a ———e Nd | : Bert Whyte 2 SPORTLIGHT LBERNI basketball fans. have was laid low with a virus * been walking on air this last had to withdraw. The figh week, celebrating the triumph of should have been cancelled 1 their Athletics, who won the mediately. Instead old Vern Western Canada hoop champion- Escoe, who had been set to box ship by whipping Edmonton a six-round preliminary, was Towne Hallers. tossed in ‘with Charles. : All British Columbia feels. It wasn a natch. Fezzard ve proud of the twin-town team, but ed with Vern for a couple ; folks in Bigtown just can’t under- tame rounds, then opened ‘ stand what happens in ‘smaller with a flurry of punches and | centres when a championship his man down for the eount. combination is produced. For x * * ' ’ example, Vancouver Jewellers Tt could be one of thea captured their sixth Canadian horse races of the year. a women’s basketball title this April 23 Nashva and Sums week with three straight - wins Tan,\ last year’s top two-year . over Saskatoon Aces, and the meet for the first time this ca event produced only a ripple of son in the Wood Memoria excitement in local sports circles. Jamaica, and will likely figh But in places like Penticton out right to the wire. ie and Alberni, winning a title is In 1954 thev met. four siete something else again. Up Pen- with Nashua beating Su ‘ot ticton way they’re. still talking Tan three times, each in a pho sf hockey; and in Alberni basket- and Summer Tan winning ne ball will be the chief topic of by a length and a quarter; conversation for weeks to come. ting a track record doing it. 15 Of course, if Athletics win the Nashua could be the vee Canadian final (playoffs began best three-year-old if he gets ® Thursday this week) fans in Al- ‘a lazy streak. He can run on 1; berni and Port Alberni will real- kind of track, but likes to ie S ° Braves, Giants, Dodgers (°° GASv so i 4 T celebrate. to be strongly handled. raves : ‘ Biggest man in the Alberni he goes, though, he really ae & ® Valley right now is playing * * ag pat T Ti nn coach Elmer Speidel, whose Word from’ Australia. 1$ ist plan to build interest in basket- giant Don Macmillan is assU%49 ball has resulted in some 250 kids the mantle of John Landy, “ig . . o r 11eE¢ | : » : , l As the 80th season of the National L-ague got off to a good start Monday this eed pe Ragan pena sn, EN iapie eee one eee week, with Chicago Cubs winning 7-5 over Cincinnati Redlegs before 32,195 baseball fans clubs affiliated ‘with the Alberni Macmillan was consid’, : + oe : Te : eS ; : sive ns all in Cincinnati. the expetts were divided on call ag a 1955 winner, but strongly favored New |Athletic Association. Australia’s best before" 2 os 2 What Canada needs is a couple ran-his miracle mile. After nd York Giants, Brooklyn Dodgers and Milwau ee Braves as the three logical contenders for] of hundred Elmer Speidels to sinki he moved to England ve the NL flag. bring basketbal! back as a big- gained valuable exper ati Fans are riding with the Giants = time sport in this country. against such great men aS C and 1 because of Willie Mays, ‘the; for the Giants and Dodgers, and St. Louis Cardinals have plenty x * * way, Bannister, Pirie, Green | “Say hey” Negro cutfielder who is Milwaukee Braves have to be |of power, and if their pitching That fiasco in Edmonton which others of world class. . pig i possibly the best ball player in the! given the nod as club most like- {stands up, could depose Phils and|saw ex-heavyweight champ Ez- Now back in Australl®, 99) | world; ly to succeed. Braves finished |take fourth spof. Their fielders|zard Charles sink Vern Escoe in Don has won the mile anU ine | ie Giants have a superb aill- | fourth in 1950 and 1951, seventh |are good and their batting leaves three stanzas is one of the rea- national titles. His time yd for | round team, with a tried and nothing to be desired, ‘but the|sons why professional boxing is mile was an effortless 4:5.0) true gang of hustlers who can hurlers aren’t Grade One — on|losing support in Canada. the 880 it was a fast 1:59 mil hit, run, throw and give out with paper, anyway. Some fine rookies| Just 24 hours before he was Don’t be surprised if eh the old pepper all season long. could come through and shove the|scheduled to meet Charles, South lan: beats Wes Santee 4 Top hurler Johnny Antonelli is team right up into contention. African champion Johnny Arthur bourne next year. A hurling problem also faces Cincinnati Redlegs, whose best moundsman, Joe WNuxhall,. only won 12 games last year. Without a big improvement, the team will wind up in the second division. Fighting it out for the cellar will be Chicago Cubs and Pitts- burgh Pirates. With Branch Rickey in. the front office, Pirates are playing a long-term strategy, designed to latch onto and develop a “whole string of youngsters who will lift the team to a pennant in two or three years. Meanwhile they lack everything, unless the present rookies suddenly acquire big lea- expected to win 2C or more, with the assistance of such good relief pitchers as Hoyt Wilhelm and i Marvin Grimes. i * Brooklyn’ Dodgers look good, enough to take it all on past per-! formance, but the trouble they face is a biological one — the| whole team is growing old. Last) | year they finished second, and | ‘catcher Campanella was suffering 2 : from a bad hand which hurt his. | performance behind the plate andj 1 ‘ cut his batting average to .207. a ; Jackie Robinson had a poor year,| \ too. If these two veterans should’ aa ‘show.a return to form it could put | the Bums well out in front. Such WARREN SPA ~miracles seldom happen. Campy | gue savvy — in which case any- may improve, but Robinson is de- in 1952, second in 1953 and third | thing might happen. Best pros- , finitely on the. downgrade. | last year. This time they may | pects are the “brothers Freese, Flatbush fans are sticking loy- stop knocking and bust in the’|Gene at second and George at ally to their heroes, but there’s door. : . third; and fastbali flinger Bill Bell. ( more than an even chance that The team is a well balanced| Chicago Cubs have finished in the ereaking Dodgers may come one, with perhaps the strongest] or near the cellar for the past five 4 apart at the seams before Septem- mound crew in the league, heAded|seasons and show no signs of iF ber rolls around. iby southpaw Warren Spahn and} mending their ways. Weak catch- Discard sentimental feelings | including Gene Conley, Lew Bur-jing and a poor crop of outfielders ° dette, relief pitchers Ernie John-|are main handicaps. Like the son and Dave Jolly. Pirates, Cubs are also depending The Braves have the hitters, too|on rookies to add a needed spark. —Joe Adcock, Eddie Mathews, So, looking them over, it ap- Bobby Thompson. pears that the order of finish Much depends, of course, on the| will read something like this: return to form of Thompson,| Milwaukee, New York, Brook- who is best remembered as the| lyn, St. Louis, Philadelphia, guy who won a pennant for the Cincinnati, Chicago and Pitts- Giants with a ninth-inning homer] burgh. : with two on against the Dodgers} In a “good” season Bobby a few seasons back. Thompson is|Thompson bats in from 100 to 115 an in-and-outer. A good season|runs. Last year he delivered 15, usually follows a bad one. Last|and the Braves feel this cost them year he broke his ankle, hardly|the pennant. After all, they were played at all. The Braves are|only beaten by eight games, and counting on him to drive in 100|figure that Thompson will easily or more runs in 1955. . |mean a greater difference than Philadelphia Phils look .a bit|that this year. weaker than in 1954, when they| ‘Giants have the most zip, Dodg- Southern ‘exposure down under si i finished fourth, 22 games back of|ers the classiest lineup, and Card-' the winning Giants. Robin Rob- inals may spring the biggest sur- Australian rugby player Alf Handcock found himself met erts will have his hands full try-| prises. ; embarrassing situation during a game between two SY a ey ing to keep them in the first divi-| It looks like a lively season! Desperate tackler is determined that his man won't get a WILLIE MAYS sion. (Next week: The American League) least intact. F Be) PACIFIC TRIBUNE — APRIL 15, 1955 — not