1974 Vancouver, Lower Mainland, Fraser Valley
1974 BC Interior
1974 Vancouver Island
VANCOUVER METRO LEAGUE
The four entries in the 1974 Metro circuit maintained their interlocking schedule with teams from the competitive Pacific Coast Junior League that was successfully launched a year previous. In addition, a similar inter-league arrangement was instituted with the Victoria Senior Baseball League.
TEAMS
Budgets
Eldorados
Landmarks
Old Stylers
INTERLOCKING GAME OPPONENTS
PACIFIC COAST JUNIOR BASEBALL LEAGUE
New Westminster Junior Royals
Surrey Junior Sandpipers
Vancouver Junior Bekins
Vancouver Great West Junior Steelers
(May 19-20) The defending Champion Landmarks and the Old Stylers both came up with a pair of wins in weekend action as the 1974 Metro Baseball League got underway at Capilano Stadium.
The Old Stylers doubled the Budgets 4 to 2 in a Sunday matinée outing, plating what turned out to be the winning tally in the sixth spasm on Ken Markley’s sacrifice fly which brought in Al Watson from third base. The Beermen then followed up their first-game success by edging the Surrey junior Sandpipers 1 to 0 in an interlocking match.
Also on Sunday, the Lankmarks nosed out the Eldorados 4 to 3 despite a three-run homer by former MLB player and current playing-manager Ossie Chavarria of the Eldos. The same two squads locked horns again on Monday with an identical result, a 4 to 3 triumph for the defending champions.
The Budgets annexed their second conquest of the long weekend by bombing the Vancouver Bekins of the Pacific Coast junior circuit 12 to 4 on Monday as Rick Houghton contributed two hits and a pair of RBI’s for the winners.
(May 21) Rick Nicholson surrendered only one hit and fanned five in 4-2/3 innings of relief work as the Eldorados nipped the Old Stylers 8 to 7 in Metro Baseball League action at Capilano Stadium. Dick Burns scored the winning run in the top-of-the-ninth inning, coming around from second base to touch home plate on an errant throw from the outfield after Doug Scott had singled.
(May 28) Pitcher Jim Rentmeester took revenge on the Landmarks as the Metro Baseball League got back into action at Capilano Stadium after a number of days of rain. Still technically a rookie, Rentmeester, who lost his first start of the season 4 to 3 to the Landmarks a week ago, allowed only five hits and struck out six in leading the Eldorados to a 1 to 0 victory over the defending champions. The only run of the game came in the sixth inning when outfielder Bill Wheeler tripled home Bill Gurvich who had walked.
(May 30) Although needing ninth-inning relief help from Larry Fellerdeau to preserve the victory, southpaw chucker Dennis Zinio yielded only two hits in leading the Budgets past the Old Stylers 3 to 2 in Metro Baseball League play. The Budgets now boast a 2 – 1 record, good enough for a first-place tie with the Landmarks.
(May 31) Stingy Tom Bogue held the Vancouver Junior Bekins at bay as the Eldorados of the Metro circuit cruised to a 10 to 0 interlocking win at Capilano Stadium. Bogue allowed only two singles while whiffing five. Bill Gurvich and Bill Wheeler both drove in two runs with doubles in the seventh inning when the Eldos scored seven times.
(June 6) Only Al Foreman lifted a bat in opposition at Capilano Stadium as the Budgets steamrolled over the Landmarks 6 to 0 to take over first place in the Metro Baseball League. Foreman collected four of the Landmarks’ five hits, including a double while the batons of his teammates remained almost silent. For the Budgets, winning pitcher Rick Mosher tossed a five-hitter with six punchouts.
(June 7) Larry Mann pitched the Metro League Old Stylers to a 5 to 0 interlocking win over the Vancouver Bekins of the Pacific Coast Junior League at Capilano Stadium. The victory moved the Beermen into a second-place tie with the Landmarks. Mann scattered five hits and swished seven in going the route. Al Watson and Gary Wilson both clipped the orb for three safeties in support of Mann while teammate Henry Somers chipped in with a brace of safeties.
(June 8) Larry Fellerdeau and Dennis Zinio pitched the Budgets to a 4 to 1, 9 to 3 Metro League doubleheader sweep of the Eldorados at Capilano Stadium. A three-run sixth inning settled the issue in the first game.
The hitting of Russ Lombardo and Stu Winrob paved the way for Zinio’s five-hit victory in the late encounter. Lombardo went four-for-five and scored three runs while Winrob drove in two runs with a triple, igniting a four-run second inning.
(June 9) Two former New York Yankee farmhands, Terry Dreger and Don Rogelstad, pitched the Landmarks and Old Stylers of the Metro Baseball League to 6 to 3 and 3 to 0 interlocking victories over Victoria Gorge Hotel in doubleheader action at Capilano Stadium.
Dreger scattered five hits and struck out 11 as the Landmarks struck for three counters in the third inning of the matinée tilt. Al Foreman and Keith Wilson each had two hits and an RBI for the Landmarks. Rogelstad tossed a three-hit shutout in the late outing, whiffing nine along the way. Pete Thiessen tripled and singled, accumulating two RBI’s, for the winners.
Standings * W L Pct. GBL
Budgets 6 1 .857 ----
Landmarks 5 2 .714 1.0
Old Stylers 5 2 .714 1.0
Eldorados 3 4 .428 3.0
* imbalanced won-loss totals reflect interlocking game results
(June 10) The Surrey Sandpipers became the first junior team to defeat a Metro League opponent in interlocking play this season when they edged the Landmarks 5 to 4 at Capilano Stadium. Shortstop Ron Diack and centre fielder Wayne Soroka had three and two hits respectively for the Surrey Juniors.
(June 11) Four players shouldered the hitting load and Jim Rentmeester took care of the pitching as the Eldorados evened their Metro League season record at 4 – 4 with a 9 to 5 decision over the Budgets at Capilano Stadium. Rentmeester allowed three hits and gave up four walks in doing his part. Dale Ramsay, Gary Pennington and Dick Burns, all with a triple and single, as well as Bill Gurvich, with a single and double, handled the plate work.
(June 13) Bert Haas, called up from the junior Vancouver Bekins for the game, lifted the Budgets back into first place in the Metro Baseball League. Haas contributed three singles and drove in a run as the Auto Leasers clipped the Landmarks 5 to 2 at Capilano Stadium. The win gives the Budgets a 7 – 2 record and a half-game lead over the second-place Old Stylers who sit at 6 – 2.
(June 15-16) The Budgets and Old Stylers emerged from weekend action deadlocked for first place in the Metro league standings. The Old Stylers defeated the last-place Landmarks twice Saturday at Capilano Stadium by scores of 4 to 2 and 1 to 0. Pitcher Larry Mann showed the way in the second clash, allowing only one hit while striking out six.
Sunday, the Budgets clobbered Al’s Home Service, a Victoria Senior Baseball League club, 10 to 0 in the second leg of an interlocking double-dip as Robbie Kemp hammered a two-run single and a three-run homer. The Eldorados nipped the Servicemen 3 to 1 in the opener.
(June 17) The Landmarks slumped lower into the cellar of the Metro Baseball League while the Eldorados, after a slow start to the season, began showing signs of challenging for the penthouse position. The defending champion Landmarks continued to suffer in frustration when they lost to the Vancouver Junior Bekins 7 to 3 in an interlocking tilt at Capilanos Stadium. Bekins struck early, with four runs in the first inning and three in the second, then rode Jim Nedelack’s five-hit, nine-strikeout pitching to the victory. The loss leaves the Landmarks with a 4 – 7 record.
The Eldorados, meanwhile, thumped the junior league-leading Vancouver Steelers at Central Park in another interlocking outing to move to within 1-1/2 games of the front-running Budgets and Old Stylers. Dale Ramsay with a grand-slam tater as well as Wayne Rogers and Greg Moe with solo shots spearheaded the win.
(June 18) Playing-manager John Haar led by example at Capilano Stadium, rattling two doubles and scoring three runs as his Old Stylers defeated the Eldorados 5 to 1 in a Metro League contest. Les Babuin scattered eight hits for the win while Tom Bogue was charged with the loss.
(June 19) They had to work overtime to do it but the Budgets eventually scrambled into sole possession of first place in the Metro baseball league at Capilano Stadium. The Auto Leasers pulled a half-game in front of the second-place Old Stylers with a 5 to 4 extra-inning victory over the cellar-dwelling Landmarks. Bert Haas, called up from Bekins of the Pacific Coast Junior League for the fracas, clipped the orb for two hits and did some heady base-running. After reaching first base on a walk, Haas scored the winning run, circling the remainder of the sacks without breaking stride on Tom Bird’s single.
(June 21) Don Rogelstad’s two-hit pitching sparked the Old Stylers to an 8 to 0 thumping of the Vancouver Junior Steelers in interlocking action at Central Park. Terry Stein led the Beermen with the baton, stroking a pair of safe swats, good four four RBI’s. The victory lifts the Old Stylers into a tie with the Budgets at the top of the Metro League standings. Both teams have 11 – 2 records.
At Capilano Stadium, meanwhile, the senior Eldorados of the Metro loop moved to within three games of the frontrunners by dropping the New Westminster Junior Royals 5 to 1 in another interlocking contest.
(June 23) Playing-manager John Haar drove in four runs as the invading Old Stylers of Vancouver’s Metro Baseball League split a Sunday doubleheader with teams from the Victoria Senior Amateur Baseball League at Lambrick Park in the Capital City.
Haar and Terry Stein both had two hits and drove in two runs in an 8 to 6 first-game win over Al’s Home Service but it was pinch-hitter Les Babuin’s two-run double in the top-of-the-seventh inning that won the game for the visitors. Pete Thiessen stole two bases and scored twice for the Vancouverites.
Mickey, Mann (W), (5) and Haar
Yalowega, Lister (L) (5) and Simpson
Glen Wallis came up with a pair of crucial hits in the second affair, captured 7 to 6 by Farmer Construction of the Victoria circuit. Wallis doubled in a pair of counters for the Victorians in the fourth frame and brought another brace across the platter with a sixth-inning single. He then touched the pan with the eventual winner on a Barry Moen sacrifice. Ken Markley had three hits and Haar added a two-run round-tripper for the Vancouverites in this tilt.
Williams (L) and Haar
Sallaway/Salloway (W) and Ron Holmes
(June 24) Don Rogelstad, the hitter, decided to give Don Rogelstad, the pitcher, the easiest pitching victory one could hope for in interlocking action at Capilano Stadium. Rogelstad’s single to left field scored Ken Reusch from second base in the bottom-of-the-ninth inning to give the Metro League Old Stylers a 3 to 2 victory over the New Westminster Junior Royals. Rogelstad picked up the hillock triumph after ascending the bump in relief the top-of-the-ninth inning with two out and the score tied.
(June 25) Lefthander Al Hill of the Great West Junior Steelers kept the Budgets off balance with a variety of pitches as the Vancouver Junior squad stopped the Metro League Budgets 5 to 4 in interlocking play at Capilano Stadium. He did, however, require ninth-inning relief help from Greg Moe as the Auto Leasers were in the midst of a late rally. In a second interlocking affair played in Surrey, the Eldorados of the Metro League squeezed past the homestanding Junior Sandpipers 1 to 0.
(June 28) The Landmarks, unable to do much against other Metro League teams this season, vented their frustration of the Vancouver Junior Steelers of the Pacific Coast Junior circuit at Capilano Stadium. A 9 to 1 thrashing of the Steelers does little for their pennant aspirations. Now sporting a 7 – 10 record, they trail the front-running Old Stylers by 6-1/2 games with the season approaching the half-way point. Terry Schuss and Warren Coughlin, with three hits each, spearheaded the Landmark offensive attack while Gordie Johnson, called up from the New Westminster Junior Royals for the game, scattered ten hits in picking up the pitching victory.
(June 29-July 1) The Budgets and Old Stylers travelled in opposite directions on the same road in Metro Baseball League action over the holiday weekend and when it came to the end of the journey, the Budgets had closed to within a game of the front-running Old Stylers in the chase for the pennant.
The Auto Leasers started the trip off badly Saturday at Capilano Stadium, dropping a 5 to 4 decision to the Beermen as Ken Markley’s two-run homer made the difference.
Then, on Sunday, the Budgets came on strong to blank the Eldorados 2 to 0 in the first game of a doubleheader and followed that up with a 4 to 3 victory over the Old Stylers in the nightcap. Pitcher Larry Fellerdeau was the star of the Budgets’ first win Sunday as he surrendered only three hits and struck out four in posting the shutout win. Bert Haas drove in both runs for the winers, one with a triple and the other on a fielder’s choice. The second Budget triumph was also engineered by a hurler as Winning tosser Bill Grant spun a two-hitter. Tom Bird took care of the offensive side of things with two hits and a pair of RBI’s.
The Old Stylers continued their downhill drift by falling to the third-place Eldorados 4 to 0 on Monday afternoon as Bill Wheeler’s two doubles lifted the Eldos to victory.
(June 30) Farmer Construction of the Capital City struck for three runs in the bottom-of-the-seventh inning to defeat the visiting Landmarks 7 to 6 in the opener of a three-team interlocking double-bill but the Vancouver Metro League squad pulled off a split against Victoria Senior League opposition by defeating Al’s Home Service 6 to 2 in the concluding match at Lambrick Park. Al Moir sparked Farmer’s winning burst with a two-run homer that tied the score.
Wragg, Bultitude (L) (5) and White
Sallaway/Salloway (W) and Ron Holmes
The Landmarks used the same winning formula in the nightcap by rolling across a four-spot in the final frame to break a 2 – 2 deadlock.
Bazaluk (W) and White
B. Kubicek (L) and Johnson
(July 2) Mired in the basement, the Landmarks decided to make life tough for one of the clubs with a key to the penthouse in Metro Baseball League play at Capilano Stadium. Paced by the three-hit pitching of Terry Dreger, the landmarks dumped the Budgets 2 to 0, a loss which dropped the Auto Leasers 1-1/2 games behind the first-place Old Stylers. Rick Mark’s three singles highlighted the Landmarks’ offensive efforts.
(July 4) Terry Stein drove in Mark Henley with the winning run in the fourth inning as the Old Stylers nosed out the landmarks 2 to 1 at Capilano Stadium. Earlier in the inning, Henley’s double had driven in John Haar who had singled and stolen second base. Winning slabster John Mickey tamed the Landmarks with a six-hitter, surrendering a lone fourth-frame counter when Rick Bultitude singled after Darryl Fenton and Keith Wilson had walked.
Standings * W L Pct. GBL
Old Stylers 15 5 .750 ----
Budgets 12 6 .667 2.0
Eldorados 11 6 .647 2.5
Landmarks 9 12 .429 6.5
* imbalanced won-loss totals reflect interlocking game results
(July 5) Larry Fellerdeau was right on the money, allowing just five hits to give the Budgets of the Metro League a 4 to 1 interlocking win over the Surrey Junior Sandpipers at Capilano Stadium.
(July 7) Terry Stein’s double in the bottom-of-the-eighth inning drove in Dave Schwab and John Haar with the ultimate winning run and an add-on insurance marker as the Old Stylers clipped the Eldorados 5 to 2 in Metro Baseball league action at Capilano Stadium. Larry Mann went the distance for the winners, allowing six hits and four walks while striking out two. Schwab led the Beermen offensively, collecting two hits and scoring twice.
(July 7) Hosting Greave’s Movers eased into first place in the Victoria Senior Amateur Baseball League by tripping the Budgets of the Vancouver Metro Baseball League 7 to 4 in the first of a pair of interlocking contests at Lambrick Park. The Budgets also suffered a second setback, a 2 to 1 loss, to Victoria’s Gorge Hotel in the last half of the three-team doubleheader.
Don Burrows’ two-run homer in the third inning gave the Movingmen the cushion they needed to capture the opener and move a few percentage points in front of idle Farmer Construction in the standings. His brother, Walt Burrows, and Barry Cosier both had two safeties as part of the Greave’s 10-hit offensive thrust.
Zinio (L), Elliott (3) and Bird
Karpiuk (W) and D. Burrows
The Budgets had a 5 to 3 edge in base hits in their late clash with the Hotelmen but were unable to string hits together.
Grant (L) and Stephens
Mabee (W) and Robertson
(July 8) The Metro League Eldorados unravelled defensively, committing five errors, and dropped a 6 to 2 interlocking decision to the Vancouver Junior Bekins at Capilano Stadium. Willy Anderson surrendered five hits in leading the Movers to only the fourth victory by a junior squad over a senior rival this season.
(July 13-14) Pitcher Terry Dreger won his fifth and sixth mound decisions over the weekend, lifting the Metro League Landmarks to a 12 – 12 record and their first look at the .500 mark since the start of the season. A former class A player in the New York Yankees organization, Dreger opened his performance Saturday by scattering nine hits in going the distance as the Landmarks dropped the Eldorados 7 to 4 at Capilano Stadium. Warren Coughlin led the victors offensively in this contest, with a brace of safe swats including a two-run homer.
Sunday, he came on to surrender only two hits in two innings of scoreless relief work and pick up the victory in a 14 to 13 extra-inning marathon over Victoria’s Greave’s Movers in interlocking action. Al Foreman stung the horsehide for four safeties in leading the Landmarks at the plate.
Greaves also dropped the second game of the interlocking twin-bill, falling 4 to 0 to the Metro League’s front-running Old Stylers.
(July 15) Youth came close but wasn’t served at Capilano Stadium as the Metro League Eldorados nipped the Vancouver Great West Junior Steelers, leaders in the Pacific Coast Junior circuit, 8 to 7 in interlocking baseball action. Second baseman Jim McMaster went three-for-for and right fielder Jim Anderson three-for-three at the plate to lead an 18-hit Eldo hitting attack.
(July 20) Right-hander Terry Dreger hurled a one-hitter to lead the Landmarks to a 5 to 0 Metro Baseball League win over the Budgets at in the finale of a double-dip at Capilano Stadium. Rick Marks had two hits for the winners.
Earlier, the Landmarks had scored five runs in the first inning on their way to annexing the opener 7 to 4. Darryl Fenton paced the victors offensively with a two-run circuit-clout while clubmate Jim Kilner ripped a two-run double. Rick Bultitude drove in a pair of counters for the Budgets.
(July 21) Terry Karpiuk emerged as the man of the hour at Lambrick Park by leading Greave’s Movers of the Victoria Senior Amateur League to a 2 to 1 decision over the Eldorados of Vancouver’s Metro League in the matinée portion of an interlocking twin-bill. The Eldos bounced back in the evening scuffle to blank Victoria’s Gorge Hotel 5 to 0.
Karpiuk stretched his league-leading record to seven wins in eight decisions, striking out 11 in the opener as the Movers assumed a half-game lead atop the Victoria circuit.
Nicholson (L) and Gurvich
Karpiuk (W) and Morgan
Tom Bogue of the Eldorados subdued the Hoteliers on four hits in the finale.
Bogue (W) and Gamlin
Cook (L) and Robertson
(July 22) First baseman Len Ircandia slammed a sixth-inning triple that produced three runs, sending the Vancouver Junior Bekins to a 5 to 2 triumph over the senior Budgets of the Metro League in interlocking play at Capilano Stadium. Rick Houghton was best with the lumber for the Auto Leasers, belting a three-bagger and single. The loss dropped the Budgets into a third-place tie with the Landmarks, each having a 14 – 12 record.
(July 23) Former Vancouver Mountie Ossie Chavarria showed the way as the Eldorados strengthened their hold on second-place in the Metro Baseball League at Capilano Stadium. Chavarria’s two-run homer opened the floodgates on a nine-run rally in the seventh inning as the Eldos cruised to a 14 to 8 thumping of the league-leading Old Stylers. Earlier, he had doubled and crossed the plate twice as his squad moved to within four games of the pace-setters.
(July 24) The Landmarks crammed all their scoring into two innings to clobber the Eldorados 11 to 0 in a Metro League game at Capilano Stadium. After thee scoreless innings, the Landmarks erupted for four runs in the fourth in frame and seven more in the fifth. Brant Wragg hurled the pitching victory, allowing only three hits while fanning five.
(July 25) Darryl Fenton’s solo home run in the fifth inning provided the Landmarks with the edge they needed for a 2 to 0 victory over the Budgets in Metro League action at Capilano Stadium.
(July 26) The league-leading Old Stylers suffered their eighth defeat of the season at Capilano Stadium when they were downed 5 to 1 by the Landmarks. With the victory, the second-place Landmarks climbed to within 3-1/3 games of the front-runners. Winning pitcher Terry Dreger went the distance for the winners, punching out 12 while issuing three free passes.
(July 27-28) The Eldorados had to scramble to do it but they finally broke even over the weekend in Metro Baseball League action at Capilano Stadium. After dropping a 6 to 2 decision to the league-leading Old Stylers on Saturday, the Eldos took on Farmer Construction of the Victoria Senior circuit in the first game of an interlocking doubleheader Sunday afternoon. Trailing 7 to 2 heading into the top-of-the-seventh inning, the Victorians rallied for four runs to tie the score. Not to be outdone, the Eldorados tucked the opener away in their half of the frame when Roy Melvin singled in the tie-breaker for a 7 to 6 triumph. Third baseman Dick Burns was the overall offensive star for the winners, collecting two base knocks, including a homer, and driving in three runs.
In the second interlocking game Sunday, Farmer Construction rebounded to spank the last-place Budgets 5 to 1. Winning chucker George Brice hurled a two-hitter and breezed five in leading the Victorians to the win while catcher Ron Holmes provided the bulk of the offense with a home run, double and three RBI’s.
(July 29) The Metro League Landmarks edged New Westminster Junior Royals 3 to 2 in an interlocking contest at Capilano Stadium.
(July 30) The Old Stylers went to the well early to take the first game of their Metro League doubleheader with the Eldorados, using Terry Stein’s first-inning three-run dinger and another by John Haar in the third panel, for a 6 to 3 win.
In the second game at Capilano Stadium, however, Eldo tosser Ken Myette quieted the Styler bats as the Eldorados prevailed 5 to 3. Playing-manager Ossie Chavarria backed Myette’s hill performance with a single, double and a brace of RBI’s.
(August 2-5) B. C. Senior Baseball championship tournament
(August 6) Howie Stephens’ long single to right field brought in both Rick Houghton and Stu Winrob to cap an eighth-inning rally and provide the Budgets with a 2 to 1 conquest of the Eldorados in Metro League action at Capilano Stadium.
(August 7-11) Canadian Senior Championships
(August 13) The Second-place Landmarks picked up a full game on the league-leading Old Stylers as a result of the Metro Baseball League doubleheader at Capilano Stadium. The Landmarks blanked the third-place Eldorados 2 to 0 in the first game, then sat back as the Old Stylers went down 3 to 1 to the tail-end Budgets in the second contest.
Left fielder Terry Schuss provided the Landmarks with most of their offense in the opener with a three-for-three batting output plus a base-on-balls. In the second game, the Budgets scored all of their runs in the third spasm with third baseman Tom Bird’s run-scoring double and second baseman Russ Lombardo’s two-run single being the key blows.
(August 14) In the opening clash of a Capilano Stadium twin-bill, the Budgets throttled the Eldorados 6 to 2 behind the four-hit hurling of southpaw Dennis Zinio.
A second Metro League tilt saw the defending champion Landmarks, also-rans for much of the season, continue to fan the embers of their once-distant pennant hopes by knocking off the league-leading Old Stylers 2 to 0. Sparked by Brant Wragg’s six-hit pitching, it was the eleventh consecutive victory for the Landmarks, who occupied the cellar in the four-team circuit well past the halfway point in the schedule and moved them to within a game-and-a-half of the pace-setters. Keith Wilson drove in Warren Coughlin with the only run Wragg needed on a squeeze bunt in the third inning.
(August 16) Rick Mosher’s three-hit pitching spearheaded the Budgets to an 8 to 2 drubbing of the first-place Old Stylers at Capilano Stadium. Outfielder Jim Kilner had three RBI’s for the winners on the strength of a triple and single. The loss for the Lagermen reduced their margin atop the Metro League to just one game over the Landmarks.
(August 17-18) The surging Landmarks swept a Saturday doubleheader from the Old Stylers by scores of 3 to 2 and 1 to 0 to leapfrog past the Beermen and claim the 1974 Metro Baseball League regular-season pennant. A Sunday 5 to 4 loss to the Eldorados in a meaningless game which wound up the regular season did little to dampen Landmarks’ spirits as the Saturday pair of wins capped a 13-game winning streak that began July 11 and lifted the Landmarks from deep in the cellar to the penthouse. The Saturday pair of victories was sparked by the hitting of Rick Mark and the pitching of Bill Bazaluk and Terry Dreger. Mark’s one-out triple in the bottom-of-the-eighth inning of the opener brought home Billy Jackson with the tying counter. Mark then scored the winner on a sacrifice fly by Ron Peterson. Bazaluk went the route, scattering six hits, for the mound victory.
In the nightcap, Mark’s sixth-inning single plated Keith Wilson with the only run of the game as Dreger ran his record to 9 – 2 and his strikeout total to 116. The Eldorados nipped the Budgets 6 to 5 in Sunday’s second game to annex third spot in the final standings
Final Standings * W L Pct. GBL
Landmarks 22 13 .629 -----
Old Stylers 22 14 .611 0.5
Eldorados 19 16 .543 3.0
Budgets 18 17 .514 4.0
* imbalanced won-loss totals reflect interlocking game results
PLAYOFFS
SEMI-FINALS Budgets vs Landmarks & Eldorados vs Old Stylers (best-of-three series)
(August 19) The Budgets and Old Stylers took 1 to 0 leads in their best-of-three Metro Baseball League semi-final series at Capilano Stadium. The Old Stylers clobbered the Eldorados 6 to 1 in the opener behind Larry Mann’s five-hit, eight-strikeout pitching and Al Watson’s three RBI’s on two hits.
In the nightcap, the last-place Budgets nipped the pennant-winning landmarks 4 to 3 as back-to-back singles by Jim Kilner and Stu Winrob in the seventh inning brought in Brian Hall and Rob Kemp with the tying and winning runs.
(August 20) Some first-inning strategy proved to be the decisive moment in the game for the Budgets as they defeated the Landmarks 2 to 0, eliminating the pennant-winners from the playoff picture in two straight games. The Auto Leasers scored both their runs in the opening stanza as Russ Lombardo led off the inning with a walk, advanced to second on a hit-and-run by Jim Kilner and scored on an outfield error. Rick Houghton’s one-bagger then sent Kilner home. Rick Mosher went the distance on the knoll for the Budgets, scattering two Landmark hits and fanning six.
In a second game at Capilano Stadium, the Eldorado’s edged the Old Stylers 2 to1 to square their best-of-three semi-final at a game apiece. Catcher Len Gamlin was the whole story for the Eldos. He cracked a solo round-tripper in the third inning and drove Al Embley home with the winner on a seventh-inning fly ball to left field.
(August 21) Dick Burns, the normally sure-handed all-star third baseman, experienced an evening at Capilano Stadium when his glove wilted in the heat of battle. Three errors by Burns, two in the final inning, spelled the difference in a 2 to 1 loss by the Eldorados to the Old Stylers in a 13-inning battle. After allowing Pete Thiessen of the Beerman to move into scoring position and eventually score the first run of the game, Burns redeemed himself in the second inning by doubling and scoring the tying marker. But, two miscues in the unlucky 13th helped load the bases just before Bob Tonsaker’s sacrifice fly brought in Al Watson with the winner.
FINALS Budgets vs Old Stylers (best-of-five series)
(August 23) The Old Stylers scored all their runs in the first inning at Capilano Stadium then hung on for a 4 to 2 victory over the Budgets in the opening game of the best-of-five Metro Baseball League finals. Right fielder Terry Stein delivered the key blow of the Lagermen, a 370-foot three-run homer. The Stylers also made use of three double plays as Larry Mann earned the route-going win by striking out six.
(August 24-25) Don Rogelstad’s sinewy flipper worked overtime over the weekend as the Old Stylers won two of three clashes against the Budgets to capture the 1974 Metro Baseball League championship in four games.
Things didn’t start out that well for Rogelstad on Saturday when, after relieving starter Les Babuin, he walked Jim Kilner with the bases loaded to force in a tally, the difference in the Budgets’ series-tying 9 to 8 victory. In Sunday’s twin-bill, however, his right arm clocked in for five innings of relief work in the first tussle when the Beermen turned back the Auto Leasers 7 to 5 to take a two-games-to-one lead in the series and then, in the late fracas, he pitched the entire game, coming within three outs of a no-hitter, as the Stylers wrapped up the title with a 3 to 1 win.
The Lagermen chalked up six counters in the first two frames of Sunday’s matinée scuffle and were able to hold off a comeback by the Budgets, thanks in large part to Rogelstad who protected a one-run lead after coming to the rescue of starter John Mickey in the fifth canto. Shortstop John Haar added an insurance tally in the seventh to seal the deal. Gary Wilson was best with the stick for the winners in the early tilt, stroking two hits and driving in a pair of runs.
The momentum of a first-game triumph carried the Styler right-hander into the second contest up until the ninth inning when he was touched for his first hit, then three in succession including Russ Lombardo’s RBI single. He calmly settled down, however, inducing Rick Mosher to hit into a force out before getting Pete Blanchard to bounce into a game-ending double-play. Old Stylers’ third baseman Pete Thiessen led all swatsmiths in the wrap-up affair, stinging the sphere for four safeties in four tries.
WESTERN INTERNATIONAL BASEBALL LEAGUE
The Burnaby Auroras, most often referred to in the Vancouver print medium as the Vancouver Aurora Canadians during the first part of the season, were the lone British Columbia entry in the highly-competitive 1974 Western International Baseball League. The coverage afforded the team was scanty at best.
Burnaby Auroras a.k.a. Vancouver Aurora Canadians
Cheney WA Studs
Everett WA Twins
Kirkland WA Doors
Seattle Adairs
Seattle El Chicanos
(June 29-30) The travelling Aurora Canadians of Vancouver split a pair of doubleheaders with Washington state teams. Mike Finlayson hurled his second straight shutout as the Canadians stopped the Everett Twins 2 to 0 Saturday in Everett but the Twins rebounded to take the nightcap 3 to 2. Sunday, in Seattle, Ted Springenatic drove in four runs to provide the Canadians with a 4 to 2 victory over the El Chicanos in the second game after the Seattle club had annexed the first contest 4 to 3.
(July 7) In Western International League action at Queens Park Stadium, the Aurora Canadians of Vancouver swept a doubleheader from Seattle by scores of 4 to 0 and 2 to 0.
(July 13-14) The Aurora Canadians of Vancouver won only once in four outings at Seattle. The Canadians dropped both ends of a doubleheader, 3 to 1 and 2 to 0, to the Cheney Studs Saturday and then beat the Kirkland Doors 8 to 1 in the second outing after dropping the first encounter 5 to 4 on Sunday.
(July 20-21) The Vancouver Auroras split four weekend games in Western International Baseball League play with one of the wins coming on a one-hit pitching performance by 19-year old Californian Craig Gioia. The Aurora chucker blanked the Seattle Adairs 2 to 0 on Sunday. The Auroras had stopped the El Chicanos in Everett Saturday for their other win. Vancouver lost 10 to 7 to Everett in the second Saturday game and to Cheney 5 to 1 in the opening Sunday game.
(July 27-28) The Burnaby Auroras dropped a doubleheader to the Cheney Studs, 5 to 3 and 5 to 1 on Sunday after disposing of the league-leading Seattle Adairs 3 to 2 and 1 to 0 Saturday at Queens Park Stadium.
(August 2-5) B. C. Senior Baseball championship tournament
PACIFIC COAST JUNIOR BASEBALL LEAGUE
GWS Steelers
New Westminster Royals
Surrey Sandpipers
Vancouver Bekins