Border League
Final Standings W L Pct.
Estevan Maple Leafs* 7 3 .700
Wildrose ND* 7 3 .700
Arcola* 7 3 .700
Kenmare ND* 7 3 .700
Portal ND 1 9 .100
Columbus ND 1 9 .100
* four-way tie for first place
A four-team playoff tournament was held on July 22nd in Estevan. Although the Maple Leafs won the league championship playoff tournament, they declined to enter the southern S.A.B.A. playdowns because of financial concerns. The only other Saskatchewan team in the circuit, Arcola, reinforced with a few Estevan players, carried the torch for the loop in the south Saskatchewan finals.
In the tournament, to decide final standings, Estevan defeated Kenmare 4-1 in the opening game and Wildrose followed with a 5-1 victory over Arcola. Arcola then topped Kenmare 7-6 to secure third spot in the standings and Estevan fell behind 3-0 before rallying for a 7-3 win in the final.
Wildrose took a 2-0 lead in the first inning and made in 3-0 in the fourth before the Maple Leafs plated their first marker. Estevan took charge with three runs in the fifth inning and added three more in the seventh. John Berner fired a four-hitter against his former teammates and helped at the plate with a run-scoring single and a triple. He fanned 12.
Ryan (L) and xxx
Berner (W) and xxx
Prince Albert & District Baseball League
C.N.R. was the first-half winner while Birch Hills captured the second stanza of the schedule. They then met in a best-of-three series for the league championship and the Wright trophy. After dropping the first game 6 to 2, the Railroaders rebounded to claim games two and three by counts of 3 to 2 and 3 to 1 to walk away with the hardware.
A group of select players from the league then banded together, adopting the team name of “Bohemians,” and entered the provincial playoff picture.
Northern Saskatchewan Playoffs
Three teams entered the northern Saskatchewan playoffs: Neilburg (winner of the prestigious Saskatoon exhibition week tournament in 1931), the Prince Albert Bohemians (an all-star team from the Prince Albert & District Baseball League) and the defending champion Saskatoon St. Joseph’s Athletic Club, a repeat champion from the Saskatoon City League.
A draw was made and Neilburg came up as the winner and received a bye to the northern final series, setting up a semi-final matchup featuring the Prince Albert and Saskatoon squads.
Northern Saskatchewan Semi – Finals
(August 19) The Prince Albert Bohemians and Saskatoon St. Joe’s divided the first two games of their northern Saskatchewan semi-final series. Prince Albert staged a great rally in the final two innings to take the opener of the twin-bill 11 to 10. The visitors from the Hub City copped the evening game 7 to 4 by scoring three times in the top of the ninth inning. Trailing 10 to 6 when they came to bat in the bottom of the eighth frame of the matinee match, the Bohs picked up a pair of counters to narrow the gap and then, in their last turn at bat, plated three more to pull the game out of the fire. Mosher’s bases-loaded single brought in the tying runs and then Terris followed with another one-bagger to drive in the winner.
Therrien (L) and Reeve
Valois, C. Bird (W) (5) and Mosher
Saskatoon’s Bud Abbey broke a 4 – 4 deadlock in the ninth inning of the second encounter with a two-run double and plated another insurance run when Jimmy Harris singled. Harris had an outstanding game at the plate for the winners, slamming a triple, double and two singles.
Bennett (W) and Reeve
Valois (L) and Mosher
(August 22) The St. Joseph’s A.C. and Prince Albert Bohemians failed to reach a decision as to which team will face Neilburg in the final of the northern S.A.B.A. playdown after the two squads once again split their showdown doubleheader. The northerners walked off with the matinee fixture by an 8 to 6 score but, behind the superb pitching of Alf Bennett, the St. Joe’s squad played errorless ball in the evening to whitewash the visitors 6 to 0. The Bohs collected 16 base blows off the combined slants of Saskatoon starter Ossie Jones and reliever Pete Therrien in claiming the initial game triumph. Third sacker Casey led the way for the winners with the stick, slapping four singles. Winning twirler Lunan followed with a trio of one-baggers. Alf Bennett led the Saskatonians offensively, drilling thee doubles.
Lunan (W) and Mosher
Jones (L), Therrien (6) and Reeve
Facing a do-or-die situation in the nightcap, the Hub City nine responded behind Bennett’s masterful two-hit shutout hurling to remain alive. Losing chucker C. Bird was no slouch either as he yielded six hits in his eight innings of mound work. Lorne Kerr picked up a triple and a single for the victors while teammate Joe McCulloch added a brace of singles.
C. Bird (L), L. Ortloff (9) and Mosher
Bennett (W) and Reeve
(August 26) Playing in a slow drizzle and a cold wind, the St. Joseph’s A.C. of Saskatoon eliminated the Prince Albert Bohemians by blowing out the Bohs 15 to 2 in a five-inning contest played on a neutral diamond at Rosthern. St. Joseph’s came out swinging from the beginning, garnering four tallies off the offerings of sore-armed Prince Albert hurler “Jo Jo” Valois in their first turn at bat. In total, the Bridge City boys lit up Valois as well as relievers C. Bird and Mosher for a total of 17 base raps in the abbreviated contest. Outfielder Jimmy Harris paced the winners with the stick, clouting the apple for a triple, double and single while Alf Bennett picked up a three-bagger and a pair of singles.
Therrien (W) and Reeve
Valois (L), C. Bird (4), Mosher (5) and Mosher, Casey (5)
Northern Saskatchewan Finals
(August 29) St. Joseph’s Athletic Club, Saskatoon City League champions, continued on their victorious path by defeating Neilburg in both of the first two games of the northern S.A.B.A. finals. The scores were 8 to 2 in the lid-lifter, followed by a 4 to 0 blanking in the follow-up affair. Alf Bennett of St. Joe’s tossed a five-hitter to earn the first-game mound victory. The Saskatonians picked up seven hits off losing chucker T. Conklin with first baseman Bud Abbey accounting for two of them. Conklin laced a double and single in aiding his own cause.
Bennett (W) and Reeve
T. Conklin (L) and Silver
The second contest was extremely close up until the eighth frame when the Hub City gang plated three counters to pull away. Pete Therrien allowed Neilburg only three hits in posting the complete game shutout. Losing twirler Taylor was lit up for five Saskatoon base blows. Only one player in this game, Neilburg’s catcher Silver, was able to deliver more than one hit as he singled twice, stole second on both occasions but died there each time as his mates failed to deliver a timely base rap.
Therrien (W) and Reeve
Taylor (L) and Silver
(September 2) Saskatoon’s St. Joseph’s A.C. continued their onward march to the provincial championship when they split the honors of the return doubleheader with Neilburg to capture the northern series three games to one. Neilburg took the first game 16 to 8 in a sloppy exhibition but St. Joe’s came back to take the evening tilt 9 to 2 to win the northern title. The opener saw both pitchers, particularly loser Syer, hit hard and, in the early innings, it was anybody’s game as loose fielding plus the lusty hitting kept things close. In the fourth frame, however, Neilburg put the result beyond doubt, scoring six times. Winning chucker Taylor had a hot hand with the bat, stroking four singles. Silver, his batterymate, blasted a home run. First baseman Stewart contributed three one-baggers while shortstop Conklin drilled a pair of doubles. Outfielder Lorne Kerr singled three times for St. Joe’s while Syer had a circuit-clout.
Taylor (W) and Silver
Syer (L) and Reeve
St. Joseph’s got to losing twirler Conklin early in the evening fixture, scoring five runs in the first inning and two more in the second. Winning tosser Pete Therrien limited Neilburg to six hits the rest of the way as the Saskatonians cruised to the win. Lorne Kerr and Curly Reeve paced the Hub City attack with three hits apiece. Included in their production was a triple for Kerr and a double for Reeve.
Conklin (L) and Silver
Therrien (W) and Reeve