ManDak Baseball League 1950 - 1957

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1952

The members of a new Board of Directors were Coleman S. Taube, President, Henry Mowbrey, Joe Probst, Ernie Thompson, Ray Miller, Ted Solheim, Oscar Berg, Robert Butz and Harry B. Eck. One hundred eighty five supporters contributed a total of $15,240 toward the club. The change in management paid off as the Mallards had great success in 1952. One of the changes was that Oscar Berg handled player recruitment. Berg stabilized the roster with only 21 players for the entire season. The new Board announced that the Winnipeg Buffaloes had decided to drop out of the league and that the remaining four teams would make up the league for 1952.

Berg started out by bringing back Zoonie McLean, Sugar Cain, Wally Jako and Jonas Gains from the 1951 squad. He then signed a third baseman, catcher and centerfielder that would remain with the club for the next several years.

Coleman S. Taube announced on March 18 that Zoonie McLean signed a one-year contract as the new manager for the club. McLean was nominally the co-manager with Wally Jako on 1951 after Otto Huber resigned but Jako actually did most of  the managing. Four days later a signed contract arrived from Sugar Cain. Speedy centerfielder Don Corcoran followed Cain. Corcoran would hold down centerfield for the Mallards for the next five seasons. John Kennedy who had played two years for the now defunct Winnipeg Buffaloes and was considered the best second baseman in the league signed as McLean’s first choice for that position. Quincy Barbee signed for first base and Duke Bowman for third. Bowman would hold down that position for six seasons. Wally Jako, who had the Mallards’ highest batting average in the first two seasons signed to play left field as Berg continued to sign players early and insure the team would be on hand and ready for a May 25 season opener.

Just prior to the start of the season Berg completed the squad with the signing catcher Joe Massaro and right fielder Yogi Giammarco. They were teammates from Richmond of the Class B Piedmont League. Giammarco was a long-ball hitter and Massaro, a clutch hitter who set a new league record for RBI’s that year. Massaro remained with the team for four seasons. All eight starting position players remained for the entire season.

The Mallards opened the season at home with a 3 – 1 win over the Winnipeg Giants (formerly the Elmwood Giants) Jonas Gains pitched a four-hitter. Yogi Giammarco belted his first home run of the season.

By June 12 the Mallards had already won 11 games and only had two losses when they blasted 7 home runs (compared to six for the entire 1950 season) against the Winnipeg Giants at Winnipeg. Joe Massaro had three home runs, Wally Jako had two and Quincy Barbee and Yogi Giammarco had one each. Yogi’s was already his 7th of the season.

Left handed pitchers Jonas Gains and John Kelly both had sore arms by June 20th. Ben Cain, Sugar Cain’s brother, managed the Philadelphia Meteors, a semi-pro baseball team. He recommended two nineteen-year-old pitchers that the Mallards signed. Left handed pitcher Roland Summers and right handed pitcher Malachi “Mal” Murray were rushed to Minot. Two other left handed pitchers, Allan Bryant, from the 1949 Minot Merchants, and Bob Landers were given tryouts and pitched in a tournament at Brandon. Of these four pitchers only Mal Murray who threw two shutouts by the end of June, remained with the club.

As the Fourth of July approached the Mallards were in first place by 5 ½ games with a record of 17 – 6 and holding their breath that the team would remain intact through the holiday. Joe Massaro and Yogi Giammarco were offered matching salaries plus bonuses to return to their former Richmond club but fortunately for the Mallards they stayed in Minot.

In July the Mallards picked up new right handed pitchers Warren Martin and Ed Albosta and continued to gain on the other clubs. On August 1 they were in first place by 10 ½ games with a 30 – 12 record. Zoonie McLean was leading the league with a .359 batting average. Yogi Giammarco had already set a new league record with ten home runs and Joe Massaro was leading the league with 40 RBI’s. Then the team hit a slump and lost seven straight games but on August 12 they clinched their first pennant with a 5 – 0 win over the Carman Cardinals at Carman. Sugar Cain pitched the shutout and Zoonie McLean and Joe Massaro led the hitting. The Mallards finished the season with a 32 wins and 22 losses record and six games ahead of Carman and Winnipeg and seven games ahead of Brandon.

The Mallards entered the post season playoffs against the Brandon Greys and finished them off with four straight wins. Sugar Cain opened the series with a six-hit, 7 – 2 win at Minot. Yogi Giammarco had a 420 foot home run. In game 2 the Mallards rallied with four runs in the eighth inning for a 6 – 5 win behind Jonas Gains. The series shifted to Brandon. Warren Martin and Ed Albosta pitched game three that included a triple play by the winning Mallards 9 - 3. John Kelly finished off the Greys 5 – 4 in game four.

In the championship series Sugar Cain shut out the Carman Cardinals in game one with a three-hitter, all singles. Then John Kelly threw a six-hitter for a 6 – 2 win. The Cardinals won game three in Carman 9 – 8. Minot came back to win game four 4 – 3 with a strong performance from Jonas Gains and an inside-the park home run in the 9th inning by Duke Bowman. Back in Minot, the Mallards erupted for eight runs in the 1st inning and a 10 – 4 victory to win the Championship. Sugar Cain was the winning pitcher.

Zoonie McLean won the ManDak league batting title with a .369 average. Yogi Giammarco won the home run title and set a new record with 11 plus he had three more in playoff games. He also led the league in runs scored with 56. McLean was second with 54. Duke Bowman led the league with 233 official at-bats and he also led third baseman with a .938 fielding percentage. Joe Massaro set a new record for RBI’s with 55. Don Corcoran was the best fielding outfielder with a .986 fielding average. He also had 9 home runs.

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The style of James B. Sullivan, Sports Editor for the Minot Daily news:

James B. Sullivan became the Sports Editor for the Minot Daily News in early September 1948, replacing Russ Smith who moved to radio and later became the first radio broadcaster for the Mallards. Sullivan played a mayor role in the popularity of the Mallards through his extensive coverage of the teams. Beginning in early April, as signed contracts were received, he gave detailed reports on each player. Then in late May, just before the season opener, photographs and team information were featured in a two-page spread on the team. During the season game summaries and box scores were given for all ManDak League games. Sullivan also wrote frequent columns on the teams and league business. A team photograph was usually published just as the playoffs got underway. Sullivan’s writings had  great style.

September 4, 1952

Mallards Capture First ManDak Championship

Cushioned by an eight run first inning, the Minot Mallards captured their first Manitoba-Dakota league baseball championship with a 10 – 4 conquest of Carman’s Cardinals before an all-time record crowd of 3,407 at Municipal park Wednesday night.

Manager Zoonie McLean’s club, victor in four of the five playoff games, was first in the 3 year history of the circuit to hold first place from its opening day and the first to win eight of nine in the post season series.

Righthander Sugar Cain recorded his second victory in the finals by pitching an eight-hitter. For the last six innings he hurled two-hit ball, retiring the last 12 men in order and putting down 19 of the last 21. His three walks were issued in the first three frames. He fanned eight Cardinals. Cain’s overall 1952 mark is 10 – 3. First baseman Quincey Barbee of the Mallards bowed out with superior performance. He stroked four singles – two of the infield variety – and sparkled in his glove work.

Barbee and second sacker John Kennedy gave the right side of the infield a glow. Quincey made a dazzling stab of Sonny Andrew’s punch blow toward right in the first inning and dug several tosses at first. Kennedy’s quick fielding and throwing equaled his best work. Kennedy contributed two infield hits, one a bunt, to the opening outburst. Don Corcoran chipped in a pair of singles and the reliable hitting Cain hammered a double and a single.

Smooth-fielding Sam Hill slugged a 340-foot home run over the right field fence in the first frame with nobody aboard as Carman administered another rough start for Cain. Chick Longest’s single, a stolen base, an error and a walk followed by Len Pigg’s two-bagger to right-center produced two more Cardinal counters in the initial canto.

In the second Ernie Boushe blasted a double to right-center and Butch Conely unleashed a triple to left-center for Carman’s last run and extra-base hit. From then the only Canadian safeties were singles by Almer McKerlie in the third, Longest in the fourth and Boushe in the sixth.

Minot mauled starting right-hander Gentry Jessup for a double and seven singles for a rallying eight runs in the first two-thirds of an inning.

Willie Hutchinson, also a right-hander, scattered six hits the rest of the way but the damage was done.

Kennedy startled acting manager Jessup by swinging a bunt down the third base for a hit on the first pitch. John pilfered second base before Duke Bowman was passed. Then McLean bunted between the mound and third, and Jessup was too late, Minot loaded the bases.

A passed ball scored Kennedy and moved the other boys a base. The shaky Jessup yielded a double to Yogi Giammarco tallying Bowman. After Joe Massaro popped foul to Lyman Bostock for the first out, Barbee singled sharply passed Jessup’s glove into center to register McLean and Giammarco. Corcoran smacked a single to right-center that Hill fumbled. Don dashed to second and Barbee to third. Willie Green was called out on strikes for the second out.

But the Mallards were still in business. Cain banged a single to right-center to account for Barbee and Corcoran.

Sugar advanced on a passed ball and swiped third just before Kennedy hit one on which Jessup had no play, Cain holding third. Bowman laced a single to right to plate Cain. And when Longest let the ball go through him, Kennedy scampered home and Bowman legged to third.

Hutchinson replaced Jessup on the hill and caused McLean to lift to Hill. The first inning – 40 minutes long – was over.

The local semi-pros added their final two runs in the fifth. With one out Kennedy walked, Bowman grounded to Andrews, who made a nifty grab to his right but flipped wild to Boushe at second. Kennedy ran home and Bowman got to third. McLean fouled to Pigg for the second out but Giammarco was issued his second pass. Massaro followed with a ringing one-baser thru the middle to bring in Bowman.

After Carman’s Boushe singled and advanced on Hutchinson’s sacrifice in the sixth, Conley flied to Corcoran and Hill was retired, Barbee to Cain.

In the seventh Longest and Bostick grounded to Kennedy and McKerlie to Barbee.

In the eighth Pigg flied to Corcoran, Andrews to Giammarco and Boushe whiffed.

In the ninth Hutchinson grounded to McLean, Conley struck out and Hill stroked a ball to right. Giammarco squeezed it and Minot was the 1952 titlist.

Notes: To accommodate the incoming fans, the club delayed the game 10 minutes. The folks sat on the grass down the left and right field lines … Hill struck out twice after belting a home run … Pigg drove a ball deep third in the fifth that bottled up Bowman momentarily, but he fired to first and Barbee made a great save for the out … Jack Carrigan of Winnipeg umpired here for the first time in 2 years … Visitors included Dr. R. C. Morrow, Winnipeg, League secretary-treasurer, and Abe Loeppky, Carman correspondent of the news … Vallie Eaves, a Mallard last year, pitched a no-hitter for Meridian in the Class C Cotton States league the other day.

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