Wednesday 8 August 2007

Pre-Season - April 11, 1950

Calgary Ball Officials Look For Expansion
CALGARY, April 11—Two Calgary baseball officials predicted Monday that Calgary and Edmonton will be representied in the Western International Baseball League “not this coming season but possibly in 1951.”
Business managers Harold Cundal of Purity 99'ers and Sam Timmins of the Buffaloes of Alberta's Big Four Baseball League are lining up talent at WIL training camps in the Okanagan.
Cundal and Timmins said in a telephone conversation they would be interviewing officials of the WIL with a view to including Alberta teams in the professional setting.
“We will know more about it in the next day or so but at the moment the situation looks very encouraging,” said Timmins. “The two Calgary clubs are in complete accord and I think John Ducey (of Edmonton Eskimos) also will like the plan.”

Chiefs Get More Seats
WENATCHEE, Wash., April 11, (UP)—General Manager George Clark of the Wenatchee Chiefs today announced he had secured 1,000 additional bleacher seats for the Chiefs WIL opener again at Yakima here April 18.
The present capacity of Recreation Park is 3,300.

Weaver Given Release
OLIVER B.C., April 11. (UP)—Tommy Thompson, manager of the Wenatchee Chiefs of the Western International League baseball today announced the outright release of veteran righthander Hank Weaver.

Indians Clips Great Falls
LEWISTON, Apr. 11—Six hits produced five runs in the second inning Tuesday and carried the Spokane Indians to a 10 to 6 exhibition baseball victory over Great Falls of the class C Pioneer league.
It was the third straight victory over the Great Falls for the Indians, No. 3 team in the class B Western International League last year. Spokane has won previous tangles 10-2 and 4-0.
The Indians broke loose for five runs in the second after both clubs had scored twice in the first inning. Spokane put together five singles and Charley Bushong's double to take a commanding lead that held up the rest of the way.
The Indians, who open the WIL campaign at home a week from Tuesday night against Victoria, collected 13 hits off two Great Falls pitchers. Dick Bishop was credited with the victory.
Spokane has cut loose most of the rookies who were in the lineup when the Indians were trounced 18 to 0 by Washington State and 13 to 1 by Northern Idaho.
Spokane ......... 250 000 201—10 13 0
Great Falls ...... 201 001 011— 6 11 1
Bishop, Neeley (5) and Nulty; Manier, Puehl (4) and Winter, Tanner (6).

NON-WIL MINOR LEAGUE NEWS

Dallas Opener Draws 50,000
DALLAS, April 11—The largest crowd ever to attend a baseball game in the minor leagues turned out Tuesday night to see nine former major league stars open the Texas league season for Dallas.
A crowd estimated at more than 50,000 by officials saw Dizzy Dean pitch to the first Tulsa batter—Harry Donabedian—and walk him. Donabedian never took his bat from his shoulder.
Then the game was started all over again with the regular Dallas club on the field.
The old-timers were largely instrumental in bringing out the huge crowd to the Cotton bowl, a football stadium, chosen by owner Dick Burnett of the Dallas club as the place to open the season in an effort to set a new baseball attendance record.
51,151 Ducats Sold
The most tickets ever sold for a minor league game was 61,164 April 17, 1941 at Jersey City, which is better than the number actually sold here—54,151. But only about 30,000 persons actually attended that game.
The old-timers represented the Dallas team against just one batter. But they were still magic box office names. And they still showed razor sharp wit. But Ty Cobb, who never was stopped by anything in his baseball heydey, was halted, temporarily, by a radio.
The immortal Georgia Peach, appearing at a luncheon honoring the old-timers Tuesday, had been called upon to tell the funniest story of his baseball career.
He said he had two but when he started on the first one, Gordon McClendon, owner of the radio network over which the program was being carried, reminded Cobb that he was on the air.
Cobb had begun relating a story in which Davey Jones of Detroit was the central character, but McClendon had sensed that it might not be the proper one to go out on the radio.
Cobb backed off. “Well,” he said, “I'll have to retreat from this one.”
Georgia Peach Errs
So he told the other one but in his enthusiasm to emphasize the point blurted out two well-known words that would appear in print only as blanks.
McClendon then arose and grinned: “Well, we've been on the air two years; I guess that's long enough anyway.”
The crowd of 150 persons roared.
They roared, too, at the stories told by Dizzy Dean, Home Run Baker, Tris Speaker, Travis Jackson, Charlie Grimm, Charley Gehringer and Mickey Cochrane. They didn't get to laugh at one from Duffy Lewis, who arrived at the luncheon late.
Deam not only laid them in the aisles with his quips but half of the stories told by the other old-timers concerned Dizzy.
Dizzy, never known to make a modest statement, cast much doubt on the greatness of Speaker, Cobb, Baker and Lewis. The former St. Louis Cardinal hurling star said: “I can't say how good them old guys are because I never pitched agin' 'em.”

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