Brandon Invitational

(Wed June 23)  George Ligon's Colored All-Stars won top money in Brandon's invitational tournament downing the Greys 5-3 before 25-hundred fans in the final.  Steve Ensloe Wylie allowed eleven hits but fanned thirteen as the All-Stars took advantage of two Brandon errors to score three times in the 4th inning.  Toby Simms and Sterling Fuller each had two hits.  Bus Quinn paced the Greys with two hits and two RBI.

While the pitching and hitting provided the fans with plenty to cheer about it was the spectacular fielding plays which deserved the most applause.  During the day, there were many catches made which were nothing short of phenomenal, while none of the clubs committed many really serious blunders.

Jack Johnson, Minot centrefielder, turned in two beautiful catches each time after running the proverbial mile.  Frank Watkins raced from deep right field to short right centre for Brandon and Steve Clark made a leaping catch of a long fly in centre field, all in the opening game.  From there until the final out was made in the final game the day produced a series of such plays.

Coney Williams, starry Brandon shortstop, pulled off probably the finest fielding effort of the day in the eighth inning of the final when he took two steps backward and leaped high in the air to pull in a scorching line drive off the bat of Henry Underwood.  (Brandon Daily Sun, June 24, 1948)

R Reynoldson and Christopher
Wylie and Underwood

Quinn tossed a four-hit shutout and belted a triple as Brandon reached the final with a 5-0 win over Minot.  Coney Williams had three hits for the Greys.

Quinn and Christopher
Keck, Claussen (7) and Tiller

Roy White also pitched a four-hit shutout as the All-Stars downed Winnipeg Reos 4-0.  He chalked up eleven strikeouts and walked two.  The Browns were much in evidence.  Second baseman Eddie Brown and centre fielder Jack Brown of the All-Stars provided the fielding gems of the game robbing Murray Brown of the Reos of base hits in the 6th and 8th innings. 

Walker and Merlevede
White and Underwood

Murray Brown had a triple and two singles to lead the Reos to a 6-4 win over Minot. Bill Nicholson held the Merchants to seven hits.

Johnson and Sullivan, Tiller
Nicholson and Merlevede

(June 23)   A pair of Manitoba teams won the money at the 4th annual  $1,500 Knights of Pythias Tournament at Yorkton.  Gilbert Plains took top prize defeating Carrot River Loggers 9-1 in the final after downing Weyburn 8-6 in the opening round.  Loggers advanced with a 16-0 trouncing to Moosomin.  In the open final, Grandview blasted Rossburn 15-5 after previously ousting Yorkton, Stenan and Wapella.

(June 23)   The Muskogee Cardinals from Houston, Texas captured top money at the Portage Curling Club's Baseball Tournament.  Cards defeated Poplar Point 7-6 in the final. 

Lanigan Tournament

(June 29)   Regina Caps, with a huge assist from Johnny Johnson of the Ligon All-Stars, picked up top prize of $300 at the Lanigan baseball tournament.  Johnson, on loan to the Caps, pitched 27 straight innings to lead Regina to three victories and the championship.  After Quill Lake got toe Caps' starter Chris Gerein for three runs in the 3rd inning of the first game, Johnson took over and the Caps went on to a 7-4, 12 inning triumph.  Johnson then shutout Liberty Eagles 4-0 in the semi-final and went the distance in the final as Regina topped Sioux Indians 8-3.  Two more Ligon's, Sterling Fuller and Cleveland Grant, along with Gordie Knutson of the Regina Red Sox bolstered the Caps' lineup.

Weyburn :   Seven teams were scheduled to compete in the $2,000 tournament in Weyburn July 20-21.  So far entries have come from Minot Merchants, Delisle All-Stars, Regina Caps, Muskogee Cardinals, Wilcox Cardinals, Xoll, North Dakota and Weyburn Beavers.

(Aug 2)  Reo Wreckers captured the Johnny Peterson Tournament for the second straight year downing Transcona 4-3 in the final. 

Transcona 3 Reos 4
Lopuck, Gardner (5) and Rizzuto, Blacquiere (7)
Geo Merlevede, McManus and Gus Merlevede

Transcona 7 Elmwood 5
Gardner, Hewitt (5) (W) and Blacquiere
Johnson, Price (7) and McConachy

Reos 4 Vets 1
McManus and Gus Merlevede
Reeves and Marcotte

Vets 8 Oakville 0
LeRoque and Madden
Sigurdson and Sherritt

Rosedales 0 Reos 3
Boux (L) and Hudson
Slowinski (W) and Gus Merlevede

Morden 2 Elmwood 4
McMullen and Polson
Parsons and McConachy

Poplar Point 2 Transcona 5
Hogue, McKerley and Hextall
Hewitt and Blacquiere

(July 30)   Don Reid fired a three-hit shutout as Rosedale juniors blanked the CUAC Blues 6-0 in the opening round of the Osborne Stadium tournament.  ANAF Vets advanced witha 5-2 win over Belmont and Oakville edged Beausejour 3-2. 

Rosedales 6 CUAC 0
Reid and Hudson
Krueger and Hilderman

Belmont 2 Vets 5
Guly and Madden
Gordon and Sanderson

Beausejour 2 Oakville 3
Coughlin and MacDonald
Blight, Sigurdson (7) and Sherritt

(July 31)   Don Lawson fired a one-hitter to lead Reos to a 5-0 win over St. James Legion at the Osborne Stadium tournament. 

St. James 0 Reos 5
Dickson (L), Pell (5) and Cuthbert
Lawson (W) and Gus Merlevede

Morden 7 Sundown 4
Cuthbert and Sparrow
Hrynchuk, Boulieau (3) and T. Eliuk, Bjornson (3)

Elmwood 3 Gilbert Plains 2
Hal Price (W) and McConachy
O. Minish (L) and J. Wilson

Transcona 5 Teulon
Lopuck and Blacquiere
Duck, Small and King

Poplar Point 5 Kamsack 2
McKerley and Hextall
Chevalodoff and Collinie

Indian Head Tournament

(Wed Aug 4)   In the highlight of the opening day of the Indian Head tournament, Brandon Greys edged Lake Valley 1-0 in 11 innings as Steve Wylie and Jack Devine hooked up in a spectacular pitching duel.  Each came through with a two-hitter.  Wylie won his own game in the 11th leading off with a double and advancing to third when the ball went into the crowd down the first base line.  He scored on a long fly to centre.  

Two upsets marked the opening day.  Gail Shupe, the former Winnipeg Maroon hurler, pitched Rouleau to a 4-3 win over the Ligon All-Stars.  Williston, North Dakota lost to Liberty 3-0. 

More than 85-hundred baseball fans poured onto the grounds to watch nine successive games as 22 teams representing three prairie provinces, North Dakota and California started in the tournament.

Marquis 1 Regina Red Sox 12
Wapella 5 Regina Red Sox 6
Woodrow 3 Ridgedale 6
Rouleau 4 Ligon All-Stars 3
Kronau 5 Delisle 2
Main Line 3 Preeceville 17
Quill Lake 2 Notre Dame 16
Liberty 3 Williston, ND 0
Griffin 0 Sceptre 5
Lake Valley 0 Brandon 1
Rouleau 2 Regina Caps 6
Minor, ND 16 Lawson 3

(August 5)  Brandon Greys edged a young Sceptre nine 4-3 to capture the $1,000 top prize in the second annual Indian Head Tournament. A record crowd of 16-thousand attended the final day of the twenty-two team event. Greys broke a 3-3 tie with a run in the 5th inning to take the win.  Ian Lowe, who opened the inning with a single, scored the winner on an overthrow of first.  Steve Wylie pitched a three-hitter for the win.  After Brandon had taken a 3-0 lead after two innings, Sceptre third baseman Fergy Shields tied it with one swing of the bat -- a three-run homer. 

C Jacobson and C Grant
Wylie and McConachy

Greys overcame a 3-0 deficit in the semi-final with an eight-run 8th inning to down Liberty 11-4.  

Quinn and McConachy
Buttgereit, Arnoid and McLane

Sceptre gained a final berth with a 1-0 win over Regina Caps as Cliff Jacobson pitched a five-hitter for the win and Al Vogt allowed just three hits in taking the loss.  Sceptre scored the only run in the 4th inning on a double, single and an error.  

Vogt and G Kyle
Jacobson and Grant

In the consolation final, Regina Caps shutout Liberty 3-0.

Gebhardt, T Horseth and McLane
L Scott, Staley and G Kyle

Brandon had earlier downed Minot 8-5.  Greys broke up a tight 2-2 match in the 7th inning when the Mallards decided to walk Rafe Cabrera with one run in and two men on the bases.  Minot catcher Bob Tiller didn't move far enough away from the plate and Cabrera  reached over and tapping a triple to score two more runs.

Price and McConachy
Claussen and Tiller

Sceptre, a club made up almost wholly of local boys, had three shutouts leading up to the final.  In addition to their whitewash of Regina, Sceptre beat Griffin 5-0 and Kronau 5-0.

Spry and Meyer
Ohlheiser and L Grant

In other matches:

Ridgedale 10 Regina Red Sox 5
R Harrison, Polus and Dubyk
McKellar, C Harrison and Mitton

Kronau 6 Preeceville 5
J Gottselig and Meyer
Lysohirka and Strand, Long

Notre Dame 1 Liberty 8
Germann and Brown, McNabb
Downton and McLane

Regina Caps 5 Ridgedale 2
Silverman and G Kyle
Burke and Dubyk