1963 Ontario Game Reports      

INTERCOUNTY LEAGUE

(May 31)   The London Pontiacs and Galt Terriers kicked off the 44th season of Intercounty League baseball before the largest Labatt Park crowd in years.  A crowd of about 1,000 saw the Pontiacs emerge with a 6-4 win behind a 13-hit attack. Right-hander George McGuire went the distance for London, giving up 10 hits.  Tom McKenzie sparked the Pontiacs with three hits, a triple and double included.  Murray Oliver, Nilo Giavedoni and Ron Boomer each had two hits for Galt.

Paton (L), Lomax (4) and Dewaele
McGuire (W) and Leitch

(June 1)   Kitchener Panthers blew a five-run lead but rebounded behind Ivan Tennant's relief hurling to edge London Pontiacs 7-6.  After starter Howie Hupp had been rocked for all six London runs in the 7th inning, Tennant shut down the Pontiacs over 2 1/3 innings, fanning five.  Panthers fashioned a 14-hit attack with Nick Rintche, Wayne Litzgus, Ed Boates and Hupp each with a pair.  Tom McKenzie and Don Black each  had three of the 12 London safeties. 

Bartja, Fletcher, McGuire and xxx
Hupp, Tennant (7) and xxx

(June 1)   Guelph Royals upset the defending champion Brantford Red Sox 3-2 as Harry Barber held the Sox to eight hits.  Nick DiCarlo scored the winner in the 8th inning on a delayed steal of home as Brantford was chasing Ted Hastings between first and second.  DiCarlo and Hastings had three hits apiece for the Royals. Al McQueen went the distance in taking the loss.  He had three hits to pace the Brantford offense.  Jim Reeves and Robbie Vipond each had two.

McQueen (L) and Baker
Barber (W) and Ashley

(June 4)   Left-hander Ron Stead tossed a three-hit gem and Jim Reeves drove in all the runs as Brantford Red Sox blanked Galt 6-0 at Cockshutt Park.  Stead fanned 12 and didn't walk a batter.  Third sacker Reeves belted a homer and three doubles to knock in all six runs.  He clubbed a bases-loaded triple to deep centre field in the first inning to get Brantford off to a 3-0 start and added a two-run homer in the 3rd.  In the 5th frame his double to right knocked in the final marker.

Stead (W 1-0) and
Lomax (L 0-1), Lavis (4) and

(June 4)   Lefty Gene Zanatta blanked Guelph on seven hits as the Kitchener Panthers topped the Royals 4-0. Centre fielder Dave Smallwood drove in a pair for the winners with a triple.  Starter Mike Kovac took the loss for Guelph.

Kovac (L), Brattain and Bard
Zanatta (W) and L. Litzgus

(June 5)  Centre fielder Larry Cunningham had a big day to lead Galt Terriers to their first win of the season, 13-4 over Kitchener Panthers.  Cunningham, sidelined for most of the 1962 season, delivered four hits, a triple and double included, to drive in three runs.  Murray Oliver also pushed across three markers as he belted a triple and single and junior catcher Roger Dewaele added three singles.  Ross Paton gave up ten hits but coasted to the win, his first of the season. Starter Wayne Litzgus took the loss for the Panthers.

W Litzgus (L), Tennant (6), Bodnar (7) and L Litzgus
Paton (W) and Dewaele

(June 8)   Jim Krawczyk fired a three-hit shutout in his Intercounty League debut with Galt as the Terriers downed Guelph Royals 5-0.  The 22-year-old from the University of Buffalo fanned 10 but was forced to pitch out of trouble on several occasions as he walked seven. Larry Cunningham had a triple and single for the Terriers and roused the crowd with a steal of home.  John Poholsky gave up 11 hits in taking the loss.  He fanned seven.

Krawczyk (W 1-0) and Ashley
Poholsky (L 0-1) and Lutz

(June 11)   London Pontiacs downed Kitchener Panthers 11-6 Monday behind a strong relief effort by Dutch Perkins.  The left-hander, brought out of retirement by the Pontiacs, gave up only three hits in relieving starter George McGuire in the 4th inning.  Gary Thomas was the loser.

Thomas (L), Tennant (5) and xxx
McGuire, Perkins (W) (4) and xxx

(June 11)  Galt at Brantford, ppd

AM, June 12
Brantford    4 1
London       3 2  1
Galt         2 2  1 1/2
Kitchener    2 4  2 1/2
Guelph       1 3  2 1/2

June 12 - Brantford at Galt ppd, Kitchener at Guelph
June 13 - London at Brantford
June 14 - Guelph at London

(June 15)  Jerry Young of London is the early batting leader in the Intercounty Baseball League. The Pontiac's first baseman has compiled a .567 average after 30 at bats to lead Jim Reeves of Brantford who sits at .522. Larry Cunningham, at an even .500, is third.  Galt's Jim Krawczyk and Kitchener's Gene Zanatta top the pitchers, each having pitched nine-inning shutouts.

                AB R  H  BA
Young, LDN      30 8 17 .567
Reeves, BRS     23 3 12 .522
Cunningham, GT  16 4  8 .500
Smallwood, KW   25 3 11 .440
DiCarlo, GU     16 2  7 .438
McKenzie, LDN   32 7 13 .406
Vipond, BRS     25 2  9 .360
Bradley, KW     25 4  9 .360
Zubyk, LDN      30 3 10 .333
Anderson, LDN   27 7  9 .333

                IP W L ERA
Krawczyk, GT    9 1 0 0.00
Zanatta, KW     9 1 0 0.00
Fletcher, LDN  11 1 0 0.81
Hubbard, BRS    9 1 0 1.00
Stead, BRS     23 3 0 1.17
McGuire, LDN   32 3 1 1.68
Kovac, GU      10 0 1 2.70
McQueen, BRS   21 0 2 3.42
Paton, GT      16 1 1 3.42
Hupp, KW       12 0 1 4.30

(June 15)  Ron Stead tossed an eight-hitter as Brantford blanked Kitchener-Waterloo Panthers 5-0. The lefthander fanned six and walked only one in registering his 4th victory without a defeat. The Sox scored in the 2nd inning on a single by Bob Frazier, an error, and a triple by Jim Torti. Frazier also scored in the 6th after reaching on a hit and moving up on a single by Robbie Vipond and coming home on a pair of errors. In the 8th, a single by Bob Trafford, Vipond's double and a sac fly resulted in two more markers. The final run came on a walk and singles by Frazier and Torti.

Stead (W 4-0) and xxx
xxx and xxx

(June 15)  Ross Paton fashioned a four-hitter to lead Galt to a 10-0 whitewash of the Guelph Royals.  Fred Thompson was the big noise on offense belting three hits, one of them a grand slam homer. Pat Lutz added three hits. A pair of runs in the 3rd inning provided enough for the victory. After Lutz and Thompson had singled, Wray Upper's single scored both runners.  In the 6th inning, Upper walked, Ron Smith tripled and Roger DeWaele singled to increase the margin to 4-0. Terriers erupted for six runs in the 8th, with Thompson's blast the key blow.

Voolght (L 0-1), Barber (8) and Ashley, Bard
Paton (W 2-1) and xxx

(June 18)   Guelph Royals finally scored after being blanked for 34 consecutive innings but dropped a 4-1 decision at Brantford as the Red sox won, 4-1.  Spud Bush scattered 11 hits, fanned eight and walked one in gaining the pitching victory. Bush also excelled at the plate with a double, single and two walks.

xxx and xxx
Bush (W) and xxx

(June 18)  Newcomer John Clark, in the outfield for the short-handed Terriers, had three hits and a walk and drove in the winning run as Galt downed Kitchener-Waterloo 5-2.  Eric Lomax, who sat out 1962 after compiling a 7-1 record with Hamilton two years ago, allowed only six hits, all singles, in going the distance for the win.  The lefty walked seven and hit a batter but stranded 13 base runners to even his record at 1-1. Gary Thomas took the loss.

Lomax (W 1-1) and Lutz
Thomas (L 0-2), Tennant and Litzgus

(June 22)   Brantford Red Sox coasted to a 10-1 victory over Kitchener-Waterloo Panthers. It was the Sox 8th win in ten games.  Spud Bush had a no-hitter into the 6th inning when Charlie Manz beat out an infield grounder. Bush finished with a four-hitter.

xxx and xxx
Bush (W) and xxx

(June 22)   Guelph Royals ended a seven-game losing streak with a 13-hit outburst in a 5-1 win over Galt. Jack Vooght, a 10-0 loser to the Terriers a week ago, held Galt to six hits in going the route for the mound triumph. He lost his shutout bid with two outs in the 9th. Fred Thompson, who had doubled, caught everyone by surprise with a steal of home. A four-run 5th inning sent the Royals onto the win. Veterans Walt Jeffries, with four hits,  and Nick DiCarlo, with three, led the 13-hit offensive.

Paton (L 3-2), Clark (8) and Lutz
Vooght (W 1-1) and Ashley, Bard

(July 2)   Tedd Bogal poked a homer in the 11th inning which carried London Pontiacs to a 6-5 victory over Brantford Red Sox.  Bogal, who had earlier knocked in two runs with a pair of singles, belted a Spud Bush pitch over the right field wall leading off the inning.  Hank Czerwieniec, in his second game since rejoining the Pontiacs from the pro ranks, had a double and two singles. Dave Lapthorne added three singles.  Pinch-hitter Kerry Leitch had a bases-loaded triple in the 7th inning.  Hal Johnson led the Sox with three hits.  Robbie Vipond added a pair and scored three times.  Lefty Dutch Perkins picked up the win in relief.

Bartja, Fletcher (3), Perkins (W 2-1) (7) and Bogal
Bush (L) and Baker

(August 17)  Ron Stead held Galt to seven hits in notching his 14th win of the season as Brantford downed Galt 2-0. The left-hander has lost just once this season.

xxx and xxx
Stead (W) and xxx

(August 29)   Brantford Red Sox advanced to the Intercounty final series downing Guelph Royals 2-0 to sweep the semi-final set in four games.  Spud Bush fired a three-hitter to shut down the Royals. Jack Vooght was the hard-luck loser allowing just four hits with 11 strike outs. 

Bush (W) and xxx
Vooght (L) and xxx

(August 29)   Galt Terriers have taken a 2-1 game lead in their semi-final with Kitchener-Waterloo with a 16-3 victory over the Panthers.

xxx and xxx
xxx and xxx