Wednesday, March 29, 2006
Mays, Jackson named players of April 1964
Two award-winners from 1963 picked up where they left off in April.
Willie Mays of the New York Mets and Larry Jackson of the Pittsburgh Panthers have been named respectively the PWBL's Player and Pitcher of the Month.
Mays, who leads the Federal League with 10 homeruns and 22 rbi's, earned 17 votes, outdistancing Cleveland's Hank Aaron, who pulled in 12.
Jackson, the first 30-game winner in PWBL history, went 5-1 in April, giving him exactly 150 victories in his 10-year career. The 33-year-old Nampa, Ida., native also notched an ERA of 1.64 in polling 19 votes.
Cleveland's Whitey Ford edged out Washington's Jack Kralick for second place in the pitchers' voting by 8 votes to 7.
Willie Mays of the New York Mets and Larry Jackson of the Pittsburgh Panthers have been named respectively the PWBL's Player and Pitcher of the Month.
Mays, who leads the Federal League with 10 homeruns and 22 rbi's, earned 17 votes, outdistancing Cleveland's Hank Aaron, who pulled in 12.
Jackson, the first 30-game winner in PWBL history, went 5-1 in April, giving him exactly 150 victories in his 10-year career. The 33-year-old Nampa, Ida., native also notched an ERA of 1.64 in polling 19 votes.
Cleveland's Whitey Ford edged out Washington's Jack Kralick for second place in the pitchers' voting by 8 votes to 7.
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Buffs reeling despite fast start
Sunday, April 12, 1964
by Bubba Bright
The Houston Buffs have broken from the gate with a 4-0 start, but the players have barely noticed. They are thinking about something other than baseball. Absent friends, to be exact.
Has any other Postwar Baseball League team ever absorbed two tragedies in such quick succession? Ken Hubbs, the team's brash 22-year-old on-field leader, died when his small plane crashed outside Provo, Utah, just two weeks before spring training. Then, on the same day that Eddie Joost's crew opened the season at home, tall quiet Jim Umbricht succumbed to cancer a few miles away at St. Luke's Hospital.
Paul Richards, the team's grizzled GM, did not tell the players until they had sleepwalked through an 8-to-5 victory over the San Francisco Giants. Several of Umbricht's teammates broke down upon hearing the news in the lockerroom after the game.
The team's postseason awards will be renamed in Hubbs's and Umbricht's honor, Richards told The Post. Houston's MVP will be presented with the Ken Hubbs trophy, while the best pitcher will be given the Jim Umbricht award.
Dick Hall, just ten days Umbricht's junior, has inherited the former Georgia Bulldog's role as closer. Already the 33-year-old St. Louis native has racked up four saves in the Buffs' four games, but he feels as if he is pitching on behalf of a ghost.
"Jim is out there with me, I know it," Hall said. "I can't believe he's gone."
Eddie Bressoud joined the Buffs in 1962, the same year that Hubbs won the starting job at second base. Joost asked the veteran to room with the rookie, and despite the ten years' difference in their ages, the two became inseperable friends--especially on the road.
"I broke into the PWBL in 1956 with the Mets, watching Frank Bolling play second base. Bolling is one of the best that ever was, but he couldn't hold a candle to Kenny," Bressoud said, his voice barely above a whisper. "Kenny was like a figure skater out there. I've never seen anyone so graceful."
Joost has been splitting the second-base chores between two rookies--23-year-old John Kennedy and 25-year-old Bobby Knoop.
Kennedy, a native of Chicago, enjoyed cups of coffee with the Buffs the last two seasons, but failed to hit, putting together just an .095 average in 21 at bats. Although he is reputed to be almost as good with the glove, Knoop was stuck behind Hubbs in the Houston farm system. He too is a weak hitter, finishing with a .235 average last season at Bryan.
"We are not going to claim that we are dedicating the season to Jim and Kenny. That would be vulgar. We want people to think about them, not us," Joost said after yesterday's 8-to-5 win over the Colt .45s in Dallas.
"But I won't pretend to you that our minds are on baseball. Nobody is supposed to die that young," Joost said.
Bubba Bright covers the Buffs for The Houston Post
by Bubba Bright
The Houston Buffs have broken from the gate with a 4-0 start, but the players have barely noticed. They are thinking about something other than baseball. Absent friends, to be exact.
Has any other Postwar Baseball League team ever absorbed two tragedies in such quick succession? Ken Hubbs, the team's brash 22-year-old on-field leader, died when his small plane crashed outside Provo, Utah, just two weeks before spring training. Then, on the same day that Eddie Joost's crew opened the season at home, tall quiet Jim Umbricht succumbed to cancer a few miles away at St. Luke's Hospital.
Paul Richards, the team's grizzled GM, did not tell the players until they had sleepwalked through an 8-to-5 victory over the San Francisco Giants. Several of Umbricht's teammates broke down upon hearing the news in the lockerroom after the game.
The team's postseason awards will be renamed in Hubbs's and Umbricht's honor, Richards told The Post. Houston's MVP will be presented with the Ken Hubbs trophy, while the best pitcher will be given the Jim Umbricht award.
Dick Hall, just ten days Umbricht's junior, has inherited the former Georgia Bulldog's role as closer. Already the 33-year-old St. Louis native has racked up four saves in the Buffs' four games, but he feels as if he is pitching on behalf of a ghost.
"Jim is out there with me, I know it," Hall said. "I can't believe he's gone."
Eddie Bressoud joined the Buffs in 1962, the same year that Hubbs won the starting job at second base. Joost asked the veteran to room with the rookie, and despite the ten years' difference in their ages, the two became inseperable friends--especially on the road.
"I broke into the PWBL in 1956 with the Mets, watching Frank Bolling play second base. Bolling is one of the best that ever was, but he couldn't hold a candle to Kenny," Bressoud said, his voice barely above a whisper. "Kenny was like a figure skater out there. I've never seen anyone so graceful."
Joost has been splitting the second-base chores between two rookies--23-year-old John Kennedy and 25-year-old Bobby Knoop.
Kennedy, a native of Chicago, enjoyed cups of coffee with the Buffs the last two seasons, but failed to hit, putting together just an .095 average in 21 at bats. Although he is reputed to be almost as good with the glove, Knoop was stuck behind Hubbs in the Houston farm system. He too is a weak hitter, finishing with a .235 average last season at Bryan.
"We are not going to claim that we are dedicating the season to Jim and Kenny. That would be vulgar. We want people to think about them, not us," Joost said after yesterday's 8-to-5 win over the Colt .45s in Dallas.
"But I won't pretend to you that our minds are on baseball. Nobody is supposed to die that young," Joost said.
Bubba Bright covers the Buffs for The Houston Post
Jim Umbricht dead; pitcher on Buffs, 33
April 9, 1964
Houston, April 8 -- Jim Umbricht, Houston Buff righthanded relief pitcher, died today of cancer at St. Luke's Hospital here. He was 33 years old.
Despite a six-hour operation on March 7, 1963, to remove a tumor in his leg, Umbricht was in uniform on Opening Day last season and before the season ended he compiled a 6-6 record in 65 innings. He saved eight games and finished with an ERA of 2.77.
The Buffs obtained Umbricht from the St. Louis Cardinals for Roy Face in a trade prior to 1963. In five PWBL seasons, the 6'4", 215-pound native of Chicago compiled a record of 14-13 with an ERA of 3.06.
Umbricht graduated from the University of Georgia where he starred in both baseball and basketball. In 1951 he was an All-Southeastern Conference shortstop.
Houston, April 8 -- Jim Umbricht, Houston Buff righthanded relief pitcher, died today of cancer at St. Luke's Hospital here. He was 33 years old.
Despite a six-hour operation on March 7, 1963, to remove a tumor in his leg, Umbricht was in uniform on Opening Day last season and before the season ended he compiled a 6-6 record in 65 innings. He saved eight games and finished with an ERA of 2.77.
The Buffs obtained Umbricht from the St. Louis Cardinals for Roy Face in a trade prior to 1963. In five PWBL seasons, the 6'4", 215-pound native of Chicago compiled a record of 14-13 with an ERA of 3.06.
Umbricht graduated from the University of Georgia where he starred in both baseball and basketball. In 1951 he was an All-Southeastern Conference shortstop.
Monday, March 13, 2006
Buffs star killed in Utah air crash
Saturday, February 15, 1964
Provo, Utah -- Ken Hubbs, star second baseman for the Houston Buffs, and a friend were found dead today in the wreckage of a light plane that crashed on a frozen lake near here.
Hubbs, 22, won the Federal League's Gold Glove in his rookie season of 1962.
He and his traveling companion, Dennis Dayle, 23, left this north-central Utah town in Hubbs's single-engined Cessna 172 Thursday morning for their homes in Colton, Calif. Their plane got only about five miles.
The wreckage was sighted on Utah Lake, just south of Provo, late this morning by Harlon Bement, state aeronautics director.
Bement was directing the Utah phase of a three-state aerial search that began yesterday evening when Hubbs's father reported the plane had failed to arrive in Colton.
Hubbs and Dayle were flying home after participating in a basketball tournament at Provo sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Hubbs bought the plane last year and obtained his pilot's license just two weeks ago. He reportedly took flying lessons in order to conquer a fear of flying.
Hubbs committed only six errors while hitting .290 with six homeruns and 67 rbi's in 1962, when the Buffs won the PWBL Kiner Division. He finished second to Rich Rollins of the Chicago Cubs in voting for Rookie of the Year that season.
The 6'2", 175-pound native of Riverside, Calif., slipped to a batting average of .228, but still contributed ten homers and 61 rbi's last year.
Hubbs was selected by Houston in the second-round pick of the 1961 draft--the 49th pick overall--and hit .241 in a 29-at-bat cup of coffee with the Buffs at the end of the season. Houston traded veteran Jim Gilliam to Pittsburgh over the winter to make room at second base for the slick-fielding youngster.
Hubbs's death is the second offseason tragedy for the Buffs. Relief pitcher Jim Umbricht, who underwent surgery to rumor a tumor from his leg last March, was diagnosed in December with inoperable lymphoma and is reportedly near death in Houston.
"Our prayers are with Ken's family," Paul Richards, the team GM, said in a prepared statement. The untimely death creates major problems for the Buffs. Because of Hubbs's youth, the team neglected the second-base position in recent years. 35-year-old Billy Gardner was the backup last season.
Richards could not be reached for further comment.
Provo, Utah -- Ken Hubbs, star second baseman for the Houston Buffs, and a friend were found dead today in the wreckage of a light plane that crashed on a frozen lake near here.
Hubbs, 22, won the Federal League's Gold Glove in his rookie season of 1962.
He and his traveling companion, Dennis Dayle, 23, left this north-central Utah town in Hubbs's single-engined Cessna 172 Thursday morning for their homes in Colton, Calif. Their plane got only about five miles.
The wreckage was sighted on Utah Lake, just south of Provo, late this morning by Harlon Bement, state aeronautics director.
Bement was directing the Utah phase of a three-state aerial search that began yesterday evening when Hubbs's father reported the plane had failed to arrive in Colton.
Hubbs and Dayle were flying home after participating in a basketball tournament at Provo sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. Hubbs bought the plane last year and obtained his pilot's license just two weeks ago. He reportedly took flying lessons in order to conquer a fear of flying.
Hubbs committed only six errors while hitting .290 with six homeruns and 67 rbi's in 1962, when the Buffs won the PWBL Kiner Division. He finished second to Rich Rollins of the Chicago Cubs in voting for Rookie of the Year that season.
The 6'2", 175-pound native of Riverside, Calif., slipped to a batting average of .228, but still contributed ten homers and 61 rbi's last year.
Hubbs was selected by Houston in the second-round pick of the 1961 draft--the 49th pick overall--and hit .241 in a 29-at-bat cup of coffee with the Buffs at the end of the season. Houston traded veteran Jim Gilliam to Pittsburgh over the winter to make room at second base for the slick-fielding youngster.
Hubbs's death is the second offseason tragedy for the Buffs. Relief pitcher Jim Umbricht, who underwent surgery to rumor a tumor from his leg last March, was diagnosed in December with inoperable lymphoma and is reportedly near death in Houston.
"Our prayers are with Ken's family," Paul Richards, the team GM, said in a prepared statement. The untimely death creates major problems for the Buffs. Because of Hubbs's youth, the team neglected the second-base position in recent years. 35-year-old Billy Gardner was the backup last season.
Richards could not be reached for further comment.
Monday, March 06, 2006
Aaron wins second straight Players League MVP
November 9, 1963
Hank Aaron, the 29-year-old slugger who carried the Cleveland Indians all the way to the Mulcahy Cup, won his second straight Most Valuable Player Award in the PWBL Players League.
Aaron outpolled 30-game-winner Larry Jackson of the Pittsburgh Panthers by 59 to 39 votes after hitting a league-leading .341 and blasting 56 homeruns. The Mobile, Ala., native hit 54 homers in 1962 when he won the MVP trophy for the first time.
Aaron hit 400th career homerun on July 24th against Boston, finishing the season with a lifetime total of 429. He also chalked up his 2,000th career hit on the third-to-last day of the season when he doubled in the fourth against San Diego.
The Detroit Tigers' Willie McCovey came in third in the voting with 35, nosing ahead of the Washington Senators' Billy Williams--the Players League rbi leader--who tallied 27.
The complete voting:
PWBL Most Valuable Players since 1946:
1946 Stan Musial, Philadelphia
1947 Ted Williams, Brooklyn
1948 Stan Musial, Philadelphia
1949 Bobby Doerr, Houston
1950 Andy Pafko, Detroit
1951 Sid Gordon, Boston
1952 Sid Gordon, Boston
1953 Roy Campanella, Detroit
1954 Gil Hodges, Chicago
1955 Duke Snider, N.Y. Gems
1956 Mickey Mantle, St. Louis
1957 Mickey Mantle, St. Louis
1958 Richie Ashburn, Chicago
1959 Eddie Mathews, Pittsburgh
1960 Eddie Mathews, Pittsburgh
1961 Harmon Killebrew, San Diego (Federal League)
Rocky Colavito, Houston (Players League)
1962 Orlando Cepeda, Houston (Federal League)
Hank Aaron, Cleveland (Players League)
1963 Willie Mays, New York (Federal League)
Hank Aaron, Cleveland (Players League)
Hank Aaron, the 29-year-old slugger who carried the Cleveland Indians all the way to the Mulcahy Cup, won his second straight Most Valuable Player Award in the PWBL Players League.
Aaron outpolled 30-game-winner Larry Jackson of the Pittsburgh Panthers by 59 to 39 votes after hitting a league-leading .341 and blasting 56 homeruns. The Mobile, Ala., native hit 54 homers in 1962 when he won the MVP trophy for the first time.
Aaron hit 400th career homerun on July 24th against Boston, finishing the season with a lifetime total of 429. He also chalked up his 2,000th career hit on the third-to-last day of the season when he doubled in the fourth against San Diego.
The Detroit Tigers' Willie McCovey came in third in the voting with 35, nosing ahead of the Washington Senators' Billy Williams--the Players League rbi leader--who tallied 27.
The complete voting:
Aaron, Cle 59
Jackson, Pit 39
McCovey, Det 35
B.Williams, Wash 27
Yastrzemski, Chi 5
Koufax, Det 4
Flood, Pit 3
Callison, SFG 2
Drysdale, Wash 2
Killebrew, SD 2
Downing, Chi 1
Wilhelm, Pit 1
Woodeshick, Chi 1PWBL Most Valuable Players since 1946:
1946 Stan Musial, Philadelphia
1947 Ted Williams, Brooklyn
1948 Stan Musial, Philadelphia
1949 Bobby Doerr, Houston
1950 Andy Pafko, Detroit
1951 Sid Gordon, Boston
1952 Sid Gordon, Boston
1953 Roy Campanella, Detroit
1954 Gil Hodges, Chicago
1955 Duke Snider, N.Y. Gems
1956 Mickey Mantle, St. Louis
1957 Mickey Mantle, St. Louis
1958 Richie Ashburn, Chicago
1959 Eddie Mathews, Pittsburgh
1960 Eddie Mathews, Pittsburgh
1961 Harmon Killebrew, San Diego (Federal League)
Rocky Colavito, Houston (Players League)
1962 Orlando Cepeda, Houston (Federal League)
Hank Aaron, Cleveland (Players League)
1963 Willie Mays, New York (Federal League)
Hank Aaron, Cleveland (Players League)
Mays is unanimous MVP in Federal League
November 4, 1963
Willie Mays, who became only the second player in PWBL history to win the Triple Crown, topped off his once-in-a-lifetime season by unanimously winning the Most Valuable Player award for the Federal League.
The 32-year-old Alabaman, who also won the league's Gold Glove for center fielders, hit .363 with 53 homeruns and 153 rbi's to lead the Federals in all three categories. Mays polled 65 votes to outdistance second-place finisher Vada Pinson by 27 votes.
Mays hit 50 homeruns for the second time in his career and banged out his 2,000th career hit--a single--on August 10th at home against Cincinnati. By the end of the year, the 5'11", 180-pound captain of the New York Mets had hit 380 homeruns.
Mays became only the second player to win the MVP trophy on a unanimous vote. Mickey Mantle unanimously won the 1956 award after becoming the first PWBL player to secure the Triple Crown.
Pinson gathered 38 votes to come in behind Mays, followed by Bill White's 31.
The compete voting:
Willie Mays, who became only the second player in PWBL history to win the Triple Crown, topped off his once-in-a-lifetime season by unanimously winning the Most Valuable Player award for the Federal League.
The 32-year-old Alabaman, who also won the league's Gold Glove for center fielders, hit .363 with 53 homeruns and 153 rbi's to lead the Federals in all three categories. Mays polled 65 votes to outdistance second-place finisher Vada Pinson by 27 votes.
Mays hit 50 homeruns for the second time in his career and banged out his 2,000th career hit--a single--on August 10th at home against Cincinnati. By the end of the year, the 5'11", 180-pound captain of the New York Mets had hit 380 homeruns.
Mays became only the second player to win the MVP trophy on a unanimous vote. Mickey Mantle unanimously won the 1956 award after becoming the first PWBL player to secure the Triple Crown.
Pinson gathered 38 votes to come in behind Mays, followed by Bill White's 31.
The compete voting:
Mays, NYM 65
Pinson, Hou 38
White, LA 31
F.Howard, Bos 19
Tresh, NYM 17
Pearson, Sea 10
Peters, NYM 6
Dailey, LA 3
Mathews, Hou 3
Roberts, NYM 3Sunday, March 05, 2006
Murtaugh wins Manager of Year honors
October 29, 1963
Danny Murtaugh, who led the Pittsburgh Panthers to the Williams Division crown after being fired by the St. Louis Cardinals, has been selected the PWBL Manager of the Year.
Murtaugh inherited a Panthers team that had won just 75 games in 1962 under Casey Stengel and finishing 23 games behind. The 46-year-old native of Chester, Pa., was fired after leading the Cardinals to a similar third-place record of 74-88.
Under their new skipper, the Panthers got off to the league's best record in April 1963, winning 14 and losing just four. They slipped into second place six times in June, but never trailed by more than a game and a half.
Murtaugh became the fourth Pittsburgh manager to win the trophy, following Pie Traynor (now the team's GM), Leo Durocher (now a Cleveland coach), and Del Crandall (now a backup catcher with Los Angeles).
Al Lopez, manager of the surprising Lemon Division-winning Cleveland Indians, came in second in the voting with 13 tallies, edging out the Detroit Tigers' Sparky Anderson, who polled 11. Lopez is the only three-time winner of the award in PWBL history.
The complete voting:
PWBL Managers of the Year since 1946:
1946 Pie Traynor, Pittsburgh
1947 Moe Berg, Houston
1948 Bill Terry, N.Y. Mets
1949 Yogi Berra, Boston
1950 Mel Ott, N.Y. Gems
1951 Al Lopez, Cleveland
1952 Al Lopez, Cleveland
1953 Mel Ott, N. Y. Gems
1954 Leo Durocher, Pittsburgh
1955 Charlie Dressen, Detroit
1956 Del Crandall, Pittsburgh
1957 Al Lopez, Cleveland
1958 Joe Schultz, Seattle
1959 Bobby Bragan, Los Angeles
1960 Lou Boudreau, Washington
1961 Eddie Joost, Houston
1962 Birdie Tebbetts, N.Y. Mets
1963 Danny Murtaugh, Pittsburgh
Danny Murtaugh, who led the Pittsburgh Panthers to the Williams Division crown after being fired by the St. Louis Cardinals, has been selected the PWBL Manager of the Year.
Murtaugh inherited a Panthers team that had won just 75 games in 1962 under Casey Stengel and finishing 23 games behind. The 46-year-old native of Chester, Pa., was fired after leading the Cardinals to a similar third-place record of 74-88.
Under their new skipper, the Panthers got off to the league's best record in April 1963, winning 14 and losing just four. They slipped into second place six times in June, but never trailed by more than a game and a half.
Murtaugh became the fourth Pittsburgh manager to win the trophy, following Pie Traynor (now the team's GM), Leo Durocher (now a Cleveland coach), and Del Crandall (now a backup catcher with Los Angeles).
Al Lopez, manager of the surprising Lemon Division-winning Cleveland Indians, came in second in the voting with 13 tallies, edging out the Detroit Tigers' Sparky Anderson, who polled 11. Lopez is the only three-time winner of the award in PWBL history.
The complete voting:
Murtaugh, Pit 26
Lopez, Cle 13
Anderson, Det 11
Hodges, Chi 9
Tebbetts, NYM 3
Hutchinson, Cin 2
Williams, Wash 2
Joost, Hou 1PWBL Managers of the Year since 1946:
1946 Pie Traynor, Pittsburgh
1947 Moe Berg, Houston
1948 Bill Terry, N.Y. Mets
1949 Yogi Berra, Boston
1950 Mel Ott, N.Y. Gems
1951 Al Lopez, Cleveland
1952 Al Lopez, Cleveland
1953 Mel Ott, N. Y. Gems
1954 Leo Durocher, Pittsburgh
1955 Charlie Dressen, Detroit
1956 Del Crandall, Pittsburgh
1957 Al Lopez, Cleveland
1958 Joe Schultz, Seattle
1959 Bobby Bragan, Los Angeles
1960 Lou Boudreau, Washington
1961 Eddie Joost, Houston
1962 Birdie Tebbetts, N.Y. Mets
1963 Danny Murtaugh, Pittsburgh
