GREATER WINNIPEG SENIOR LEAGUE

(Oct 11) In a wild, 10-inning slugfest, CUAC Blues captured the Greater Winnipeg Senior Baseball championship Monday downing the defending champion St. Boniface Native Sons 15-14 to take the final series four games to two.

Ken Vicars, the Blues' hitting star, hit for the cycle to pace the winners. In the last three games, all won by CUAC, Vicars slugged a homer, three triples, two doubles and two singles. He kicked off the Blues onslaught with a two-run homer in the first inning and unloaded a three-bagger to drive in another in the second. He then walked three times before lashing a single in the ninth. In the 10th, Vicars doubled and romped home with the winning run on Milt Kanuiga's third single of the day.

The Blues took advantage of 16 bases on balls served up by four St. Boniface hurlers. In the fourth frame they scored four times on seven walks. They racked up 13 hits, supplemented by four Native Sons' errors.

St. Boniface also had an offensive outburst with 18 hits, aided by six CUAC errors. Fred Dunsmore, who started on the mound for the losers, had three singles and a double for the Sons. Paul Martell rapped a two-run homer in the eighth.

Chris Riddell started for the winners giving way to Wally Kanuiga in the seventh.

Fred Dunsmore, Joe O'Sullivan (3), Joe Baton (5), Dunsmore (6), Bob Hansford (L) (6) and xxx
Chris Riddell, Wally Kanuiga (W) (7) and xxx

MANITOBA-SASKATCHEWAN LEAGUE

(May) The "imports" of this year's Kamsack Cyclones will arrive here the first week in June according to information released by club officials this week. Only two members of last year's contingent, playing-manager Roy Taylor and pitcher Dave Kosteniuk of Hyas, will be back with the team this year. (Kamsack Times, May 20, 1954)

(June 17) In a spectacular debut performance, Ted Ellis blanked Yorkton Red Sox on two-hits as Kamsack Cyclones scored a 5-0 victory at Kamsack. Ellis, from Fresno State University in California, fanned nine. Cyclones got on the scoreboard early with three runs in the first inning. Dave Kosteniuk, a pitcher playing the outfield, led the offense with a pair of doubles. Tony Levaggi and Tom Higa each had three singles.

Guenther (L), Buckles (6) and Hubinak
Ellis (W) and Schulz

(June 19) Kamsack Cyclones clobbered Yorkton 20-4 in the second game of a home and home series with the Red Sox.

xxx and xxx
xxx and xxx

(June 20) Even in borrowing pitchers from their competitors, Bowsman couldn't keep up with the Kamsack Cyclones in dropping both games of a twin-bill, 12-1 and 9-0.

In the second game, two Kamsack pitchers lined up with Bowsman, but they too failed to stop the offensive.

xxx and xxx
xxx and xxx

(June 22) Kamsack Cyclones ousted one of the favourites, the Indian Head Rockets, from the North Battleford Tournament with a 9-7 first round victory. Dave Kosteniuk was the star for the Cyclones, taking over mound duties in the third inning and providing offensive punch with two homers. Roy Zivanich added a third.

Smith, Fabre (3) and Miranda
Ellis, Kosteniuk (3) and Shultz

(June 23) Jesse Blackman went the distance as the Beavers dumped the Kamsack Cyclones 7-2 in one of the semi-final games of the North Battleford Tournament. Beavers broke open a tight game with a six-run 6th inning .

Holowaty, Ellis (6), Alvarez (7) and Shultz
Blackman and Green

(June 24) On a northern swing, Kamsack Cyclones whipped the Monarchs in Colonsay 10-3.

(June 25) Kamsack Cyclones blanked Wynyard 10-0.

(June 26) Ted Ellis hurled a four-hitter as Kamsack beat the Gems 2-1 at Saskatoon. Cyclones scored a pair in the 5th as Bill Findley drove in Roy Taylor and Bill Schulz. Gems had take the lead in the fourth as Mario Herrera, who had walked, stole second, reached third on a grounder and scored on Percy Trimont's infield hit.

Ellis (W) and Schulz
xxx and xxx

(June 27) In a twin-bill at Madge Lake, Kamsack took both games from Colonsay, 4-2 and 10-7.

(July) Picking up where they left off last year, Kamsack Cyclones continued to build up a starry local and provincial record. Up until the weekend the "hustling" team had lost only one game, and had numbered the Indian Head Rockets and Saskatoon Gems among their victims. (Kamsack Times, July 1, 1954)

(July 1) Roy Taylor's college kids beat North Battleford 6-4 to win top prize of $1,2000 at the Saskatoon Optimist Tournament. Tony Levaggi hit a three-run homer and a two-run bomb to account for five of the Kamsack runs. 19-year-old Bob Holowaty, of Melfort, came on in relief in the sixth and blanked the Beavers the rest of the way before some 5,000 spectators at Cairns Field. In the 7th inning playing coach Roy Taylor laid down a bunt to squeeze home an insurance run.

Kosteniuk (W), Holowaty (6) and Schulz
Holdaway (L), Stites (2) and Green

Kamsack made the final beating Saskatoon 7-2 behind the seven-hit pitching of Ted Ellis. Taylor's 6th inning bunt scored the tie-breaking run and set the stage for a big inning. The Beavers whipped Lloydminster 8-0 banging out ten hits, including a homer by Chico O'Farrill. Ed Kapp pitched two-hit ball over five and two-thirds innings of relief to register the win.

Wills (L), Griggs (6), Doig (6) and Bennett
Ellis (W) and Schulz

Blackman, Kapp (W) (2) and Green
Martin (L), Rosell (4), Rodness (6), Barton (7) and Quane

There were a pair of pitching gems in opening round action. Lloydminster's Max Weekly allowed just five hits over 11 innings and struck out 11 as the Meridians shaded Indian Head 2-1. Jose Hernandez of the Rockets also went the distance, allowing just six hits. Rick Herrera had a homer for the Meridians. Saskatoon's Bentley MacEwen pitched a three-hitter and struck out 13 in the Gems' 13-0 victory over Rosetown. Max Bentley had three hits. Ted Ellis and Bob Holowaty held Colonsay off the scoreboard in Kamsack's 9-0 victory. Ellis allowed just two hits in four innings of work and Holowaty hurled hitless ball for three frames. Roy Zivanich had a triple and single for the winners. The Beavers took 10 innings to beat Moose Jaw 6-5. Curtis Tate knocked in the winner.

Weekly (W) and Quane
Hernandez (L) and Miranda

MacEwen (W) and Shirley
Hill (L), King (6), Brown (7) and Price, Henderson (7)

Koroluk (L), Worth (2) and McKenzie
Ellis, Holowaty (W) (5) and Schulz

McLeod, Stites (W) (8) and Green
Garrett, Gardiner (6), Gray (L) (9) and Loe

(July 3) Kamsack Cyclones took both ends of a double-header from the Indian Head Rockets, 7-1, and 10-3. Ruben Alvarez held the Rockets in check in the opener to register the pitching win. Indian Head took an early lead as Leopoldo Xiques drove in Juan Prats. Cyclones took the lead in the 2nd as Roy Taylor singled, Kirby Wyllie tripled and Bill Schulz followed with a two-bagger. Pedro Seoane allowed three walks to score another. Kamsack added a pair in the 4th and Schulz drove in two more with a triple in the 4th.

Seoane (L) and xxx
Alvarez (W) and Schulz

Tony Levaggi starred in the second game with a homer, triple and double. Dick Knight went the distance for the win.

Prats (L) and xxx
Knight and Schulz

(July 9) Kamsack Tournament : Jim Williams' Eagles, a Cuban team from Jacksonville, Florida squeezed out a 2-0 win over Kamsack Cyclones to take top prize in the Kamsack Elks fourth annual baseball tournament.

(July 15) The Indian Head tournament was one of the biggest. The 1954 gathering was the 8th annual event.

"Ted Ellis, a blonde, 19-year-old right-hander with an ailing back and a great desire to pitch, hurled the Kamsack Cyclones to a 4-1 victory over North Battleford Beavers and top prize of $1,100 ... " (Saskatoon Star Phoenix, July 16, 1954)

Manager Roy Taylor said Ellis was far from top form, "Ted is a great major league prospect, and I don't want to hurt his chances. He insisted he wanted to pitch and promised me he wouldn't throw hard. Y'know, he didn't throw near as good as he can." (Kamsack Times, July 22, 1954)

The right-hander, pitching in pain from a bruised back muscle, allowed seven hits and helped his team at the plate with a run-scoring double. Ed Kapp took the loss for the Beavers. Kapp started the final less than a hour after firing a 4-hit complete game as North Battleford advanced with a 9-2 win over Indian Head.

Kapp, Blackman (6) and Green
Ellis and Schulz

Cyclones defeated Saskatoon 2-1 and the Beavers whipped Indian Head 9-2 in semi-final action. Cyclone's centre fielder Bill Findley made a game-saving catch in the ninth inning to preserve Kamsack's 2-1 margin. Both pitchers went the distance -- Ted Wills allowed four hits for Saskatoon, Ruben Alvarez five for Kamsack. Ed Kapp tossed a four-hitter in the Beavers win over the Rockets.

Wills and Bennett
Alvarez and Schulz

In second round action, North Battleford's Bill Stites allowed just two hits as the Beavers shutout the Moose Jaw Lakers 7-0. Dave Kosteniuk went the distance in Kamsack's 9-3 win over Moose Jaw Mallards. The Rockets' S. Martinez gave up just five hits as Indian Head beat the Regina Caps 10-2. A highlight of the quarter-finals was a pitching duel between Saskatoon's Don Kirk and Hap L'Heureux of Notre Dame. Both gave up just three hits.

Stites and Green
J.Devine, Thorseth (6) and Peterson

Weldon, Psome (7), Gray (8) and Loe
Kosteniuk and Schulz

L'Heureux and Ross
Kirk and Bennett

S.Martinez and Miranda
Wall, Heidt (5) and McNabb

Saskatoon's Bob Doig provided one of the highlights of first round action. Doig tossed a three-hitter as the Gems beat the Texas Jasper Stars 1-0. Alvin Jackson tossed a five-hitter for the losers. Kamsack's Bob Holowaty allowed just five hits in shutting out Weyburn 9-0.

Crane Valley 1 Moose Jaw Lakers 3
Hobbs and Sterling
White and Peterson

Mainline All-Stars 7 Notre Dame 14
Endle, Brierly (8), Kydd (8) and Moss
Dombowsky, L'Heureux (7) and Ross

Regina Red Sox 1 Moose Jaw Mallards 8
Richardson, Mitchell (4) and Abel
King and Loe

Texas Jasper Steers 0 Saskatoon 1
Alvin Jackson and Powdrill
Doig and Bennett

North Battleford 7 Rosetown 5
Stites, McLeod (4) and Green, Nelson (7)
Hill and Henderson

Regina Caps over Wynyard by default

Kamsack 9 Weyburn 0
Holowaty and Schulz
Hogg, Hoff (2) and O'Brien

Florida Eagles 4 Indian Head 12
Fabre, Coleman (2) and Johnson
Hernandez and Miranda

The All-Tournament team:

c Bob Bennett Saskatoon Gems, c Lou Green North Battleford Beavers, 1b A. Eglesias Florida Eagles, 2b Roy Taylor Kamsack Cyclones, 3b Juan Garcia Indian Head Rockets, ss Ezequiel Diaz Saskatoon Gems, lf Jim McMahon North Battleford Beavers, cf Tom Daly Notre Dame Hounds, rf Tony Levaggi Kamsack Cyclones, u Jesse Blackman North Battleford Beavers, u Jack McLeod North Battleford Beavers, p Ted Ellis Kamsack Cyclones, p Dave Kosteniuk Kamsack Cyclones, p Don Kirk Saskatoon Gems, p Ted Wills Saskatoon Gems, p Dave White Moose Jaw Lakers

(July 16) At Kamsack, the Cyclones got revenge for a loss to the Jacksonville Eagles in the Kamsack Tournament, with a 10-5 triumph. Eagles got the jump with two runs in the first inning. Cyclones got a pair in the 4th to tie. Trailing 5-4 in the 8th, Kamsack erupted for six runs to salt away the win.

(July 17) In an exhibition game at Togo, Kamsack topped the Jacksonville Eagles for the 2nd straight day.

(July 18) In a twin-bill at Madge Lake, Kamsack and Jacksonville each picked up a win. Cyclones took the opener 2-1 behind the hurling of Bob Holowaty. He gave up a homer in the first frame then blanked the visitors the rest of the way. In the 8th, Roy Taylor drove in Bill Findley to tie and Findley came around to score the winner on an overthrow at second base.

xxx and xxx
Holowaty (W) and xxx

Eagles bounced back to trounce a make-shift Cyclones' squad in the second game, 11-2. Catcher Bill Schulz took over mound duties while second baseman Roy Taylor went behind the plate. Pitcher Dave Kosteniuk took over at second for Taylor while a knee injury suffered by left fielder Art Shahzade forced a move to first, with first-sacker Roy Zivanich going to the outfield.

(July 31) Winnipeg Jays took the opener of a three-game series with Kamsack 6-2 behind Al Seymour's five-hit pitching. His mates had nine hits off Ruben Alvarez and his successor.. Murray Wiliamson led the Jays' offense with a double and single. In the second game, Bob Holowaty carried a no-hitter into the 9th inning as the Cyclones took a 2-0 victory. Ed McDonald broke up the no-hitter with a leadoff single in the final frame. Holowaty compiled 18 strikeouts. Frank Muzychka, who allowed just four hits, took the loss. Bill Finlay, with a double and single, and Kirby Wyllie with a pair of singles were tops at the plate for Kamsack.

Alvarez (L), Banks (4) and Schulz
Seymore (W) and Blaine

(August 1) Getting outstanding pitching, Kamsack took both ends of a double-header from Winnipeg Jays, 2-0 and 8-1 in games at Madge Lake. Bob Holowaty had a no-hitter into the 9th inning, finishing with a one-hit performance, in the opener. Jim McDonald's single in the 9th was the only safety off Holowaty. Art Shahzade's two-run double in the 4th was the winning blow.

Holowaty (W) and Schulz
Muzychka (L) and Blaine

Bill Findley was the big gun in the second game with a homer and a single. Tom Higa added a triple and two singles. Harold Moffitt and Roy Taylor combined to hold the Jays to five hits. The only run against the Cyclones came on Jack Williamson's homer. Aggie Kukulowicz gave up ten hits in taking the loss.

Moffitt, Taylor (4) and Schulz
Kukulowicz (L) and Blaine

(Aug ) Bowsman Maroons took two of three weekend exhibition games in Flin Flon. Two weeks previous the Maroons had taken a pair in Bowsman. Bowsman captured an 8-6 decision Saturday erupting for five runs in the 8th inning. Bowsman had just one hit in the inning but took advantage of three errors, three walks and two hit batsmen. Smitty Leonhard went the route giving up eight hits, including a 7th inning homer to Jack Scott.

In Sunday's first game, the Ostry's had five consecutive hits in the 8th inning to plate to plate five runs and take an 8-7 decision. Flin Flon had 13 hits off Cliff Henderson. Al Mealy tossed a six-hitter for the win. In the second game, Bowsman scored three in the 8th inning to win, 7-4. Bob Birchell pitched a four-hitter for the win.

(August 11) Saskatoon Gems topped Kamsack 5-2 in the Cyclones farewelll match of the summer. Playing at home, the Gems broke a 2-2 tie with Len Breckner's homer in third. They added single runs in the 5th and 6th innings. Jim Morrow tossed a six-hitter for the win, allowing no hits after the 4th frame. He fanned nine and walked six. Ted Ellis gave up 12 hits in taking the loss. The game started 20 minutes late as the Kamsack club experienced car trouble on the way to Saskatoon. Cyclones borrowed catcher Bob Bennett from the Gems as their backstop, Bill Schulz was on the shelf after suffering a foot injury when chopping wood at Madge Lake.

Ellis (L) and Bennett
Morrow (W) and xxx