Wednesday, July 26, 1950

S T A N D I N G S
              W  L Pct. GB
Yakima ..... 61 39 .610 —
Wenatchee .. 60 43 .583 2½
Tacoma ..... 57 41 .582 3
Tri-City ... 54 47 .535 7½
Salem ...... 41 55 .427 18
Victoria ... 43 58 .426 18
Vancouver .. 42 58 .420 19
Spokane .... 42 59 .416 19½

SALEM, July 26 — Yakima's Bears, leaders in the Western International league chase, reached three Salem Senator hurlers for 13 hits Wednesday night to gain a 9-5 victory over the Solons. It was the Bears' second straight win of the clubs' current series.
The Bears counted three times in the first two innings and routed starter John Tierney. Salem tied it in the fourth on a bases-empty home run by Bill Spaeter but Yakima tucked the game away with three-run bursts in both the sixth and seventh innings.
Bill Bradford went the distance for Yakima, giving up nine hits.
Yakima ........... 210 003 300—9 13 0
Salem ............ 000 300 200—5 9 21
Bradford and Tornay; Tierney, Valentine (1), Lineberger (7) and Beard.

VANCOUVER, B. C., July 27 — If Charlie Dressen manager of the Pacific Coast league's Oakland Acorns needs some pitching help in this week's 10-game series at Seattle he might look over Tom Breisinger.
The young southpaw, an Oakland chattel assigned to Wenatchee, pitched and batted the Chiefs into second place in the Western International league tonight, shutting out Vancouver 1-0 on three hits and scoring the game's only run with a mighty clout over the right field fance in the sixth inning.
The blow, combined with Wenatchee's 7-2 win in the seven-inning opener, pushed the Chiefs a bare percentage point ahead of Tacoma.
Breisinger's blow gave him the edge in a sharp pitching duel with Vancouver's veteran George Nicholas. The Cap hurler gave up only five hits in one of the finest pitching matchups in Capilano Stadium for many years.
Wenatchee left only one man on base at the Caps supposed Nicholas with three double plays. The game lasted one hour and nine minutes
In the first game, the Caps were handicapped by the absence of Reg Clarkson and Jim Robinson. Clarkson returned in time for the second game
It was featured by spectacular fielding on both sides. Perhaps the greatest play of the night was turned in by Walt Pocekay of Wenatchee. Jim Keating, the Vancouver power-hitter, blasted a tremendous drive to left which carried on a line to the left field wall. Pocekay raced back, twirled into the air and caught it with his back touching the wall.
Meanwhile, an official complaint has been sent to WIL President Bob Abel by the official scorer. Manager Rupert Thompson of the Chiefs refused to present the scorer with the batting order in the second game because the scorer had declined to change three Vancouver errors of Tuesday night and Wednesday night to hits for Wenatchee.
The complaint is against Thompson for the refusal and against player Don Fracchia for using abusive language.
First Game, Seven innings
Wenatchee ........ 103 030 0—7 7 2
Vancouver ......... 200 000 0—2 5 2
Dahle and Len Neal; Snyder, Gunnerson (5) and Brenner.
Second Game
Wenatchee ........ 000 001 000—1 5 0
Vancouver ......... 000 000 000—0 3 0
Breisinger and Len Neal; Nicholas and Heisner.

TACOMA, July 26—Tacoma defeated Tri-City, 3 to 2 in 10 innings here Wednesday night to go two up in their three-game Western International baseball league series.
Tacoma's winning run came on a walk to Mike Catron, a sacrifice,fielder's choice and Buddy Peterson's error on Sol Israel's grounder.
Tri-City's two runs came in the fourth on a home run by Clint Cameron into the Greco gardens in center field after Jim Warner had singled.
Tacoma tied the score at 2-all when Israel hit into the same garden in the eighth.
- - - - -
TACOMA, July 27 [Herald]—The Tacoma Tigers assured themselves of the edge in their three game scries with the Tri-City Braves by capturing the second game 3-2 in 10 innings.
And it was a costly boot by Tri-City's shortstop, that sent Mike Catron scooting home from third base. Catron had reached first on a free pass from loser Joe Nicholas. A sacrifice and a bunt moved the Tiger third sacker around to the pivotal bag of the game.
Clint Cameron's home run in the top of the fourth accounted for all the Brave runs. Cameron's four-master drove in Jim Warner who had singled ahead of him.
Tacoma collected a home run also when Sol Israel dropped one over the fence to knot the count 2-2 and send the game into extra innings.
The two teams olose out their series tonight, with Tri-City moving over to Salem Friday.
Tonight's broadcast of the game will start at 8:45 p. m. over KPKW with Arnie Sanborn doing the sportscasting.
WINfan note - the radio game is a re-creation.
Tri-City ............ 000 200 000 0—2 9 1
Tacoma ............ 010 000 010 1—3 5 0
Nicholas and McKeegan; Kipp, Anderson (9) and Sheets.

VICTORIA, B, C., July 26 — Spokane Indians salvaged the final game of a three-game series with Victoria Athletics here Wednesday night, winning 5-4 in 10 innings before a "ladies night" crowd of 2,500.
Glen Stetter was the big wheel for the Spokes. He crashed out a two-run homer in the 10th to score Leon Mohr, who had bunted safely, and break a 2-2 tie. Stetter scored as the throw from the outfield got away. Frank Matoh followed with another triple and scored what proved to be the winning run on Edo Vanni's single.
Gene Thompson batted in the first two Victoria runs, one with his 18th homer, to force extra innings. The A's made it close in their half when pinch hitter Al Ronning led off with a single and scored ahead of Bob McGuire as the young outfielder smashed a long home run.
Spokane ........ 200 000 000 3—5 15 1
Victoria ......... 000 101 000 2—4 10 1
Bishop, Conant (10) and Rossi; Smith and Danielson.

Alf Cottrell
[Vancouver Province, July 26, 1950]
Larry Neal stretched out in a chesterfield chair in the hotel lobby, his lank frame fitting where it touched. He looked relaxed and sad.
Here was slimmer than I thought, and younger. You wouldn’t have taken him for the big fellow who plays shortstop for Wenatchee. But there were other Wenatchee players around the lobby, and he is the club’s only colored player.
He said he wasn’t sad, really. He was 19 years old. He had read the column I had written from Penticton, in the spring, where I told how the Vancouver Capilanos, in a private survey, voted 9-2 in favor of colored players getting a chance to play in this league.
It had made him feel better, he said. He wouldn’t have seen it except one of the fellows on the club brought it to his attention.
• • •
Fresh out of high school, he didn’t know a thing about baseball when he reported to the Oakland training camp this spring. He had just played American Legion baseball with fellows like Jimmy Moore and Mansell Travis, who were with the Capilanos early this season. I said Travis had been sent to the Pioneer League. “How’s he doing, did you hear?” he said. “That’s where I expected to be sent.”
I had noticed that where his throws, the first trip Wenatchee was here, would go into first base with an explosion, they sneaked in there with a whimper now. “I can’t throw hard,” he explained. “I hurt my shoulder going into ‘the hole’ on a play. I had been over .300, but I went into a slump as soon as I started throwing badly.
He said, “That Sandy Robertson is smart enough out there. I golfed some hits off him that I wasn’t entitled to. One off a knuckler that broke to my shoe tops. He just lets you look at his fast ball, then kills you with the curve.
He had reached the season’s half-way mark and was still around. Was he happy?
“Everybody, no matter where, has been so nice to me,” he said. “I couldn’t be any other way but happier.”

Chiefs Sign Catcher
WENATCHEE, July 26 — The Wenatchee Chiefs of the Western International league signed Arthur Billings of San Diego, Calif, as a second string catcher. Billings, 21, has three years of lower minor league experience.