GREATER WINNIPEG SENIOR BASEBALL LEAGUE
The 1937 circuit increased from four to six teams with the addition of two new clubs. Harvey’s Bees, sporting the nucleus of last season’s junior champions, and Selkirk, with the pick of players from the Selkirk & District League, joined the four returning franchises. Accompanying the expansion was a reasonably improved frequency of coverage within the print media of Winnipeg.
TEAMS
C.U.A.C.
Harvey’s
Norwood
Selkirk
St. Boniface
Transcona
FIRST-HALF SERIES
REGULAR SEASON
(June 9) Undefeated Norwood won their fourth in a row, grabbing a photo finish victory over St. Boniface 1 – 0. The lone run of the contest crossed the dish in the ninth round on Roy Roche’s RBI-single which gave Hec Forcese the hurling verdict over Prosper Wynant.
STANDINGS
Norwood 4 – 0 1.000
Transcona 3 – 2 .600
St. Boniface 3 – 2 .600
Harvey’s 3 – 2 .600
Selkirk 0 – 6 .000
(June 18) Rolling to their seventh consecutive triumph, a 9 – 1 conquest of winless Selkirk, Norwood assured themselves of top spot in the first-half standings. Rookie Ken Dawson limited the Fishermen to five scattered hits.
Thompson (L) and Sidek
Dawson (W) and R. Roche
(June 25) The St. Boniface Native Sons and Harvey’s Bees both won their final games of the first-half schedule and remain deadlocked for second place in the final standings, a scenario which will require a special tie-breaker to determine an opponent for pennant-winning Norwood.
FINAL FIRST-HALF STANDINGS
Norwood 8 – 2 .800
St. Boniface 7 – 3 .700
Harvey’s 7 – 3 .700
Transcona 4 – 6 .400
C.U.A.C. 4 – 6 .400
Selkirk 0 – 10 .000
SECOND-PLACE TIE-BREAKER St. Boniface vs Harvey’s (sudden-death)
(June 29) St. Boniface Native Sons qualified to play Norwood in the G.W.S.B.L. first-half finals when they nosed out Harvey’s Bees 8 – 7 in a ten-inning thriller. Although outhit by a narrow margin, the Saints made their bingles count.
Dickson (L) and Scott
Wynant (W) and Leveque
FIRST-HALF FINALS St. Boniface vs Norwood (best-of-three series)
(June 30) Len Knight’s two-run double in the sixth stanza broke a 2 – 2 tie and engineered the St. Boniface Native Sons to a 4 – 2 doubling of pennant-wining Norwood in the opener of the first-half finals.
Ridgedale (W) and Leveque
Belanger (L) and R. Roche
(July 2) Defending champion St. Boniface won the first-half G.W.S.B.L. laurels by edging Norwood 10 – 9 to complete a sweep of the final series. Sharing batting honors for the Saints were Athol Foster and Maurice Eyford who batted in eight runs between them.
Avery, Forcese and R. Roche
Ridgedale (W) and Leveque
SECOND-HALF SERIES
REGULAR SEASON
(July 2) Winless in the first-half of the schedule, Selkirk won their very first G.W.S.B.L. game with a 9 – 8 second-half opening game victory over C.U.A.C. The Fisherman bunched five of their seven hits to score four runs in the final canto to annex the comeback conquest.
Nichols, J. Shaley and England
Thompson, W, Laing (W) and Jorgenson
(August 13) At Transcona, the hometown Railroaders made certain of a place in the second-half playoffs with a 10 – 3 pasting of cellar-dwelling Selkirk. A first-inning home run by Mike Moroz gave the ‘Sconas a lead that they never surrendered.
(August 18) C.U.A.C. nipped Norwood 2 – 1 in the final game of the second-half to pull into a tie for the runner-up spot with their victims in the final standings. A sudden-death tie-breaker is in the works to decide the opposition for penant-winning Transcona. The winners collected just three hits but benefitted by the five errors committed by the Southenders.
England (W) and Nelson
Barchuk (L) and R. Roche
FINAL SECOND-HALF STANDINGS
Transcona 11 – 4 .733
Norwood 10 – 5 .667
C.U.A.C. 10 – 5 .667
St. Boniface 7 – 8 .467
Harvey’s 4 – 11 .267
Selkirk 3 – 12 .200
SECOND-PLACE TIE-BREAKER Norwood vs C.U.A.C. (sudden-death)
(August 20) Nothing was settled in the second-place tie-breaker as the Norwood nine and C.U.A.C. squads battled to a 2 – 2 stalemate in an abbreviated eight-episode tilt.
Barchuk and R. Roche
England and Nelson
(August 23) Norwood earned the right to meet Transcona in the second-half finals by eliminating C.U.A.C. 3 – 2 in a spirited sudden-death joust. Winning chucker Nels Avery relieved starter George Belanger in the initial chapter after the Ukes had plated a trey. Joe Talocka smashed a two-run circuit-clout for the winners while clubmate Hugh Sutherland accumulated three safe swats.
Belanger, Avery (W) (1) and R. Roche
England, J. Shaley (L) (9) and Nelson
SECOND-HALF FINALS Norwood vs Transcona (best-of-three series)
(August 25) A single by “Red” Richmond in the seventh drove in winning twirler Mike Zawley with what turned out to be the winning tally as Transcona edged Norwood 4 – 3 to grab a one-game lead in the second-half finals.
Barchuk (L) and R, Roche, Campbell
Zawley (W) and Marcotte
(August 27) Transcona and Norwood struggled through seven nip-and-tuck innings to a 1 – 1 deadlock, darkness terminating the contest before the tie could be broken. Hits were scarce in the affair, the Southenders collecting just two and the Railroad Towners only one.
Lamoureux and Marcotte
Avery and Campbell
(August 30) Taking advantage of nine Norwood errors, Transcona bounced the Boys from across the River from the second-half playdowns by administering a 12 – 6 shellacking on their adversaries. Hughie Sutherland banged out a double and two singles for the winners.
Elliott, Zawley (W) (4) and Lamoureux, Marcotte
Barchuk (L), Edwards (4) and Campbell
OVERALL LEAGUE FINALS St. Boniface vs Transcona (best-of-seven series)
(September 1) St. Boniface went one game up in the G.W.S.B.L. finals by defeating Transcona 5 – 2. Aime Pageot drove in four of his team’s five counters with a two-run double, a single and a sacrifice fly. Frank Chrzanowski of the Railroad Towners belted a triple and a brace of two-baggers in a losing cause.
Zawley (L) and Lamoureux
Foster (W) and Leveque
(September 3) St. Boniface Native Sons made it two straight wins by nosing past Transcona 3 – 2. Winning heaver Chuck Ridgedale fanned six and gave up four hits. Mike Carrigan stroked three safeties for the victors.
Ridgedale (W) and Leveque
Lamoureux (L) and Marcotte
(September 5) Seeking a title three-peat, the St. Boniface Native Sons hung another narrow defeat on Transcona, taking down the ‘Sconas 3 – 2 in game three of the G.W.S.B.L. finals. Rain halted action after 7-1/2 frames had been played. The Railroad Towners, in defeat, outhit the Saints by a narrow margin but failed to bunch their safeties.
Elliott (L) and Marcotte
Wynant (W) and Leveque
(September 8) With Mike Zawley hurling brilliantly, Transcona remained alive and in the hunt for the G.W.S.B.L championship by defeating the St. Boniface Native Sons 6 – 1. Zawley surrendered just three scattered hits and the lone run scored against him was unearned. Hot corner guardian Julius Casagrande laced three singles for the winners.
Knight (L) and Leveque
Zawley (W) and Marcotte
(September 10) A two-run single off the bat of Frank Chrzanowski in the top-of-the-ninth spasm drove in the tying and deciding runs in a 4 – 3 triumph for Transcona over St. Boniface. The Cathedral City nine outswatted the ‘Sconas 10 – 5 but were only able to bunch bingles in the third round when they scored all three of their runs.
Lamoureux (W) and Marcotte
Foster (L) and Leveque, Clement
(September 12) Transcona evened up their series with St. Boniface at three games apiece when they clipped the Native Sons 9 – 3 before more than 2,000 fans. The hard-hitting duo of Frank Chrzanowski and Mike Moroz combined to drive in eight big runs for Transcona.
Ridgedale (L), Wynant (6) and Leveque
Zawley (W) and Macotte
(September 13) Never able to fully recover from an opening-inning defensive meltdown which resulted in six St. Boniface runs, Transcona blew their chances of a major series comeback after being three games in arrears, by dropping the G.W.S.B.L. series’ finale 6 – 2 to the three-peat champion Native Sons. First sacker Johnny Lawton of the Cathedral City nine was the lone player to sting the sphere for a brace of bingles, one being a long triple. Winning slabster Athol Foster yielded four hits, walked three and rang up six punchouts.
Foster (W) and Leveque
Lamoureux (L) and Marcotte
BRANDON
It took until the latter part of June but both a junior (the Cardinals) and senior baseball team (the Merchants) were formed in Brandon to partake in a limited number of 1937 exhibitions games against southwestern Manitoba opposition.
OTHER MANITOBA
WINNIPEG JUNIOR BASEBALL LEAGUE
Morse Place *
Strathconas
Transcona :
*1937 champions