is lusty, dependable socker and has strong accurate arm. Is tall, dark and, ahem, married and father of two gals, one four, one two. Estrada accuses him of being married when he was two, but he is 23. In army two years. Home, Centralia, Wash.
DICK CONOVER - Pitcher, 25, in Coast Guard 3½. Married, one child.
JIM HEDGECOCK - Pitcher (L), 24, Marines four years, single, Denver.
LOU JANISEK - Tex pitches, is 26, war flyer hero, married, one child.
BOB SNYDER - Pitcher, 24, army 4 years, married and two cuildren. Home Reno but no divorce.
ALEX PALICA - Pitcher, 19, merchant marine 1½ years, single.
DOUG FORD - Pitcher, 24, navy three years. Married, one child. Home Seattle.
WATTS GULAN - 3b, regular but has been hurt. Is 22, a pepperbox, was in coast guard 3½ years. Married, one child. Home Sedro Woolley.
SID VAN SINDEREN - Outfielder, 22, marines 3 years, slugger. is single. Home Bellingham.
JIM YOUNGMAN - Outfielder, 22, navy 3½ years, single, home Spokane.
DICK ZENDER - Catcher, navy two years, is married, one child, home Bellingham.
Sunday, April 28, 1946
W L Pct GB
Salem ........ 4 0 1.000 —
Spokane ...... 3 1 .750 —
Wenatchee .... 3 1 .750 1
Tacoma ....... 2 1 .666 1½
Bremerton .... 1 2 .333 2½
Victoria ..... 1 3 .250 3
Vancouver .... 1 3 .250 3
Yakima ....... 0 4 .000 4
YAKIMA—Salem took a Western International league doubleheader from Yakima here Sunday, capturing the free-hitting nine-inning opener, 11-10 and the seven inning nightcap, 7-0. Spencer Harris, Yakima manager and left fielder, was banished from the game in the seventh inning of the first game for arguing over a home run ball pulled down on the third base line by Salem's Frank Lucchesi. Harris claimed the ball went foul.
First game:
Salem .......... 102 101 420—11 9 5
Yakima ........ 050 023 000—10 8 5
Adams, Fallin (2) Gerkin (7) and Salmon; Byrd, McHugh (6), Yaylian (6) Kralovich (8) and McConnell.
Second game:
Salem .......... 000 130 3—7 8 0
Yakima ........ 000 000 0—0 3 3
Gunnarson and Daniels; Marshall and Gibbs.
SPOKANE, [Alf Cottrell, Sun Sports Editor, April 29]—The Capilano caravan of performing baseball talent is rolling toward Vancouver this afternoon, looking forward to tomorrow night’s lid-lifter at the home stadium in preference to looking back at the opening series in Spokane against that city’s indifferently-named Indians.
The best the Caps could get was a saw-off in the Sunday double-header, which, coming on the heels of two previous losses, gives the Fifth Avenue club an unglittering .250 mark in the Western International League standing.
The Vancouver entry took a 10-inning hair-curler from the Indians in the afternoon yesterday, 6-5, but they dropped the nightcap in an annoying drizzle of extra base hits and rain, 4-1.
Manager Syl Johnson says he will lead with Ronnie Bryant in tomorrow night’s home unveiling against Spence Harris and his Yakima Stars.
BRYANT FIREMAN
Yesterday afternoon Jim Hedgecock showed much stuff and fair savvy against the Spokes for most of the journey, but Jim was dead short. He tired so fast that a 5-2 lead had all but disappeared, during a bad eighth inning when Ronnie Bryant relieved the tall ex-marine. Ronnie took over as if he owned the Indians, getting them out with dispatch.
In the last of the ninth, after the Caps had threatened mildly, Vic Picetti, the ornery kid who plays first for the Indians, left off with a double. Strategically, the Spokes sacrificed him to third. Manager Johnson elected to have Bryant walk the next Indian hitter, hoping for a double killing to pull the game out of the fire, and he elected correctly.
The light-haired laddies in the tenth were Mullens, who singled and advanced on an infield out, and Indian Jim Estrada. Jim singled in the clutch to drive home Mullens with a run, the ball game and Vancouver’s first 1946 triumph.
SPOKE POWER
The evening encounter was strictly unlively, the [Caps whil]ing away most of the evening by hitting long fly balls into distant outfield gloves.
Bob Snyder, a righthanded fastball pitcher with a penchant for pitching to spots, found more rough spots than smooth ones as Bob Patterson, Picetti, Levi McCormack and Bob James hammered out intermittent blows into unguarded territory.
Vancouver’s only run came in the third, when Kretchmar singled, then scored all the way from first of Bellingham Sid Van Sindern’s rude poke to the base of the fence in left field.
Saturday, the Caps witnessed some weird umpiring, giving them a chance to make with the tonsils in a home plate demonstration de luxe.
Recapituating, which we hope means something other than capitulating, the Caps are beginning to bear a resemblance to a ball club. Kretchmar and Bonnell have a flock of double plays to their credit and could possibly lead the league in that department.
First game:
Vancouver ........ 000 032 000 1—9 8 3
Spokane ........... 020 000 030 0—5 12 3
Hedgecock, Bryant (8) and Zender, Spurgeon; Kinnaman, Bass (6), Wittig (9) and Cole.
Second game:
Vancouver ....... 001 000 000—1 6 0
Spokane .......... 012 000 01x—4 11 2
Snyder and Spurgeon; Powers and Paulson.
WENATCHEE, — The Wenatchee Chiefs piled up eleven runs on nine hits to defeat Victoria Athletics 11 to 7 Sunday night, taking three games of the opening WIL four game series. The Chiefs won 12 to 2 in the afternoon.
First game:
Victoria .............. 000 000 020—2 5 6
Wenatchee ......... 202 232 01x—12 17 1
Blankenship, Al Raimondi (4) and Mulcahy; Penrose and Pesut.
Second game:
Victoria ............. 010 210 003— 7 10 5
Wenatchee ........ 220 050 20x—11 9 3
Bruno, Biale (5) and Mulcahy; Babbitt and Pesut.
BREMERTON—Tacoma took a 2-1 victory over Bremerton here in a game called at the end of the seventh inning because of rain. The second game was postponed.
Hal Jungbluth, just out of the Marines and assigned to Tacoma by the Coast League's Los Angeles Angeles, got the win.
Tacoma ........... 010 100 0—2 4 0
Bremerton ........ 000 000 1—1 3 2
Jungbluth and Kemper; Holt and Volpi.
Yakima Gets Stagg
SEATTLE — Bob "Buttercup" Stagg, young Seattle bullpen catcher, has been optioned to Yakima of the Western International league. Carl Branum, who worked out with Seattle in training camp and who has been with the Vancouver Caps, will return to Seattle as a relief catcher.
Dunham Homeless; Quits
SPOKANE—Spokane Indians second baseman Will Dunham, who played in the series against the Vancouver Capilanos, has quit the Western International League club.
Dunham has complained he cannot find a place to live in Spokane.
By ALF COTTRELL, Sports Editor
[Vancouver Sun, April 29, 1946]
Nibs’ Forced Snarl or Two
SPOKANE—After seeing Vancouver’s 1946 representatives in the house of baseball, the Capilanos, drop their opener Friday night, I was left with a lingering suspicion that they wouldn’t take umbrage if it was handed to them on a platter.
Somehow it seemed out of character for a bunch of boys were (all 19 of them) closely concerned in the late disagreement with the Axis. Spokane’s Indians romped on the Caps Friday night and our boys made as if they like it.
Apparently, it took an umpire, or at least an unreasonable facsimile by the name of Bill Smith, to start them snarling. That was Saturday. Mr. Smith, like Doug Ford, our pitcher for the occasion, was in trouble all night. When Willie finally called Cap catcher Ray Spurgeon out at home after conferring with himself for several seconds, he lit the fire under the Capilanos.
They stormed the home plate like it was Bouganville all over again, surprising even the Spokane fans by their sudden show of interest. Smith got worse as he went along, while Ford improved somewhat, so that when Dick Zender, Al Kretchmar and Earl Silverthorne opened the ninth with successive bingles, the Spokes finall realized that the gun was loaded after all.
Even then the score was 7-2 for the enemy, but Frank Mullens dropped a double out there somewhere, Goose Goslin singled and the scoreboard read 7-6. The Caps literally ran the string to bases loaded and two out. Then Zender, who had started it all, grounded out to wind it up. We had lost, but the Caps had discovered that they could fight.
Sunday afternoon (as I write I have just returned from the Sabbath matinee) the club was a spirited organization. Before the game Sid Van Sinderen boomed one over the fence in left where it said 388 feet, striking a moral blow for our side. Then Lefty Jim Hedgecock of the U.S. Marines took over. The Marine had landed.
Cap Power Should Pop Soon
Jim tired in the eight after a great show, and Ronnie Bryant made an inauspicious debut by erring on a made-to-order double play, but the Caps refused to let the game get away from them.
The tieing run across for Spokane in the ninth and the winning run on.third, silvery Sylvester Johnson ordered Bryant to walk a man to set up a double play, as one was out. The batter rapped to Kretchrnar, the shortstop flipped it to second baseman Art Bonnell, and Art got the ball over to Goose on first for the saver.
“That ain’t got it,” moaned Gosney as he stepped into the dugout wiping perspiration from his forehead. “That’s too close.”
Indian Jim Eatrada was the award winner, however, when he singled to score Mullins from second in the tenth with the winner. His mates almost tore the burly brave apart as he came of the field in their big moment of joy.
That was the first win for silvery Syl and his crew, and it’s a reasonably late conjecture to say that it won't be their last. There is plenty of latent power out there, apparently, in this cleancut gang of youthful war veterans. Bonnell is meeting the ball well, and Mullens, tall husky and rapid of foot, may be up there with the front runners in the batting race.
Clene Ramsey ballooned a knee in breaking up a double play on Saturday night, but the kid hobbled out there to bat in a significant run with a sacrifical fly ball Sunday afternoon. The tipoff on the calibre of the Capilano outfield is that Jim Youngman, a dependable, experienced gardner, is sitting it out on the bench.
Holler-Guy, That’s Watts
The weak spot on this ball club was supposed to be at first base, where Frank “the Goose” Gosney holds forth. However, the Goose has been making, a monkey of the experts. He topped off a consistently brilliant performance to date by making a diving catch of a sharp line drive Sunday afternoon. Even the big Spokane mob gave their palms a beating for that one.
Just how, down in the lobby regular third sacker Walls Gulan, the roughish clown of this otherwise polished collection of ours, was phoning his wife in Sedro Woolley. He was back 50 feet away in a booth, but all over the lobby there were grins as his voice bulged the walls.
“We win one, honey,” he said. “We lose the opener, 5-0, you know, and the umpires rob us in the second. I hurt myself in the first game. Pulls a muscle, but it isn’t much, honey, so don’t worry.”
“The guy’s heart is in the right place,” murmured Mullens sympathetically. “But why does he phone? All he needs to do is go out on the street and talk. She’ll hear him clear to the coast anyway.”
Saturday, April 27, 1946
W L Pct GB
Salem ........ 2 0 1.000 —
Spokane ...... 2 0 1.000 —
Bremerton .... 1 1 .500 1
Tacoma ....... 1 1 .500 1
Victoria ..... 1 1 .500 1
Wenatchee .... 1 1 .500 1
Vancouver .... 0 2 .000 2
Yakima ....... 0 2 .000 2
SPOKANE—The Spokane Indians made it two straight over the Vancouver Capilanos in a Western International League game here as they squeeze out a 7-6 win.
The Indians took an early lead on the strength of a double by Jack Lohrke in the first inning that scored Vic Picetti who was on on an error. The tribe added three more runs in the third and held a 7-2 lead as the Caps came to bat in the ninth.
Dick Zender opened the frame with a single, and advanced to second on Earl Silverthorn's single. Al Kretchmar was safe on an error to load the bags and Dick Zender scored on Cleve Ramsay's long fly ball. Then Mueller singled, scoring Silverthorn and Frank Gosney drove a single into centre to score Kretchmar. Art Bonnell singled to score Mueller and Doug Oliver went in to pitch for Spokane.
Jimmy Estrada promptly fanned but Ray Spurgeon walked to load the bases. Zender then ended the inning and the game by grounding out.
Doug Ford worked the full game for Vancouver, fanning seven but walking an equal number.
Vancouver ........ 100 100 104—6 9 1
Spokane ........... 103 111 00x—7 12 6
Ford, Spurgeon; Hallbourg, Oliver (9) and Cole.
YAKIMA—With Duane Crawford, Salem pinch-hitter, tying the game with a double in the ninth inning, the Senators went on to beat the Yakima Bears 6-4 in a ten-inning Western International League game tonight. Salem trimmed Yakima 12-4 in the opener Friday night.
Yakima's pitching crumpled in the pay-off tenth and Salem got its victory on runs forced in by a walk and a hit baseman after the bases had been loaded by an error and two bases on balls.
Harlond Clift, former major leaguer, playing shortstop for Yakima, opened the scoring with a home run over the left field wall in the first inning.
Salem ............... 012 000 001 2—6 8 0
Yakima ............. 100 000 030 0—4 10 3
Soderberg, Gerkin (9) and Salmon; McHugh, Strait (8), Bohnen (9), Yaylian (10) and McConnell.
BREMERTON—With 17 year old Dick Colombo pitching four-hit ball, Tacoma defeated the Bremerton Bluejackets, 7-3, in the second game of the season for Bremerton in its first year in the Western International league ranks.
Clean-up hitter Chuck Clifford and catcher Dick Kemper led the Tacoma attack. Clifford got a homer and a single in two times up and Kemper rapped out two doubles and a single in four times at the plate.
Tacoma ............ 210 110 020—7 14 3
Bremerton ......... 200 010 000—3 4 0
Colombo and Kemper; Kittle, B. Federmeyer (7) and Volpi.
WENATCHEE—Walt Raimondi's single that stretched into an error to allow two men to score in the first of the fifth gave the Victoria Athletics two runs to break up a tied ball game and defeat the Wenatchee Chiefs 5-3 here. It evened their series at one game apiece.
Bob Jensen went the route on the mound for Victoria, striking out 19 batters, issuing 14 walks and giving up but three hits—a single, double and triple. He also made four wild pitches and hit a batter.
Victoria .............. 200 100 002—5 8 1
Wenatchee ......... 110 000 010—3 3 2
Jensen and Mulcahy; Vivalda, Logg (7) and Fitzgerald, Pesut (3).
Season Opens! Games of April 26, 1946
W L Pct GB
Bremerton .... 1 0 1.000 —
Salem ........ 1 0 1.000 —
Spokane ...... 1 0 1.000 —
Wenatchee .... 1 0 1.000 —
Tacoma ....... 0 1 .000 1
Vancouver .... 0 1 .000 1
Victoria ..... 0 1 .000 1
Yakima ....... 0 1 .000 1
SPOKANE — The Spokane Indians Friday night shut out Vancouver 5-0 behind the two-hit pitching of Milt Cadinha to open their Western International baseball league season.
A crowd of 3,681 watched Bob Paterson open the scoring with a two-run double in the first inning and cheered the Indians in another two-run splurge in the eighth.
Palica and Conover of Vancouver held Spokane to five hits, but four Canadians errors and the visitors' inability to reach scoring territory sealed their fate.
Paterson scored Dunn and Picetti with his double, then sneaked home himself as Vancouver was running down Levi McCormack between first and second.
In the eighth inning, Picetti walked and scored on a third base error. Paterson scored a moment later when Conover fumbled McCormack's infield fly.
Only Ray Spurgeon and Frank Mullins hit for Vancouver. None of the Canadians advanced past second base.
- - - -
SPOKANE, Wash. [Alf Cottrell, Vancouver Sun, Apr. 27]—They say it was Spokane’s turn to win an opening game, and swarthy Milt Cadinha turned that forecast into reality for the Indians by blanking the Vancouver Capilanos, 5-0, in the local Western International League baseball opener here last night.
Opening night is a good time to be right and little Milton was right for this cold and clammy eve. He struck out 13 Caps and allowed but two hits as 4000 win-wacky home fans cheered to the echo, or very close to it.
The Caps bobbled on the first hitter and could never really un-track themselves thereafter, despite a fair pitching job by right-hander Alex Palica during the seven stanzas that he operated.
BIG IN FIRST
The big inning for the Indians and the one that made the Vancouver nine look smaller than the payoff circle in a slot machine was that first one.
Mayor Art Meehan had barely tossed a slow bouncer toward the plate before our Caps had gotten three men out—all of them Caps.
Then Spokane shortstop Bill Dunn advanced to the plate and bounced on along the same general lines as the mayoral pitch, but right at Vancouver shortstop Al Kretchmar. Al raced in, chose to play it on a bad hop and as a result came up with everything but the ball. Youthful Vic Picetti, flashy ex-Oakland first baseman, hit sharply to left for one of those foul line doubles that are in the poorest kind of taste, and Spokane was one up and four to go, as it turned out.
PALICA OKAY
Bob Patterson, six-foot-three centre field[er] for the Indians, then hit a howling single into centre and we were two down as Picetti tallied. Then followed a double steal on which Patterson scored as Levi McCormack, who had walked, was run down at second.
Mr. Palica decided right there that the Indians had had it, as far as he was concerned. In one streak he retired 14 consecutive batters with nary a man reaching first.
Cap manager Sylvester Johnson sent pinch-hitter big Sid Van Sindern in for Palica in the first of the eighth. It cost another couple of runs, apparently, to have Sid strike out that inning, as Dick Conover, who took over for Palica, hit a two-run gob of trouble almost instantly.
GULAN HURT
Prior to that outburst of charity the tiny brigade of Cap rooters on hand always had a feeling our side might overcome the three-run deficit, but that collection of Estrada made the defeat official.
FOUL TIPS—On the credit side, Palica looked great after a jittery start. The jitters weren’t on his part. Estrada, strikingly cool, nonchalantly made a brilliant catch of a foul fly away back and beside the fence. The Caps outfield of Frank Mullins, Earl Silverthorn and Cleve Ramsay all made smooth running catches.
Watts Gulan, bow-legged jumping-jack at third base for the Caps, pulled a muscle in his side first time at bat and had to give way to Estrada.
Silverthorn hit one 380 feet to the foot of the fence in centre field but it was caught, as were bow blows almost as lustily tagged by Mullins and Frank Gosney. All would have been homers in Capilano Stadium up our way.
Manager Johnson will shoot the huge Mr. Doug Ford at the Spokane hitters tonight, and all hands are sort of hoping it’s our turn now.
- - - - -
SPOKANE [Clancy Loranger, Vancouver News Herald, April 27]—Vancouver Capilanos got their “nervous [unreadable]” out of their system here last night. Looking somewhat less than world beaters, Sylvester Johnson’s hirelings didn’t hit, didn’t field, and didn’t win their Western International League opener with the Spokane Indians at Ferris Field.
They went down to the Tribe, 5-0.
Close to 4000, which is slightly below the pre-game estimate of 10,000, saw the inaugural but a city bus strike and the cold took a heavy toll.
GET BAD START
The Caps just didn’t have it at the dish, right hander Milt Cadinha cutting them down with two singles and 13 strike-outs. Only once, the third inning when catcher Ray Spurgeon got the first Vancouver blow, did our Caps come close to scoring—and then they weren’t even too close.
A walk sent Spurgeon to second but after the next two batters had whiffed the Canadian catcher was nipped trying to steal third.
Alex Palica, Vancouver’s starting hurler, was pushed to a ticklish start when shortstop Al Kretchmar muffed a grounder that Bill Dunn, the first Spokane batter, banged at him.
Vic Picetti, the Oakland first-base chattel Spokane has apparently decided to keep, crossed the Caps up by left-handing one to left field then going to second and Picetti taking second on the throw.
PALICA HITS STRIDE
Big Bob Paterson, who has the tough job of taking over in centre field where Dwight Aden was so popular here for years, made the folks forget Aden momentarily by powering one to left centre for two sacks and a run.
A walk and a fielder’s choice put Patterson on third and he scored run number three while Chief Levi McCormack was being chased down between second and third after attempting a steal.
After that inning, Palica hit the stride that won him 10 games in the Coast League last summer. The next 14 Spokane batters went out in order and Alex gave up just one more safety before retiring for a pinch-hitter in the eighth.
Southpaw Dick Conover took over on the Vancouver mound in the eighth, but he was wild. He walked three and the three passes combined with two blows and another Cap miscue sent two more runs across and sawed up the ball game.
Cuff Notes—Hefty Doug Ford is Manager Johnson’s choice to do the tossing in tonight’s second game with lefty Jim Hedgecock likely taking one of the Sunday assignments . . . first casualty of the season is Watts Gulan, sparkplug third sacker . . . Watts swung too hard at a Cadinha offering in the first inning and tore a muscle in his back . . . Jimmy Estrada took over the hot corner . . . the Vancouver fielding, which was supposed to be the strong point, was mostly un-good . . . Art Bonnell dropped a blooper. Spurgeon tossed one into the dirt at second and Estrada whiffed on a Conover throw to third . . . Besides Frank Mullens, who got the second Vancouver hit, Cleve Ramsay looked good at the platter, he didn’t hit safely in four tries, but he seemed to be at home with a bat in his hands . . . Owner Sam Collins of Spokane missed the opener . . . he’s hospitalised with a bad leg . . . Also among the missing . . Glenn Wright, who was deposed as manager in a surprise move Thursday.
Vancouver .... 000 000 000—0 2 4
Spokane ....... 300 000 02x—5 5 0
Palica, Conover (8) and Spurgeon; Cadinha and Cole.
BREMERTON — Bremerton made its bow as a professional baseball league city in promising fashion, defeating Tacoma 5 to 1 before a crowd of 2,700.
Clarence "Beak" Federmeyer tossed the inaugural night victory, giving up seven scatterd hits, while Bremerton collected nine blows off four Tacoma flingers.
Tacoma ....... 100 000 100—2 7 3
Bremerton .... 000 210 02x—5 9 0
Martin, Youngblood (6), Jiminick (7), Dupuis (8) and Kemper, Kuper (7); C. Federmeyer and Volpi.
WENATCHEE — Fred Harrington, Wenatchee shortstop, poled a long single into center field to score two runs in the last of the ninth and give the Wenatchee Chiefs a 4 to 3 victory over Victoria.
2,500 fans braved the cold, windy weather for the inaugural, which featured the opening pitch delivered by Elsi Beth Halvorsenn, queen of the Apple Blossom Festival.
Wenatchee took a one-run lead in the sixth but Ed Murphy homered for Victoria in the eighth to tie the score and his long single in the first of the ninth scored two runs to put the Athletics ahead. Two Wenatchee singles and an error put three men on base to set the stage for Harrington's game winning single in the last of the ninth.
Victoria .......... 000 000 012—3 6 2
Wenatchee ..... 000 001 012—4 9 2
Ferrera and Mulcahy, Cronin, Babbitt (9) and Fitzgerald.
YAKIMA—Salem Senators scored six runs in the first two innings in blasting starting pitcher Joe Kralovich from the mound and coasting to a 12-4 victory over the Yakima Stars Friday night before an overflow crowd of 4,100 chilled fans who had gathered to see the resumption of Western International League baseball after a five-year lapse.
George Vico, Senator first baseman, hit four singles and drove in six of the visitors’ runs. Frank Luccesi, leading for Yakima, had three singles which brought in three runs.
Former Washington Senator Harlond Clift went hitless.
Salem ....... 240 040 002—12 12 4
Yakima ...... 000 000 022—4 8 4
Kowalski and Salmon; Kralovich, Bohnen (2), Strait (6), Ward (9) and McConnell.
Cox No Star in Yakima
YAKIMA [TSN] Yakima received a severe blow just before the opening, when the club was informed that optioning of Carl Cox, slugging shortstop from Hollywood of the Pacific Coast League, has been cancelled by President W.G. Bramhan of the National Assication on the ground he had been out on option three previous times ... President Fred Mercy then tried to buy Cox outright, but Hollywood refused to sell.
[WILfan note: Cox only appeared in nine games with Hollywood in 1946 and played no other baseball. He was with Hollywood again in '47 and part of '48, when he was sent Buffalo and finished his playing career.]
1946 WIL Season Ready
WI League Starts Tonight
Vancouver at Spokane.
Victoria at Wenatchee.
Tacoma at Bremerton.
Salem at Yakima.
Weather permitting, they'll unveil all eight entries in the 1946 Western International league baseball pennant chase Friday night.
It marks renewal of league competition for the first time since 1942, when four clubs toughed it but then racked their bats for the duration.
Bremerton makes its debut in professional baseball by taking on the Tacoma Tigers before the navy yard home folks. Victoria returns to the diamond wars for the first time since 1921 by ushering in Wenatchee's home season. Yakima will be watching its first baseball since 1941 when the Stars entertain Salem. Spokane looks for a bumper crowd while hosting for Vancouver.
First night batteries as nominated by the managers:
Tony Ferrara and Les Mulcahy for Victoria; Chuck Cronin and Ed Fitzgerald for Wenatchee.
Warren Martin and Dick Kemper for Tacoma; Clarence Federmeyer and Frank Volpi for Bremerton.
Ed Kowalski and Woody Salmon for Salem; Kralovich and Hugh McConnell for Yakima.
Palica, Ford or Snyder and Spurgeon for Vancouver; Kinnamon, Prosser, or Cadinha and Cole for Spokane.
Friday, April 26, 1946
SPOKANE — The Spokane Indians Thursday night announced the release of Manager Glen Wright on eve of their opening game of the Western International baseball league season.
Sam W. Collins, club owner, said Mel Cole, 25-year-old catcher, had been named temporary manager for the team.
In a statement released from a hospital where he underwent a major operation 10 days ago, Collins said the change was made because of Wright’s illness “and was for the best interests of baseball in Spokane.”
Friday, April 26, 1946