1937 Regina Senior Amateur Baseball
Regina had no representation in the 1937 Southern League. Not only that but there was not even an operational city senior league within the confines of the Queen City. A group of experienced baseballers from the Capital City did, however, form a team, sponsored by the local brewery, called the Pilsner Pucksters, a reference to the hockey heritage of many of their players. The Pilsners had a steady diet of tournament and exhibition games throughout the summer of 1937 but expressed no interest in pursuing anything beyond that.
The Pilsners never registered with the S.A.B.A. to enter provincial playdowns but another group of Reginans, sponsored by an Imperial Esso service station and referred to as Garnet Service, finally did. This group of relative unknowns hadn’t played together as a team all summer yet decided to give the southern Saskatchewan playoffs a shot, even though it seemed apparent that the veteran Pilsner diamondeers were the more talented of the two.
The Garnet Service team was so unheralded in Regina that they chose to play all of their playoff home games at Lang Field in Wilcox.
Prince Albert & District Baseball League
Final standings W L T Pct.
Canucks 5 1 0 .633
Birch Hills 3 2 1 .583
Northside 2 3 1 .417
Cubs 1 5 0 .167
Semi-final playoffs
(July 11) Northside defeated Birch Hills 4 to 3 in the first game of the Prince Albert & District Baseball League semi-finals. Northside got away to an early two-run lead in the second inning after which they were never headed. E. Hunter, with ninth-inning relief help from G. Morash, took the mound win. “Mooch” Morash and second baseman MacDonald both singled twice for the winners.
Gratis (L) and Jack Brown
E. Hunter (W), G. Morash (9) and M. Morash
(July 16) Down one run as they prepared to take their final turn at bat, the Birch Hills squad was able to manufacture a run and tie Northside 8 – 8 in the second game of the City & District semi-finals. Pete Adams was the hero of the ninth-inning Birch Hills comeback as he stole two bases and romped home with the equalizer on Jack Johnston’s safety squeeze. First baseman Duff Halcro of the Hillmen led all batters, garnering three singles.
C. Hunter, G. Morash (1), xxx (9) and M. Morash
Young, P. Adams and Jack Brown
(July 18) Birch Hills baseball bowed gracefully out of the Prince Albert & District League playoffs when they went down to defeat at the hands of the Northside nine 7 to 3. The Northsiders accumulated 14 base hits off a pair of Birch Hills chuckers. Johnny Boden led the way for the winners with two singles and a double. Northside now advances to meet the pennant-winning Canucks in a best-of-five City & District final.
A. Hunter (W) and M. Morash
P. Adams (L), Young (5) Jack Brown
League Finals
(July 20) The Prince Albert Canucks dropped Northside 5 to 3 in the opening game of the championship series for the City & District playoff title. Teddy Dahl and “Lefty” Logue did the mound work for the winners and yielded seven hits. Andy Zwack, the Canucks’ catcher, and E. Hunter of the Northsiders paced their respective teams offensively, both delivering a double and a single.
E. Hunter (L), G. Morash, J. Boden and M. Morash
Dahl, Logue (W) and Zwack
(July 25) The Canucks of Prince Albert, in masterly style, took both ends of a playoff doubleheader from Northside at Bohemian Park to capture the Prince Albert & District League championship in three straight games. The curtain-raiser, a 13-inning battle, saw the Canucks finally emerge as 6 to 4 winners. The champions led all the way in the second tilt in posting a 5 to 1 triumph. Deadlocked 3 – 3 from the ninth inning on in the matinee event, the two teams played four extra frames before the Canucks pounced on losing twirler Hochet, the 13th inning reliever, for three runs to sew up the ball game. Northside countered with a single tally in their half of the 13th but it was insufficient to snatch a victory. Ted Dahl toiled the entire 13 innings for the Canucks on the hill and, in addition, drove in two of the three counters in the 13th with a single.
Dahl (W) and Zwack
A. Hunter, Hochet (L) (13) and xxx
Capitalizing on a pair of walks, followed by Mike Horb’s single, Andy Zwack’s three-bagger and Chuck Carle’s single, the Canucks forged ahead 3 to 0 in third inning of the nightcap and then rode the portside arm of winning tosser Dave “Lefty” Logue to easily take the finale and the league tiara. Logue’s batterymate, Zwack, also had a double to go along with his triple.
G. Morash (L), A. Hunter, Longsway and M. Morash
Logue (W) and Zwack
Saskatoon Playground Commercial League
The nucleus of the 1936 Gems, Saskatoon’s leagueless senior amateur team and northern Saskatchewan champions of a year previous, entered a new Hub City loop, the Saskatoon Playground Commercial League, in 1937 and played under the banner of the Maroons. Joining them in this new circuit were the Nutana Olympics and the Oilers. The Maroons breezed to the league pennant, followed by the Oilers with the Nutana Olympics bringing up the rear. As fate would have it, the Maroons were not challenged for the 1937 northern crown so went directly into the Saskatchewan finals against the Southern League playoff champions, the Weyburn Beavers.
Border League
Roster of 1937 Border League champions - Estevan
(August 29) Estevan clobbered Columbus 19 to 3 in the Border League championship playoff game staged at Columbus ND.
Southern S.A.B.A semi-finals
The neophyte Regina Garnet Service squad found themselves facing another youthful team, the Southern League’s Notre Dame Hounds, in the southern S.A.B.A. semi-finals, a best–of-three affair.(July 18) With both hurlers in fine form and backed up by snappy defensive play, two evenly matched teams battled for 13 innings before the Regina Garnet Service scampered home with the winning run to chalk up a 3 to 2 victory over the Notre Dame Hounds in the first game of a best-of-three southern Saskatchewan baseball playoff at Wilcox. While Nicholson, performing on the mound for the Regina aggregation, whiffed 14 and allowed seven scattered safeties, his teammates touched Bud Turley of the Hounds for 11 safe blows and fanned the breeze five times. Outfielder Hollinger of the visitors easily copped the batting laurels for the game, cracking out four singles in six trips to the dish. Vince Germann, talkative third sacker of the Hounds, had three base hits in six tries.
Nicholson (W) and May
Turley (L) and Cooke
(July 25) Taking their second straight victory over the Notre Dame Hounds at Wilcox, this one by a 4 to 3 count in ten innings, the Regina Garnet Service nine earned the right to meet the Weyburn Beavers in the final round of the southern Saskatchewan playoffs. As in the first match, the winners were hard-pressed to emerge with the victory over the scrappy Hounds. A clutch triple by Tony Righetti, peppery shortstop for Regina, in the last of the tenth, drove in the winning run. Winning pitcher Laing starred on the hill for the Queen City aggregation, allowing only four Notre dame hits while fanning three. Bud Turley of the Hounds was touched for ten safeties. Second baseman Naylor of the Garnet Gang connected for four base raps in five attempts at the platter. The Regina ball-tossers will use the Notre Dame diamond for home games in their series with Weyburn.
Turley (L) and Cooke
Laing (W) and Nicholson