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(1948 London Majors team photo)
Intercounty Final Series
(August )
(September 1)
In the Intercounty final series, London Majors took a 2-0 game lead in
the best-of-seven set with an 8-4 win over Waterloo Tigers at Waterloo.
Tommy White held the Tigers to nine hits in registering the win.
Waterloo took the lead with three runs in the 3rd inning on two singles
and two errors. Majors tied the count in the 6th, took the lead in the
7th and wrapped up the win with three in the 9th. Russ Evon
led the offense with three hits, including a triple and double.
White helped his own cause with two hits and two runs scored.
White (W) and xxx
xxx and xxx
(September 2) The National Baseball Congress announced
a Canadian-American series would be held in mid-September matching the
non-professional champions of the two countries. A tentative
starting date of Septemer 16th was set for the best-of-seven series.
The winner has been invited to play a series of games in Mexico this
fall. Meeting at London will be the two 1948 champions, London
Majors and Fort Wayne, Indiana, General Electrics. Both are
repeat winners, having won national titles in 1947.
(September 2)
London Majors jumped into a 3-0 game lead in their final series downing
Waterloo Tigers 8-6 at home. Bill Wagner was the
winner in relief of veteran Tommy White. Joe
Bechard led the Majors attack with a triple and double.
Ike Koslowski had three hits and Milt Schmidt a
pair for Waterloo. The turning point came in the 4th inning when
the Tigers had the bases loaded with one out. Ken
McFadden made a sensational grab on Archambault's liner and
doubled Gallinger off third base to end the threat.
xxx and xxx
White, Wagner (W) and xxx
(September 6)
Ken McFadden drove in the winning run in the ninth inning to give
London Majors a 4-3 victory over Waterloo and a four-game sweep of their
final series. Bob Fisher had tied the match in the 8th with
a homer.
xxx and xxx
xxx and xxx
Ontario
Final Series
(September 11)
London Majors took the opener of the Ontario Senior Baseball final 10-5
over Windsor.
xxx and xxx
xxx and xxx
(September 12)
Windsor Ryancretes edged London Majors 12-10 in a slugfest at Windsor
Sunday to tie their best-of-five playoff series at a game apiece before
more than 6,000 fans at Windsor. The contest featured 31 hits and
10 errors.
xxx and xxx
xxx and xxx
(September 15)
London Majors crushed Windsor Ryancretes 11-4 to take a 2-1 game lead in
the Ontario Baseball Association senior semi-final. A five-run 5th
inning was key for the Majors. Tommy White went the
distance for the win.
Casezolla (L) and xxx
White (W) and xxx
(September 19)
Tommy White registered his 9th straight playoff victory as he
hurled the Majors to a 13-2 win over Windsor Ryancretes and a 3-1 game
victory in their best-of-five Senior "A" series. White
scattered ten hits in taking the mound triumph and helped the offense
with three hits including a 6th inning homer.
White (W) and Fairs
Parent (L), Casezolla (3), Ferriss, Olenik and Robinet
North
American Final
In
Ontario, the London Majors of the Intercounty Baseball League, defeated
the Fort Wayne (Indiana) General Electrics in a best-of-seven series to
capture the North American Sandlot championship. Fort Wayne was
fresh from winning the National Baseball Congress title in the United
States.
(Sept 21)
Joe Bechard (left) singled in Johnny Lockington with the
winning run in the 11th inning as London Majors topped Fort Wayne
General Electrics 8-7 in the opening game of their series.
Bechard had four hits, including a two-run homer and triple.
He had earlier tied the game with a single in the 9th.
Bobeck, Feeney and Horman
Dumouchelle, Wagner and Fairs
 (Sept 22)
Fort Wayne Electrics, held to just four hits, built an early 3-0 lead
then held on to shade London Majors 4-3 to tie the best-of-seven series
at a game apiece. Charlie Shipp scattered seven hits to register
the win. Cy Bricker (right) was the hard-luck loser.
Russ Evon and Joe Bechard had back to back homers for the
Majors in the 7th inning.
Bricker (L) and Robertson
Shipp (W) and Sewell
 (Sept 23)
Gord McMackon (left) squeezed Johnny Lockington home with
the winning run in the bottom of the 9th inning as London Majors took a
one game lead in the series with a 6-5 victory over Fort Wayne at
London. Tommy White went the distance for the win. Majors
chased Bill Brandt with a four run 2nd inning. Virgil
Feeney finished up for the Americans.
Brandt, Feeney (L) (2) and Sewell
White (W) and Robertson
 (Sept
25) The Fort Wayne offense broke loose for 13 hits in a 12 to 4
win to knot the series at two games each. Leonard Bobeck
(right) fired a six-hitter for the win.
Dumouchelle (L), Fairs and Robertson
Bobeck (W) and Sewell
(Sept 27)
Gaby Hohman's three-run homer in the 9th inning gave Fort Wayne a
come-from-behind 3-2 win over London and a 3-2 game lead in their international series.
Charlie Shipp again topped Cy Bricker. Shipp
allowed 11 hits and fanned 12. Bob Winters of Fort Wayne
and Joe Bechard of London each had three hits in four trips.
Shipp (W) and Sewell
Bricker (L) and Robertson
 (Sept 28)
London Majors trounced Fort Wayne 13-1 to force a seventh and deciding
game in the Sandlot Baseball World Series. Tommy White
fired a five-hitter for his 14th consecutive win on the season and
second of the series. Majors, who pounded out 18 hits, got off to a good start as Joe
Bechard belted a grand slam homer in the first inning. Johnny
Lockington led the attack with a triple and two doubles.
Stan Shargey had two hits for the losers. Bill
Brandt (right), a former major league pitcher with Pittsburgh, failed to
get out of the first inning for the Americans.
White (W) and Fairs
Brandt (L) , Feeney (1) and Sewell
  (Sept 29)
24 hours after pitching a five-hitter to keep London's hopes alive in
the Sandlot World Series, Tommy White (left) pitched a five-hit shutout
to lead the Majors to a 5-0 victory over Fort Wayne General Electrics in
the seventh and deciding game of the series. It was White's 15th
straight win and third of the series. The final featured a
brilliant pitching duel between London's White and Leonard Bobeck
of Ft. Wayne as both matched goose-eggs for eight innings. London
broke the deadlock in the top of the 9th as Don Cooper was
hit by a pitch and catcher Jack Fairs (right) reached on catcher's
interference. White singled to right to score pinch-runner
Bobby Rose. Joe Black's single to centre
brought Fairs home. Majors loaded the bases as Ken McFadden
reached on an error and Johnny Lockington drove in two with a
double to left. Ft. Wayne fought back to load the bases in the
bottom of the 9th but White buckled down to retire the side without
allowing a run. Majors won a cash prize of $5,775.00 for winning
the North American championship.
White (W) and Fairs
Bobeck (L), Feeney and Sewell
 London
manager Clare Van Horne receives the Coca Cola Award, emblematic
of the Canadian title, from Mrs. Gord McMackon, wife of the
Majors' shortstop.
 Earlier,
Majors had trounced Waterloo Tigers 13-3 to capture their second
straight Canadian title. Before six-thousand fans, Majors took a
4-0 lead in the opening frame then exploded for six more in the 2nd to
take what proved to be an insurmountable lead. Don Cooper
(right) was the offensive star driving in eight runs with a grand slam
homer, two-run triple and two-run single. Cooper was also
brilliant in the field handling nine chances without a miscue.
Gordon McMackon had three hits, including a double and
knocked in three. Tommy White scattered 11 hits to rack up
the win.
Bricker (L), Giffen (1), Ariss (2) and Archambault
White (W) and Fairs
(Photos from the 1949 Annual of the National Baseball
Congress)
A few years later, Clare Van Horne would become infamous in
a sordid tale of spurned romance and murder. In May, 1957, Van
Horne used a claw hammer to beat his step-niece to death. The
46-year-old Canadian murdered 27-year-old Mrs. Nancy McLennan in her
Menlo Park, California home because she spurned his attentions.
Van Horne insisted that Mrs. McLennan, who brought her two daughters to
Menlo Park from Canada in 1956, had been his girl friend but refused to
have anything to do with him when he came to visit in May. McLennan,
estranged from her husband, was the step-daughter of Van Horne's
brother. After originally pleading not guilty, Van Horne
admitted his guilt and was sentenced to a life term at San Quentin.
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