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1951 Tournaments | |
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Lacombe : (June 10) Medicine Hat / California Mohawks trounced Morinville 11-1 to win top prize money at the second annual Lacombe tournament. "Stan Jarvis was the hero of Saturday's final as he pitched Mohawks to first prize money of $1,400. The chubby southpaw hurled four-hit ball against the powerful Morinville sluggers." (Lacombe Globe, June 14, 1951) Medicine Hat 11 Morinville 1 Mohawks reached the final with a 12-3 victory over the Central Alberta All-Stars. Bates and Bechelli Morinville scored four runs in the bottom of the 8th to win its semi-final, 10-8 over Swift Current. Callihan, McManus (8) and McNabb, Thederan
(7) In first round action, the All-Stars edged the heavily favoured Sceptre Indians 4-3 as Ralph Vold picked up the win with 8 1/3 effective innings. Charlie Morris came on in relief in the ninth and stifled a Sceptre threat. Chet Brewer took the loss. Vold, Morris (9) and Kruger Swift Current trounced the club from Standard, Alberta 16-2, Morinville upset the Edmonton Oilers 7-6, and Medicine Hat erupted for five, first-inning runs and held on to shade the Indian Head Rockets 6-5. Mohawks 6 Indian Head 5 Swift Current 17 Standard 2 Morinville 7 Edmonton 6 Nipawin : (June 13) Lefty Arnold tossed a six-hit shutout as Saskatoon 55s whipped Kamsack 12-0 to cop the $1,000 top prize in the Third Annual Nipawin Tournament. Outfielder Bob Garcia, who drove in four runs in the semi-final game, had another pair in the final. Norm Brown had two hits and three walks to pace the 55s. Arnold helped his cause with two safeties. Arnold (W) and xxx Ken Bird held North Battleford to five hits and held on as Prince Albert shaded the Beavers 5-4 to take the consolation final. Prince Albert was filling in for the Ligon All-Stars who were unable to make it to the tourney. The Bohemians broke loose for four runs in the 4th inning on three hits, a hit batter and error. Bird (W) and xxx Kamsack Cyclones scored three runs in the 1st inning and four in the 2nd to defeat Prince Albert 7-3 to advance to the final. Four Prince Albert errors were crucial in the Cyclone's outburst. Valentine (W) and Saskatoon advanced to the final with an 8-3 win over North Battleford Beavers. Murray Coben picked up the win with relief help from Charlie Beene in the ninth. 55s belted Steve Wylie for five hits and collected three walks in the first two frames to count eight runs before Murray Richardson took over and blanked Saskatoon for the rest of the game. Bob Herron's triple was a feature for the game for the 55s as he failed to touch first base and was called out after his gallop around the diamond. Coben (W), Beene (9) and xxx Camrose : (June 13) Swift Current Indians knocked off the defending champion Sceptre Panthers 6-4 in the final to win the 2nd Annual $4,400 Camrose baseball tournament before a crowd of 6,000. The Indians took home the $1,800 first prize in the $4,400 tourney. Hal Price, a hero in Sceptre's 1950 victory, was driven from the hill in the third inning and replaced by Cliff Jacobson. In the semi-finals, Swift Current shutout Edmonton Oilers 5-0 as Johnny Mulholland, a 20-year-old Montreal college student, limited the Oilers to six hits. Sceptre whipped the Trail Smoke Eaters 11-5 in spite of being out-hit 11-10 and making a stunning 11 errors. Chet Brewer went the distance for the win. Reg Clarkson belted a two-run homer for the winners, his third of the two-day tournament. Sceptre 4 Swift Current 6 Trail 5 Sceptre 11 Edmonton 0 Swift Current 5 In opening games, Edmonton defeated Morinville 13-6, Swift Current 2 Indian Head 0, Trail beat the Central Alberta All-Stars 5-3, and Sceptre topped Medicine Hat 8-6. Chet Brewer's relief pitching was key to Sceptre's win over the Mohawks. He took over in the sixth inning from Cliff Jacobson and mowed down the last eleven Medicine Hat batters. Reg Clarkson drove in four runs with a pair of homers. Alex Palica (brother of Brooklyn Dodger pitcher Erv Palica) tossed the shutout for Swift Current. Palica and Jim Morrow had hooked up in a brilliant pitching duel. Bob Hobbs belted a two-run homer for the victory. Moose Jaw : (June 14) Regina Caps came back from an early three-run deficit to shade Estevan 8-7 for first prize money in the Moose Jaw tournament. Eli (Skip) Merritt was key, both on the hill and at the plate, for the Caps. He came on in relief in the second inning, and belted a two-run homer in the fifth. Delisle Gems won the consolation final, 7-3 over Moose Jaw. Lefty Neil Courtoreille went all the way on the hill for the Gems holding the Canucks to seven hits. Bert Forbes had a triple and a single for the winners. Estevan 7 Regina 8 Delisle 7 Moose Jaw 3 In opening games, Regina walloped Moose Jaw 20-7 and Estevan squeezed out a 4-2 win over Delisle. Second baseman Roland Miles sparked the Caps with four hits, including a grand slam homer. Lefty Allen Bryant went the distance to beat the Gems. Andy Porter took the loss. Regina 20 Moose Jaw 7 Estevan 4 Delisle 2 Kenaston : (June 16 ) Roy Taylor's Saskatoon 55s won their third straight tournament with an 11-inning11-8 win over North Battleford in the final of the Kenaston tourney. Beavers blew a four-run lead in the top of the ninth when the 55s broke through to tie on a triple by Jules Swick. In the 11th, singles by Roy Taylor and Bob Garcia, followed by Sherman Watrous' double and Ray Hamilton's single resulted in three markers for Saskatoon. Murray Coben shutdown the Beavers in the bottom of the inning for the win. 55s made the final with an 8-7 win over Delisle as Lorne Rumball picked up the win in relief of Charlie Beene. Bob Garcia blasted a three-run homer for the 55s and Max Bentley had a pair of doubles for the Gems. North Battleford dumped Colonsay 9-3 behind the pitching of Doug Dodd. Watrous had seven hits in eleven trips to the plate in the two games. Lafleche : (June 18) Walter (Butch) Buttgereit slammed a three-run homer in the seventh inning to carry Regina to a 6-3 win over Estevan in the final of the Lafleche baseball tournament. John McDaniels also homered for the Caps. Carl Coons went the distance on the hill for Regina as did Jack Bruton for the Maple Leafs. It was Coons second complete game victory in three days. He beat Eston 5-1 on Saturday. Coons (W) and Kyle Regina 6 Estevan 3 In the opening game of the tourney, Estevan beat Moose Jaw 8-5. Medicine Hat : (June 18) Sceptre Panthers won first prize money of $1,000 in the Medicine Hat tournament defeating the Indian Head Rockets 4-1 in the final. Hal Price gave up just six hits and an unearned run in taking the victory over mound opponent Jesse Blackman. Pedro Osorio had a homer for the Panthers. Indian Head 1 Sceptre 4 In the consolation final, Medicine Hat Mohawks, behind the pitching of Cliff Allmon, trounced Lethbridge Cubs 14-3. (June 16) Indian Head scored six runs in the 1st inning and coasted to an 18-1 win over Lethbridge Cubs who committed ten errors. Toribio Leal, the little Cuban, pitched a six-hitter and struck out 16 in racking up the win. He had a shutout until the 7th inning when Bill Dea scored an unearned run. Sceptre Panthers notched four markers in the bottom of the first and held on to down Medicine Hat 6-3. Cliff Jacobson held the Mohawks to nine hits in gaining the win. Rockets 18 Cubs 1 Mohawks 3 Sceptre 6 Officials selected a tournament all-star team. Catcher -- John Noce, Medicine Hat Second team battery -- Jesse Blackman, Indian Head and Ed Garay, Sceptre North Battleford : (June 21) Saskatoon 55s won their fourth consecutive tournament with a thrilling 4-3 win over the Beavers in the final of the North Battleford tourney. 55s picked up $1,000 for the win. 55s had won earlier events in Saskatoon, Nipawin and Kenaston. The big blow for the 55s was a bases-clearing double by Normie Brown in the sixth inning. Brown then scored on Roy Taylor's single. The four-run inning erased a 2-0 North Battleford lead. Beavers made it a one-run game in the seventh when Pete Prediger singled in Matt Meredith. Herron, Coben (1), Arnold (7) and
Watrous Saskatoon advanced to the final with a 2-0, 10-inning win over Colonsay in a brilliant pitchers' duel. Monarchs' Johnny Folk lost while pitching a two-hitter. Lefty Lauer of the 55s allowed just three hits. Bob Herron drove in the only runs with a triple in the top of the tenth. Lauer and Watrous North Battleford defeated Eston 6-2 on a four-hitter by Murray Richardson to reach the final series. Shortstop Joe Paronne clouted a grand slam homer for the Beavers. McKinnon, McNeil (8) and Hucul In the opening round, 55s trounced Delisle 12-2 as 17-year-old Jack Hannah tossed a four-hitter and had one of three homers for Saskatoon. Roy Taylor and Sherman Watrous also had circuit blows. Courtoreille, Fowlkes (2), Max Bentley (8) and
Shirley North Battleford whipped the Triangle All-Stars 13-2 as Roy Dean and Pete Polus each knocked in four runs. Jimmy Linnell, Stynsky (8) and Strautman Colonsay scored two in the ninth to beat Kindersley 5-4. A double by Tony Nunes plated Lou Pisani with the tying run and a wild pitch allowed Nunes to score the winner. Len Breckner, who started on the mound for the Monarchs, had four hits. Breckner, Coffin (3) and Rosher Eston had 12 hits and took advantage of 9 Sceptre errors to score a 6-5 win. Fred Hucul of the Ramblers and Ed Garay and Cliff Jacobson of Sceptre had homers. Porter and Hucul Prince Albert : (June 24) Indian Head Rockets won the $1,500 top prize in the Kinsmen second annual tournament in Prince Albert with a 9-5 win over North Battleford. Veteran Chet Brewer, who started the season with Sceptre, came on in relief with the bases loaded in the ninth to snuff out a Beaver threat. With two out, Brewer struck out Les Dean on four pitches. Indian Head 9 North Battleford 5 Sceptre 10 Indian Head 13 Medicine Hat 1 North Battleford 5 Indian Head 10 Saskatoon 9 Sceptre 10 Eston 5 Ligon 3 Medicine Hat 8 North Battleford 11 Prince Albert 1 Biggar (June 27) Rain washed out the semi-finals and final of the $2,500 Biggar tournament. Saskatoon 55s, Eston Ramblers, Delisle Gems and Ligon All-Stars had advanced after the first round. The feature of the opening day was a two-hitter by Saskatoon's Jack Hannah as the 55s upset the powerful Sceptre club 5-1. The 55s backed up the 17-year-old's mound effort with eight hits off Cliff Jacobson including six doubles -- two each by Bob Garcia and Sherman Watrous. Eston squeaked out a 3-2, 11-inning, win over North Battleford as playing-manager Jimmy Shields singled, stole second and romped home on a single by Grant Locke. Delisle defeated Kindersley Klippers 5-1 and Ligon All-Stars shaded Colonsay Monarchs 6-4. Each of the semi-finalists received $250 with the first round losers -- Sceptre, North Battleford, Colonsay and Kindersley -- pocketing $100 each. Brandon : (July 2 ) Winnipeg Buffaloes took top prize in the $1,500 Brandon Holiday tournament with a 3-2 win over Elmwood Giants. A double down the right field line by playing-manager Willie Wells, followed by an error on Lyman Bostock's hard grounder brought in the winning run. Finch and Radcliffe Minot and Brandon battled to a 1-1 tie in the playoff for third place. O Renfroe and Kempf Buffaloes reached the final with a 2-1 win over Minot while the Giants blanked Brandon Greys 4-0 as newcomer Tom Parker tossed a one-hitter. Parker was one of three new pitchers to join Elmwood. Barney Morris and Dave Hall were the others. Bruton and Kempf Parker and Radcliffe Saskatoon Optimist : (July 2) Eston won $1,200 first prize money in the Saskatoon Optimist tournament upsetting two-time champion Delisle Gems 6-3 in the final before an estimated 8-thousand fans. Gems had won the first two tourneys in 1949 and 1950. Herb Stevenson, one of three brothers on the Eston club, scattered nine hits and pitched out of trouble several times to lead the Ramblers to the title. He finished with a flourish fanning Doug Bentley, Max Bentley and Bert Forbes in the 9th. He allowed just one extra base hit, a double by Max Bentley. Stevenson fanned nine and walked four. Ramblers drove Sam Fowlkes from the hill in the first frame. Stevenson and xxx Eston hammered out 15 hits to reach the final with a 10-6 win over North Battleford. Clint McNeil, with relief help from Andy Porter, got the win. Swota, L Dean (3) and xxx Delisle won its semi-final, 11-7 over Colonsay Monarchs as Max Bentley paced an 11-hit attack with three safeties. Colonsay had advanced with a win over Medicine Hat. Wilson, Folk (6), xxx and Sasseville, Rosher
(6) Delisle posted a 5-2 triumph over Sceptre in semi-final action. Jackie Woods had three hits and Doug and Bev Bentley each had a pair. Barney Fox and George Mahaffy each had two for Sceptre. Garcia, Jacobson and xxx Andy Porter pitched Eston to a 5-2 win over Saskatoon 55s in the tournament opener Saturday. Sherman Watrous had 3 of the 6 Saskatoon hits. Eston counted single runs in the 1st and 2nd innings and broke loose for three in the 7th on two walks, double by Grant Locke, and single by Chico O'Farrill. The 55s made seven errors. Lauer, Stravrianoudakis (7), Hannah (7) and
Watrous Behind the solid pitching of Murray Richardson and Steve Wylie, North Battleford Beavers topped Swift Current 5-0 Sunday. Richardson had a no-hitter through three innings but experienced arm trouble and was replaced by Wylie who gave up only two hits the rest of the way. Roy Dean and Peter Prediger each had two hits for the Beavers. Richardson, Wylie (4) and Green Colonsay edged Medicine Hat 7-6 in a game who featured a near riot over a call in the bottom of the 9th when the potential tying run was cut down at the plate for the final out. Mohawks had taken the lead in the 1st on a three-run homer by Al Endriss. Colonsay bounced back with four in the 4th on four hits and three errors. Folk, Carlson (4) and Sasseville (July 5-6) The Spokane Solons of the Twi-Light League had a rude reception across the border in Trail. The Solons were scheduled to play a weekend triple-header with the home town Smokies. In the Saturday night matchup, Trail trounced the visitors 29-4 with 19 runs scoring in the 7th inning. Sunday, the Smokies walloped the Solons 21-2 in the first game of the twin-bill using their 16-year-old batboy to hurl the last three innings. Smokes declined to play the third game. (The Canadian Press story did not identify the batboy. Ted Bowsfield, who was a pitching star the following season at age 17, seems the likely choice. ) Sceptre : (July 6) The host club won. Sceptre Nixons erupted for four runs in the sixth inning to defeat North Battleford Beavers 6-3 in the final game. Sceptre outhit the Beavers 14-5. North Battleford 3 Sceptre 6 The Nixons downed the Delisle Gems, and North Battleford got by Swift Current in the semi-finals. Earlier, Swfit Current downed the Sceptre Outlaws 12-2. Also in the tournament were Eston, Shaunavon, and Kindersley. Moosomin : (July 6) The Brandon Greys of the ManDak League scored two lopsided victories to claim the title in the $2,200 Moosomin tournament. Greys whipped the Western League leading Indian Head Rockets 13-9 in the final after downing Estevan 12-5 in their opening game. Greys erased an early 5-0 deficit with two runs in the 3rd inning, two in the 4th and six in the 5th. Clarence King and Pepper Bassett homered for the winners. Pedro Naranjo went the distance on the hill for the Greys. Naranjo Brandon also gave up the early lead in the semi-final, trailing 4-1 going into the 4th inning, but erupted for five runs to take the lead and coast to the win. Suarez Moose Jaw won the consolation final, 8-5 over Estevan. The Rockets had trounced Moose Jaw 10-1 in first round action. It proved a costly event for the Rockets. Shortstop Clemente Varona broke his leg trying to score in the final game. Varona had belted out five hits in six trips in the tournament. Foam Lake : (July 11) Indian Head bounced the Beavers of North Battleford 10-3 to win top prize in the Foam Lake tourney. Rockets scored three in the first and another four in the third to salt away the victory, their third of the day. Toribio Leal, who relieved starter Jesse Blackman in the second inning, blanked the Beavers the rest of the way for the victory. A crowd estimated at 13-thousand watched the final contest. Indian Head 10 North Battleford 3 The Rockets trounced Sceptre 18-7 in semi-final action. The Beavers reached the final defeating Ligon's 8-5. Earlier in the day, Rockets shaded Eston 3-0 and Steve Wylie pitched the Beavers to an 11-2 win over Elfros. In other games, Ligon's ousted Saskatoon 3-2 and Sceptre took a 3-1 win over Colonsay. In first round action, Indian Head downed Watson 9-6, Ligon's shaded Wynyard 10-9, Eston beat Quill Lake 9-4, Colonsay bounced back from a 5-0 deficit to edge Yorkton 6-5, Sceptre clobbered Kamsack 15-3, Saskatoon topped Grandview 8-5 and North Battleford moved on with a 9-8 win over Dauphin. Swift Current, which had recently tried to revamp their team, was a no-show. Elfros advanced by default. The tournament had a hockey flavour with several prominent stars competing. Doug and Max Bentley and Gordie Howe were in the Saskatoon lineup, Bert Olmstead with Sceptre, Max MacNab with Watson, Emile Francis with the Beavers, and Metro Prystai and Vern Pachal with Yorkton. Brandon : (July 12) A pair of one-hit shutouts highlighted the $1,500 Brandon invitational tournament. Southpaw Ray Finch's ten-inning, one-hitter gave Elmwood a 1-0 win over Brandon and first prize. Greys Pedro Naranjo had a two-hitter going into the final inning when two singles sent Bob Harvey home with the game's only run. Finch and Swanson Elmwood gained a berth in the finals as Willie Jefferson allowed just an 8th inning single as the Giants downed Carman 3-0. Jefferson and Greene Brandon topped Estevan 6-3 in the other semi-final. Bruton and Landrum Carman took the consolation final 9-3 over Estevan. Bruton, Bryant (2) and Landrum Kamsack : (July 13) Saskatoon 55s beat the hometown Cyclones 4-1 to take top prize of $1,200 in the Kamsack Elks tournament. Sherman Watrous had three hits, including a triple for the winners. A crowd of 7-thousand watched the action. McCowan, Anderson and Jenson In the semi-finals, Kamsack whipped Holar 13-2 and Saskatoon beat the California Mohawks 4-0 as Charlie Beene held the Mohawks to just one hit in seven innings of relief work. The major upset of the tourney was provided by Holar, a club from the farm district in the Churchbridge area. They topped Yorkton Cardinals in the opening round then knocked out Eston Ramblers with a 5-3 win. Another surprise was the California Mohawks 4-1 victory over Indian Head, winners of the recent Foam Lake tournament. Other quarterfinal action had Kamsack downing Flin Flon 6-2 and the 55s beating Sceptre 8-3. In other first round games, Eston beat Grandview, Kamsack ousted Bowsman, Flin Flon Miners dumped Pelly, Indian Head topped Dauphin, Mohawks defeated Preeceville, Sceptre advance with a win over Gilbert Plains and Saskatoon moved on as Steve Stavrianoudakis was the winner in a 14-2 triumph over Roblin. Indian Head : (July 19) The college kids did it. The Medicine Hat Mohawks came from behind to defeat Eston Ramblers 9-6 and take $1,200 first prize money in the Indian Head tournament. 11-thousand fans watched the finale. Medicine Hat 9 Eston 6 Right-hander Curt Barclay was the hero for the Mohawks pitching a seven-hitter in the morning as Medicine Hat eliminated Estevan 3-2 then throwing eight innings in relief as the 'Hawks won the final. Eston got an early jump on the Mohawks with three runs in the 1st inning of the final against Bud Francis. After the Hawks replied with a pair in the top of the 4th, three Mohawk errors contributed to a pair of runs against Barclay in the bottom of the frame. Medicine Hat pulled to within a run with two in the 7th before their four-run outburst in the 8th. They slapped out five hits, including a two-run triple by Ray White. Al Endriss and Barclay each had a double and two singles for Medicine Hat. Rudy Fernandez took the loss. Pumpsie Green had a big game against Estevan with five hits, including a pair of triples and scored the winning run. Barclay and Noce The club got strong pitching from Bud Watkins to score an upset, 7-5 win over Regina in a semi-final. Woolley, Coons (5), Merritt (5) and Kyle, Collins
(7) Jackie McLeod pitched a seven-hitter to advance Eston to the final with a 14-2 win over Kamsack. Earlier, Eston got a superb mound effort from Andy Porter to best Wilcox-Weyburn 6-3. Davis, Alexdrian and Murray Porter and Serpa Regina had won a semi-final berth as Dave Chadwick out pitched Indian Head's Jesse Blackman and Chet Brewer in the Caps' 7-2 win. An error, which plated two runs, cost Chadwick the shutout. Chadwick and Kyle Kamsack eliminated Swift Current 10-8 in spite of a three-run homer and triple by Swift Current's John McManus. Callihan (L) and St. John | |
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