Saturday, August 7, 1954

                 W  L  Pct GB
Lewiston ...... 23 11 .676 —
Yakima ........ 20 13 .606 2½
Vancouver ..... 17 15 .531 5
Edmonton ...... 16 17 .485 6½
Salem ......... 15 16 .484 6½
Tri-City ...... 15 19 .441 8
Wenatchee ..... 10 24 .294 13

YAKIMA, Aug. 7—Ted Edmunds pitched one ball Saturday night to end an Edmonton scoring threat and save a 7-5 victory for Yakima in their Western International League baseball game.
Edmunds relieved Danny Rios, who had a shutout going entering the ninth, fired one ball at Augie Amorena who flied out to end the game.
Rlos had given up only five hits entering the fatal ninth. He retired the first man up, then the root collapsed. Three Eskimos crossed the plate before he got another man out and two more tallies were added before Edmunds came into to take over.
Edmonton scoring was on four singles, a walk, a hit batsman and two Yakima errors.
Yakima collected 9 hits, including five doubles and a triple, off the combined offerings of Jack Widner and Art Worth.
Edmonton ..... 000 000 005—5 8 1
Yakima ......... 200 002 03x—7 9 2
Widner, Worth (9) and Partee; Rios, Edmunds (9) and Summers.

WENATCHEE [Tri-City Herald, Aug. 8]—Herman Besse missed a no-hitter by the margin of Pumpsie Green's sixth inning single Saturday night as Tri-City cut down Wenatchee 3-1 in their Western International League baseball meeting.
Only five men reached first against Besse, four on walks and one on an error.
In the sixth, Green singled to right field, moved up when Besse walked Tony Rivas, took third on a flyout and came home on an infield out.
Tri-City scored three runs in the first inning on a pair of walks, three singles and a wild pitch by Charley Oubre, and added two in the third on Rube Johnson's double after Oubre had given up two more singles.
The Braves and the Chiefs will play a single game today. Then Tri-City returns to Sanders Field for the opening of a four-game series with the power-laden Vancouver Capilanoes.
Both Tri-City and Vancouver, however, may be a little short of playing talent. The Caps have sent four players — Dick Greco, and Bud Beasley — to play on the Bob Abel "all-stars" at Edmonton.
Tri-City has but two on the "all stars" - Artie Wilson and Dale Thomason. However, the Tri-City lineup is plagued in varying amounts by injuries and illness.
Vic Buccola, who was hurt before making the road trip, and re-injured in the grappling match with Lewiston, is still out of the lineup. Jack Warren has been having trouble with his knee. Bob Moniz with his shoulder, and several, including pitcher Herm Hesse, have had internal ailments.
Tri-City .......... 302 000 000—5 11 1
Wenatchee ..... 000 001 000—1  1 0
Besse and Johnson; Oubre and Self.

VANCOUVER [Clancy Loranger, Province, Aug. 9]—Vancouver Capilanos, looking once again like the Caps the opposition loved to hate, are off in pursuit of the WIL’s current front runner, Lewiston Broncs.
They hope to have the Broncs roped and broken by the middle of next week. The Caps visit in Tri-City and Wenatchee this week, and if they just have a stand like the one just completed at home, they should be camping right in the back yard of the Lewiston team come Aug. 16,when the two teams clash in a three-game series at Lewiston.
The Caps made it six out of seven last week when they edged Salem 4-3 at Cap Stadium to sweep the three game series. General manager Bill Brenner was once again the big noise, not only pitching a six-hitter for his 17th win against six losses, but also batting a sacrifice fly and a home run for two runs.
Bill drove in the first one with a line drive to left in the third inning, and came through with the winning run in the fifth, pounding one over the left field wall with nobody on to beat ex-Cap pitcher Bill Franks.
[Marv Williams doubled in Brenner and came home on Bob Wellman’s single in the three-run third. Brenner’s single came after Nick Pesut tripled … Brenner was a perfect two-for-two, as he had a single … Salem scored two in the third, with Mel Krause tripling two runs after a pair of walks. They got the other in the top of the fifth when Franks singled, went to second on a walk, moved to third on Bob Kellogg's single and scored on Gene Tanselli’s sacrifice fly].
Salem ............ 002 010 000—3 6 0
Vancouver ...... 003 010 00x—4 9 2
Franks and D. Luby; Brenner and Pesut.

Matheson Says Six–Team All-U.S. League Certain Next Season
[Tri-City Herald, August 8, 1954]
The Western International league, beset with financial troubles year in and year out, will undoubtedly lose the “International” in its name next season, Harold Matheson, president of the Tri-City Athletic association said Saturday.
Matheson, returned from the Seattle meeting of the league directors which dealt with the Victoria collapse, said a cut to six closely knit U. S. teams will be one of the recommendations the committee of which he is a member will make to the directors at meetings this October.
Matheson said the two remaining Canadian entries — Vancouver and Edmonton — will drop out on their own.
“With Vancouver next year, it will be coast league or nothing,” Matheson said. “The club is crowding the $200,000-loss mark.
“At Edmonton, John Ducey has made up his mind to go for that all-Canadian league and figures it is a matter of just hanging on this year.”
Matheson also revealed some of the details of what the committee will propose for next year’s operation.
The other members of the committee are Bob Brown, former WIL president, and Hugh Luby, general manager of the Salem Senators.
“We will suggest cutting the number of veterans in the league to six or eight,” he said, “and a salary limit of $5,400 a month for 16 players.”
The present WIL limit is $6,300 a month for 17 players. However, bonuses paid free agents are not figured within that limit .This enables some wealthier clubs to sign high-priced ex-Coast Leaguer’s for low salaries with the difference made up in high bonuses, and thereby stay within the limit.
Matheson said, “one proposal that might work is this. A team may pay a $200 bonus which will not count, within the salary limit. However, any bonus paid amounting to more will count against the limit, except for the $200.
The proposed all-U.S. six-team league will probably consist of the present five U.S. components — Tri-City, Yakima, Lewiston, Wenatchee, and Salem — plus possibly Spokane, or Eugene. Ore., or Tacoma.
Matheson told the details of the league meeting and the series of events leading up to the forming of the weird “All-star” team which will play Edmonton and Lewiston this week.
He also said that the league came very close to folding right at the beginning of the meeting.
After the directors gathered around, the Vancouver group proposed that the league fold, Matheson said. “But I said no. we wanted to finish the season if we could.”
“Vancouver then said if everyone else wants to continue, we will, too.”
“The big problem was Edmonton,” Matheson said. “Victoria was scheduled to play a week-long series there and with Victoria out of the league, that left only Salem and Lewiston coming in.
“Edmonton has dropped $35,000 this year and has been three weeks on the road.
“So we suggested to Ducey that the logical thing is for you to drop out. Well, Ducey called his partners and they said no, we don’t want to drop out. They felt they had a shot to win the second half and they were drawing good at home.
“Finally Bruce Williams of Salem said he would like to see Tri-City go there for a week-long series. But that would have meant we would lose the Vancouver and Wenatchee series at home and I told them nothing doing. If we made the trip, then we might as well quit.
“Then Williams proposed the all-star team.”
The deal, Matheson explained, is this: Each team pays its own players’ salaries. Each team is obligated to send them to Lewiston for one game Sunday (today).
The provision for having the Lewiston game was made because Lewiston had made the trip to Victoria and Victoria folded with Lewiston getting nothing back.
“After the Lewiston game, Edmonton foots the bill to take the players to Edmonton. After the series at Edmonton, they pay to send the players back to Spokane and each club pays to bring its own players home from there,” Matheson said.
He said Edmonton will also pay meal money and hotel bills. “It will cost them nearly $2,000,” he said. “but they figure they will lose less that way than by being idle for a week.”
Matheson said Lewiston pitchers will not be used against Lewiston and Edmonton pitchers will not be used against Edmonton.
Finally, he said, it came around to the point of naming an all-star team. “No one had an extra first baseman,” Matheson said, “and Artie Wilson had been playing a pretty good first for us. I figured Vic Buccola would be back in the lineup so I offered Wilson. Since we had an extra pitcher, I offered Dale Thomason.”
He said under the rules, if a team’s player fails to report for the “All-star” lineup, then league president Bob Abel can select any player he wants from that team.

Payroll Has G.M. Worried
[Tri-City Herald, August 8, 1954]
Tri-City general manager Eddie Taylor is worried aplenty now about making the Sept. 1 payroll for the Tri-City Braves.
Taylor points out that during the final half of August, the Braves have but “half” playing date at home with Lewiston plus three playing dates with Salem.
The half date comes in there because it is an exception to the home-and-home gate rule. The gate will be split with the Broncs. Tri-City loses two August and one September home playing dates because of the Victoria folderoo.
This is partially offset by the $600 in travel costs that will be saved because it will not be necessary for the team to go to Victoria Aug. 16-18.
However, the Tri-City club operates on such a tight budget that even the loss of one or two playing dates at home puts it in a precarious position.

Tuesday, June 29, 1954

                W  L  Pct GB
Vancouver .... 38 20 .655 —
Yakima ....... 36 28 .563 5
Edmonton ..... 27 26 .509 8½
Lewiston ..... 30 31 .492 9½
Tri-City ..... 31 33 .484 10
Victoria ..... 27 33 .450 12
Wenatchee .... 29 36 .446 12½
Salem ........ 29 37 .439 13

VANCOUVER [Clancy Loranger, June 30]—There’s a tradition in the major leagues that the teams in first pace on July 4 are supposed to win the pennants. In the Western International League, it’s more than a tradition—it’s a fact, for the league schedule of course is divided into two halves.
Vancouver Capilanos, in case you hadn’t heard, are favored to be the recipients when they hand out the first half crown next week. They could be kings before then, depending on the manner in which they handle their lone rivals for the title, Yakima Bears, in an all-important five-game series starting here Thursday.
PLAY FAIR
There are two games on the holiday, 2:30 and 8:15, with George Nicholas and Pete Hernandez chosen to get the Caps off on the right foot. There’s another doubleheader Friday, at 7 p.m., and a single game Saturday, by which time the locals could have the championship all neatly tied up.
Vancouver finishes its first half schedule with two doubleheaders in Salem July 4 and 5. And there’s still a matter of the third game in the current series with Hugh Luby’s Senators, which winds up tonight, with Bob Roberts pitching for the Caps.
This three-game set is all square, Bill Brenner evening it up last night with another of his fine pitching performances. Bill allowed just eight hits, all singles, and didn’t walk a man as he became the second 10-hgame winner on the staff. Nicholas is the other.
BIG FIFTH
The Caps won it with a four-run uprising in the fifth on three hits and three walks, two of them intentional.
PROVINCE STARS—Arnie Hallgren, back in action again, with a double that bounced off the left field wall … Bill Brenner, who actually didn’t have his best stuff operating ... and Salem’s Ernie Domenichelli, who allowed just seven hits.
Salem ........... 000 100 000—1 8 1
Vancouver ..... 100 040 00x—5 7 2
Domenichelli and Luby; Brenner and Pesut.

VICTORIA [Jim Tang, Colonist, June 30]—Neither club even had a mathematical chance for first-half honors in the WIL, but Lewiston Broncs, played as if they were in the seventh game of the World Series at Royal Athletic Park last night.
What came out wasn’t too much in the way of baseball but it took three hours and 34 minutes before the Tyees conceded defeat in the 10th inning, 18-14, in a wild and woolly affair in which the Tyees forced a 10th inning by scoring six runs in the ninth after the second out had been made.
PRIES HARD LOSER
Victoria-manager Don Pries, a hard loser, tried everything to win this one. He used six pitchers as pitchers and a seventh as a pinch-hitter while tossing 16 men into the affray. But he came out on the bottom as he could find nobody on the mound staff who could stop the Broncs.
The six Victoria pitchers gave up a combined total of 15 bases on balls, 16 singles, two home runs, a triples and a double, yet the Tyees lost it by the margin of about two feet in the wild ninth.
Victoria grabbed a 4-1 lead off veteran Guy Fletcher in the early innings but Bill Prior, who pitched two fine innings, couldn’t get past the fifth when the Broncs scored four times to take a 6-4.
Mike Kanshin gave it a whirl until the Victoria eighth and by that time, the Lewistons had a 9-5 margin.
FUN STARTS
Then the fun started, just in time to save what had been a drab sort of affair. Eddie Lake walked and Don Lundberg hit one out of the park to make it 9-7. Mel Stein doubled, went to third as Pries came though with a pinch single for the second night in a row, and scored on an error.
John Tierney, however, couldn’t get untracked in the ninth as he went in to keep the Tyees close. Before Bob Drilling got the last man out, the Broncs had five more runs an apparently safe 14-8 lead.
But southpaw Jack Martin, who relieved Fletcher in the eighth, ran into some tough luck in the Victoria ninth. He got Tom Perez and Stein out around walks to Lake and Lundberg. Then Bill Bottler came up to hit for Drilling. He couldn’t do a thing with Martin but he picked the right time to swing at a third strike. The ball got away from catcher Clint Cameron, who made a bad toss to first base.
JACKSON TRIPLES
That loaded the bags. Jackson tripled to score three; Elmer Clow, who replaced Steve Mesner at third base, singled to score Jackson and Dain Clay picked on a 3-1 pitch for Victoria’s third home run and it was all tied up at 14-14.
Neil Sheridan hit one which appeared on its way out of the park. But it hit about two feet from the top of the fence and he died on second base with a double and the Broncs got another chance.
Joe Nicholas became the fifth Victoria pitcher in the 10th. He promptly walked Martin and Nick Cannuli sacrificed. Al Heist was given an intentional base on balls and southpaw Joe [sic] Page was brought in to pitch to the lefthanded-hitting Bob Williams.
STRIKE ZONE MISSING
Page couldn’t find the strike zone. He walked Williams, then Eddie Bockman, to force in the go-ahead run. Don Hunter followed with the only hit of the inning for the second run and Russ Rosburg and Cameron were walked to force in two more before Page ended with a flourish by striking out Mel Wasley and Martin.
That was enough for the Tyees, who went down in order in their half.
The two clubs complete their series tonight. Al Yaylian looms as the probable Lewiston choice. Pries will have to pick from one of the six who worked last night or use Berlyn Hodges, Bottler or Hal Flinn.
Lewiston ...... 001 141 115 4—18 20 3
Victoria ........ 121 010 036 0—14 16 0
Fletcher, Martin (8) and Cameron; Prior, Kanshin (5), Tierney (8), Drilling (9), Nicholas (10), Page (10) and Lundberg.

EDMONTON [Tri-City Herald, June 30]—Playing manager Edo Vanni, with his team riding high on a six-game winning streak, will probably start Dale Bloom against the Edmonton Eskimoes [sic] tonight in the second game of the series there.
The Braves won the opener 9-1 with Don Robertson on the mound. The Lewiston Broncs also won Tuesday night to retain a narrow half-game lead over Tri-City for fourth-place in the League standings.
Thursday Tri-City and Edmonton will play a split doubleheader and Friday they will play a single game. Then Tri-City will return home for the two twin-bills Sunday and Monday.
Robertson, righthander who can give up hits by the bushel and few runs, won his ninth against three losses in the Edmonton opener.
Robertson gave up 11 base blows, four of them doubles, but Edmonton could get but one lone run in the 4th inning. Aiding in the cut-down run production was Robertson’s stinginess with bases on balls. He walked but two. Also helping was Tri-City’s errorless defensive play plus three double plays.
The lone Edmonton run tied the game at that point. Tri-City had scored once in the top of the fourth on three hits.
Things then sailed smoothly for both teams until Tri-City caved the roof in the top of the seventh. When it was over, the Braves batted through the order and halfway down again. Terry Carroll, the leadoff man, picked up two singles and three runs-batted-in.
Altogether, Tri-City got six singles and three walks. Edmonton starter John Conant was driven from the mound and reliefer Charlie LeBrun suffered a similar fate. Jack Widner came in and finally put down the uprising.
Tri-City got a game total of 12 base hits and there wasn’t an extra-base one in the lot.
Tri-City ........ 000 100 800—9 12 0
Edmonton ..... 000 100 000—1 11 2
Robertson and Warren; Conant, LeBrun (7), Widner (7) and Prentice.

EPHRATA, Wash., June 29 — Yakima kept even with Vancouver in its dying battle for a share in first-half Western International League honors with a 7-3 win over Wenatchee
in a baseball game played here Tuesday evening.
Yakima ............ 000 221 101—7 15 0
Wenatchee ...... 001 011 000—3 15 0
Young, Schaening (6) and Summers; Oubre and Helmuth.

Club Not Broke But Needs Fans
[Tri City Herald, June 30, 1954]
A group of Tri-City Athletic Association stockholders meeting at the Desert Inn in Richland Tuesday night heard the ball club isn’t broke yet. Tri-City Braves are pretty certain to finish the season, but attendance will have to hold up or increase to avoid red ink before the year is out.
Reporting on the situation was Harold Matheson, president of the association.
Matheson gave a financial run down on “accounts receivable” and money owned and Tri-City has something under $1,000 in the till. However, this can not be construed as profit for the first half since the cost of operating the club, running to some $130,000 a year, goes on and on.
The group of stockholders, after question-and-answer sessions, took two actions designed to increase attendance at Sanders Field:
1. Voted that all children under 12 accompanied by an adult will be admitted free.
2. Appointed a committee headed by Ray Mussleman and W.R. Willits to promote the team among those Tri-Citians who have not been turning out to games.
In less official action, Braves booster tickets were taken by many stockholders to sell in the Tri-Cities and those present were asked to urge neighbors, acquaintances and friends to turn out to the games.
Mussleman’s appointment to the committee came after he stated bluntly, “We have to sell baseball to the area.”
He proposed that an introductory letter be sent out to Tri-Citians selected at random. The letter would contain two tickets, which along with one dollar, would admit two adults.
The letter idea met with a warm reception from the board and the plan will be followed through.
In somewhat of a surprise move, general manager Eddie Taylor offered to cut himself from the payroll if the stockholders felt it would save the club money. However, the offer was quickly rejected by both the board and the stockholders present and after the meeting both Taylor and the board were given a vote of confidence.
In the informal session, several topics ranging from the sale of Des Charouhas to the future of the league were discussed.
Matheson said he was as much responsible for Charouhas’ sale as anyone. “We had five outfielders,” he said, “and I told Taylor and playing manager Edo Vanni to cut one.”
He pointed out Charouhas had a fair-sized salary and “We were able to get some money by selling him. We did net know at the time how popular he was.”
Matheson said a Tri-City Herald quote that Charouhas would he released had he not been sold was in error. The quote came from Taylor.
Matheson told of getting several chances to sign players now with other teams in the league. In almost all of the cases, the salaries and bonuses demanded were higher than the limit set by the association before the season started.
Matheson predicted that two of the present clubs would have trouble finishing the season and it was his personal opinion that the WIL would soon be down to a six-team league.
He said he and Hugh Luby, Salem general manager, and Bob Brown, former league president, are on a league committee which is “studying the cost of operation of a Class A league.”
Matheson said no recommendations are officially set but it looks as if the committee will ask a veteran limit and a reduction in the number of teams with its subsequent cut in travel costs.

MORNING LINE
BY JIM GILMOUR
[[Vancouver News-Herald, June 30, 1954]
Brenner Picks Up the Challenge
The time was 1952, and the place was Lewiston, The fellow wearing the grumpy face was “Sweet Willy-am” Brenner, manager of the local WIL team.
And Brenner had excellent cause for wishing he was back home in Clarkston, Washington. It was the night before his club’s season opener, and Bill, catcher-manager for the Broncs, was fresh out of pitchers.
“Why not go in there yourself,” piped outfielder Charlie Mead, at the same time failing to hide a wry grin. “Sure, Bill, we’ll give you lots of support,” bravely added first baseman Butch Moran.
The rest of the story you’ll find in the WIL record books.
Disdainfully casting aside his mask and pads, Bill went out and knuckleballed Tri-City into a 4-2 defeat. Before the season finished, Bill’s knuckle—they call it a googly ball in cricket—won 21 games, tops in the league.
The next season, Bill ran up 22 victories and is safely on the way to winning another 20 for the Caps this year.
It’s Winds That Does It, He Says
Actually, Brenner entered pro ranks as a pitcher after graduating from Olympic high school in 1939. He was signed by Hollywood of the Coast League, and the Stars shipped him to Bellingham of the WIL, where Ken Penner converted him into a catcher.
“I used to have my knuckler event then,” claims Bill,”but my best pitch was a fast ball, honest.”
Asked to elaborate on his knuckler, Bill advised that wind is the key factor. “When the ball leaves my hand, it’s on its own. The wind currents make it jump. If the wind is behind me, I haven’t got a thing. Bt if it’s against me, I’m fine,” he explained.

Sports Notes
BY GIL GILMORE
[Tri-City Herald, June 30, 1954]
What big strapping bruiser is the “iron man” of the Western International League?
Oddly, my nomination will be Vic Buccola, a guy who is.built on such slim lines that his teammates frequently rib him about walking around on “birdlegs.”
So far this season, Vic has played every inning of every game. That, coupled with his last season when he played every inning of every game runs the known total to 200 even. Actually, the figure is higher than that since there was another string of consecutive games back in 1952.
He missed seven that year, the last one coming in late August.
Vic was the only Tri-City player to play every inning of every game last year. Terry Carrol had a hand in every came but some of them were in pinchhitting or pinchrunning roles.
And this season Vic Is the only Tri-City player who stands a chance of playing in every game. All the others have missed one for one reason or another.
Each time Vic plays in another game, he sets a league record. Counting the opener at Edmonton, Vic’s total Western International League games played now is 1,155.
There is no indication it will end soon. First of all, what manager would bench a guy even for one game when he is hitting .350 and is the best defensive first-baseman in the league? And Vic will play the game but he isn’t going to throw his 155 pounds around and get hurt if he can avoid it.
Vic knows that an injured player doesn’t do him or his team any good and personally dislikes exhibition games because of the possibility he or another good player on the team might be injured.
* * *
He Has Average Of .294
The one thing that will end Vic’s playing career, maybe is a steady-paying job in something else.
“I’d quit baseball tomorrow if I could make as much at something else,” Vic said awhile back.
Vic’s WIL playing career started back in 1941 when he played 23 games at Spokane. He was in the Pacific Coast league through part of 1946, 1947 and 1948 plus a few weeks at Atlanta in the Southern Association in 1947.
The rest of the time since then he has been in the Willy league. He came to Tri-City from Victoria in 1950 and has been here ever since.
During all those years, Vic has compiled an over-all WIL batting average of .294. He has led the league defensively in 1948, 1949, 1951 and 1953. This year he is threatening to have his best season at the plate in all the years he has played professional baseball. Right now he is hitting over .300 and if the average keeps up there, it will surpass his previous high of .320 hit in 1949 at Victoria.
Every once in a while, there is talk of special nights for various players. Here, if anyone, is the guy among the Braves who probably deserves a special night, not just because he is playing good this season, but because of his long service in the league.
* * *
Beanie’s Average Falls
For the first time since joining the Braves, Jack Warren’s batting average fell below the .300 mark last week. The league batting champion had a .295 at one time.
Beanie, of course, is well aware his hitting percentage is way down, but takes the philosophical view, “That maybe I am slumpin’ off early and will come in strong toward the end.”
Warren also contends that the sacrifice fly rule hurls more than helps this year. “Used to be a man would go to the plate with a runner on third and go for a hit. Now you try to hit a fly ball to the outfield and score that runner without costing anything. So what happens? You get up there and bounce out.”
Wouldn’t it be easier to forget about trying to score that runner from third by means of a sacrifice and step up there like you intended to hit the ball?
“Yeah, if you can do it. But always you try for a fly ball for the outfield,” he replied as if the temptation were too strong.
Personal observation indicates there are other reasons why Jack is low in batting percentages compared with last season. First of all, pitchers know him and aren’t going to throw him anything good. The result is he has to go for more bad ones than he ordinarily would in order to hit at all.
* * *
Special Folding Section
So many minor league teams and leagues are folding nowadays that the Sporting News devotes a full page to them about every issue. Besides, the headline “Spokane, Calgary Quit; WI CUT to Eight Clubs,” there are “Tar Heel Loop Collapses When Shelby Club Folds,” and “Iola Taken over by League, St. Joseph Club Staggering.”
That Tar Heel Loop story is an interesting one.
“The Tar Heel league was formed in 1953 with ten teams,” the story said. "It was reorganized as a four-team circuit this spring.”
There is something about it that sounds familiar. So far the WIL isn’t down to four but there is a strong possibility it will be down to six before the second half begins. Oddly, two of the clubs that talked as if everything was smooth sailing at the Spokane meeting are the ones that are again having trouble.

Saturday, May 29, 1954

               W  L  Pct GB
Vancouver ... 22 11 .667 —
Yakima ...... 17 13 .567 3½
Edmonton .... 15 12 .556 4
Victoria .... 17 15 .532 4½
Wenatchee ... 15 15 .500 5½
Tri-City .... 15 17 .469 6½
Lewiston .... 14 17 .452 7
Spokane ..... 14 17 .452 7
Salem ....... 14 18 .438 7½
Calgary ..... 10 18 .357 9½

VANCOUVER [Sun, May 31]—Vancouver’s league-leading Caps will be away from home for the next ten days during which they hope to put nothing but more daylight between themselves and the rest of the Western International Baseball League pack.
Caps increased their lead to three-and-a-half games over second-place Yakima Bears, winning both ends of a doubleheader from Calgary Stampeders 6-2 and 6-0 before more than 5100 fans Saturday.
It was a lively afternoon as George Nicholas picked up his sixth win and general manager Bill Brown and catcher Bob Duretto were tossed out of the game by umpire Mike Runyan.
OPINIONS DIFFERED
Brenner was ejected in the fourth inning for arguing too strenuously when Runyan called Duretto out at the plate. Bob followed the boss to the showers when the umpire claimed he was throwing dirt on him. Duretto, however, claims he was merely brushing the dirt off his pants.
Caps and Nicholas won the game in the fourth inning after two were out. Third man up, Kenny Richardson, walked. Bob Wellman exploded a triple and Arnie Hallgren followed with a double for two runs. Duretto walked, then Nicholas singled through the middle for the winning run.
Brenner gave Caps a clean-sweep of the four-game series, pitching a neat seven-hitter at night. It was Bill’s fifth win of the season and lowered his league-leading earned run average to 1.39.
ANOTHER BIG ONE
Once again, it was the fourth inning that paid off for Vancouver. Marv Williams opened with a double to right, Dick Greco walked and Richardson singled through the box for one run. Wellman and Hallgren followed with singles and when the smoke cleared, Caps had four runs.
Vancouver’s last two runs came in the seventh, when Hallgren smashed a high drive to right field. Calgary’s Chuck Lundgren lost the ball in the lights and Arnie wound up on third. Brenner exploded a one-bounce triple off the centre-field wall for one, then Jimmy Clark hit a sacrifice fly for the final run.
Hallgren saved the boss’ shutout in the second inning when Lundgren, who had singled, tried to score on Bill Stites’ single to left. However, that rifle-right arm of Arnie’s easily beat Lundgren to the plate.
First Game
Calgary ........ 000 020 000—2 7 1
Vancouver ... 000 320 01x—6 9 1
Schulte and Lillard; Nicholas and Duretto, Pesut (5).
Second Game
Calgary ........ 000 000 000—0 7 0
Vancouver ... 000 400 20x—6 8 0
Stites, Levinson (8) and Luby; Brenner and Pesut.

VICTORIA [Jim Tang, Colonist, May 30]—Victoria Tyees ended their 11-game home stand at Royal Athletic Park last night with their fifth victory when a two-out blooper double from the bat of Dain Clay in the eighth inning scored the tying and winning runs in a 3-2 conquest of the Edmonton Eskimos.
Victory gave the Tyees a split in the four-game series in which they faced what is probably the best pitching staff in the WIL. The Victoria club won a 14-inning thriller Thursday, 4-3, lost Friday, 9-6, and again yesterday afternoon, 6-1.
AT CALGARY MONDAY
The club takes to the air Monday morning for a 10-day road trip which opens in Calgary Monday night. They play the Stamps in single games Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, move up to Edmonton for single games Friday and Sunday, and a double header Saturday, and then bus to Spokane to meet the Indians Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
Tyees couldn’t get to Ray McNulty in the afternoon game yesterday. They scored in the first inning on a walk, fielder’s choice and a single by Tom Perez. But they could never get more than one man on base in any inning after that as McNulty scattered five hits over as many innings for an easy win.
CREDITABLE EFFORT
Bill Prior turned in a creditable effort in a losing cause and but for some faulty support the result might have been different. Errors gave the Esks the tying and go-ahead runs and they clinched it with two home runs, which scored three runs, in the seventh inning.
The four-base smashes, by third baseman Don Gigli and McNulty, were the 21st and 22nd off Victoria pitching in 10 games.
DEFENSIVE GEM
Defensive feature of this game was a great play at second base by Steve Mesner, who went behind the bag for what appeared to be a certain hit and scooped it to Eddie Lake, who turned it into a double play to help hold second-inning run-making to one tally.
Southpaw Berlyn Hodges got his second starting assignment in the night game and came up with a sterling effort before being taken out for a pinch-hitter in the Victoria seventh.
Hodges, matching pitch for pitch with the hard-throwing Ken Kimball, held the Eskimos scoreless for five innings to protect [the] one-run lead his mates gave him in the first inning. But an easy fly to right field was lost in the lights for a double in the sixth and a bases on balls and a second double gave Edmonton two runs.
PRIES GAMBLED
Tyees threatened in the seventh and managed Don Pries gambled by taking Hodges, who had struck out eight, out of the game for pinch-hitter Don Lundberg with one out and two runners on. The rally ended without a run but the Tyees came right back in the eighth.
With one out, Joe Joshua, hitting clean-up in a revised batting order, drew a base on balls. Pries sent him to second with a scratch single and both runners moved up, as Neil Sheridan grounded out. Then Clay, who had been hitless in his last 18 trips, looped a low fly just out first-baseman Augie Amorena’s reach which was fair by inches and Pries and Joshua scored without any trouble.
The win, his first, went to Mike Kanshin, who faced only seven Esks in two innings of hitless pitching. It was the 10th one-run victory in 17 wins for the Tyees.
Feature of this game was the ball-and-strike calling of plate-umpire Loring, who seemed to want to get out of the cold and did his level best to get it over in a hurry. Loring called six third strikes, four in a row, on the Tyees and at least four of them were almost unbelievably bad. The Esks had some complaints, too.
First Game
Edmonton ...... 010 100 310—6 11 2
Victoria ......... 100 000 000—1  5 4
McNulty and Prentice; Prior and Lundberg.
Second Game
Edmonton ...... 000 002 000—2 6 2
Victoria ......... 100 000 02x—3 6 0
Kimball and Self; B. Hodges, Kanshin (8) and Martin.

YAKIMA, May 29—Yakima defeated Spokane, 5-4, in a 10-inning Western International League baseball game Saturday night.
Spokane started ahead with one run in the second inning on an error, a fielder's choice and a single by Bob Donkersley. It yieldled the lead when Yakima came up to score twice on two walks, a single by Lon Summers and Dick Briskey’s double.
Spokane ........ 010 002 100 0—4 10 3
Yakima .......... 030 000 020 1—5  9 1
Romero and Dean; Rios, Machado (7), Carter (9) and Summers.

WENATCHEE, May 29—A ninth-inning run that broke a tie just fashioned by Lewiston gave Wenatchee an 8-7 Western International League baseball win tonight.
Lewiston ........ 031 100 002—7 10 2
Wenatchee .... 000 232 001—8 14 2
Marshall, Kime (6) and Garay; Bowman and Jenney.

Salem at Tri-City at Salem, rained out.

Braves Turnstiles Count 8,000 Less Than 1953
[Tri-City Herald, May 29, 1954]
RAIN AND COLD, the 1954 curse of the Western International league, forced the cancellation of the scheduled Tri-City-Salem game at Salem Saturday night.
And if the weather doesn't clear or improve here by Monday, it may cause another lag in Tri-City’s poor attendance.
The Braves are scheduled to return to Sanders field for a Monday doubleheader with Lewiston beginning at 3 p.m. Today Tri-City and Salem will play a twin-bill at Salem.
The rain and cold at Salem is but one small example of the weather situation that has caused lagging attendance and threats to two teams in the league.
LEWISTON recently took inventory, found the Broncs were 23 per cent behind last season’s attendance total, and said the club had to raise $13,000 or drop out. The money, plus some more, was made up through advance ticket sales.
Spokane is the latest team with trouble. It has surrendered its franchise to the league, citing money losses brought on by cold weather and poor attendance.
Although Tri-City general manager Eddie Taylor said Saturday the Braves are in no financial hot water, attendance this season is almost 8,000 below last year’s figure at this date. So far this season, the Braves have drawn 14,834 at home. Last year going into the Memorial Day game, they had drawn 22,911.
UP TO NOW this year, Tri-City has played 17 games at home. Last year the Braves had played 18 at home.
Almost all of the decrease this year can be attributed to the weather. The club itself is better all around and more of a contender and against tougher opposition this season.
A large share of the drop may be accounted for in the opener differences. In 1953, the Braves drew 3,400 against 1,900 on the cold April 29 opener this year.
The Tri-City area has had some good weather this year but it all came when the Braves were on the road.
THE BRAVES’ management feels that given good weather, the club will draw heavily during the upcoming series with Lewiston.
Although the attendance drop has not affected the Tri-City club’s ability to pay its bills, it frequently has meant the club was unable to buy a player who might have strenghened the club.
“After a series, I take money down to the bank,” Taylor said Saturday. “Then comes pay-day and we have nothing left. Sometimes it’s discouraging.”

Businessmen Move To Keep Indians
Spokane May Buy WIL Club
SPOKANE, May 29—A last-ditch stand to keep professional baseball in Spokane was underway Saturday as local businessmen moved to make the orphaned Indians a community-owned organization.
The action started almost immediately after Roy Hotchkiss, president and owner of the club, announced that he had turned the Spokane franchise back to the Class A Western International League, and was “getting out of baseball.”
The Spokane club set a minor league attendance record in 1947 with 287,000 when the league was a Class B circuit. It’s been going down steadily and was only 60,873 last year. The weather has been cool this season and there have been few crowds over 1,000 here.
Hotchkiss, a dairy farmer, suffered a heart attack earlier this year and was confined to the hospital for several weeks. He said he was giving up for his health
and also because of poor support and a lack of interest in the team by the city’s 175,000 residents.
Charles Carroll, president of the Chamber of Commerce, said he would do what he could to keep the team operating. The chamber has appointed a “baseball committee.”
The Philadelphia Phillies of the National League have a working agreement with Spokane and own virtually all the Indians players.
Joe Reardon, head of the Phillies farm system, said it might be possible for the Phils to operate the club the rest of the season. But there was nothing definite.
Robert Abel, president of the WIL, said the league could “carry” Spokane until June 7 when the Indians are due back home to open a three-game series with Victoria.
He left for Salem, Ore. Saturday to discuss the situation with Bruce Williams, the league vice president, and said he hopes to have some answers the first of the week.
Manager Don Osborn said the Indians, now on the road, have enough money to last through Sunday.
Hotchkiss has estimated he lost $100,000 in the five years he has had baseball here.
The Indians lost their 16th game of the season Friday night 9-1 at Yakima.

Sanchez, Moen Leave Club As Tyees Cut
[Victoria Colonist, May 30, 1954]
Victoria Tyees got down to the WIL player limit of 17 yesterday by releasing outfielder-catcher Armando Sanchez and returning lefthander Bob Moen to the Seattle Rainiers, who had sent him to Victoria on option.
That left the Tyees with catchers Milt Martin and Don Lundberg, infielders Don Pries, Steve Mesner, Eddie Lake, Tom Perez and Ron Jackson, outfielders Neil Sheridan, Dain Clay and Joe Joshua, and pitchers Hal Flinn, Bill Prior, Bill Bottler, Joe Nicholas, Mike Kanshin and Berlyn Hodges.
Nicholas was still unreported last night but he is expected to be here in time to go with the club to Calgary Monday morning.

Sports Notes
BY GIL GILMORE
[Tri-City Herald, May 30, 1954]
One of the common questions asked around the Tri-Cities nowadays is what has got into the Tri-City Braves? The team was in the cellar, and looked for all the world as if it were going to stay there, finally started winning a few.
There are a number of things that have helped them rack up some in the win column lately — better pitching, stronger infield, and with Bob McGuire available for full-time duty, a stronger outfield. And there are such intangible factors such as spirit, hustle, and a sudden desire to win.
But if you ask the players what has happened, they will tell you “our plays, especially the hit-and-run, seem to be working now.”
Unlike football, or basketball for that matter, there aren’t too many planned plays in baseball but of them all, the hit-and-run is the best to see when it works.
However, in talking with others, and judging from the reaction of the fans, there seems to be some vague ideas on just what the hit-and-run is supposed to accomplish.
Most seem to feel that when you have a runner on first, he takes off for second and the batter hits anything. If the batter gets a hit, then the runner can make it all the way to third. If the batter fails to hit, the runner stands a chance of stealing and if the batter grounds out, the chance of a double-play is cut considerably.
That much is true as far as it goes but that isn’t the entire story.
Runner Should Aid Batter
Tri-City's playing manager, Edo Vanni, puts it this way.
“I was taught,” he said, “that the greatest thing a base runner can do is help his batter boost his average. The base-runner’s chief job is to pull the defensive player’s out of position. Then that gives the batter a chance to hit through the hole.”
Vanni points out that it won't work with every batter.
“You just about have lo have a guy that knows where he wants to hit them up there,” he said. “Guys like Vic Buccola can do it. Say, if Terry Carroll is on first and starts down to second. Then the second baseman moves over to cover the bag, Vic can usually put one through that hole.”
And They Work The Play
In the recent games with Salem, we had some good examples of how it is supposed to work.
On one occasion, Bob McGuire was on third and Sam Kanelos was on first. There were two away at the time so Sam broke for second. The shortstop moved toward the bag to cover and Des Charouhas busted one through the hole the shortstop left behind.
On the play, McGuire scored easily enough and went all the way to third, which is something that seldom happens when a runner singles to left field.
When the play clicked, some of the fans seemed to feel the Braves were lucky — reasoning perhaps, that if the stortstop had stayed where he belonged, he could have fielded that ball.
Charouhas’ hit wasn’t any more luck than a home run is luck or a holc-in-one is luck. It was just a skillful play that clicked. Sam’s job was to get one of those defensive players to move and he did. Des’s job was to hit it where he wasn’t and he did.
What If He Missed
Suppose though, in a similar situation, Des had swung and missed. Then the defensive still has a major problem on its hands.
McGuire could hold and Sam could try for a straight steal of second. Since Sam had a good jump on the ball, the chances were he would have made it easily. That would put two runners in scoring position. It isn’t quite as good as getting a hit — but almost.
Or he could go in toward second, hold up as frequently happens and try to scamper back to first. This will lead to him being caught in a rundown with the runner scoring from third, or making the defense play for home.
The Defense Watches Its Timing
That sounds simple enough for the defense until you figure that unless the timing is right, that runner will be in safely. Then to top it off, everytime a ball is thrown or caught in the WIL, there is a 5 per cent margin of error.
Naturally, the defensive players aren’t going to permit the hitters and runners to make suckers out of them and they use several tricks to stop the maneuver. One of the best is the pitchout and twice in the same game, Salem worked that successfully, to retire Tri-City runners.
Bui that’s what makes the hit-and-run the most interesting. It is all a matter of teamwork and timing and the one that is caught off-balance is the one who will lose.
In recent games, the Braves have been able to trip up the opposition with such plays more often than they have failed. And that is why they have been winning some games.
Edo’s Playing Is Almost Over
Vanni and general manager Eddie Taylor settled the excess of outfielders problem by putting Edo on the temporarily disabled list Saturday.
That way he won’t count against the limit.
It means, in effect, that Edo’s playing days are pretty well over but the guy has no regrets.
“Every once in a while I read where some old player is trying to come back into baseball. Nuts!” Edo said.
“Look at me. I get hurt and it takes forever to heal. These young guys like Carroll — I can't compete with them. If I could I would but I can’t.
“That kid has pushed me right out of that leftfield spot. That’s okay, though. Back a few years ago I pushed a good ballplayer out of his spot and about 18 years from now, someone is going to push Terry out — if he plays that long and I hope the heck he does.”

Tri-City 1954 Preview

Cleanup Hitter Is Big Need Of Tri-City’s WIL Squad
(Editor’s Note: This is one in a series on the prospects of the Western International League, written for The Associated Press by the sportswriters who follow the teams throughout the season).
By GIL GILMORE
Sports Editor, Tri-City Herald [April 25, 1953]
KENNEWICK, Wash. — The Tri-City Braves’ chances of winding up in the first division of the Western International Baseball League his season depend primarily upon jetting someone who can get more than one base per hit. And often.
The community-owned club, operating without higher classification tie-ups again this year, holds he contract of the man it believes can do the job. But so far the player has been extremely stubborn about signing.
He is Dick Greco, formerly of Tacoma but now of Vancouver. He is a long ball hitter and just what the Braves need for a clean-up man.
But Greco and Tri-City's new general manager Eddie Taylor, are miles apart on salary and the situation is further complicated by Greco's personal desire to play somewhere else—preferably Vancouver.
Greco alternately has offered to buy his own contract, withdrawn the offer, only to make it again. The last time around, Taylor took urn up on it but then named a price Greco feels is too high.
Sale Talked
A sale often has been talked but Taylor turns the offer down. He is willing to trade providing the Braves can get someone who can hit that long ball.
But at this date, Tri-City fans are wondering if their, club is going to have a cleanup man. Last season the Braves tied for top spot in batting, were second in total hits, but were at the bottom of the league in homers, triples and doubles. This added up to leading the league in the left-on-base column and eighth-place in both halves of the season.
Elsewhere around the field, the club appears in fair shape and far better off than it was at this time last year. In the catching spot will be Jack Warren, who led the league in hitting last year.
Probably second-stringing him will be Rube Johnson, a burly young catcher who hit 14 homers for Magic Valley in the Pioneer League last year.
Pesut Missing
Missing is Nick Pesut who was traded to Vancouver. Pesut’s departure leaves first baseman Vic Buccola as the only player left on the club of the group that came here from Wenatchee in 1951. Buccola hit .308 last year but lacks the power he had in former years. Defensively he led the league last season.
The two Trans, Len and Ray, will probably provide the second base - shortstop combination although Ray, the older of the two, may play fewer games.
Terry Carroll is one prospect for third base but it is possible that Tom Marier, a 1952 regular who missed last season because of an injured back, may yet sign his contract. He wants more money.
Des Charouhas, Yakima football coach Bob McGuire, Ernie Hockaday and playing manager Edo Vanni are all holdover outfielders but Bob Moniz, who was purchased from Portland recently, probably will hold one spot. Vanni isn't expected to play much and Hockaday may be converted to an infielder.
Lots of Pitchers
Whatever the pitching staff lacks in power is made up in numbers. Earlier this year, Tri-City had 14 hurlers under contract. Holdovers who probably will win regular assignments are Don Robertson (14-9), Dale Bloom (7-11), and reliefer Jess Dobernic (13-7).
Added to this trio are John (Bud) Guldborg, 5-6 with Vancouver last year; Dale Thomason, 5-7 with Vancouver last season; Larry Richardson, on option from the Chicago Cubs chain, and Earl Lemieux, a left-handed rookie.
There is a possibility Bob Snyder (15-19) will return to the Braves. Seattle rookie Chris Mezich also will try for a pitching spot.