1948 Vancouver, Lower Mainland, Fraser Valley
1948 BC Interior
1948 Vancouver Island
Vancouver Senior City Baseball League
The 1948 circuit remained stable with four entries, a new club representing West Vancouver replacing the departed White Spots of a season previous. Financial concerns and numerous rainouts during a spring of intense flooding kept the loop on edge for much of the season. Newspaper coverage was skimpy as the professional Capilanos, defending pennant-winners in the Western International League, captured most of the attention.
The youthful, speedy and powerful VAC aggregation, sporting a number of young pro prospects, ran away with the league pennant and then captured both rounds of the playoffs, Challenged to a Vancouver championship by South Burnaby, playoff winners in the Kingsway Baseball League, a series got underway but ended abruptly in late September after the teams had split two highly-contested games.
(May 7) The Westerns, combining ten base hits with seven York errors, won the debut game in the Senior City circuit by besting the Hoteliers 12 to 5 at Capilano Stadium. Winning tosser Russ Richardson, though not spectacular on the mound, gave the Yorks little to swing at until the last two rounds when he began to weaken badly. The winners clinched the game with a six-run uprising in the eighth frame.
Richardson (W) and Weston, C. Ball (8)
Surphlis (L), Younie (8) and H. McDonald
(May 7) The West Vancouver nine, a new entry in the loop, were blanked 9 to 0 at Ambleside Park by the powerful VAC contingent. Eddie Weisberg, VAC hurler, earned the whitewash win by firing a two-hitter. Shortstop Cece Stein of the victors clubbed the initial home run of the campaign.
Weisberg (W) and Bellamy
McDonald (L), Tough (6) and McMurdo
(May 8) Playing at Ambleside Park in West Vancouver, the VAC pastimers hammered the Westerns 15 to 1. The speedy Clubbers lit up a pair of Western chuckers for 13 base raps and rubbed it in by adding six stolen bases. Catcher Vinnie Bellamy led the VAC sluggers with two doubles and a single. Bill Whyte fanned nine and displayed mid-season form in copping the knoll triumph on a three-hitter.
Zailo (L), Bogdanovich (8) and Weston
Whyte (W) and Bellamy
(May 17) Following a week of forced inactivity because of rain, the Senior City League got back into action at Ambleside Park where the Westerns collected their second win in three starts with a 3 to 0 shutout of the hosting West Vancouver entry. The victors plated all three of their tallies in the sixth canto on a two-run single by Dick Bentley and an RBI one-bagger by Ken Van Hatten.
Carpenter (L) and Weston
McKay (W) and C. Ball
(May 19) The Yorks put together a balanced offensive showing in handing the neophyte West Vancouver team their third straight setback, a 4 to 2 loss. The Suburbanites were held to just four hits from the tandem of Ron Curby and Bill Parrish of the Hotelmen.
Curby (W), Parrish (5) and H. McDonald
Pealo (L), Alton (3) and Weston
(May 20) Out hit by a 10 to 9 margin, the youthful VAC team still had enough extra-base power to defeat the defending champion Yorks 15 to 9. Nine miscues by the Hotelmen contributed to the final score. A six-run seventh inning turned the tide for the winners. Catcher Hec McDonald of the Innkeepers led all swatters with a four-hit evening. Keystone sacker Les Brown punched out two bingles for the Clubbers.
Younie (L), Surphlis (7) and H. McDonald
Crosato (W), Whyte (7) and Bellamy
(May 21) In one of the best games of the season to date, hosting West Vancouver and the York Hotel nine played to a 6 – 6 tie at Ambleside Park. Bill Parrish went the route on the hill for the Hotelmen, striking out nine while yielding seven safeties. The hosts used three chuckers who were nicked for six bingles. Shortstop Laurie “Butch” Dow of the Yorks had three hits and drove in a trio of counters. Outfielder Jack Fisher and third baseman Swanson, batting in the middle of the West Van lineup, unleashed a one-two wallop with the former equalling Dow’s output of three hits, including a double, while the latter ripped a pair of base knocks which accounted for three RBI’s.
Franklin, Barber, Pealo and Weston
Parrish and Surphlis
At Capilano Stadium, Mike Johnston’s five-hit pitching sparked the VAC’s to an 8 to 1 win over the Westerns.
Johnstone (W) and Bellamy
Richardson (L) and C. Ball
(May 26) The West Vancouver baseballers captured their first win in Senior City League play by edging the Westerns 5 to 4 at Ambleside Park. Fly chaser Tom Rippon of the victors led all swatsmiths with a home run and double, driving in three of the five tallies. Westerns’ first baseman Barney Kadey was thrown out at the plate in the final frame when he unsuccessfully tried to stretch a triple into a game-tying, inside-the-park homer.
Hlady, Zailo (L) (4) and C. Ball
Carpenter (W) and Weston
(June 2) While the VAC nine was rolling to their fifth straight Senior City League triumph at Capilano Stadium, the improved West Vancouver diamondeers were edging the York Hoteliers in West Van. VAC won 12 to 0 and West Vancouver 10 to 9 in an eight-frame thriller. VAC chucker Cliff Keeley blanked the Westerns on seven hits while his mates rang up 13 safeties in a one-sided affair at Cap Stadium.
C. Keeley (W) and Bellamy
McKay , Zailo (L) (8) and Tough
West Van pulled out the win with a two-run rally in their last turn at bat. Third baseman Gord Shackleton was the batting star for the victors, banging out home runs in the seventh and eighth innings, the final blast coming with two retired and the bases empty which broke a 9 – 9 tie.
Surphlis (L) and H. McDonald
Barber, Alton (W) (6) and Weston
(June 3) Despite handily out hitting the opposition by a 9 to 4 margin, West Vancouver fell to the hosting Westerns 9 to 3 at Capilano Stadium. While West Van’s defensive play was much below par, their pitching as personified by losing chucker Don McDonald, was excellent. McDonald’s four-hitter went for naught as his mates erred heavily, committing ten miscues behind him. The Suburbanites nicked winning tosser George Bogdanovich for nine safeties but couldn’t score with any consistency at crucial times. Veteran first baseman Casey Jones of the vanquished nine was the only swatter from either team to hit safely twice.
McDonald (L) and Weston
Bogdanovich (W) and Mulhern
(June 4) The VAC aggregation chalked up their sixth league win in a row, slapping down the Westerns 12 to 1. VAC hurler Jim Crosato, who entered the game as a reliever in the opening canto, blanked the Westerns for the remainder of the contest, surrendering just one safety.
Byman (L), Richardson (4) and Bentley
Weisberg, Crosato (W) (1) and Yanchuk
(June 5) VAC extended their winning streak to seven straight, beating the Yorks 3 to 0 at Capilano Stadium.
Whyte (W) and Bellamy
Parrish (L) and H. McDonald
(June 6) Rebounding from a loss just 24 hours previous, the York Hotel gang of baseballers squeezed past West Vancouver 6 to 5 at Ambleside Park.
Wallace (W) and H. McDonald
Leskiw (L), D. McDonald (5) and Weston
(June 9) The Vancouver Athletic Club increased their first-place lead in the Senior City League by stopping West Vancouver 7 to 3. Mike Johnston went the distance on the hillock for the winners, giving up six hits.
(June 14) The classy VAC squad swamped the touring Oakland Beavers 11 to 1 in exhibition action. Portsider Bill Whyte, with solid defensive support, pitched the full nine innings for the Clubbers, holding Oakland to just two hits. The VAC’s teed off on loser “Shorty” Reed for 13 base blows, many of them solid swats to the outfield fences.
(June 15) A bolstered York Hotel team lost 19 to 3 to the touring Oakland Beavers. The Oaklanders spanked three York chuckers for 18 bingles while the Hotelmen picked up eight safeties.
(June 18) Behind the smart pitching of brightener Ron Curby, the York Hotel nine trounced the Westerns 11 to 3 at Cap Stadium. The Westerns took a brief 2 to 0 lead in the top of the opening canto but, from then on, it was all the Hotelmen with Billy Adshead, Romo Gallo and Bill Surphlis doing most of the heavy woodwork.
Bogdanovich (L), Richardson (5) and C. Ball
Curby (W) and H. McDonald
(June 19) Blond teenage chucker Al Byman hurled a three-hitter at Cap Stadium as the Westerns ended the VAC winning streak at 17 games, defeating the league-leaders by a single run. A final score was not printed in the Vancouver Sun. The game was called in the eighth round when the skies opened up to rain. The Westerns copped the lead run in the seventh, an unearned counter, on a dropped fly ball and an ensuing wild throw to the plate in which Dick Bentley crossed the plate.
(June 21) The York Hoteliers stopped the Westerns 3 to 2 at Kerrisdale Park. Pete Scott limited the Westerns to five hits in grabbing the mound triumph in his first senior start. Losing twirler Rod Mckay gave up only two hits to the Innkeepers but they came at crucial times.
Scott (W) and H. McDonald
McKay (L) and C. Ball
(June 23) VAC baseballers defeated West Vancouver 8 to 3 in a less-than-stellar exhibition of baseball. Each side swelled its season total of errors by five and the West Van chucker, Don McDonald, was wild as the wind. Winning flinger Bill Whyte turned in a creditable four-hit chore for the Clubbers. Hot corner guardian Warren Brown lashed a double and two singles for the victors while teammate Richie Schnider slammed a brace of two-baggers.
Whyte (W) and Bellamy
McDonald (L) and Weston
(June 24) Jimmy Crosato struck out 17 in hurling a seven-inning no-hit, no-run game as the VAC’s demolished West Vancouver 21 to 0. Six West Vancouverites reached base, five on walks and the other after being plunked by a pitched ball.
(June 28) The last-place West Vancouver squad moved to within a game and a half of third place in the Senior City loop after downing the Yorks 3 to 1. The West Siders collected just five hits but made them count. The Hotelmen nicked winning tosser Jack “Lefty” Alton for eight safeties, three of which came off the bat of shortstop “Butch” Dow.
Parrish (L) and H. McDonald
Alton (W) and Weston
(July 4) Pitcher Jimmy Crosato fired his second consecutive no-hitter in hurling the VAC diamondeers to a 9 to 1 win over West Vancouver. Crosato fanned eleven but a walk in the second inning cost him a run and the shutout.
(July 5) The Yorks defeated West Van 5 to 2 and the first-place VAC aggregation plastered the Westerns 8 to 2 in Senior City baseball play. Ralph Stong’s Hotelmen won on Ron Curby’s five-hit pitching while loser “Lefty” Alton was nicked for one safety less. Curby’s forte was in keeping the bingles better scattered.
Alton (L) and Weston
Curby (W) and H. McDonald
Bill Whyte heaved five hit ball for the Athletics at Cap Stadium while his mates lit up losing twirler Al Byman for nine base raps.
Byman (L) and C. Ball
Whyte (W) and Bellamy
(July 9) The VAC’s continued their merry way through Senior City League opposition by taking the measure of the Yorks 10 to 6. Mike Johnston toed the rubber for the Clubmen, going the distance for the win.
Surphlis (L), Curby and xxx
Johnston (L) and xxx
(July 12) The league-leading VAC contingent, with Cliff Keeley doing the hurling, set down the tail-end West Van nine 4 to 2 at Ambleside Park.
(July 14) Ron Curby was rocked for 12 hits as the Yorks were hammered 11 to 1 by the VAC nine in Senior City play at Capilano Stadium. Winning tosser Bill Whyte limited the Hoteliers to just four safeties.
Curby (L) and H. McDonald
Whyte (W) and Bellamy
At Ambleside Park, the Westerns defeated West Vancouver 14 to 6.
Alton (L), Milhaney (4), Barber (5) and Weston
McKay (W) and Bogdanovich
(July 16) Mike Johnston spun a three-hit shutout as the top-dog VAC’s pulled up 6 to 0 winners over the West Vancouver nine. A five-run fifth inning, wherein three walks, a pair of West Van errors and Les Brown’s timely double, blew the game open for the Clubbers.
Vigo (L), Alton (5) and McMurdo
Johnston (W) and Bellamy
(July 23) There was no upsurge among the downtrodden in Senior City League play in both matches that were played. Runaway first-placers VAC and distant runner-up Yorks won their skirmishes with ease, the Clubbers disposing of the Westerns 9 to 4 at Capilano Stadium while the Hoteliers clobbered West Vancouver 11 to 3 on the Ambleside Park diamond. Mike “Bud” Johnston heaved a six-hitter to cop the complete game win at Cap Stadium.
Owen (L) and Mulhern
Johnston (W) and Bellamy
At West Vancouver, base umpire Oliver Doolan walked off the field in the fifth inning, claiming that the York Hotel players were subjecting him to excessive verbal abuse. Bill Surphlis posted the mound win while his mates were combing three West Van chuckers for ten timely hits.
Surphlis (W) and H. McDonald
Barber, (L), Woolstone (5), Clift (5) and Weston
(July 24) Pitcher Tom Jenkinson scattered ten safeties at Capilano Stadium as the Yorks hammered out 15 base blows in knocking off the Westerns 10 to 6.
Jenkinson (W) and H. McDonald
Murphy (L) and C. Ball
(July 28) The York Hoteliers came within a whisker of stopping the mighty VAC aggregation at Ambleside Park but two costly errors ended all hopes and the Yorkmen were finally squeezed out 6 to 5 by the Clubbers. Coasting along with a cozy 4 to 2 cushion, the Innkeepers suddenly went to pieces in the top half of the sixth inning, allowing the VAC nine to score four runs on two safeties and a pair of bobbles. Both teams wound up with eight bingles. Ron Curby blasted a solo round-tripper for the Hotelmen.
C. Keeley (W) and Bellamy
Scott (L) and Norman
(July 30) “Butch” Dow’s grand-slam home run in the second inning powered the Yorks to a 10 to 8 victory over the Westerns at Ambleside Park. In dropping the encounter, the Westerns were able to victimize the Hotelmen by pulling off a triple-play.
(August 4) The slugging of Vince Bellamy and Richie Schnider was the deciding factor as the VAC nine chalked up another Senior City League victory, doubling the Yorks 6 to 3 at Ambleside Park. Bellamy homered in the first inning with a runner aboard. Schnider doubled during a four-run sixth-canto splurge by the winners and also collected a triple in another turn at bat. Billy Adshead had a two-run double for the Hotelmen.
Surphlis (L) and H. McDonald
Crosato (W) and Bellamy
At Capilano Stadium, meanwhile, the Westerns were taking a narrow 3 to 2 win from West Vancouver, plating the winning marker in the bottom of the eighth inning.
Alton (L) and Weston
Murphy (W) and Mulhern
(August 6) Johnny Owen fashioned a two-hitter while striking out ten batters in pitching his Western mates to a 2 to 0 win over the Yorks at Cap Stadium.
Surphlis (L) and H. McDonald
Owen (W) and C. Ball
At Ambleside Park, the VAC contingent of pastimers combined three home runs with four double-plays to walk over hosting West Vancouver 7 to 1. Catcher Vinnie Bellamy collected a pair of circuit drives while shortstop Cece Stein was credited with the third. Winning heaver Bill Whyte went the distance, yielding five safeties.
Carpenter (L) and Weston
Whyte (W) and Bellamy
PLAYOFFS
Semi-finals
Semi-final action pitted the top-dog VAC baseballers against the Westerns in one bracket while York Hotel tangled with the West Vancouver squad in the other. Each series was a best-of-three affair.
(August 9) Behind Mike Johnston’s two-hit mound chore, the VAC battalion of baseballers maintained their regular-season momentum by disposing of the Westerns 5 to 1 in the first game of their semi-final playoff showdown. Cliff Keeley led the Clubbers’ 12-hit offensive spree, cranking out a triple and two singles. Shortstop Cece Stein followed with a double and one-bagger.
Owen (L) and C. Ball
Johnston (W) and Bellamy
(August 11) York Hotel knocked off West Van in the opener of their playoff series. No final score or game details were found in print.
(August 16) The Yorks won their Senior City semi-final series in two straight games when they defeated West Vancouver 6 to 4 at Capilano Stadium. Although being out hit 9 to 7, the Hotelmen took advantage of errors, passed balls and a wild pitch to plate the all-important runs. Playing-manager Ralph Stong creamed the apple for a triad of swats, one of which was a two-bagger, while driving in three runs. Veteran Casey Jones notched a brace of safeties for the vanquished nine.
Curby (W) and H. McDonald
Alton (L) and Weston
(August 17) Charlie Vernon’s VAC powerhouse walloped the Westerns 7 to 3 at Capilano Stadium to enter the Senior City League finals against York Hotel. The youthful VAC team swept the semi-final series in two-straight. The Clubbers went to work on Western hurler Rod McKay early in the second inning and, when the barrage was over, had scored four runs on six successive base hits. Singles by Vince Bellamy, Richie Schnider, Les Smith, a double by Cece Stein, and one-baggers by Warren Brown as well as winning pitcher Jimmy Crosato, did the trick.The Westerns rallied in the fifth, counting three markers on singles by Maury Mulhern and Barney Kadey. From there on, it was a case of too much steady hurling by Crosato who notched eight strikeouts.
Crosato (W) and Bellamy
McKay (L) and Mulhern
Finals (best-of-five)
(August 25) Bill Whyte’s two-hit pitching helped his VAC Senior City League team take a 3 to 0 decision from the Yorks in the first tussle of the loop final. The Athletics drew first blood in the third panel when Barry Robertshaw walked, stole second and third and trotted in on Richie Schnider’s long double. The next two runs were added in the fourth when Robertshaw drove in Whyte and Les Brown.
Whyte (W) and Bellamy
Surphlis (L) and H. McDonald
(August 27) The York Hotelmen tied up the City Senior finals by beating the VAC’s 9 to 4 in the second clash of their best-of-five showdown. The Innkeepers pounded a dozen hits off the slants of losing twirler Mike Johnston, including four successive singles in the ninth inning. Pete Scott earned the knoll victory for the Yorks, twirling a six-hitter. Outfielders Ralph Stong and Ron Curby both ripped three base blows for the winners.
Scott (W) and H. McDonald
Johnston (L), C. Keeley (9) and Bellamy
(August 30) The VAC steamroller went one game ahead of the Yorks in the Senior City League finals, dumping the Hotelmen 11 to 3 at West Vancouver’s Ambleside Park. The Clubbers racked up 12 base knocks and led from start to finish. Winning chucker Jimmy Crosato set the Innkeepers down on four safeties.
Crosato (W) and Bellamy
Surphlis (L), Curby (4) and H. McDonald
(September 1) The Yorks got to VAC starting flinger Cliff Keeley for a quartet of opening-inning counters before he was derricked to the showers in favour of steady Bill Whyte. Facing a 4 to 0 deficit, Whyte tamed the Hotelmen on only one more run during the remainder of the contest, allowing his mates plenty of opportunity to mount a strong comeback and run away with an 11 to 5 verdict, giving the Clubbers the Senior City League crown in four games. A six-run outburst in the third canto sent the VAC’s on their way to the 1948 title.
Scott (L), Surphlis (4) and H. McDonald
Keeley, Whyte (W) (1) and Bellamy
Kingsway Senior Baseball League
Cloverdale, Collingwood, Grandview Vets, Langley, South Burnaby, Strand TaxiPainted initially as a circuit functioning slightly below the level of the Vancouver Senior City League, the 1948 Kingsway loop held its own in any head-to-head confrontation with the more prestigious association of lower mainland teams.
Not unlike the Senior City group of teams, the 1948 Kingsway Leaguers were often ignored when it came to newspaper coverage of their games, with one or two line snippets the norm rather than the exception.
(May 20) In arrears by a pair of counters entering the sixth inning, South Burnaby rallied to emerge as 9 to 4 victors over Strand Taxi in a Kingsway Senior Baseball League game at Clinton Park. Hughie Bickerton’s homer ignited the Suburbanites in their seven-run uprising. His round-tripper was followed by four singles and four walks. Winning pitcher Ernie Scambler tossed a four-hitter and retired the final 14 Taxi batters in a row.
Scambler (W) and Butler
Forbes (L), Phipps (6), Strom (6) and Robinson
(May 25) In spite of an offensive output of only one hit, a first-inning two-run four-bagger smashed by Alf Buckle, South Burnaby was able to defeat Collingwood 3 to 1 in a Kingsway League game at Collingwood Park.
(May 29) South Burnaby defeated Langley 3 to 2 at Central Park to climb atop the Kingsway senior ball standings. It was Langley’s first loss. Alf Buckle’s two-out single in the ninth round drove in Bill Sato with the tie-breaking counter.
Hughes (L) and Campbell
Scambler (W) and Dunn
(May 31) Collingwood’s Kingsway League diamond pastimers downed the Grandview Vets 9 to 2 at Clinton Park. Outfielder Jack Connell of the Collies clouted three hits in four tries at the platter, one of his swats going yard for a homer.
McInerny (W) and S. Dunn
Drummond (L), Pauluk (6) and McKinnon
(June 1) The Strands nosed out Collingwood 7 to 6 in a Kingsway Baseball League game played at Collingwood Park. Shortstop Brian Philley picked up three base hits for the winners.
(June 2) A two-run circuit-clout in the bottom-of-the-ninth inning by fly chaser Tom Grieves lifted the Grandview Vets to a 6 to 5 walkoff victory over the Strand Taxi nine at Clinton Park.
Drew (L) and Holgren, Phipps (8)
Pauluk, Drummond (W) (9) and McKinnon
(June 4) Pitcher Eldie Matthews won his own game by driving in the winning run with an eighth-inning single as Collingwood edged past South Burnaby 2 to 1 in a Kingsway League skirmish.
Matthews (W) and S. Dunn
Bruce (L) and Butler
(June 5) Jerry Ricketts smashed out five hits in five trips to the platter in pacing Strands to an overwhelming 17 to 3 victory over Cloverdale at Central Park.
(June 7) First-place South Burnaby defaulted to the second-spot Grandview Vets in a scheduled Kingsway League contest.
(June 8) Strand Taxi defeated Collingwood 7 to 5 in Kingsway League action, a win which moved them into a third-place tie with Langley. Jimmy Forbes led the Taximen with two hits in three times at bat. His brother, winning flinger Don Forbes, escaped with the mound victory by pitching out of bases-loaded jams in both the sixth and seventh frames without surrendering a run.
D. Forbes (W) and Robinson
Matthews (L) and McHardy
(June 10) Harry Robinson struck out 12 batters as Strands defeated South Burnaby 11 to 1 at Clinton Park. A seven-run rally in the sixth inning, highlighted by Doug Hunt’s three-run homer, sewed the result up for the Cabmen.
(June 13) With winning pitcher Eldie Matthews ringing up 12 strikeouts, Collingwood edged Langley 3 to 2. The Collies broke a 2 – 2 tie in the sixth panel, taking advantage of a pair of Langley errors and Pete Proctor’s single, to plate the winning tally.
(June 14) Grandview Vets blanked Strand Taxi 5 to 0 to take over top spot in the Kingsway Baseball League. Winning tosser Drummond held the Taximen to four safeties. Outfielder Lennox stroked a brace of base swats for the Vets, the only player in the game to acquire plural hit totals.
Drew (L), D. Forbes (3) and Phipps
Drummond (W) and McKinnon
(June 21) South Burnaby went to the front in the Kingsway Baseball League without playing a game. Grandview Vets, knotted with the SB nine, dropped a 2 to 0 contest to Collingwood and fell a half-game behind. Collie pitcher Eldie Matthews allowed but one bingle, acquired by rival hurler Bailey. Matthews’ batterymate, backstop McHardy, stroked two of the five hits picked up by the victors.
Matthews (W) and McHardy
Bailey (L) and McKinnon
(June 24) With complete-game winning pitcher Jack Connell leading the way, Collingwood edged the Grandview Vets 6 to 5 in a Kingsway Baseball League tilt. Connell pitched a five-hitter and also collected three base hits.
Drummond (L), Bailey (3) and McKinnon
Connell (W) and S. Dunn
(July 5) The Grandview Vets stopped Strand Taxi 10 to 7 at Clinton Park in a regularly-scheduled Kingsway League fracas.
(July 8) Second-place Strands and third-place Collingwood battled to a 7 – 7 tie in a darkness-shortened tussle at Clinton Park. Jim Kennedy clouted three hits for the Taximen while George Voheyda drove in three runs with two hits for the Collies.
McInerny, Connell (6) and McHardy
Ellison, D. Forbes (5) and Robinson
(July 12) Collingwood punched out seven counters in the fifth inning at Clinton Park to overwhelm the Grandview Vets 11 to 6. Jack Connell, Collies’ moundsman, set the Vets down on four hits.
Connell (W )and S. Dunn
Turner, Gilbert (5), Pauluk (L) (5), Drummond (7) and McKinnon
(July 13) Collingwood’s Kingsway Leaguers racked up 13 base blows in swamping Strands 20 to 4, a victory which tied the Collies in the standings with the Taximen.
Drew (L), Robinson (2), Phipps (5) and Phipps, Robinson (5)
McInerny (W) and McHardy
(July 19) With winning chucker Drummond tossing a five-hitter and ringing up 11 strikeouts, the Grandview Vets scored a 5 to 0 Kingsway League victory over South Burnaby at Clinton Park. Drummond also added a triple to the Vets’ six-hit attack.
Scambler (L) and Henry
Drummond (W) and McKinnon
(July 25) South Burnaby took a doubleheader from Cloverdale in the Valley Centre, winning the first contest 7 to 3 and taking the second fracas 2 to 0.
(August 1) South Burnaby remained atop the Kingsway Senior Baseball loop following a doubleheader split with cellar-dwelling Cloverdale at Central Park. Cloverdale won the first game 8 to 3 but were blanked 8 to 0 in the afterpiece. Veteran catcher Ed Henry highlighted the day with a pair of homers. His three-run blast in the first inning of the opener kept South Burnaby in the ball game until the seventh frame when seven Cloverdale markers decided the issue. Al Booth fired a three-hitter for South Burnaby in the late encounter while Henry drove in seven of his team’s eight counters with another three-run shot and a pair of singles.
(August 2) The Grandview Vets moved a full game ahead of Langley for the final playoff spot in the Kingsway Baseball League by virtue of a 9 to 3 triumph over Strand Taxi at Central Park.
Standings W L Pct.
South Burnaby 18 10 .643
Collingwood 14 11 .560
Strand Taxi 15 12 .556
Grandview Vets 15 14 .517
Langley 13 14 .481
Cloverdale 6 20 .231
(August 10) Collingwood beat Strand Taxi 3 to 2 in extra innings in a Kingsway Senior Baseball tilt.
(August 12) The Strands clinched third spot in the Kingsway Senior circuit by posting a 6 to 3 victory over second-place South Burnaby at Clinton Park. Harvey Bertram’s two-bagger with the bases loaded in the third inning drove in three counters during a five-run uprising.
Booth (L), Scambler (3) and Dunn
Robinson (W) and Holgren
(August 13) The Grandview Vets backed into a playoff spot in the Kingsway Senior loop without lifting a bat. When Langley went down to a 3 to 2 defeat at the hands of Cloverdale, it gave the Vets the fourth and final berth in post-season action.
PLAYOFFS
Semi-finals
Best-of-three playoff action has the Strands facing Collingwood in one series with South Burnaby meeting the Grandview Vets in the other.
(August 17) The underdog Strand Taximen grabbed a one-game lead in their best-of-three semi-final series when they defeated first-place finishing Collingwood 5 to 3 at Collingwood Park.
(August 19) Dropping their second-straight contest, this one a 6 to 2 setback to Strand Taxi, cost the Collingwood squad any further opportunity to pursue championship status. Cabmen’ brightener Don Forbes threw a two-hitter at the Collies, both safeties being of the scratch variety. The Taxi Guys clinched the ball game in the fifth inning on a single, two walks and a pair of Collie errors, good for four tallies.
Matthews (L) and S. Dunn
D. Forbes (W) and Robinson
(August 22) South Burnaby whipped the Grandview Vets 10 to 0 in easily capturing their first semi-final playoff match. Ernie Scambler, hurling for the Southsiders, allowed but three bingles, holding the Vets hitless until the sixth frame.
Turner (L), Pauluk (5), Drummond (8) and McKinnon
Scambler (W) and Phipps
(August 27) South Burnaby qualified to meet the Strand Taxi nine in the Kingsway Baseball League finals by blanking the Grandview Vets 3 to 0, thereby winning their series two games to none. Out hit overall 8 base knocks to 7, the Southenders made their safeties count and scored singletons in each of the first, sixth and seventh rounds. Al Booth went the distance on the rubber to take the hillock triumph.
Booth (W) and Phipps
Pauluk (L), Drummond (7) and McKinnon
Finals (best-of-five series)
(August 29) A huge eight-run eighth inning gave South Burnaby an 11 to 3 win over Strand Taxi in the first game of the Kingsway Baseball League finals.
(August 30) The South Burnaby baseballers annexed a second straight win in their best-of-five set-to with the Strand Taxi squad, edging the Transporters 3 to 2 at Central Park.
(September 1) The Strand Taximen stayed alive in the best-of-five Kingsway Senior League finals by taking the third game of their playoff series from South Burnaby. No final score or game details were located in print.
(September 11) South Burnaby won the Kingsway Baseball League championship for 1948 at Central Park by taking the second game of a doubleheader from Strands 11 to 5. The Taximen had tied the series at two games apiece with a four-run rally in the seventh inning of the first game to win 4 to 3. Three singles and two perfectly-executed squeeze plays accounted for the winning counters in the early tussle.
Morash, Booth (L) (7) and Phipps
Robinson (W) and Holgren
Burnaby put any doubt about a winner in the second fracas to bed early by opening up with a nine-run outburst in their first turn at bat. Ed Henry of the victors tripled twice in this game after homering in the first game.
Robinson (L), Ellison (1), J. Forbes (1) and Holgren, Robinson
Booth (W) and Phipps
Marine Industrial Baseball League
Boilermakers, I.W.A. Lumber Kings, Longshoremen, Pacifics, Western Bridge
Dewdney Baseball League
The 1948 loop was reduced to seven teams after Coquitlam withdrew.
Chilliwack Lions, Hammond, Haney, IOCO Imperials, Maillardville. Mission, New Westminster
Greater Vancouver Senior Amateur Baseball challenge series
During the Kingsway Senior Baseball League final series, a challenge was issued by the underdog loop to the Vancouver Senior City Baseball League for a series to declare an overall 1948 Vancouver senior champion. Once both circuits had produced a playoff winner, a series was arranged encompassing daytime weekend games so as not to limit play through darkness.
The two combatants, the Vancouver Athletic Club and South Burnaby nines, engaged in only two matches, both at the only baseball venue available in September, Central Park, before the series was terminated. Both teams fought tooth-and-nail in the brace of jousts, each team winning once by a razor-thin margin. The hard-fought battles produced no definitive victor and, with Central Park booked solid for soccer, plans for any further contests had to be abandoned.
(September 19) Richie Schnider’s triple, followed by Les Smith’s infield single, produced the winning run as the Senior City League champion VAC contingent took a narrow 2 to 1 decision from the fighting South Burnaby nine in a 15-inning marathon at Central Park. The Kingsway Leaguers scored their only marker in the opening chapter when Tommy Grieves, a pickup from the Grandview Vets, clubbed a bases-empty home run. The Clubbers managed to acquire eleven hits off losing flinger Drummond, another playoff addition from the Grandview Vets, while winning tosser Jimmy Crosato yielded eight safeties.
Crosato (W) and Bellamy
Drummond (L) and Phipps
(September 26) With the second and third game, if necessary, scheduled to take place, only the second fracas got underway and had to be called at the end of the fifth inning because of rain. In this shortened event, South Burnaby pitcher Al Booth fashioned a no-hitter in his five frames of mound toil as the Southenders blanked the VAC’s 1 to 0. Ed Henry’s double in the fourth canto drove in the game’s lone counter. Henry earlier had smashed a three-bagger but had been unable to advance beyond the hot corner.
Booth (W) and Phipps
Whyte (L) and Bellamy