Right-hander Mike Purcello couldn't catch a break during the regular season as he was on the losing side in all four games he pitched for the Regina Commandos. But, the playoffs were a whole different story.
Purcello, hurling for the Regina Red Sox, was the winner in one of the semi-final games, then fired three complete game victories as the Sox took the final series and the league championship three games to one.
The first known fatality of a former Southern League player in the European conflict occurred during the off-season. Army Lieutenant Robert "Bob" C. Emerson, a first baseman for a number of seasons with the Moose Jaw Athletics (1936), Moose Jaw Canucks (1939) and Moose Jaw Elks (1941) was killed in action on December 23, 1943. Bob's younger brother, Bill, was also a member of several of the Moose Jaw Southern League teams and played right up until 1950.