WINNIPEG WESLEY SENIOR LEAGUE
First Series final standings W L Pct.
Norwood 6 2 .750
Tammany Tigers 5 3 .625
Elks 4 4 .500
Arenas 4 4 .500
Columbus Club 1 7 .125
First-place Norwood and the runner-up Tammany Tigers qualified to meet in a best-of- three playoff for the First Series title.
First Series playoff game reports
(June 27) Three errors in the eighth inning paved the way for the Norwood 2 to 0 victory over the Tammany Tigers in the first of a best-of-three series for first-half Wesley Senior League honors. Bill Crowe and Alex Hill hooked up in a fine hurling dual, with Crowe being saddled with the defeat in spite of surrendering just two safeties, one of which was very scratchy. The Bengals collected seven scattered bingles off the slants of winning tosser Hill. Norwood was lucky to plate their deuce of unearned counters as the Tigers muffed three easy plays in a disastrous eighth. The Tammany battery of Crowe and catcher Singbush each had two hits.
Crowe (L) and Singbush
Hill (W) and Olien
(June 28) Coming through in the final innings to score four times, the Tammany Tigers evened up their First Series playoff round by squeezing past Norwood 4 to 3. Leo Johnston and Johnny Reid both went the route on the knoll as Norwood held a slight 5 to 4 advantage in base hits with fly chaser Todd May registering two of them. Ward McVey’s three-run homer in the sixth panel erased a 3 to 0 deficit and allowed the Bengals to draw even. They plated the winner in the eighth when Claire Livesley, who had singled and advanced on a walk and sacrifice to the hot corner, was safe at the dish on a poor throw during a fielder’s choice attempt.
Reid (L) and Olien
Johnston (W) and Singbush
(June 29) Norwood earned the First Series playoff crown by stopping the Tammany Tigers 8 to 4 in game three of their showdown at Wesley Park. The winners hammered loser Bill Crowe for a dozen base blows and essentially copped the game with a five-run outburst in the second round. Winning flinger Alex Hill fanned seven and yielded six hits. Second sacker Dundas and outfielder Toddy May both ripped a brace of two-baggers for Norwood while Claire Livesley smashed a round-tripper for the Tigers.
Hill (W) and Olien
Crowe (L) and Singbush
Second Series final standings W L Pct.
Elks 10 5 .667
Arenas 9 6 .600
Norwood 8 8 .500
Columbus Club 7 9 .438
Tammany Tigers 5 11 .313
The top-place Elks and second-spot Arenas earned the right to meet in a best-two-of-three showdown for the Second Series crown.
Second Series playoff game reports
(September 3) The Arenas drew first blood in the playoff round for the Second Series tiara, defeating the Elks 7 to 2 at Wesley Park. The game was closer than the final score indicates as, with both teams banging out eight safeties during the course of the match, the winners had only a 2 to 1 edge after seven rounds. The final two chapters, however, became one-sided when the Antlered Herd began to make mental mistakes while the Arenas were bunching their hits. Dunc Irvine mounted the bump for the victors, ringing up five strikeouts. Arena first baseman Pat Cann creamed the orb for a circuit-jack and a one-bagger. Teammate Bill “Snake” Siddle also launched a four-bagger.
Irvine (W) and Sinclair
Arnason/Arneson/Arnison (L) and G. Dakins
(September 5) Taking both ends of a Labor Day twin-bill from the Arenas, the Elks annexed the Second Series honors and qualified to meet First Series’ champion Norwood for the Wesley Senior Baseball League championship. The Antlered nine nosed out a 5 to 4 victory in the morning and followed it up by clouting out an 11 to 2 triumph in the afternoon match. Johnny “Red” Davidson, the speedball king of the Wesley circuit, proved to be the hero of the series. Not only did he hurl brilliantly in both games, but he came through with a couple of timely bingles that helped greatly in the double whammy delivered by the Wapiti. Davidson mowed the Arenas down of five hits in the matinee game while his mates were lighting up three Arena chuckers for eleven safeties. Trailing for a good part of the tussle, the Elks forged ahead for good by posting a four-spot in the eighth canto with Davidson registering a single, his second one-bagger of the skirmish, and crossing the platter with the tying tally. Gordie Caslake and George Rivers both poked a double and single for the Antlered Tribe while Arenas’ starting pitcher Chuck Ridgedale lit up Davidson for a solo four-bagger in the fifth frame.
Davidson (W) and Arnason/Arneson/Arnison, G. Dakins
Ridgedale, Irvine (L) (8), Lawton (9) and Sinclair
The Wapiti Herd pretty well cinched things by banging out five hits, good for six counters, in the opening panel of the finale. Overall, they amassed 17 safeties in the one-sided clincher. Davidson, again, toed the rubber for the entirety of the fracas, yielding eight base knocks, one of which was a bases-empty dinger by Pat Cann. Outfielder Anderson ripped four base swats for the winners, including a three-bagger, while teammates Romeo Rivers and Olie Olien both stung the pill for a triad of safeties.
Ridgedale (L), Lawton (1), Siddle (5) and Sinclair
Davidson (W) and G. Dakins
Overall 1927 Wesley Senior Baseball League championship series
Elks vs Norwood (best-of-five series)
(September 6) A fifth-inning uprising which netted them three runs was sufficient to carry the Elks to a 3 to 1 decision over Norwood in the opener of the Wesley Senior League finals. Out-swatted by a 7 to 6 margin, the Antlered Gang was able to bunch three of their base raps off losing chucker Alex Hill, aided by a brace of Norwood fielding miscues, into the fateful fifth. Gord Caslake’s two-run single was the key blow for the winners in that stanza. Winning flinger Jack Hind, in contrast to Hill, pitched tighter ball in the pinches. Top lumber wielder in the contest was Norwood first sacker Tony LeGoff who clipped the orb for a trio of base knocks.
Hill (L) and Olien
Hind (W) and G. Dakins
(September 7) Taking advantage of the control problems experienced by the first two Elks’ hurlers and assisted by a brain cramp of the part of the third flinger, Norwood evened their final series by coming from behind to nose out a 3 to 2 victory over the Wapiti Herd. It was a loosely-played game and not one of the five runs scored were earned. John “Red” Davidson, the last of the trio of chuckers trotted out by the Antlered Tribe, allowed the winning run to cross the plate when, with two retired in the seventh canto, he fielded a comebacker and threw late to the plate in an attempt to catch a runner from third instead of going for the sure out at first base. Orville “Lefty” Caldwell mounted the bump for the victors and surrendered five safeties. Norwood manufactured just three hits throughout the battle but made the best of them.
Hind, Arnason/Arneson/Arnison (L) (2), Davidson (6) and G. Dakins
Caldwell (W) and Olien
(September 8) Staging a sensational rally in their final turn at bat, Norwood took a two games to one lead in the Wesley Senior League finals, doubling the Elks 4 to 2 in an eight-inning joust ended by darkness. In arrears by a 2 to 1 score as they came to bat in the eighth and final stanza, Norwood was given a boost when outfielder Jack Seel ripped a two-out, solo homer to tie things up. Fly chaser Keedian then duplicated Seel’s achievement by swatting the very next pitch delivered by losing twirler “Red” Davidson out of the premises. The insurance counter resulted after Alex Olien doubled and was driven home on Connie Puhan’s one-bagger. Bill Stobie pitched airtight ball in the pinches for the winners, digging himself out of a number of difficult holes.
Stobie (W) and Olien
Davidson (L) and G. Dakins
(September 9) The Elks came on strong in the final three frames to wipe out Norwood 7 to 0 and square the Wesley Senior finals at two games each. Hurler “Rookie” Arnason/Arneson/Arnison proved to be the bright star in the Elks’ triumph. Displaying practically perfect control, he set the Norwood nine down on four scattered safeties. He was also credited with a three-run, inside-the-park homer in the sixth frame which broke the game open. His batterymate, playing-manager Gordon Dakins and Johnny “Red” Davidson, in the lineup as an outer pasture fly chaser, both stroked a brace of bingles in support of his mound effort. Norwood operated far below the form that has characterized their play in the series, especially on a defensive level.
Arnason/Arneson/Arnison (W) and G. Dakins
Hill (L), Stobie (7) and Olien
(September 10) Staging a great uphill battle, Norwood overcame a seven-run deficit to defeat the Elks 11 to 9 in the fifth and deciding game for the Wesley Senior League honors of 1927. Two-thirds of the way through the final match, the Antlered Tribe had a commanding 9 to 2 lead and appeared well on their way to the championship. With reliever Bill Stobie slamming the door on any further damage, pitching hitless and runless ball over the final four rounds, Norwood caught fire offensively and went to work with a six-spot in the seventh frame to narrow the gap to a single counter. Peppery third sacker Camille Van Beneen then went yard with a two-run circuit-dinger in the eighth to push the ultimate winners into the lead for the first time. Connie Puhan’s infield hit, Dick Marinelli’s double and an error provided Norwood with a ninth-inning insurance marker. Van Beneen and shortstop Bill Dunbar, each with a four-bagger to his credit, both spanked the sphere for four base knocks to lead Norwood’s potent 17-hit assault. John “Red” Davidson and Olie Olien cranked out round-trippers for the Wapiti Herd.
Caldwell, Stobie (W) (5) and Olien
Davidson, Arnason/Arneson/Arnison (L) (7) and G. Dakins
MANITOBA SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIP
Norwood was unable to continue in the playoffs and the Elks were selected to represent the Manitoba Senior League. It appears travel and/or the playoff schedule made it too difficult for the club to proceed to the provincial finals.
(September 13) Portage La Prairie downed the Winnipeg Elks 6-0 Tuesday in the opening game of the Manitoba senior baseball championship at Wesley Park in Winnipeg. Lefty Jordan baffled the Elks tossing the shutout allowing just six hits. He helped win his own game blasting a three-run homer in the sixth inning.
Jordan (W) and Metcalfe
Hind (L), O.Olien (4) and Dakins
(September 16) Winnipeg Elks evened the Manitoba senior championship series at a game apiece Friday trouncing Portage 12-0, in a game shortened to seven innings. Arneson pitched a splendid two-hitter for the winners while the Elks racked up 11 hits, including doubles by Joe Rivers and Olien. A three-run first inning set the Elks on the road to victory.
Arneson (W) and Dakins
Dalzell (L), Jordan (2) and Metcalke
(September 17) Winnipeg Elks, who reached the playoff final because the City League champion Norwood nine was forced to drop out, dumped Portage 8-0 Saturday afternoon to capture the Manitoba senior baseball championship. In the third shutout of the three-game series, Davidson blanked Portange on five singles as the Elks got off to a quick start with two runs in the first inning on a bases-loaded error. Elks launched a 10-hit attack including a home run by Anderson, a triple and two singles by Romeo Rivers and two hits and two runs from Gordon Caslake.
Dalzell (L) and Metcalfe
Davidson (W) and Dakins