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Using two, eight passenger, Chryslers
the team would cover thousands of miles and play 600 to 700
innings of baseball in tournaments and exhibitions in Idaho,
Washington, British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Alaska.
 Among
the collegians was pitcher Don Barnett (right) , California
Collegiate Athletic Association All-Star in 1950 and 1951,
All-West All-Star and first team All-American in 1951. Barnett was
Fresno State's first All-American
selection.
The journey began with a victory as
Jake Abbott, a Fresno State star, hurled a six-hitter for a 12-3
win over Auburn, Washington. Then, a stumble -- dropping two of
three (4-5, 3-5, 4-3) in Nampa, Idaho. (Roy Taylor went 6-12 in
the Nampa series.) Then a 7-4 defeat in Payette, Idaho.
 After dropping three of their first
five games, the college kids went on a seven game winning streak
and improved to nine and four overall.
The Mohawks were almost always on
the move. One report, of a game on the schedule in Prince
Albert, Saskatchewan, noted that this was the second time the team
had played in the province. Later in the week they were to travel
to Saskatoon for the Optimist Tournament and an exhibition
double-header against the powerful Delisle Gems (they beat the
Gems 9-3 pounding out 12 hits off Murray Coben and Bennie Griggs,
the second game was rained out).
The college kids were winning games
and money -- they won their third tournament (the Foam Lake event)
with four straight wins, including a 5-3 victory over Indian Head
in the final. Jake Abbott went the route on the
hill for the Mohawks besting the Rockets' Jim Morrow.
The California collegians trounced
the Carrot River Loggers 11-0 in the semi-finals as Lawrence
Bolger tossed the shutout.
 A highlight of their tour was the
tournament in Lacombe. The Mohawks pulled out a dramatic 6-4
semi-final victory. Down 4-1 in the 7th inning to the Alaska
Command, Bob Donkersley (right) belted a three-run homer to tie, and in
the 9th, Roy Taylor's (left) two-run homer won it.
(Edmonton Bulletin, June 22, 1950)
Rain washed out the
highly anticipated final between the 'Hawks' and Sceptre.
They split $2,500 in prize money.
That triumph marked a sweet victory
for Taylor over Swegle (whose imbibing ways were not much of a
secret). When the Mohawks had fallen behind 4-1 in the match with
Alaska, Swegle had headed off to the nearest saloon with a parting
shot, "You guys can't play ball at all." Upon his
return -- with a victory and, of course, some prize money -- Swegle
was apologetic. 'How can I make it up?" Swegle asked Taylor. Roy, who had to be back in Visalia to coach
football, wasn't looking forward to a bumpy bus ride home.
He asked for a plane ticket. He got it.
The next day, at Renfrew Park in Edmonton, the 'Hawks' pounded the Alaskans 15-2. The same day
they took a special flight to
Dawson Creek, B.C. for a five-game series before heading to
Melfort for another tournament. The club had already planned
a return to Edmonton in July to meet Eddie Morris' Eskimos.
 Early on, it was reported the
Mohawks had lost just two games since crossing the border, one to
the Purity 99s in Calgary, and the other to Sceptre in the Melfort
Tournament. Later, following a series against the Regina Red
Sox, the paper put the 'Hawks' record in Canada at 24-4.
(June 14) The Mohawks shaded
Payette Packers 3 to 2 as lefty Jake Abbott fanned 12 and
catcher Don Bricker belted a two-run triple in the 8th
inning.
Earlier, the California collegians downed
Burley Aces 12-6 and the Nampa Clippers 4-3.
(June 15) The Mohawks topped the Walla Walla
Bears 3-1 in spite of giving up 13 hits while Jim Forsyth
tossed a four-hitter for the Bears.
(June 19) Harry Nygard's
two-run single in the bottom of the ninth sent the Mohawks down to
a 5-4 defeat in Calgary. The exhibition game against the
Purity 99'ers drew 11-hundred fans. Jack Abbott had
the game well in hand until the ninth when the home club scored
three times. Mohawks had just five hits, including a triple
by Roy Taylor and a double by Fred Sommers.
J Abbott, Watkins (9) and Bricker
Curby and D Abbott
(June 22) California Mohawks
split top money with Sceptre in the Lacombe tournament as rain
prevented the final match. Mohawks advanced to the final with
an easy, 15-0 win over Stettler. The collegians scored 13 runs in
the first inning and coasted through the five inning
contest.
Watkins, Bauhofer (1), Pisani (4), Makras
(5) and Bricker
Gatin, Prockiu (1), Stevenson (1), Al Chapman (1),
Pat Chapman (1) and Wick
In was in stark contrast to their
dramatic win over Alaska Command. Down 4-1 in the last of
the 8th, Mohawks rallied with a walk, single and Bob
Donkersley's three-run homer to tie. Then, in the bottom
of the 9th, Don Bricker reached on a walk and Roy Taylor
blasted one over the left field fence to give the Mohawks a 6-4
victory.
Morse and Brown
Barnett and Beiden
(June 29) Mohawks dropped a
4-1 decision to Sceptre in the opening round of the Melfort
tournament.
(July 5) California Mohawks beat Indian Head 5-2 to
capture first prize money of $1,000 in the Foam Lake tournament.
Jake Abbott went the route on the
hill for the Mohawks besting the Rockets' Jim Morrow.
The California collegians trounced
the Carrot River Loggers 11-0 in a semi-final as Lawrence
Bolger tossed the shutout. In opening rounds, Mohawks
trounced the Ligon All-Stars 15-7 and got by Quill Lake
5-3.
(July 7) Mike Rubcic
pitched a two-hitter and fanned seven as the Mohawks beat the
Weyburn Beavers 5-2 in a game called after five innings by dust
AND rain.
Rubcic and xxx
Ron Jansen, Covert (5) and Covert, xxx (5)
(July 8) Don Barnett
allowed just five hits in pitching the Mohawks to a 3-0 shutout
over the Regina Red Sox in the first game of a twin-bill. Larry
Bolger and Bud Watkins combined on an
eight-hitter in the nightcap as the Mohawks scored a 4-2
victory. The California kids scored three in the 3rd inning to salt
away the victory. Fred Sommers walked to open the
frame, stole second and scored on Ed Milano's
single. Milano came home on Roy Taylor's
triple and Taylor came on to score on an error.
Barnett and Bricker, Sommers (2)
Telles and Kielman
Bolger, Watkins (7) and Sommers
Clary and Kielman
(July 9) Regina Red Sox
salvaged one game in their exhibition series with a 7-4 win over
the Mohawks before more than 2-thousand fans in Regina. Sox
jumped on Jake Abbott for four runs in the first inning.
(July 10) "It started
out to be just a run-of-the-mill ball game but by the time
California Mohawks and Regina Caps had played the full nine
innings, the 1,500 Taylor Field customers all agreed they had seen
a whale of a game. It undoubtedly surpassed anything the
fans had ever seen as yet this season." (Regina
Leader-Post, July 11, 1950)
Mohawks won 5-4 as Bob Donkersley drove in four runs
and scored the other. One of his hits was a two-run
homer. Bud Watkins preserved the win striking
out the side on 11 pitches in the bottom of the ninth.
Abbott and Sommers
Pirack and Kielman, Mitton (7)
(July 19) A three-hit
performance by Don Barnett led the Mohawks to an
upset over Delisle in the opening round of the Nipawin
tournament.
Barnett
Gostlin, Coben (4)
(July 21) Mohawks went all
the way to the final in the huge Indian Head tournament before
dropping a 5-1 decision to the home town Rockets. The
college kids had advanced defeating two of the province's top
teams. They shaded Swift Current 7-6 in the semi-finals as Fred
Bartels and Ed Milano hit homers. In
the opening round, Bud Bauhofer and Milano
cracked homers as the Mohawks whipped Sceptre 16-2.
Mohawks 1 Indian Head 5
Bauhofer, Abbott (7) and Beiden
Gray and Green
Swift Current 6 Mohawks 7
Thompson, Wylie (8) and Powell
Bolger, Barnett (9) and Bricker
Mohawks 11 Eston 3
Rubcic and Beiden
Toles, Mason (7), Jacobson (8) and Blakely
Sceptre 2 California Mohawks 16
Price, Johnson (1), Shaw (2) and Serpa
Bolger and Beiden, Bricker (3)
(July 22) Fred
Bartels tossed a four-hit shutout as California Mohawks downed
Swift Current Indians 4-0. Bartels fanned seven.
Mohawks took advantage of four errors and five walks. Vic
Wall was the loser.
(July
23) "Hard-hitting Matt Slavich
provided the most dramatic ending of any ball game played in Adams
Park in many a moon ... when he walloped a 350-foot homer run over
the left field fence in the bottom of the 10th inning and with two
down to give the Miners a thrill-soaked 3-2 victory over the
touring California Mohawks in the opening of a three-game
exhibition series." (Lethbridge
Herald, July 24, 1950) Bill
Kucheran turned back the Mohawks on six hits. Bud
Watkins was brilliant on the hill for the Mohawks allowing
just seven hits and fanning 16. In the second game of the
twin-bill, lefty Jack Abbott whiffed 12 and set the Miners down on
seven hits as the Mohawks won 5-2. Watkins
and Beiden
Kucheran and Deak (July
24) The California college kids jumped into a 6-2 lead and
held off a late Lethbridge rally to shade the Miners 6-5. Don
Barnett and Ed Milano each had two hits for the
winners. 17-year-old Jocko Tarnava belted a triple
and two singles for the Miners. Pisani,
Rubcic (7) and Bricker
Slavich, Negrello (6) and Tarnava (July
26) Mohawks were forced to withdraw from the Moose Jaw
tournament when a number of the players were suddenly taken ill at
Lethbridge.
(July
27) vs Walla Walla.
They played in Regina against both
the Red Sox and the Caps, and in Medicine Hat, Lethbridge,
Weyburn,
Nipawin, Saskatoon, Indian Head, Edmonton,
Trail,
Kimberley
B.C., Burley, Idaho, Walla Walla, Washington, Sandpoint, Idaho,
Coleman, Hillcrest and dozens of cities, towns and
villages in between.
The team was to have made it home
by August 28th. There was a trip planned to Hawaii.
The
travelin' Mohawks would be the
forerunner of Roy Taylor's barnstorming college teams in Kamsack
and would set the stage for an influx of college players on the
prairies.
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The college kids left home June
9th, 1950 on a barnstorming tour which took them from California
to Kamsack to Alaska with dozens and dozens of stops in between.
Swegle convinced Peter Beiden, the
Fresno State baseball coach, to head up the team with Roy
Taylor,
the coach at College of Sequoias, as his lieutenant and second
baseman.
"Brick probably made a lot of
money", says Taylor "but we never got a
cent." Swegle took care of expenses and gave the
players meal money but pocketed the rest. 