Tuesday, August 17, 1954

                 W  L  Pct GB
Lewiston ...... 32 16 .667 —
Edmonton ...... 25 18 .581 4½
Yakima ........ 26 19 .578 4½
Vancouver ..... 24 19 .558 5½
Salem ......... 22 18 .550 6
Tri-City ...... 15 29 .341 14
Wenatchee ..... 15 32 .319 16½

LEWISTON [Vancouver Province, Aug. 18]—What hopes the Vancouver Capilanos had of winning the second half championship of the WIL were all but buried in Lewiston last night as the Broncs dumped the Caps twice, 7-6 and 8-3.
The double loss dropped Vancouver from second to fourth place in the leading standings, five and one half games behind the pace-setting Broncs. The series winds up with a single game at Lewiston tonight.
It could be said that the parent Seattle Rainiers had a hand in the Caps 7-6 lss in the seven inning opener.
BOWMAN ACQUIRED
Bob Roberts, with a 12-5 record, was to have started but he was recalled Tuesday by Seattle to replace another ex-Vancouver pitcher, Van Fletcher, injured in an automobile accident on the weekend.
However, the Caps acquired Keith Bowman, former Tacoma, Lewiston and Wenatchee pitcher, to take Roberts’ place. He gave up six runs in the four innings he worked in the opener before being relieved by John Cordell.
BARTON DID IT
Vancouver came roaring back with five big runs in the top of the seventh to tie up the game. But Lewiston manager Larry Barton took matters into his own hands and smashed out a game-winning home run in the bottom of the seventh off loser Dick Greco.
In the second game the league leaders pounded Bill Brenner for 17 hits as the Vancouver manager was unsuccessful in his bid to become the first hurler in the league to rack up 20 wins.
[WILfan notes: Bob Wellman and Marv Williams homered for Vancouver in the first game, both were solo shots in the top of the seventh … Harvey Storey doubled and singled and brought in four runs … Al Heist added a double, two singles and a stolen base in the opener … Dick Greco came in during the fourth inning and pitched the rest of the way. It was his first game for Vancouver since playing with the All-Stars for a week … Marv Williams accounted for all of Vancouver’s runs in the night game with a home run in the third inning which gave the Caps a 3-1 lead … Brenner allowed nine hits and seven runs in the bottom of the fourth, started by Ed Garay and Nick Cannuli with back to back singles. Two sacrifices and an error contributed ... Garay and Heist had three hits each for the Broncs … Bob Williams’ double was the only extra base hit in the 17 Brenner allowed … Barton turned unassisted double play at first base in the finale.]
First Game
Vancouver ...... 000 100 5—6  5 0
Lewiston ........ 002 400 1—7 10 2
Bowman, Cordell (4), Greco (4) and Duretto; Marshall and Cameron.
Second Game
Vancouver ...... 003 000 000—3  7 2
Lewiston ........ 100 700 00x—8 17 1
Brenner and Pesut; Yaylian and Garay.

EDMONTON, story unavailable.
Salem ........... 000 000 000—0 9 3
Edmonton ...... 002 000 40x—6 8 0
Nicholas, Roenspie (1), Johnson (8) and Ogden; McNulty and Partee.

YAKIMA, story unavailable
Wenatchee ...... 200 000 010—3  6 0
Yakima ........... 010 014 10x—7 11 0
Waters and Self; Edmunds and Summers.

WALLA WALLA [Tri-City Herald, Aug. 18]—Before the Tri-City Braves beat the Walla Walla Bears, 11-3, Tuesday night in ah exhibition game at Walla Walla, playing manager Edo Vanni, joshed the boys:
"You had better get in there and play. After the Willy league, that will be the next step down."
In some respects, Vanni's statement contained a grain of prophecy, because parties in Walla Walla are awaiting the outcome of the Western International league, frankly hoping it will fail next year, so similar semi-pro loops can be established here.
Tonight Tri-City baseball fans will be able to see the difference when the Bears journey to Sanders Field for a return exhibition.
And after Tuesday's game, here is what they will see:
For Walla Walla — a group of relatively young players, most of them college or just-out-of-high-school kids, with a sprinkling of older talent. Some are prospects for professional baseball but none are natural all-out prospects such as Tri-City's Dick Watson, determined to make it or else.
The pitchers are fast, usually lacking in control, but who frequently telegraph their upcoming pitches.
For Tri-City — A group of pros which can't for prestige purposes, afford to lose, but which can't use all the ballplayrng techniques commonly part of league play for fear of turning the exhibition into a farce.
In the game Tuesday night, the Braves jumped off to a 10-0 lead and cruised in from there. Facing them was Len Brooks, a young lefthander, who gave up 10 hits for the 10 runs, the last four coming as the result of poor fielding support.
Although the Braves' batters racked young Brooks, most of them conceded the pitcher may have been a little "tightened up" in facing pro opposition. The scoring also indicates such. Brooks walked five batters in the first four innings but settled down and gave but one free pass after that.
For Tri-Clty, Hal Flinn went out on the mound determined to cut them down. He pitched two-hit ball for five innings, but walked the bases-full in the fifth. Then little Del Klicker's single scored two.
Jess Dobernic pitched the final four frames. Dobernic put the ball over where the younger players could hit it and Bill McBride smacked the first one out of the park.
He later gave up a single for the other hit off him.
The game tonight will begin at 7:30 p.m. Regular admission price will be charged.
Tri-City .......... 240 400 010—11 13 0
Walla Walla ..... 000 021 000— 3  4 4
Flinn, Dobernic (6) and Johnson. Brooks, Hudson (9) and Hamper.

Wenatchee Operates Door-to-Door Plan
WENATCHEE, Aug. 18—Wenatchee baseball fans started a door-to-door campaign Tuesday to help raise funds to keep the community-owned Western International League club in operation here.
President Bob Tyler says the Wenatchee club is now $6800 in the red and will be $11,600 behind by the end of the season.
Treasurer Fred Burnett expressed hope the door-to-door drive would meet this goal.

Sports Notes
BY GIL GILMORE
[from Tri-City Herald, Aug. 18, 1954]

Like some 95 per cent of the civilized population, I have no affection for snakes, having been taught, psychiatrists can prove, a fear of them sometime in my childhood. I am not in the class with Edo Vanni, who will jump sky-high at the sight of a rubber dime-store snake and who has kept the knot-hole in his dressing room floor carefully covered ever since Ernie Hockaday joined me in spreading the rumor that a couple of rattlers wintered under under the clubhouse last year.
* * *
Vanni Caught A Home Run
In a discussion on fooling-the-ump techniques, Vanni comes up with this story:
“One time when I was with Vancouver, we were playing Salem. One of their players hit one out of the park just over my head. I happened to have had a new ball in my pocket at the time so I pulled it out, kicked the wall with my foot like that, and threw the ball in.
“They guy who hit it thought he had a homerun and was loafing into second. The ball came in and the ump called him out.”
Jack Hemphill, also party of the same discussion, was playing with Salem at the time and remembers the incident well.
“I knew at the time that ball was out of the park,” Jack said. “I saw it going over. Then pretty soon here comes your throw back into the infield.”
* * *
Charouhas Stirred Row
Des Charouhas, now with Yakima, pulled something similar while playing with Tri-City against Spokane. The Spokane batter hit one of those long ones and Des took off. He couldn’t get there in time and the ball took one bounce before popping into his glove.
Des threw the ball in and the umpire called the batter out.
Don Osborn, the Spokane manager, wasn’t taken in by the piece of subterfuge though. He came snorting and shouting from the dugout, and after a long argument, pointed to Charouhas and told the ump, “Go ahead and ask him if he caught the ball. Ask him.”
Fortunately, the ump didn't ask Charouhas because Des, caught between his natural honesty and the ballplayer outlook that if the ump misses, that’s the other teams tough luck, was facing a dilemma. He solved it by taking the middle course and saying nothing.
(I’ll guarantee you Vanni wouldn’t have said nothing. Fact is, he probably would have given Osborn a dressing down for even suspecting he was dishonest.)
* * *
Richardson Missed Chance
Once in a while, you will see a young player miss a chance to pull some hokum on the ump. Such a situation came up awhile back when Larry Richardson was playing leftfield for Wenatchee.
There were two away, and Tri-City had a runner on first. The batter rapped one of those low fly balls to leftfield and Richardson came in and made a shoe-string catch.
He actually trapped the ball but gave himself away by throwing to second with hopes of forcing the runner there.
Had Larry just trotted into the infield as if he had made the third out, I’ll bet anything the ump would have ruled it a caught fly.

Friday, August 6, 1954

                 W  L  Pct GB
Lewiston ...... 23 11 .676 —
Yakima ........ 19 13 .594 3
Vancouver ..... 16 15 .516 5½
Salem ......... 15 15 .500 6
Edmonton ...... 16 16 .500 6
Tri-City ...... 14 19 .424 8½
Wenatchee ..... 10 23 .303 14½

VANCOUVER [Clancy Loranger, Province, Aug. 7]—The Capilanos are looking like a first division baseball team again, and they have a much more respectable place in the second half standings to prove it.
Bill Brenner’s boys made it five wins in six games this week, and moved into third place, taking both ends of a thrill-packed doubleheader from Salem at Cap Stadium Friday night. Scores were 3-2 in both games, and that makes four times this week they’ve won by that score.
DURETTO HERO
Bob Duretto, replacing an ailing Marv Williams, out with a bad sinus condition, was the hero of the first game, which saw Bob Roberts gain his 11th win against four losses.
Duretto’s single, combined with another by Bob Wellman, and two Salem errors, helped the Caps to two runs in the first off Jon Briggs. Then, in the fifth, Duretto slapped one over the right field wall for his fifth homer of the season and the winning margin.
Pete Hernandez got the call over Tom Herrera, an obvious major league prospect on option from San Diego. Another Salem error helped here, too, as the Caps, down 2-0, rallied for three runs in the eighth. Two of the big blows delivered in this inning came from the bats of Eddie Murphy, who had gone 0-for-14, and Ken Richardson, 0-for-16.
WEIRD CALL
Murphy’s hit followed one of the most weird calls ever seen at the stadium. Eddie hit one far to left field and before the ball came down, umpire Gordon Bogle (a Vancouver boy, for shame) signalled that it was a home run. Imagine his embarrassment when the ball hit the left field wall and bounded back on the field. Bogle then reversed his field and called it a foul. Manager Brenner called him a few things, too, before Murphy tried it again.
The Salem series winds up tonight, with Brenner on the mound, then the Caps leave town again for series in Tri-City, Wenatchee and Lewiston.
First Game
Salem ........... 000 100 1—2 7 2
Vancouver ..... 200 010 x—3 8 1
Briggs and Ogden; Roberts and Pesut.
Second Game
Salem ........... 000 100 100—2 7 1
Vancouver ..... 000 000 03x—3 8 2
Herrera, Rayle (8) and Ogden; Hernandez and Pesut.

WENATCHEE, Aug. 6—Tri-City pitcher Jack Hemphill won his fourth game of the season by spinning a six-hitter Friday while the Braves scored six runs — five of them coming in the third inning — to beat the Wenatchee Chiefs 6-3.
Hemphill struck out ten and walked four.
Gordy Brunswick came through with a triple in the big inning that drove in two runs. He then scored himself.
Artie Wilson led the Braves at the plate getting two for three and brought in a run in the second that made it 1-0. Ed Self singled in a run in the bottom of the inning before Tri-City game to bat in their big frame. Rube Johnson singled in the first run before Brunswick's heroics. Two of the runs in the inning were unearened, thanks to Larry Monroe's error at third base.
Ross McCormack hit a solo homer for Wenatchee in the sixth. Tom Munoz plated the final Wenatchee run.
Tri-City ........... 015 000 000—6 9 0
Wenatchee ...... 010 002 000—3 6 1
Hemphill and Johnson; Bowman, Romero (4) and Self.

YAKIMA, Aug. 6—Big Tom Lovrich limited Edmonton to seven hits Friday night to pitch Yakima to a 6-2 baseball victory over the Eskimos.
The Bears scored a pair of runs in the first inning and clinched it with three in the second on a double by Dick Briskey plus a pair of singles, a walk and a sacrifice fly.
Edmonton ..... 000 101 000—2  7 1
Yakima ......... 230 001 00x—6 11 0
Campbell and Partee; Lovrich and Summers.

Chiefs Seek $5,000 Gift
WENATCHEE, Aug. 6—Old Man Deficit, one of the Western International League's steadiest fans this season, was on the prowl again Saturday.
This time the old lent who has already washed out three of the 10 teams who started the 1954 season was stalking the Wenatchee Chiefs, present residents of the WIL cellar.
Directors of the Chiefs organization appealed to the fans Friday night to contribute $5,000 so the Wenatchee club could finish out the season.
The hope is 500 fans will come up with $10 each.

WIL STATISTICS
(Compiled by William J. Weiss, Official Statistician, San Mateo, Calif. Averages include games of Monday, August 2, except Wenatchee at Lewiston, July 21; Edmonton at Victoria, July 29 and Salem at Victoria, August 2.)
TEAM BATTING
Average, Vancouver, .302; Tri-City, .293; Victoria, .288, Lewiston, .282, Yakima, .279; Wenatchee, .278; Edmonton, .278; Salem, .275.
Doubles, Tri-City, 177; Triples, Yakima, 46; Home runs, Vancouver, 85; Stolen Bases, Tri-City, 121; Bases on Balls, Lewiston, 533, Strike outs, Wenatchee, 492; Runs Batted In, Lewiston, 566.
TEAM FIELDING
Yakima, .969; Edmonton, .969; Vancouver, .966; Salem, .965; Lewiston, .965, Victoria, .964, Wenatchee, .960; Tri-City, .958.
Errors, Tri-City, 166; Double Plays, Victoria, 117.
BATTING LEADERS
Percentage, Marv Williams, Van., .360; Runs, Al Heist, Lew., 102; Hits, K Chorlton, Van., 139; Total Bases, Chorlton, Van., 204; Two Base Hits, Bob Moniz, T.C., 34; Three Base Hits, Herman Lewis, Yak., 12; Home Runs, Bob Wellman, Van., 17; Sacrifice Hits, Dain Clay, Vic., 23; Stolen Bases, K Chorlton, Van., 24; Bases on Balls, Heist, Lew., 84; Runs Batted In, Wellman, Van., 89; Strikeouts, Tom Munoz, Wen., 90.
PITCHING LEADERS
ERA., Bill Brenner, Van., 2.31; Wins, Brenner, Van., 15; Losses, Ted Shandor, Wen., Billy Joe Waters, Ralph Romero, Wen., 11; Strikeouts, Briggs, Sal., 167, Bases on Balls, Briggs, Wen., 124; Innings Pitcher, Brenner, Van., 21-; Complete Games, Brenner, Van., 18; Home Runs Allowed, John Marshall, Lew., Bob Drilling, Vic., 18.

Friday, June 25, 1954

                W  L  Pct GB
Vancouver .... 37 19 .661 —
Yakima ....... 32 27 .542 6½
Edmonton ..... 26 23 .531 7½
Lewiston ..... 28 31 .475 10½
Wenatchee .... 28 32 .467 11
Salem ........ 28 33 .459 11½
Victoria ..... 25 30 .455 11½
Tri-City ..... 27 33 .450 12

VANCOUVER [Province, June 26]—Vancouver Capilanos may be the first half champions of the Western International League—but they won’t know for sure until sometime today.
At the request of the Salem team, league president Bob Abel is conducting a telegraphic vote among the clubs on whether to continue the first half schedule to July 5 or cut it short at June 30.
With the Capilanos now a handy six and one-half games ahead of their nearest rivals, Yakima Bears, courtesy of a thrill-packed doubleheader victory over Lewiston here last night, and a Yakima loss, it seems likely the club will vote to cut the first half short.
If they do the Bears wouldn’t even have a mathematical chance of catching the locals, who have four games up to June 30. Even if Yakima won six, and the Caps lost all four, Vancouver would still be a game and one-half in front.
LOOKED PART
Bill Brenner’s crew certainly looked like champs last night. Bob Wellman’s 10th home run pace the Caps to an easy 6-2 victory in the opener, as George Nicholas got winner number 10, and the locals came up with a big finish to take the nightcap 4-3 in 10 innings and send the some 3000 people home mighty happy.
A tremendous double by Ken Richardson, after Marv Williams had singled and Wellman walked, sent the winner across the plate in the first extra frame and beat Lewiston’s Al Yaylian, who pitched a great game and deserved a better fate. Bill Franks, the third Caps pitcher, got the victory, his fourth.
Pete Hernandez, just down from Seattle, started in this one, but the seven innings he pitched were the most he’d gone, consecutively, since last season, and he finally tired. John Cordell got the Broncs out in order for two innings before being retired for a pinch hitter.
LOTS OF FUN
The series winds up with a single game tonight, and it promises to be a lot of fun. The locals’ number 1 clown, Bud Beasley, will be pitching against John Marshall, quite a cut-up himself.
PROVINCE STARS—Marv Williams, whose hitting, running and fielding were tremendous … Ken Richardson, for his big game-winning blow … And the Broncs’ Al Yaylian, who not only pitched well but took a lot of ribbing from the crowd.
- - -
VANCOUVER, June 25—Vancouver Capilanos tightened their hold on first place in the Western International Baseball League here Friday night by sweeping a doubleheader against Lewiston Broncs 6-2 and 4-3.
George Nicholas hurled a four-hitter in the opener as Caps won going with a brace of runs on two singles and as many walks in the second and adding another four in the fifth when K. Chorlton singled, Marv Williams doubled and Bob Wellman belted a two-run homer.
Lewiston got two back in the sixth on singles by Bob Williams, Russ Rosbury and a double by Eddie Bockman.
The Caps won the elongated nightcap when Ken Richardson sent a long double to the left field wall to score Williams who had reached first on a single.
The game was sent in to extra innings when Lewiston’s Bockman poled out a four-master in the top half of the seventh with a mate on base to tie the score ay 3-3.
First Game
Lewiston ....... 000 002 0—2 4 0
Vancouver ..... 020 040 x—6 7 1
Martin and Cameron; Nicholas and Pesut.
Second Game
Lewiston ....... 000 001 200 0—3 9 1
Vancouver ..... 002 001 000 1—4 9 2
Yaylian and Garay; Hernandez, Cordell (8), Franks (10) and Pesut.

YAKLMA, June 25— Edmonton pulled a four-run uprising in the ninth inning to win a Western International League baseball series opener with Yakiina. 5-4, Friday night.
Yakima moved ahead early in the game with single runs in the second and fourth innings. Edmonton slimmed the gap with a seventh-inning run off a double by Don Gigli and a single by pitcher Ken Kimball.
The Bears added another in the eighth for a 3-1 lead only to have the Eskimmos stage its game-winner after Whitey Thomson got aboard on an error by Dick Briskey.
Tom Self followed with a single and so did Bob Prentice, pinch-hitting for Kimball, for one run. Vern Campbell doubled in two more and Augie Amorena singled him home to win. Yakima started a rally in its half good for one run but could not keep it going.
Kimball was the winner, Dick Young the loser.
Edmonton .... 000 000 104—5 10 2
Yakima ........ 010 100 011—4  7 5
Kimball, Manier (9) and Self, Prentice (9); Young, Schaening (9) and Summers.

WENATCHEE [Victoria Colonist, June 26]—Victoria Tyees opened their four-game Western International Baseball League series on the right foot at Wenatchee last night, pounding out a 9-3 victory on the strength of a seven-run eighth inning.
Bill Prior went all the way for his third victory against eight defeats although he was in constant trouble. Tagged for 12 hits, Prior gave up single runs in the first, fifth and eighth innings and until the Tyees broke loose at the plate, it appeared that the slim righthander would take his ninth loss.
FIVE IN EIGHTH
Ted Shandor held the Tyees to four hits in the first seven innings. But the winners picked up five hits in an eighth inning featured by Neil Sheridan’s double and a triple by Don Lundberg. Sheridan accounted for two more Victoria runs in the ninth when he smashed a two-run single off reliefer Charlie Oubre [who also gave up a single].
The clubs meet in a single contest today and a double-header Sunday before Victoria returns home Monday to open a week-long homestand.
Victoria ......... 000 000 072—9 13 1
Wenatchee .... 100 010 010—3 12 2
Prior and Lundberg; Shandor, Oubre (8) and Helmuth.

KENNEWICK [Tri-City Herald, June 27]—Don Robertson, Tri-City righthander, took one look at his pitching record Friday night, concluded all was not well, and went to the mound and beat the Salem Senators, 3-1.
The pre-game won-loss figures didn’t look too bad — seven victories against three setbacks — it was the total-hits-off-Robertson that Robertson didn't like.
A rule of the thumb estimate of a pitcher’s ability is that his total hits should be less than his total innings pitched. Prior to the game, Robertson’s total hits were 122 against 95 innings.
When he finished the game with Salem he had cut the difference to 125 for 103 innings.
All three of the hits by Salem batters were doubles — two of them by Frank Bellotti. He led off with a double in the fourth and sixth innings.
In the fourth, Robertson struck out one batter and got another to pop out but then gave up a double to Connie Perez which brought Bellotti in and ruined his bid for a shutout.
In the sixth, Bellotti died on second base when Robertson got the same two batters out and then got Perez to pop out.
With the exception of an intentional walk to Harry Warner after Perez doubled, and an error in the seventh inning, not more Salem batters reached first base.
Manager Edo Vanni, playing his first full game at home since the Edmonton series last April, was having a hey-day. He squatted and scratched at the plate, drove in two runs, stretched a triple into a double [sic], got a single and stole second, and upped his batting average to .370.
Tri-City scored its three runs when Terry Carroll led off with a double in the first inning, moved to third on Vic Buccola’s single, and scored when Vanni grounded out.
It was double-or-nothin’ night for both teams. Besides the above-mentioned two-baggers, Bob Moniz got his 19th of the season, Jack Warren his 18th, and Dick Watson his 5lh.
Defensively, the Tri-City fly ball chasers got a workout. Fifteen of the 27 putouts were fly balls to the outfield with Moniz catching seven of them.
Altogether, only six Salem batters grounded out and one struck out.
- - -
KENNEWICK, June 25—Don Robertson, one of the most generous pitchers in the Western International League this far this season, turned stingy Friday night as he limited the Salem Senators to three hits and gave Tri-City a 3-1 win.
All the hits off Robertson were doubles, two of them being combined to score the Senators’ lone run in the fourth.
Frank Bellotti, who got two doubles during the game, smashed one out to open the inning. After two were out, Connie Perez got his and drove in Bellotti.
Joe Domenichelli, starter for Salem, was charged with the loss. Robertson’s performance was particularly surprising in that he allowed 19 hits in his last appearance—against Yakima.
Salem ......... 000 100 000—1  3 1
Tri-City ...... 100 000 20x—3 10 2
Domenichelli, Borst (8) and Ogden; Robertson and Warren.

Wenatchee Debates Leaving WIL
WENATCHEE, June 25—Wenatchee is going to take the pulse of its baseball public Monday night to see if it’s strong enough to continue supporting professional baseball.
Directors of the Western International League Chiefs said Friday a special night would be held Monday. No admission will be charged, but spectators will be asked to contribute whatever they wish toward the club’s treasury.
Last Tuesday, Salem directors asked for a similar “confidence” vote , and 4,124 paying customers responded.
MAY DROP
Bob Tyler, Wenatchee president, said, “If we get 3,500 fans out Monday, then we’ll know the people of Wenatchee want professional baseball to continue.”
He added if the financial picture doesn’t improve the Chiefs may call it quits before the start of the second half of the WIL split season, which begins July 7.
Spokane and Calgary have already dropped out of the league because of financial difficulties.
INDIANS ABSORBED
Meanwhile, the disbanding of the defunct Spokane Indians baseball team was completed today with the sale of Ralph Romero to the Wenatchee Chiefs and assignment of manager Don Osborn to a farm club of the Philadelphia Phils.

WIL STATS
(Including games of Monday, June 21, 1954)
TEAM BATTING
Vancouver, .316; Tri-City .307; Wenatchee .292; Calgary .290; Salem, .282; Victoria, .282; Edmonton, .281; Yakima .280; Lewiston .279; Spokane .275.
TEAM FIELDING
Yakima .970; Vancouver .966; Edmonton, .966; Wenatchee .962; Lewiston .961; Salem .960; Victoria .960; Spokane .954; Tri-City .952; Calgary .945.
BATTING LEADERS
Percentage, Marv Williams, Van., .405; Hits, Joe Unfried, Wen., 83; Two Base Hits, Bob Moniz, TC, 18; Three Base Hits, Herman, Yak., 6; Home Runs, Charlie Ruddock, Spo., 14; Stolen Bases, K. Chorlton, Van., Jerry Green, Wen., 13; Bases on Balls, Eddie Lake, Vic., Vic Buccola, TC, 51; Runs Batted In, Joe Unfried, Wen., 61; Runs, Marv Williams, Van., 56; Total Bases, Joe Unfried, Wen., 141; Sacrifice Hits, Vic Buccola, TC, 12; Strikeouts, Charlie Ruddock, Spo., 48.
PITCHING LEADERS
ERA., Bill Brenner, Van., 1.72; Losses, Bill Prior, Vic., 8; Bases on Balls, Jon Briggs, Sal., 78; Complete Games, Bill Brenner, Van., 11; Wins, Four tied with 9; Strikeouts, Jon Briggs, Sal., 100; Innings Pitched, Bill Brenner, Van., 131; Home Runs Allowed, John Marshall, Lew., 14.

Week’s Work
By CLANCY LORANGER
[Vancouver Province, June 26, 1954]
WEDNESDAY—About people: Who’s going to play centre field for the Caps when K Chorlton goes up to the Seattle Rainiers? … Bill Brenner has thought all along that Arnie Hallgren really should be in the centre patch, for he can cover a lot of ground and, of course, has one of the best throwing arms in the league … But he has two other candidates looking for work, one of them Eddie Murphy, late of the Spokane Indians.

Tuesday, June 22, 1954

                W  L  Pct GB
Vancouver .... 33 19 .635 —
Yakima ....... 32 24 .571 3
Edmonton ..... 23 23 .500 7
Wenatchee .... 28 29 .491 7½
Lewiston ..... 27 28 .491 7½
Salem ........ 27 30 .474 8½
Victoria ..... 23 29 .442 10½
Tri-City ..... 24 32 .429 10½

YAKIMA [Vancouver Province, June 23]—This city’s Bears, the only real threat to Vancouver’s chances of winning the Western International League’s first half title now that Spokane Indians have folded, apparently aren’t ready to concede.
Down 2-0 Tuesday to the powerhouse Caps, who have led the league all season, the Bears battled back to tie the score at 2-2 in the sixth and finally won this first game of an important three-game stand in 10 innings, 3-2.
TED DID IT
The victory moved Lou Stringer’s squad to within three games of the front-running Vancouver team, and they get two more cracks at the Caps’ lead, tonight and Thursday. On Friday, contrary to an erroneous report out of Tacoma Tuesday, the Caps return home to play Lewiston. George Nicholas and Ted Edmunds, both looking for their 10th wins, hooked up in a pitchers’ battle here last night. Edmunds allowed just five hits, Nicholas nine, three of those in the Bears’ 10th, or winning, inning.
The three big blows came off the bats of Dick Briskey, Herman Lewis and Len Noren as Nicholas suffered his fifth loss.
Briskey and Noren had a hand in Yakima’s game-tying two runs in the sixth, too. Their singles, with another by John Albini following an error by Bob Wellman, did the damage.
The Caps scored first on singles by Danny Holden, K. Chorlton and Dick Greco in the third inning.
[Holden and Chorlton had two hits a piece, Greco had one. Noren had three of Yakima’s hits and Briskey two. There were no extra-base blows in the game. 2,037 took in the opener]
Vancouver ...... 002 000 000 0—2 5 1
Yakima ........... 002 000 000 1—3 9 2
Nicholas and Duretto; Edmunds and Summers.

SALEM, June 22—“Save Your Senators Night,” set up by the Salem management to determine whether the fans want to keep their club in the Western International Baseball League, was a whopping success in the stands and on the playing field Tuesday night.
Mindful that Spokane and Calgary were forced, by poor attendance, to drop out of the league this week, the Salem front office asked the fans to demonstrate by their turnout Tuesday night whether they want professional baseball to continue in Oregon’s capital city.
The apparent answer was “yes.” The management counted 4,142 puying customers in the stands, the largest crowd of the season.
On the field, the Senators responded with a 7-5 come-from-behind victory over Tri-City.
Trailing 3-1 in the fourth inning, the Senators tied the game with Harry Warner’s two-run homer, added a single run in the sixth, two in the sixth and an insurance tally in the seventh. Tri-City opened the scoring with two first inning runs and singles by Terry Carroll, Vic Buccola and Edo Vanni. Dick Watson’s single scored Len Tran, who had tripled, in the second, and the Braves closed their scoring with two runs in the sixth on hits by Carroll, Buccola and Vanni.
Tri-City .... 210 002 000—5 12 3
Salem ...... 100 212 10x—7 12 0
Clough, Lemieux (7) and Warren; Rayle, Roenspie (2) and Ogden.

LEWISTON, June 22—Bob Drilling came up with one of his best pitching jobs and Lewiston Broncs came up with three unearned runs last night as Victoria Tyees squared their WIL series at 1-1 in the Idaho city.
Held in check by John Marshall for the first seven innings, the Tyees scored twice in the eighth inning on two singles, two bases on balls and an important error to win it. They made it certain with two more runs in the ninth on a single a base on balls and a two-base muff.
Up until the eighth, Marshall had held the Tyees to three hits, one of them a home run by Neil Sheridan which tied the score in the fourth inning.
Lewiston scored in the first inning and went ahead in the seventh when manager Larry Barton hit a home run. Both Drilling, who won his seventh game, and Marshall gave up six hits.
Result moved the Tyees up a notch in the standings.
The two clubs continue their series Wednesday and wind it up Thursday.
Victoria ....... 000 100 022—5 6 1
Lewiston ..... 100 000 100—2 6 3
Drilling and Lundberg; Marshall and Cameron.

WENATCHEE, June 22 — Edmonton jumped on three Wenatchee pitchers for 15 hits Tuesday night as the Eskimos subdued the Chiefs 16-3 in the Western International League series-opener.
The Eskimos scored five runs in the third off starter Larry Richardson and seven more in the sixth off Jack Thompson, who relieved Richardson.
Ray McNulty allowed eight hits in going the distance for Edmonton. The Eskimos
were helped by five Wenatchee errors.
Edmonton ...... 205 117 000—16 13 0
Wenatchee .... 100 011 00x— 3  8 5
McNulty and Self; Richardson, Thompson 93), Oubre (6) and Helmuth.

WIL STATS
(Through games of June 22)
BATTING
                      G  AB  H HR RBI Pct
Williams, Van ...... 49 195 79  7 28 .405
Wellman, Van ....... 44 158 61  9 41 .386
Storey, Salem ...... 43 150 56  4 27 .373
Taylor, Calgary .... 40 156 58 10 27 .372
Tran, Tri-City ..... 53 195 69  3 38 .354
Unfried, Wen ....... 56 249 74 12 61 .350
Warner, Salem ...... 45 153 53  7 29 .346
Buccola, TC ........ 56 203 70  0 17 .345
Carroll, TC ........ 55 219 75  0 28 .342
T. Perez, Vic ...... 52 211 72  8 40 .341
Skurski, Edm ....... 36 126 43  5 24 .341
Hafey, Spo ......... 54 199 67  9 54 .337
PITCHING
                      G  IP  SO  W L  Pct
Anderson, Spo ...... 12 106  42 10 1 .909
Edmunds, Yak ....... 11  89  59  9 1 .900
Giovannoni, Spo .... 14  51  11  5 1 .833
Briggs, Salem ...... 17 110 100  9 3 .750
Robertson, TC ...... 15  94  41  7 3 .700
Marshall, Lew ...... 13  88  56  7 3 .700
Roberts, Van ....... 12  83  30  7 3 .700
Nicholas, Van ...... 13  97  26  9 4 .692
Brenner, Van ....... 17 131  48  8 4 .667
Johnson, Sal ....... 13  67  37  4 2 .667

Wenatchee Seeks Foe
WENATCHEE, June 22—The Wenatchee baseball team of the Western International League is scouting around for a possible semi-pro opponent to fill in a weekend series in event Victoria declines to play here.
The Victoria nine was scheduled hurriedly to play at Wenatchee Friday, Saturday and Sunday after Calgary’s team disbanded and dropped from the WIL.
A Wenatchee club spokesman said Victoria officials indicated they were unwilling to travel to Wenatchee unless they could get 60 per cent of the gate receipts for making the fill-in trip.
Wenatchee officials said they would prefer meeting a top-flight semi-pro club rather than meet the 60 per cent demand or travel to Victoria.

Lundgren to Return to Class B
NOGALES, June 23—Tucson Cowboys Manager Don Jamieson has announced that his club has opened negotiations with Seattle of the Pacific Coast league to buy Chuck Lundgren.
Lundgren is the second baseman who hit .318 for the Pokes last year and hit 34 home runs for the Arizona-Texas League club.
This season Lundgren has been playing outfield for Calgary in the Western International loop. Calgary recently folded and Jameson is trying to take advantage of the situation. Lundgren was sold to Seattle at the end of last season.

IT BEATS ME
By Jim Tang
[Victoria Colonist, June 23, 1954]
Beset by almost every other kind of trouble this season, the WIL now finds itself beset by a schedule-maker who seems to be obsessed with the idea of cramming as many games as possible into the meaningless first half.
Asked to redraw the schedule after Calgary and Spokane had dropped from the league, Salem-manager Hugh Luby has come up with something that has the Tyees and Capilanos playing four doubleheaders and a single game in five days between July 1 and 5. And the Tyees move from Victoria to Tri-City and the Caps from Vancouver to Salem in the middle of it.
That’s something the major leagues wouldn’t try and their clubs have 25-player rosters and 10 and 11-man pitching staffs—and don’t have to ride buses. Fans who take in the last three or four of those games are not likely to see much in the way of baseball.
To top that off the league has apparently decided not to close out the first half on June 30 but to continue it through July 5. This is a prime example of the type of reasoning which has caused a lot of its woes.
At least six of the remaining eight clubs are out of contention for the first-half championship, practically a Vancouver cinch. With that in mind, plus the publicity of recent weeks, it would see that the smart thing to do would be to start a new race as soon as possible. Instead, as many games as possible have been crammed into the last days of the first half, which include July 1 and 4, Canadian and American national holidays, an excellent time to start over.
The excuse? Starting the second half on July 1 doesn’t allow enough time to draw up a “decent” schedule. Well, picking the games out of a hat would result in something just as good as the WIL used in the first half, particularly the last few days of the first half.
* * *
Pitchers Joe Orrell and Ernie Stites and outfielder Gus Stathos of the defunct Calgary Stampeders have offered their services, for a set sum, of course, to the Tyees. No action has been taken although Orrell, a former major leaguer with the Detroit Tigers, gave Victoria business-manager Reg Patterson quite a sales talk. He said he could win 15 games in the second half and beat Vancouver every time he got the chance, disregarding a 4-6 first half and a 5.96 earned-run average. That’s no better, if not any worse, than the Tyees’ pitching average.

Sports Notes
BY GIL GILMORE
[Tri-City Herald, June 23, 1954]
WIL May Find Solution
If the Western International league can hang in there as an eight-team circuit for the rest of this season, it may be that some of its problems will solve themselves by the time next season rolls around.
But when the brass meets this winter to discuss the problems, it would be a good time to really get down and keep an eye to the future and thereby avoid the situation as it existed this year.
The real solution is still this. A six-team U.S. league consisting of Lewiston, Tri-City, Salem, Wenatchee, Yakima and Spokane. The league classification isn’t important but enforceable salary limits are.
Two things are necessary to bring this about. First will be the return of Spokane to the fold. It’ll be back. Fact is, considerable sentiment was voiced at the recent league meeting that it would be a good idea for the Indians to fold this year so the town could get organized to field a team the next year — without Roy Hotchkiss.
* * *
Canadians May Break
The other problem is parting with the Canadian teams. This may be easier than you think. In Edmonton, sports writers there are thundering on the theme of having an
All-Canadian league and cite several promising possibilities.
As Jim Brooke of the Edmonton Journal put it:
“No matter how hard they try, a lot of pretty fair Edmonton sports fans just couldn’t care less how badly the Eskimoes beat Lewiston. Tri-City or Wenatchee. The average Edmonton fan hasn’t got anything against Lewiston, Tri-City or Wenatchee.
“But let a Winnipeg baseball team come to town to do battle with the Eskimoes and the people will turn out to boo the dastardly invaders with deep sincerity.”
Now that prairie baseball has been started, it may be that “Uncle Jawn Ducey,” the Edmonton G. M., has things on a firm enough footing to push a league throughout Western Canada. If, he has, it will solve the other big problem for the WIL.

Wenatchee 1954 Preview

Die-Hards and Gimmicks Put New Life in Wenatchee Club
(Editor’s Note: This is one in 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 JOHN RICHARDSON
Wenatchee Daily World [April 26, 1954]
WENATCHEE — Die-hard baseball fans and a gimmick called the “apple box derby” have jumped new life into the Wenatchee Western International League baseball franchise.
About ready to throw in the sponge and facing a $30,000 deficit at one point during the winter, baseball boosters here have cut the red ink to a trickle.
The apple box derby was a natural for the Apple Capitol [sic] of the World. Fruit warehouses entered 60 boxes to be floated 18 miles down the Columbia River.
Entry Fees
Entry fees were $10 and tickets were sold for $1 entitling purchasers to estimate the time, in advance, of the winning play. Almost $3,000 was raised to help pay the team’s old debts.
The event along with a donation campaign and creditors voluntarily closing out their accounts, allowed the team to whittle the $30,000 debt down to about $6,000.
To head the 1954 club, the Chiefs signed as manager George (Highpockets) Kelly, the old New York Giant first baseman, who for several years has been a coach for the Pacific Coast League Oakland Acorns.
Kelly began his career in 1914 at Victoria, and was later an all-time great for John McGraw in the 1920’s with the Giants.
A strong tie-up with Oakland will be in effect this year, with Kelly on hand to develop young talent for the PCL club.
.302 Hitter
Never given to superlatives, Kelly has already predicted Wenatchee will have “the best infield in the WIL” this season. He bases this forecast on the return of Tommy Munoz, a .302 hitter in 95 games with the Chiefs last year. Tony Rivas, a hard-hitting rookie second baseman and Jerry (Pumpsie) Green, a top-flight glove man last year.
Munoz signed with the Oaks for $30,000 three years ago. Rivas entered pro ball this spring after California collegiate experience, and Green was a defensive standout last year with Wenatchee. He will play shortstop this season, with veteran Don Stanford, a .294 hitter in 1953, moving over to third base.
In the outfield. Joe Unfriend, a .303 bitter in 1950 who has just returned from two years in the service, is expected to hold down centerfield.
Rookies Don Faber, from Oakland and Dick Stacey, a Spokane boy who played at San Jose Junior College, are other outfield prospects.
Vet Purchased
Ross McCormack, a. three-year veteran with Wenatchee, was purchased by Oakland last winter but may be returned for another season in the WIL. He hit .292 in 1953 and is a top defensive man.
Manager Kelly has his biggest problem in the pitching and catching departments. Harry Bartolomei and Jake Helmuth. last year’s receivers, have retired from the game and only Matthew Kellum-Rose, a rookie, and Walt Aragon, who has had some pro experience, were in the Chiefs’ spring training camp at Petaluma, Calif.
Keith Bowman, a fire-balling righthander who had an 8-9 record and a 3.40 earned run average, and veteran Charlie Oubre, 14-15 last year, will form the nucleus of the mound staff.
Reliefer Returns
Also returning are Frankie DeCarolis, a five-foot- five-inch relief hurler who had a 7-8 record in 1953, and Jack Klein, 2-9, mainly reliefer.
Despite his one-hitter in the first week of Coast League play for Oakland, righthander Charlie Beamon may be returned to Wenatchee, according to Kelly. Beamon had a 10-12 record last year.
Kelly also hopes to get Rick Botelho, the lefthander who was picked on the WIL second all-star
team and who posted a 11-10 mark last season. Both Beamon and Botelho are 19-year-olds.
Ernie Broglio, another Oakland youngster m his second year of pro ball, also is being eyed by Kelly.
With a strong infield in sight and potentially good pitching, and the help expected from Oakland, Wenatchee fans are betting their team will finish higher than the fifth and ninth-place standings of the 1953 split-season.

Wenatchee Can Go in 1954

Chiefs Get $14,200 From Fans
WENATCHEE, Dec. 16—The financially-troubled Wenatchee Chiefs of the Western International Baseball League will be all set to play when the season starts next spring, the club president said Wednesday.
President Bob Tyler said $14,200 had been raised in a drive for $21,500 and that operation of the team was assured. The continuing drive has been going only ten days.
Tyler said he was informing league president Bob Abel of the decision to continue in the league. Loop directors had given the team an ultimatum to get ready for play or drop out.
The Oakland team of the Pacific Coast League, said Tyler, has given assurance will continue a working agreement with Wenatchee on players.

Wenatchee Making Progress on Debt

Chiefs Work On Plans to Pay Debts
WENATCHEE, Nov. 25—Stockholders of the Wenatchee Western International Baseball League club have decided to operate in 1954 and are continuing plans for raising money to pay off $18,625 in current debts.
President Paul Thomas announced that WIL president Bob Abel had extended until December 10 a deadline for final word from Wenatchee on its financial condition for next year.
Thomas said the team will make every effort to have its financial picture cleared by that time.
Thomas said a group of businessmen has offered to operate the team this coming season on a lease basis provided all old bills are paid.

Chiefs Won’t Fold

Wenatchee To Play in W.I.L.
WENATCHEE, Nov. 19 — President Paul Thomas announced Thursday that Wenatchee will field a 1954 team in the Western International League.
He said a group of local business men will form a new corporation and take a lease on the present fan-owned franchise. The announcement came in reply to a league directors’ ultimatum for a Wenatchee decision by Nov. 24 on whether it would continue in the league.
Thomas said all players on the roster will be sold to pay off debts of the 1953 season, which have been cut down to $18,700.
He said the new organization will be approved by the annual stockholders meeting Tuesday.

Soap Box Derby? Not Wenatchee

Chiefs Plan Novel Way to Pay Debt
WENATCHEE, Nov. 7—Wenatchee baseball fans are going to try to float their $7,800 tax headache down the river next Saturday in a box.
The idea they’ve come up with is an “apple box” derby which they hope will raise enough money to pay off the $7,800 in back taxes owed by the Wenatchee Chiefs of the Western International League.
A bunch of boxes will be dumped into the Columbia River next Saturday at Entiat, 18 miles north of here. The derby ticket holder with the nearest estimate of the time it takes the first apple box to float beneath the old Columbia Bridge at Wenatchee will win a 1953 ranch wagon belonging to the Chiefs.
A full report on the Chiefs’ financial woes will be made at the annual WIL meeting in Victoria next Monday.

Attempt to Save Chiefs Underway

‘Tax-Raising’ Group Formed At Wenatchee
WENATCHEE, Oct. 9 — Wenatchee’s sports fans, determined to keep Western International League baseball here, formed a “tax-raising” committee Thursday night to clear up the ball club’s most pressing obligations.
The ball club must pay $7,800 in state and federal excise taxes by Oct. 31 or face probable immediate dissolution of the franchise.
Paul Thomas, president of the community-owned Chiefs, said however, the tax payments would be mainly an attempt to keep the club going so that other obligations can be met.
“It isn’t likely that we can keep baseball here,” Thomas said, “but if we fold the team we want to bow out owing as few bills as, possible.”
He said the club’s debts have been reduced from $30,000 to $27,000, but added: “It is doubtful that we can keep asking fans for $15,000 to $20,000 each season to keep baseball alive, as we have done for the past several years.”
The debt total has been accumulated since fans took over the team before the start of the 1950 season. Thomas said players owned by the club are being offered for sale and that Eugene, Ore., reported to be interested in a WIL franchise, will be contacted in an attempt to sell the Wenatchee holdings.

Wenatchee Loses McCormack, Money

Wenatchee Lost $16,000 This Year
WENATCHEE, Wash., Oct. 5—Oakland of the Pacific Coast baseball League has selected outfielder Ross McCormack from the Wenatchee Western International League club's roster under terms of a working agreement between the two ball clubs.
McCormack, 23, hit .294 this season, led the Chiefs in runs batted in with 87 and hit 12 home runs. He has been with Wenatchee the last three years.
Meanwhile, officials of the ball announced today a deficit of $30,000 since a fan-owned corporation took over the team in 1950.
President Paul Thomas said losses during the past year totalled $16,728 and it is likely the club will not operate in 1954. He said attempts are being made to dispose of player contracts and other assets to cut down the bills owed by the team.

Wenatchee in Debt; Selling Assets

Chiefs Lose $16,728 For Season
WENATCHEE, Oct. 3, 1953—(AP)—The Wenatchee Chiefs of the Western International Baseball League lost $16,728 in the 1953 season and $30,000 in the last four years, the board of directors has announced.
“It looks like baseball is on its way out in Wenatchee,” said the Wenatchee Daily World in an article discussing the situation.
Viewed as the most critical item was a debt of $7,800 in federal and state taxes which must be paid by October 31. Two of the team’s three station wagons have been sold to raise funds. Other assets include player contracts, equipment and the league franchise.
As for the latter, Eugene, Ore., is seeking a berth in the league and has inquired about a franchise.
The team is a community operation. Shareholders and fans are to meet October 8 to discuss the team’s problems.

WIL May Shrink in '54

WIL Expects To Operate Next Year
YAKIMA, Wash., Sunday, Sept. 27, 1953 — The 10-team class A Western International Baseball League may be pared to only eight teams in 1954 but is definitely expecting to operate.
Such was the optimistic opinion expressed late Saturday by Robert P. Brown, WIL president, in the face of growing rumors that the league is bordering on financial chaos resulting from a sharp attendance decline during the 1953 season.
The annual winter meeting, termed as a settlement meeting by Brown, was conducted here behind closed doors. Brown acted as official spokesman for the 10 club representatives who were in session throughout the afternoon and to a late hour Saturday night. The meeting continued Sunday.
Brown admitted there were doubtful clubs for 1954 but would not disclose which owners were reluctant or how many.
However, at least two clubs have publicly stated they were ready to withdraw. Roy Hotchkiss, Spokane president, and Frederick Mercy Jr., Yakima president, have announced intentions to close out their baseball holdings.
In addition, Wenatchee and Calgary have previously expressed concern over large financial losses suffered in 1953.

WIL League Future Lies With Board
YAKIMA, Sept. 27 — A final decision on the future of the Class A Western International Baseball League will be made at a directors' meeting at Victoria, B.C., Nov. 9, officials of the ten-team loop said Sunday.
The directors, after a day-long session here Saturday spent wrestling with financial problems resulting from falling attendance in 1953, predicted the circuit definitely will operate in 1954.
However, they postponed a decision as to whether it will be an eight or a 10-team league until the November meeting.
A spokesman said "nobody surrendered their franchise" at the meeting here.
Frederick Mercy Jr., owner of the Yakima Bears, and Roy Hotchkiss, president of the Spokane Indians, have talked of disposing of their holdings.
Mercy told a reporter after Saturday's meeting he definitely plans to give up his franchise but will takeno action until November. The Yakima Republic said a group from Eugene, Ore., has expressed interest in acquiring the Bears but reported a local movement was developing to keep them here.
Victoria, Edmonton and Calgary were reported ready to operate in 1954.
Victoria is said to be the league's most financially hard pressed team but president Reggie Patterson, said: "We'll operate. We always have."
The directors also discussed Edmonton's request for a Shaughnessy playoff, and talked of shortening the season by two weeks.

WIL Loses Two Teams
BY DOUG PEDEN
[Victoria Colonist, Sept. 29, 1953]
Possibility of the Western International League operating as an eight-team circuit in 1954 was seen as Wenatchee and Yakima announced their withdrawl from the loop during a closed-door meeting at Yakima Saturday and Sunday.
Despite the league’s financial difficulties through the 1953 season, the remaining eight clubs—including the Victoria Tyees—expressed their intention of continuing operations as team delegates met with president Bob Brown in an effort to iron out various difficulties.
Delegates also decided to hold their annual meeting in Victoria on November 9 when applications for franchises received from Tacoma, Washington and Eugene, Oregon will be considered.
Among suggestions advanced as a means of easing financial strain on the clubs were those of lowering the classification of the WIL, thus reducing salary limits, and cutting the present player limit of 18 to 16 men per team.
Victoria business manager Reg Patterson, on his return from Yakima, declined to discuss the Tyees’ plan for 1954. He said, however, that the club hoped to clear all its local debts this winter through the advance sales of box seats and sales of tickets for Christmas gifts.
Patterson also said that admission to Victoria games was expected to be slightly lower next season.