Spokane ...... 69 38 .645 —
Vancouver .... 70 39 .642 —
Salem ........ 55 52 .514 14
Wenatchee .... 54 52 .509 14½
Tri-City ..... 48 61 .440 22
Tacoma ....... 45 62 .421 24
Victoria ..... 46 64 .418 24½
Yakima ....... 45 64 .413 25
WENATCHEE, Aug. 2— Tommy Breisinger whiffed thirteen Spokane batters Thursday night as the Wenatchee Chiefs defeated the Indians 7-2.
Breisinger contributed a two-run single in the second to aid his cause. Will Hafey pounded a bases-empty home run in the seventh for Wenatchee.
Spokane ........ 000 000 101—2 7 1
Wenatchee .... 040 100 20x—7 12 0
Bishop, Aubertin (5) and Sheets; Breisinger and Roberson
VANCOUVER [Clancy Loranger, Province, Aug. 3]—A pair of Bills had quite a night for themselves at Capilano Stadium Thursday.
The two Bills who earned the right to celebrate were Yakima’s manager Bill Brenner, and the Bear’s lanky left-hander, Bill Boemler.
Early in the game Brenner, the former Capilano field boss, learned that his wife Nancy had made him a daddy for the first time. The statistics from Yakima: a boy (a right-hander), three and a half pounds (he was a couple of months early), both mother and son doing well.
Father was looking rather pleased Thursday night, too, what with the new from the home front and the way his boy, Boemler, was performing.
McGUIRE GETS DOUBLE
Boemler, who is built something along the lines of the Empire State Building, was just wild enough to keep the Capilanos loose, and wound up with a brilliant one-hitter. Bob McGuire got the lone Vancouver hit, a double to left field in the third, and if still another Bill, left-fielder Andring, hadn’t misjudged the ball originally, it might have been a no-hitter. Andring made a valiant recovery, but the ball was hard hit and got away from him, rolling to the fence.
Closest the Brownies got to scoring was in the second, when Boemler gave u three of his eight walks. But with nobody out, Abernathy hit into a double play on a line-drive and the Yakima southpaw got the next batter.
Losing pitcher was Sandy Robertson, who came up with his top performance of the year. Showing form reminiscent of last year, when nobody could beat him, Sandy scattered eight hits. The single Yakima run came across in the ninth, when Will Tiesiera singled, was sacrificed along, and scored from second on Phil Steinberg’s single.
CUFF NOTES—The loss didn’t hurt the Caps too much. Spokane Indians dropping a 7-2 decision to Wenatchee . . . It’s a double-header at Cap Stadium tonight, with Carl Gunnarson and Ronnie Smith slated to pitch for Schuster’s hirelings . . . First game goes at 7 p.m. . . . Pitcher Bob Brunner was released and has returned home to Iowa.
- - - -
VANCOUVER [Dan Ekman, Vancouver Sun, August 3]—That’s an eighth-place club he’s dragging behind him, but just for today Bill Brenner is the happiest baseball manager in the Western International League.
The reasons? A cinch—within a two-hour span last night, he was presented with:
1. A seven pound baby boy, by his wife Nancy at Memorial Hospital Yakima.
2. A brilliant one-hit shutout victory over the Capilanos by pitcher Bill Boemler.
FIRST CHILD
The child is Bill’s first, and the win was Yakima Bears’ first in five starts against the Caps this week. Luckily for the locals, though, Spokane Indians once again accommodated them by losing 7-2 to Wenatchee Chiefs. Thus, the Tribe and our guys are still running a dead heat at the top of the standings.
Brenner, still lovingly remembered as the former Vancouver boss, got a big hand from the 2,500 spectators at Capilano Stadium when the happy event was announced, and the Stadium Sum-phonie promptly broke into “Rockabye Baby.” Thus began a giddy round of buffoonery, featuring Cap manager Bill Schuster and Yakima pitcher-coach Kewpie Barrett.
Schuster started it by stuffing a pillow under his belt to emulate Barrett’s profile. Kewpie countered next inning by appearing with his knee swathed in bandages and limping out to the coaching box with the help of a cane. Schuster, whose injured leg really isn’t THAT lame, finished off the vodvil turn by donning a towel in diaper as a salute to new poppa Brenner.
With all this competition, Boemler’s brilliant pitching job went almost unnoticed until the ninth inning, when folks suddenly began to realise he had a one-hitter. Left-fielder Bobby McGuire got the only Cap blow, a line-drive into the left field corner which Yakima’s Bill Andring just might have pulled in had he started earlier.
TRIFLE WILD
Occasional failure to find the plate was Boemler’s only hazard. He walked eight, and very nearly threw the game away in the ninth after the Caps worked Dick Sinovic around to third.
With two away and a two-one count on Chuck Abernathy, Boemler threw one into the dirt. But Yakima catcher Will Tiesiera somehow came up with the ball and discouraged Dick.
Boemler then calmly struck out Abernathy to cinch his 11th win against 10 losses.
CAP-SIZING—Sore-armed Vancouver pitcher Bob Brunner has been given his unconditional release . . . Replacement Vern Kindsfather is driving from Memphis, likely won’t be here until Monday . . . Carl Gunnarson and Ron Smith are the Caps mound selections for tonight’s doubleheader, which starts at seven.
Yakima .......... 000 000 001—1 8 1
Vancouver ..... 000 000 000—0 1 0
Boemler and Tiesiera; Robertson and Ritchey.
TACOMA, Aug. 2—Butch Moran, Tacoma Tigers' first baseman, drove home five runs Thursday to lead the Tigers to a 6-2 victory over the Salem Senators.
Moran's double in the fourth sent home one run and knotted the score at t-1. He tripled home two more counters in the fifth and added a two-run single in the seventh.
Salem ...... 001 000 010—2 8 1
Tacoma .... 000 130 20x—6 10 0
Wilkie, Schmidt (7) and McKeegan; Kipp and Lundberg.
KENNEWICK [Herald, Aug. 3]—With a streak of four straight wins and a two-game bulge over Victoria, the Tri-City Braves tonight open their last campaign of the Western International league season in Canada.
They'll be meeting Victoria first and then go to Vancouver before returning to Sanders field on Aug. 10.
If the Braves can make out as well in the Northern province against the A’s as they were able to do here they should be back within striking distance of the playoffs. Last night's 1-0 shutout made it four in a row over Victoria who won only the first game of the series.
For winning hurler Augie Zande, it was his second shutout victory of the year and moved his won-lost record to 6-8. Although he gave up eight hits the control pitcher kept them well spaced allowing no mere than two hits in any one inning and then giving the A’s that many only twice.
Sam Kanelos got the credit for driving in the winning run. Clint Cameron started it off by lashing out a double to open the second inning. Then with two out Kanelos lofted a high fly well back of first base that fell in safely as the A’s gathered around it. Cameron, off and running with the pitch, scored easily and Kanelos got to second on one of the easiest doubles of the year.
It was a tough one for Ben Lorino to lose. The Victoria moundman gave up but seven hits. Although Tri-City threatened again in the fourth when Neil Bryant reached third there were two out at the tie and Lorino got Kanelos for the final one of the panel on a fly ball to right field.
Clint Cameron deserved a big chunk of the credit for Zande’s victory too. The Tri-City right fielder made a hard driving running catch of a line by Milt Martin down the right field foul line. With a runner on a base, the blow, had it fallen in safely, could easily have tied up the ball game.
The Brave Infield engineered four doubleplays behind Zande to erase any and all threats the A’s were able to manufacture. Nick Pesut started two of them when after taking the strikeout pitch he fired down to Buddy Peterson at second to cut down the attempted base theft Peterson also figured in the other two that came in the fifth and eighth.
Zande closed out the game by striking out the first two A’s to face him giving him six whiffs for the evening. Kanelos erased the final batter on an infield putout to Vic Buccola.
The game was played before 1,792 eager fans and was sponsored by the Kiwanis clubs of Pasco, Kennewick and Richland. The three service clubs livened things up by presenting pre-game entertainment and award, ing many prizes to the audience throughout the game.
Victoria .... 000 000 000—0 8 0
Tri-City .... 010 000 00x—1 7 0
Lorino and Martin; Zande and Pesut.
Eric Whitehead’s FAN FARE
[from Vancouver Province, Aug. 3, 1951]
Our embattled Capilanos picked up what just about amounts to pennant insurance Thursday when they latched on to Vern Kindsfather, the pigeon-toed kid with the big curve ball.
The return of the prodigal son, who labored here as a rookie back in ’49, is also happy news for the front office, wherein nestles the company safe. For Kindsfather is one of the most popular pitchers to show here in years, overshadowed only, perhaps, by hometown boy Sandy Robertson.
It also augurs well for the Brownies’ sprint down the WIL stretch that in Kindsfather they are also getting a contented pitcher. At least as contented as any pitcher who was been booted out of the Coast League after predictions of a glittering major league future.
In Seattle just a few weeks ago, prior to his release to the Memphis Chicks of the Southern Association, Vern told your correspondent that if he was to be discarded by Hornsby—as seemed imminent—he would prefer to come back to Vancouver for a new start.
Rajah to the Rooster
But with the Chicago White Sox (they were the sensations of the majors, remember?) holding a $35,000 option on Kindsfather, he went where they pointed: to the Chisox Double-A farm, Memphis Chicks. It is quite likely that Chisox pilot Paul Richards, who is very high on Kindsfather, had something to do with the recent decision to let Kindsfather “find himself again” back in Vancouver, where he made his first pro start.
Kindsfather never blamed Seattle boss Rogers Hornsby for his failure to click in his sophomore year with the Rainiers, but he was visibly disgruntled over the Rajah’s lack of personal interest and encouragement when the going was tough.
Here, under the voluble and demonstrative Schuster, the direct antithesis to the silent, long-wolf Rajah, the kid who failed in his first try at the big time should start climbing all over again.
Add him to Bob Snyder, George Nicholas and Pete Hernandez, and you come up with a quartet of starters that should cause every other manager in the WIL to gnaw his lineup in sheer envy.
Somebody has to go to make room for Kindsfather.
The return of the prodigal son, who labored here as a rookie back in ’49, is also happy news for the front office, wherein nestles the company safe. For Kindsfather is one of the most popular pitchers to show here in years, overshadowed only, perhaps, by hometown boy Sandy Robertson.
It also augurs well for the Brownies’ sprint down the WIL stretch that in Kindsfather they are also getting a contented pitcher. At least as contented as any pitcher who was been booted out of the Coast League after predictions of a glittering major league future.
In Seattle just a few weeks ago, prior to his release to the Memphis Chicks of the Southern Association, Vern told your correspondent that if he was to be discarded by Hornsby—as seemed imminent—he would prefer to come back to Vancouver for a new start.
Rajah to the Rooster
But with the Chicago White Sox (they were the sensations of the majors, remember?) holding a $35,000 option on Kindsfather, he went where they pointed: to the Chisox Double-A farm, Memphis Chicks. It is quite likely that Chisox pilot Paul Richards, who is very high on Kindsfather, had something to do with the recent decision to let Kindsfather “find himself again” back in Vancouver, where he made his first pro start.
Kindsfather never blamed Seattle boss Rogers Hornsby for his failure to click in his sophomore year with the Rainiers, but he was visibly disgruntled over the Rajah’s lack of personal interest and encouragement when the going was tough.
Here, under the voluble and demonstrative Schuster, the direct antithesis to the silent, long-wolf Rajah, the kid who failed in his first try at the big time should start climbing all over again.
Add him to Bob Snyder, George Nicholas and Pete Hernandez, and you come up with a quartet of starters that should cause every other manager in the WIL to gnaw his lineup in sheer envy.
Somebody has to go to make room for Kindsfather.
ON THE INSIDE
By DON BECKER, Herald Sports Editor [from August 3, 1951]
Passing through here in time for that double victory at Sanders Field Wednesday night was Bob Able [sic], the top man of the Western International League. While coffee-cupping following the game Able confirmed a couple of our suspicions. First there will be no franchise from this league moved to Canada unless two of them go north. The long jump to either Calgary or Edmonton would make it necessary to have teams in both cities.
Further Able said that as far as he knew there had been no “firm” offer from either of those Canadian cities to buy the Tacoma franchise which is on the block for $25,000. One Calgary businessman is reportedly ready to field a team in this league IF the franchise is for free. The franchise by the way is nothing more than a piece of paper. The park, players and equipment all come afterwards.
For instance if you wanted to take over Tacoma, including the park and about seven or eight ball players you'd have to shell out something like $125,000. . .which isn’t peanuts even in these dollar inflated days.
Despite the fact this league is class A in everything but name, Able said he seriously doubted the league directors would “up” the present B classification. The league president pointed out that the principal objection on the part of the club owners is that jumping to A would cost the customer more. Grandstand prices would climb to $1.25 and box seats to $1.50 and up.
TAKING IT ON THE CHIN
From that it can be gathered that you’ll probably see a definite effort to return the league to a true B status. Here's why. This year the league boosted the ticket price 12 percent to meet the increased cost of operation . . . but operation costs today are 30 percent above what they were last season. That’s a difference of 18 percent which the clubs are having to absorb, and most of them are taking it up via the red ink route.
Here's a “for instance” of the rising costs in putting a baseball team on the road. Instead of the 35 cents a mile the chartered buses used to cost the handle now is 56 cents. Start figuring some of the distances the teams travel and you’ll see what we mean. Most of the operation costs such as traveling, meal money, equipment, etc., are such that they can’t be pared. That leaves exactly one place where they can be cut . . . the player’s salaries. Cut those and the teams will lose a lot of ball players. But that is what’s in the offing. However in order to do it the league will have to return to regulation class B style. Until now the owners haven’t been able to agree to that. But with most of them losing money don't be surprised if that’s what comes before the next season rolls around.
Further Able said that as far as he knew there had been no “firm” offer from either of those Canadian cities to buy the Tacoma franchise which is on the block for $25,000. One Calgary businessman is reportedly ready to field a team in this league IF the franchise is for free. The franchise by the way is nothing more than a piece of paper. The park, players and equipment all come afterwards.
For instance if you wanted to take over Tacoma, including the park and about seven or eight ball players you'd have to shell out something like $125,000. . .which isn’t peanuts even in these dollar inflated days.
Despite the fact this league is class A in everything but name, Able said he seriously doubted the league directors would “up” the present B classification. The league president pointed out that the principal objection on the part of the club owners is that jumping to A would cost the customer more. Grandstand prices would climb to $1.25 and box seats to $1.50 and up.
TAKING IT ON THE CHIN
From that it can be gathered that you’ll probably see a definite effort to return the league to a true B status. Here's why. This year the league boosted the ticket price 12 percent to meet the increased cost of operation . . . but operation costs today are 30 percent above what they were last season. That’s a difference of 18 percent which the clubs are having to absorb, and most of them are taking it up via the red ink route.
Here's a “for instance” of the rising costs in putting a baseball team on the road. Instead of the 35 cents a mile the chartered buses used to cost the handle now is 56 cents. Start figuring some of the distances the teams travel and you’ll see what we mean. Most of the operation costs such as traveling, meal money, equipment, etc., are such that they can’t be pared. That leaves exactly one place where they can be cut . . . the player’s salaries. Cut those and the teams will lose a lot of ball players. But that is what’s in the offing. However in order to do it the league will have to return to regulation class B style. Until now the owners haven’t been able to agree to that. But with most of them losing money don't be surprised if that’s what comes before the next season rolls around.
