1947 was the initial season of the Big Four Intercity League which, for four summers, would provide top notch baseball in Edmonton (Cubs and Eskimos) and Calgary (Buffaloes and Purity 99). The Purity 99s downed the Eskimos in six games to capture the championship in the inaugural season.
(May 17) In the opening game of the Big Four Baseball League season, Edmonton Cubs shaded Calgary Purity 99 3-2. Andy "Pinch" Clovechok had two hits for the winners.
(May 30) Lefty Belter was the man as Edmonto Eskimos hung a 4-1 defeat on Calgary Purity 99s Friday. Belter fired a two-hitter while smacking a two-run homer in the 7th inning to provide all the offense the Esks would need. Walt Gully had a four-bagger to account for the only run for Purity. Tony Maze pitched a five-hitter in a losing cause. The win gave the Eskmos five wins, the same as all other clubs in the circuit. The Edmonton Cubs and Calgary Buffaloes were rained out.
Maze (L) and Weaver
Belter (W) and Stevenson
(May 31) Edmonton Eskimos broke open a tight 2-2 game with a five run outburst in the sixth inning to down Purity 7-2 Saturday. Slim Burke held Calgary to six hits in going the distance for the win.
Burke (W) and Weaver
Hunter (L) and Stevenson
(June 1) Big John Carpenter posted his fourth straight win without a loss pitching Purity 99 to a 6-2 win Sunday over the Eskimos. Ernie Beland had a double and single and drove in a pair for Calgary.
Carpenter (W) and Weaver
Douziech (L), Darrah (9) and Samis
(June 3) In his first start for the Eskimos, Millie hurled a six-hitter as the Esks topped the Cubs 7-1. Ralph Morgan knocked in two runs with a pair of hits, one a double.
Millie (W) and Stevenson
Currie (L), Gray (6) and
Lipincott
(June 3) Joe Kanik fired a smart five-hitter to lead Purity 99 to a 3-1 verdict over Calgary Buffaloes. Buffs got on the scoreboard first with a run in the initial frame as Des O'Conner knocked in Lloyd Bradley who had singled and advanced on a walk. Purity took the lead in the second. Art Lewis doubled and Gene O'Grady drove him in with a single. The second run scored on an error. Purity's third marker came in the fourth as George Alexander batted in Lewis who reached when hit by a pitch.
Kanik (W) and Weaver
Humble (L) and Petrunia
(June 4) Calgary Buffaloes overcame a 5-1 deficit to down Purity 6-5 Wednesday at Buffalo Stadium. Buffs took the lead in the first inning without a hit. Ronnie English walked and came around to score on a sacrifice, an infield out and a wild pitch. Purity went ahead 3-1 in the second as Art Lewis doubled to plate Dick Noon and scored himself on a single by Gene O'Grady who came home on a single and passed ball. Purity added another in the third on three errors and a stolen base. The final Purity maker was also unearned with O'Grady getting the benefit of a two-bases error and scoring on Woody Huckabay's single. The Buffs came to life in the sixth. A single, a hit batsman and a walk loaded the bases with one out and a wild pitch brought home a run before Des O'Connor drove in two more with a single and George Petrunia knocked in another. The deciding tally came in the seventh when Larry Gilbert singled, stole second and scored on Roy Schappert 's hit to deep centre. Alex Uffelman scattered nine hits in going the distance for the win. He compiled ten strikeouts and walked two.
Uffelman (W) and Petrunia
Burke (L) and Weaver
(June 4) Edmonton Cubs edged the Eskimos 4-3 in ten innings as pinch-hitter Johnny Gray singled in Don Lippincott with the winning run. The Eskimos, out-hit 10 to 3, had tied the game in the bottom of the 9th on Doug Stewart's two-run homer. Milt Trann picked up the win in relief of starter Rodgers.
Rodgers, Trann (W) (8), Currie (10) and Lippincott
Darrah, Hunter (L) (7) and Stevenson
Calgary Buffaloes 6 - 5
Calgary Purity 99 7 - 7 0.5
Edmonton Cubs 6 - 6 0.5
Edmonton Eskimos 7 - 8 1.0
(June 5) Ray Humble of the Calgary Buffaloes is the leading hitter in the Big Four Inter-city Baseball League. In official statistics, including games of June 1, Humble has a .474 average well ahead of Tony Maze of Purity at .372. Charlie Roeder of Edmonton Eskimos is third with a .340 percentage. John Carpenter of Calgary Purity 99s is the top hurler with four straight victories.
(June 6) Catcher George Petrunia brought in the winning run in the 10th inning as Calgary Buffaloes got by Edmonton Cubs 4-3. Roy Schappert led a 12-hit Buffaloes attack with three hits. Babe Work and Ronnie English each had a pair. Jerry Whitney scattered ten hits in going the full ten innings for the win. Ab Superstein starred for the losers rapping a triple in the second inning and a two-bagger in the 8th.
Whitney (W) and Petrunia
Bass (L) and Lippincott
(June 6) Edmonton Eskimos handed John Carpenter his first loss of the season Friday downing Purity 5-4 in ten innings in the opening game of a three-game series. The big right-hander had allowed just two hits in regulation play but was touched for three runs, just one of them earned. In the 10th, however, Carpenter hit Doug Stevenson and then, in an attempt to keep him close to the first base bag, made a wild throw and the Eskimos catcher scampered all the way to third. He scored easily on a long fly to right. With two out, Esks got the winning run as Terry Garrett, Bill Price and Jerry Seaman rapped all three straight singles. Purity rallied for one in the bottom of the extra frame but fell short.
Belter (W) and Stevenson
Carpenter (L) and Weaver
(June 7) Calgary Buffaloes downed the Cubs 3-2 to take the second game of the three game weekend set. Ben Dann had a triple and single scoring two runs for the winners. Larry Gilbert added a pair of two-baggers. Ray Humble was the winning hurler besting Johnny Gray.
Humble (W) and Petruania
Gray (L) and Lippincott
(June 7) Edmonton Eskimos were handed four unearned runs and went on to down Calgary Purity 5-1. Doug Stevenson knocked in three runs with a double and single. Forrest Hunter was the winning pitcher.
F. Hunter (W) and Stevenson
Maze (L) and xxx
(June 8) Milt Trann shutout Calgary Buffaloes on four hits to salvage one game of the weekend series for the Edmonton Cubs. Johnny Gray knocked in two runs as the Cubs won, 5-0.
Stover (L) and Petrunia
Gray (W) and Lippincott
(June 8) Purity 99s, fielding a make-shift lineup, clawed their way to a 6-4 victory Sunday. The strong right arm of Joe Kanik and a home run by Billy Alexander highlighted the Purity triumph. Kanik pitched six-hit ball and struck out 11. Alexander's four-bagger broke a 3-3 tie in the 7th. Purity added a pair in the 8th. Tony Maze knocked in a pair with two safeties. With Woody Huckabay sidelined with a badly swollen knee, Purity manager Lefty Wilson shuffled the lineup. First baseman Walt Gully went to shortstop and Kenny Stewart, signed last week as a spare catcher, took over at third. Alexander went to right field because brother George, a fireman was on duty.
Kanik (W) and
xxx (L) and Weaver
(August 1) Tony Maze and Ernie Beland slugged back-to-back homers in the 6th inning to drive in four runs as Purity 99 came from behind to edge the Edmonton Eskimos 4-3 Friday at Buffalo Park. Trailing 3-0 going into the bottom of the 6th, winning pitcher Joe Kanik started the rally with a single and moved to second as Toad Garnet drew a walk. Walt Gully forced Kanik at third but Maze followed with a homer to knot the score. The ball cleared the fence in left-centre for the longest hit at Buffalo Park this season. Seconds later, Beland knocked one out of the park for the winning run.
Darrah (L) and Stevenson
Kanik (W) and Weaver, Stewart
(August 1) In a sparkling pitcher's duel at Edmonton, the Calgary Buffaloes shaded the Edmonton Cubs 1-0. The only run came in the first inning on a walk, a stolen base, a hit and an error. Both Jimmy Gibson for the Buffs and Johnny Gray for the Cubs allowed just four hits. Gibson fanned ten and walked a pair. Gray had six strike outs and one base on balls.
Gibson (W) and Petrunia
Gray (L) and Lippincott
(August 2) Edmonton Eskimos exploded for seven runs in the 7th inning to come from behind to down Calgary Purity 9-7 Saturday. Tony Maze had been breezing along with a one-hitter for six innings until the roof caved in. Esks took advantage of eight Calgary errors. Purity had taken an early lead on a Walt Gully homer in the first and three in the 4th on a Kenny Stewart double.
Hunter (W), Belter (7), Douziech (7) and Samis, Stevenson
Maze (L), Sahm (7) and Stewart
(August 2) Calgary Buffaloes and Edmonton Cubs split a Saturday twin-bill. Johnny Bass threw a two-hitter Saturday afternoon to shutout the Buffs 2-0 and hand Lloyd Bradley his first loss of the season after seven straight wins.
Bass (W) and Lippincott
Bradley (L 7-1) and Petrunia
Second baseman Roy Schappert knocked in three runs in the second game as the Buffaloes prevailed 7-2. Jack Stover picked up the win with a six-hitter.
Stover (W) and Petrunia
Trann (L), Curry and Lippincott
(August 3) Trailing 3-0, the Edmonton Cubs rallied for four runs in the 8th inning to down the Buffaloes 4-3. Cliff Johnston had two hits and drove in two runs to lead the winners. After allowing a run in the second and two in the third, Leo Sullivan settled down to pitch shutout ball the rest of the way to post the victory. Ray Humble took the loss for the Buffs.
Humble (L 9-4) and Petrunia
Sullivan (W) and Lippincott
(August 3) Calgary Purity managed a split of a weekend set with the Eskimos as John Carpenter scattered seven hits for his 11th win as Purity scored a 5-1 victory Sunday. Greg McLellan smacked a homer for Calgary. Gene O'Grady added a triple and single.
Douziech (L), Belter (7) and Samis, Stevenson
Carpenter (W 11-3) and Stewart
Calgary Buffaloes 33 - 22
Edmonton Eskimos 29 - 25 3.5
Calgary Purity 26 - 31 8.0
Edmonton Cubs 21 - 31 10.5
(August 4) Edmonton Cubs swept Monday's double-header from the Calgary Buffaloes 3-1 and 4-3. The games were make-up matches for two postponed earlier in Calgary. Five-hundred spectators turned out for the afternoon game and 2,000 for the night contest. Johnny Gray held the Buffs to five hits in the first game as the Cubs scored in the first inning and were never headed. Gray fanned nine and walked two in besting Gerry Whitney who gave up seven hits in a losing cause.
Gray (W) and Lippincott
Whitney (L) and Petrunia
In the evening contest, Cubs pushed across a run in the 8th to break a 3-3 draw and notch the win. Stan Curry held the Buffs to six hits to gain the win, his 6th.
Curry (W 6-?) and Lippincott
Uffelman (L 1-2) and Petrunia
(August 5) A four-run 4th inning carried Edmonton Eskimos to a 5-2 win over the Cubs Tuesday before about 500 fans. Cubs had the bases loaded and one out in the 9th but failed to score. Tom Brant pitched into the 9th for the win.
Brant (W), Belter (9), Hunter (9) and Stevenson
Bass (L), Sullivan (5) and Lippincott
(August 6) Jimmy Gibson used his arm and bat to give the Calgary Buffaloes a 5-4 win over Purity 99 at Buffalo Park Wednesday. Gibson allowed just one earned run on seven hits in his mound performance while punching out three hits, including a home run to pace the Buffs' attack. It was Gibson's 6th win of the season. Slim Burke took the loss.
Burke (L) and Stewart
Gibson (W 6-?) and Petrunia
(August 6) Tony Chulla tripled and scored on a squeeze play in the 9th inning to give the Cubs a 4-4 tie with the Eskimos Wednesday. The game was called due to darkness. Esks out-hit the Cubs 13 to 8 with Jerry Seaman and Ralph Morgan each with three. Seaman's hits included a triple. Morgan had a two-bagger.
Trann, Gray (3), Curry (9) and Lippincott, Harney
Seaman, Belter (9) and
Stevenson
(August 9) Big John Carpenter (left) hurled Calgary Purity to a 5-1 victory over Edmonton Cubs Saturday. The right-hander, who was nicked for just four hits, gave up a run in the first inning then blanked the Cubs the rest of the way.
Carpenter (W) and Stewart
Curry (L), Trann and Lippincott
(August 10) Edmonton Cubs swept a Sunday double-header from Purity 99, 3-1 and 7-1. Johnny Gray bested Joe Kanik in the opener and Leo Sullivan hurled a four-hitter for the win in the second game.
Kanik (L) and Stewart
Gray (W) and Lippincott
Maze (L) and Stewart
Sullivan (W) and Lippincott
(August 10) Before 5,000 spectators at Buffalo Park Sunday the Buffaloes took two from the Edmonton Eskimos 9-6 and 11-3. The home team rallied for six runs in the 6th inning of the opener to come from behind for the victory as Lloyd Bradley picked up the win in relief, his 8th win in nine decisions. The Buffs overcame a four-hit game from Ralph Morgan who drove in three for the Esks. Shortstop Frank Gonzales belted a homer for the losers.
Belter (L), Douziech (2), Hunter (6) and Samis
Humble, Bradley (W 8-1) (4) and Petrunia
The Buffaloes unleashed a 16-hit assault in the second game to coast to the 11-3 victory. Alex Uffelman smacked four hits, including a homer and double, to drive in four for the Buffs. Catcher George Petrunia had three hits for the winners. Jimmy Gibson set down the Eskimos on five hits for his seventh win of the season.
Hunter (L), Belter (5), Garrett (8) and Samis
Gibson (W 7-3) and Petrunia
Calgary Buffaloes 36 - 25
Edmonton Eskimos 31 - 27 3.5
Calgary Purity 27 - 34 9.0
Edmonton Cubs 25 - 33 9.5
(August 12) The city rivals, Edmonton Cubs and Eskimos battled to a scoreless tie Tuesday night before 2,500 fans. The game was called after the 9th due to darkness. In a pitching duel between Jerry Seaman and Morrie Hawkey, the two clubs combined for just nine hits.
Seaman and Samis
Hawkey and Lippincott
(August 12) Calgary Purity overcame a 4-2 deficit with a five-run outburst in the 2nd inning and went on to dump the Buffaloes 10-6. Purity rapped out 12 hits, one of them a home run by Gene O'Grady. Alex Uffelman slugged a homer for the Buffs. Johnny Sahm was the winner in relief.
Whitney (L), Humble (3) and Petrunia
Burke, Sahm (W 2-3) (2) and Stewart
(August 13) John Carpenter rang up his 5th straight win against the Buffaloes Wednesday night as Purity 99 notched a 5-2 victory at Buffalo Park. Carpenter gave up just six hits, one a homer to Jimmy Gibson. Toad Garnet had three hits and Carpenter two to lead an 11-hit attack.
Carpenter (W 13-3) and Stewart
Stover (L), Uffelman (6) and Petrunia
(August 13) Doug Darrah tossed a four-hitter to lead Edmonton Eskimos to a 3-1 victory over the Cubs. Catcher Doug Stevenson had three of the Eskimos seven hits. He scored twice.
Bass (L 4-8) and Lippincott
Darrah (W 8-5) and Stevenson
(August 14) Edmonton Cubs defeated the Eskimos 8-3 Thursday night at Renfrew Park. The contest was called at the end of the 8th inning due to darkness. Stan Curry and Milt Trann combined on a five-hitter for the win.
Curry, Trann (4) and Lippincott
Belter (L), Hunter (3) and
Stevenson
(August 14) Purity 99 downed the Buffaloes 6-3 Thursday behind a three-hitter by Joe Kanik. Tony Maze knocked in three runs with a homer and two singles for the winners.
Bradley (L 8-2) and Petrunia
Kanik (W 6-5) and Stewart
(August 15) In the first game under the lights at Edmonton's Renfrew Park, Edmonton Eskimos topped Calgary Buffaloes 6-1. Doug Stewart of the Esks provided the game's highlight with an inside-the-park homer in the third inning
(June 6) The opening of the Crow's Nest Pass Senior Baseball League took place at Blairmore when the hometown Columbus Club defeated the Natal-Michel Sport Club 12-11.
SOUTHERN ALBERTA NISEI BASEBALL
(September) In the opening game of the league final series, Iron Springs eked out a 14-11 victory over Picture Butte Bluebirds. Springs was sailing along with a 12-3 advantage before Butte exploded with eight runs in the bottom of the eighth inning. Pitcher Sam Yano sparked the winners with a pair of three-baggers, driving in four runs. Kuni Ichino, the second sacker, slugged a homer as part of a four-run inning in the fifth. He also had a pair of singles. Art Oshiro added three more hits for the winners. Harpo Moriyama punched out three safeties for the Bluebirds.
Yano (W), Oshiro (8) and Sub Miike
G.Shigemi, K.Koriyama, Tsugi Iwamoto and Ben Shikaze, Jim Ikebuchi