1955 Vancouver, Lower Mainland, Fraser Valley
1955 BC Interior
1955 Vancouver Island

LOWER ISLAND SENIOR AMATEUR LEAGUE

After a season of being the sole senior amateur flag-bearer for the capital city of British Columbia, the powerhouse Farmer Construction squad was joined by two revived Victoria baseball clubs, the Capitals and the Eagles, in forming a four-team league encompassing representatives from the southern part of Vancouver Island. Also entering the fray within the new loop, fittingly referred to as the 1955 Lower Island Senior Amateur Baseball League, was the Duncan Athletics franchise which, after several seasons as a member of the Mid-Island Senior Amateur Baseball League, abandoned that circuit for the otherwise all-Victoria association.

From the outset, the competitive imbalance between the Farmer Construction diamondeers and the other three entries was glaringly apparent. To the detriment of the Building Brigade, their undefeated record within the circuit left them ill-prepared for the real test of the Vancouver Island playoffs. A 24-day layoff between the completion of the league finals and the beginning of the Island championships didn’t help either. Newspaper coverage of league games was minimally adequate, often lacking details.

Teams in the 1955 Lower Island Senior Amateur Baseball League

Duncan Athletics
Victoria Capitals
Victoria Eagles
Victoria Farmer’s Construction

(May 14) In the opening game of the newly-formed Lower Island Amateur Baseball League the Eagles came from behind with five runs in the seventh inning to down the Capitals 8-4. Trailing 4-2, Eagles loaded the bases and Norm Curran cleared them with a grand-slam blast. Lowell Hodges followed with another four-bagger to make it 7-4. They added another insurance run in the eighth.

Corbett, Graham (7) and Weatherall
Stout, Smith (W) (7) and Pearce

(May 14) Farmer Construction humbled the Duncan Athletics to the tune of 20-6 Saturday before a small turnout in the evening game at Royal Athletic Park in Victoria. The home squad scored six times in the first two frames then added twelve in the fifth to run up the score. Farmers smacked 21 hits, including four doubles and a pair of three-baggers. Charlie Boyd paced the winners with a double and two singles.

K.Williams (L), Hughes (2), Lyel Rodger (6) and Branting, Thorne
Christensen, Beck (W) (4), Worth (7) and Shields

(May 19) In another easy win, Farmer Construction scored six times in the first inning and routed the Capitals 16-3 Thursday behind a 16 hit attack. Farmers also capitalized on eight walks, three hit batsmen and five errors. Paul Beck went the first six innings for the pitching win. Al Dawson was the loser. Art Worth slammed a triple and single for the winners and Lowell Hodges added a double and single.

Dawson (L) and xxx
Beck (W), Hodges (7) and xxx

(May 22) The Capitals chalked up their first win of the season downing the Eagles 8-4.

(May 23) Up against the powerful Bellingham Bells, Farmer Construction managed a split of Monday's double-header, losing the opener 8-5 and rebounding for a 5-4 win in the evening encounter. Farmers held the edge in the first game until Art Worth, who had a one-hitter through seven innings, tired in the late going as the Bells scored three in the eighth and another three in the ninth for the win.

Krislock, Knudsen (7) and Kohlwes
Worth (L) and Harford

Bellingham jumped into a 2-0 lead against Bill Prior in the first inning of the second game but the home squad roared back to go ahead in the second with four runs, three scoring on a bases-loaded triple by Ron Karadimas. Paul Beck relieved in the sixth and blanked the Bells the rest of the way to pick up the win. He fanned the side in the ninth.

Galler, Ecrid (3), Evans (7) and Kohlwes
Bill Prior, Beck (W) (6) and Shields

(May 24) Fred Christensen, in just his second start of the season, made it a memorable one firing a no-hitter as Farmer Construction blanked the Eagles 10-0 at Royal Athletic Park. Christensen, a left-hander from Prince Rupert, racked up 11 strikeouts and walked three in hurling the gem. The winners pounced on Len Carlsen for six runs in the first inning en route to the big win.

Carlsen (L), Stout and xxx
Christensen (W) and xxx

(May 26) In an error-filled game at Victoria, the Duncan Athletics rallied for six runs in the last two innings to edge past the Capitals 9-8. The teams combined for 15 errors, nine by Duncan.

Folk, Williams (W) (7) and Branting
Dawson, McGill (L) (3) and Weatherall

Farmers     3 - 0
Duncan      1 - 1
Eagles      1 - 2
Capitals    1 - 3

(May 28) In a dandy pitching matchup Saturday, Paul Beck and Lyel Rodger allowed just four hits apiece as Beck got the shutout in a 3-0 win for Farmer Construction over the Duncan Athletics. Farmers broke a scoreless tie with a run in the fifth inning on an error, a balk and a single by Ron Martin. They added a pair in the seventh as Jim Harford and Ron Karadimis slammed run-scoring doubles. Duncan loaded the bases with two out in the ninth but failed to score. Beck fanned 12 and walked five while Roger retired seven via strikeouts and handed out three free passes.

L.Rodger (L) and Branting
Beck (W) and Shields

(May 31) Don Hughes held the Victoria Capitals to four hits Tuesday as Duncan notched a 9-3 victory, clinching the contest with five runs in the ninth inning.

Hughes (W) and Branting
Jones (L), Dawson (6) and Campbell

(June 2) With its fifth straight league victory, Farmer Construction opened up a three game lead atop the league standings Thursday downing Duncan 6-4.

(June 2) At Royal Athletic Park, the Eagles and Capitals battled to a 7-7 deadlock in a game called after six innings because of darkness. Eagles got off to a 2-0 lead in the top of the initial stanza but the Capitals came right back with five runs in their half of the first. Eagles went back in front 7-5 with five runs in the second featuring a three-run double by Des Mosley. Caps sliced the margin to 7-6 in the third and got the tying marker in the fourth on a homer by George Hall.

K.Todd and R.Pearce
J.Catteral, F.Graham (3) and H.Weatherall

(June 4) A five-run first inning set Farmer Construction on the way to a big win over the Capitals Saturday at Royal Athletic Park. Fred Christensen turned in another sparkling pitching performance holding the Caps to five hits and fanning 13 in the 14-4 triumph. Jim Harford drove in six runs for the winners with a home run, triple and single.

Jones (L), Catteral (1), Wakelyn (5) and Campbell
Christensen (W) and Shields

(June 4) In the twilight contest at Royal Athletic Park, the Eagles chased home six runs in the opening frame and went on to crush Duncan 16-2 behind the solid hurling of John Smith. Stu Lingard rapped a pair of doubles and a single for the winners.

Thomas (L), Rodger (1), Branting (4) and Panzer
Smith (W) and Pearce, Mulholland

(June 5) Farmer Construction ran its league winning streak to eight games Sunday sweeping a double-header from the Athletics at Duncan 10-1 and 10-6. Lowell Hodges fired a three-hitter in the opener as Farmers unleashed a 17-hit attack. They had just five hits in the second game but bunched them with ten walks to take the victory in spite of six errors of their own in the field.

Hodges (W) and Shields
Hughes (L), L.Rodger (3) and Branting

Beck (W) and Shields, Mitchell (7)
Panzer (L), Hughes (9) and Branting

(June 5) At Royal Athletic Park Sunday, Russ Hearn singled home the winning run in the ninth inning after pitcher Ross McGill had batted in the tying marker. McGill was outstanding yielding just two hits.

McGill (W) and Campbell
Mosley (L) and Pearce

Farmers     8 - 0
Eagles      2 - 3
Capitals    2 - 5
Duncan      2 - 6

(June 7) Lowell Hodges was a star on the mound and at the plate Tuesday leading Farmers to a 16-2 shellacking of the Eagles. He tossed a seven-hitter while knocking out three of the winners' 14 hits. Stu Mitchell also had three singles and Bill Prior rapped a pair of doubles.

xxx and xxx
Hodges (W) and xxx

(June 9) Fred Christensen, who fired a no-hitter May 24th, gave up just one hit Thursday as Farmer Construction collected its 10th straight league win without a loss, 13-0 over the Capitals. A scratch single by Dave Ready in the second inning spoiled Christensen's bid for a second no-hitter.

xxx and xxx
Christensen (W) and xxx

(June 9) At Duncan, the Eagles and Athletics battled to a 3-3 draw in a game called after nine innings because of darkness.

(June 11) With another big offensive show, Farmers racked up another victory, it's 11th successive league triumph, in crushing Duncan 19-3. A six-run third inning put the game on ice but Farmers made it a runaway with seven runs in the sixth frame. A two-run triple by Ron Martin highlighted the seven inning uprising. Paul Beck won his fifth game with a six-hitter and nine strikeouts.

Rodger (L), Hughes (3), Rodger (6), Thomas (8) and Branting
Beck (W) and Anderson

(June 11) A bases-loaded triple by Ron Pearce in the sixth frame brought the Eagles from behind to take a 12-8 decision over the Capitals. Eagles had an early lead with three in the first inning and four in the fourth but the Caps, with five in the fifth had taken an 8-7 advantage. Keith Todd survived 11-hits to go the distance for the winners.

Catteral (L), Wakelyn (6) and Weatherall
Todd (W) and Pearce

(June 12) Ken Williams of Duncan held Victoria Eagles to one earned run in 13 1/3 innings of relief in a double-header Sunday at Athletic Park but Duncan still dropped both games 4-2 and 14-10. Eagles took a 4-0 lead in the afternoon game by the fourth inning and held on for the win, helped by six Duncan errors.Stu Stout pitched into the ninth inning for the win.

Stout (W), Mosley (9) and Pearce
Hughes (L) , K.Williams (5) and Branting

Eagles got away to a flying start in the evening game scoring nine times in the first stanza on six hits and loose fielding by Duncan. The Athletics, who out-hit the Eagles 11-8, made seven errors.

Mosley, Todd (W) (4) and xxx
D.Williams (L), Panzer (1), K.Williams (1) and xxx

(June 12) Farmers had little difficulty in maintaining their unbeaten record Sunday scoring 11 runs in the first inning en route to a 21-3 triumph over the Capitals. Ron Martin led a 17-hit attack for the winners with a double and two singles. Lowell Hodges held the losers to eight hits.

Hodges (W) and Anderson
McGill (L), Dawson (8), Wakelyn (9) and Campbell

Farmers    12 - 0
Eagles      5 - 5
Capitals    2 - 7
Duncan      2 - 9

(June 18) Farmer Construction, which dropped its only game this season to the Bellingham Bells, provided lots of late-game excitement for the local fans in sweeping the Bells in both ends of Saturday's double-header at Royal Athletic Park. Farmers staged an eight-run uprising in the eighth inning of the opener and won it in the tenth, 10-9, then again came from behind for a 4-2 decision in the seven-inning nightcap. Trailing 6-1 after seven innings against former Pacific Coast League hurler Ralph Buckingham in the first game, Farmers got three runs and loaded the bags with none out when George Edmunds relieved Buckingham. Five more runs came home, three on a bases-clearing two-bagger by Lowell Hodges, before Joe Martin retired the side. Bellingham roared back with three runs in the ninth to chase Farmers starter Bill Garner and send the game to overtime. Charlie Boyd's single scored the winner in the tenth.

Buckingham, Edmunds (8), Martin (L) (8) and Dake
Garner, Beck (W) (9) and Harford

Bells got the jump in the second game with two runs in the first frame but Farmers tied it in the fourth with a pair and got two more in the sixth for the win. Bill Prior held Bellingham to six hits for the pitching win.

Edmunds, Randall (5) and Dake
Prior (W) and Harford

(June 19) Playing at Duncan, the Victoria Capitals and the homesters split a twin-bill. Athletics took the first game 8-1 and the Caps notched the second game 6-2. Caps had eight hits, three of them doubles, and capitalized on four Duncan errors in the opener defeating Tony Folk, who came out of retirement to hurl for Duncan.

Dawson (W) and xxx
Folk (L) and L.Rodger

Southpaw Don Hughes pitched and batted Duncan to the win in the twilight affair.

Graham (L) and xxx
Hughes (W) and xxx

(June 21) Eagles strengthened their hold on second place in the Lower Island Senior Amateur Baseball League defeating third place Capitals 12-5 at Royal Athletic Park. The Birdmen capitalized on the wildness of three Capital pitchers to overcome a 4-2 fourth-inning deficit and won easily in the later innings. Stu Stout went the distance for the Eagles, giving up eight hits.

Jones, McGill (6), Catteral (7), McGill (7) and Campbell
Stout (W) and Pearce

Farmers    12 - 0
Eagles      6 - 5
Capitals    3 - 9
Duncan      3 - 10

(June 23) Catcher Bernie Anderson smacked a single, double and triple Tuesday night to lead Farmer Construction to a 9-2 victory over the Victoria Eagles. Stu Mitchell had an inside-the-park homer for the winners. Bill Garner, who relieved starter Fred Christensen in the third, hurled two-hit ball the rest of the way for the win.

Todd (L) and Pearce
Christensen, Garner (W) (3) and Anderson

(June 25) Chemainus Red Sox split a twin bill with powerful Farmer Construction of Victoria Saturday at Royal Athletic Park. Sox took the afternoon game 8-6 but Farmers staged a late rally to take the nightcap 6-4. In the afternoon, Farmers scored a pair in the seventh to deadlock the score at 6-6 only to lose in the eighth when the Red Sox put together one hit and a pair of errors for their two-run margin. Doug Brinham collected a double and single for the winners. Pete Ash had a double and two singles for the Farmers.

Williams, Goldie (W) (7) and Jansch
Beck, Garner (L) (3) and Harford

Winning hurler Bill Prior won his own game in the nightcap belting a three-run homer in the seventh inning when Farmers scored five times to overcome a 4-1 Red Sox advantage.

Copp (L) and Bertrand
Prior (W) and Harford

(June 30) Left-hander Don Donahue held Victoria Capitals to six hits Thursday in pitching Farmer Construction to a 14-3 win. It was Farmers 14th straight win in league play. The game was called after six innings because of darkness.

Donahue (W) and xxx
F.Graham (L), Weatherall (3) and xxx

(July 1-3) Courtenay Tournament

(July 5) Farmer Construction rallied for three runs in the bottom of the final stanza Tuesday to shade the Eagles 11-10 for their 15th consecutive league victory. The game was called after eight innings because of darkness. Trailing 10-8, two singles and Ron Karadimas' double tied the score and Karadimas then advanced to third and stole home for the winning tally.

xxx and xxx
xxx and xxx

Farmers    15 - 0
Eagles      6 - 7
Capitals    3 - 10
Duncan      3 - 10

(July 7) Art Green hurled a three-hitter, with ten strikeouts, as the Capitals blanked the Eagles 3-0 Thursday. John Catteral rapped three hits to lead the Caps offense.

Green (W) and Campbell
Stout (L) and Heath

(July 9) With Don Hughes hurling the shutout, Duncan Athletics downed Victoria Capitals 4-0.

(July 10) Duncan wound up the regular schedule with a pair of wins Sunday downing the Capitals 9-2 and 8-7. Young Pat Rogers put on a five-hit performance to get the pitching win in the first game as Duncan took a 2-0 lead in the first inning and coasted to the win.

Dawson (L), Jones, Dawson, Jones and xxx
P.Rogers (W) and xxx

In the second game, Athletics got the winner in the bottom of the ninth. Capitals had a 7-3 lead with three runs in the top of the ninth. In the bottom of the ninth, after starter Frank Graham ran into trouble he traded places with Bob Jones who faced two batters putting the tying and winning runs on base. Left fielder John Catteral came in to face two batters, with a walk and an error bringing Graham back to the mound. Ted Shearing promptly touched him for the game-winning single. Mike Ash, a right-hander up from juvenile ranks, pitched hitless ball for the first five innings but was replaced by Lyel Rodger in the ninth.

F.Graham, Jones (L) (9), Catteral (9), Graham (9) and xxx
Ash, L.Rodger (W) (9) and xxx

Farmers    15 - 0
Eagles      6 - 8
Capitals    4 - 13
Duncan      6 - 10

LISABL PLAYOFFS, POST-SEASON EXHIBITION GAMES & TOURNAMENT GAMES
Semi-finals (best-of-three series)

(July 13) In the opening game of the playoffs, it was ho-hum as Farmer Construction continued its dominance with a 25-1 walloping of the Victoria Capitals. Farmers had a 9-0 lead after three innings. Charlie Boyd with four hits and Bill Prior and Bernie Anderson with three apiece, led a 20-hit assault on a pair of hapless Capitals' hurlers. Caps further contributed to the debacle by making 13 errors. Paul Beck pitched shutout ball until the ninth when the Capitals avoided a shutout with their only marker. He gave up five hits and fanned ten.

Green (L), Dawson (5) and Campbell, Weatherall (5), Campbell (7)
Beck (W) and Harford, Shields (6)

(July 17) League, playoffs or exhibition contests, the results are mostly the same for the powerful nine from Farmer Construction who met Duncan in a double-header Sunday coming away with two more runaway victories. 25-5 in the first game and 7-0 in the second. In the first game, a six-run second inning put the game out of reach early as Farmers collected 22 hits off three Duncan hurlers.

Garner (W) and Shields
Buddy Price (L), P.Rogers (6), L.Rodger (9) and Branting

Lefty Fred Christensen, with a no-hitter and a one-hitter in previous action, blanked Duncan on one hit in the five innings he worked racking up 11 strikeouts. Donald Donahue went the last four frames. Centre fielder Jim Harford led the winners slamming a three-run homer in the seventh inning. Third baseman Stu Mitchell added three singles.

Christensen (W), Donahue (6) and Shields
Rodger (L) and Branting

(July 19) Farmer Construction, in the habit of overwhelming their opponents all season long, didn't get the opportunity Tuesday as the Capitals failed to show for their scheduled playoff match and Farmers were awarded the best-of-three series by default. They won the opening game 25-1.

(July 19) Victoria Eagles took a one game lead in their semi-final with Duncan edging the Athletics 6-5. Eagles jumped into a 6-0 lead with a pair in the second and four in the third and held on for the win. Lefty Des Mosley held Duncan to five hits in going the distance on the hill for the winners. Tony Folk, in relief in the third inning for Duncan, did not allow a hit the rest of the way, fanning the side in the seventh inning.

Mosley (W) and Pearce
Hughes (L), Ash (2), Folk (3) and Branting.

(July 21) Victoria Eagles pasted Duncan Athletics 19-2 Thursday to sweep the semi-final in two straight games. Duncan had taken a 2-0 lead with a pair in the second inning before the Eagles roared back to lead 7-2 by the end of the sixth then erupted for 12 runs in the seventh to demolish the A's. Mike Hodge knocked in four runs for the winners with a pair of doubles and a single. Norm Curran had a brace of two-baggers. Keith Todd, who took over for sore-armed Pete Kirschner in the third, pitched shutout ball the rest of the way for the win.

Brice, Folk (6), Rogers (7), Rodger (7) and Branting
Kirschner, Todd (3) and Pearce

(July 24) Faced with their first league defeat of the season, Farmer Construction rallied with three runs in the ninth inning Sunday to tie the Eagles 8-8 to send the second game of the playoff double-header to extra innings. Farmers won it in the 12th on a triple by Ron Karadimas and Stu Mitchell's sacrifice fly. The 9-8 victory followed a 6-3 triumph by Farmers in the opener as Bill Prior struck out 17 batters and scattered six hits, one an inside-the-park homer by Norm Curran.

Kirschner (L), Todd (6) and Pearce
Prior (W) and Harford

Beck, Christensen (6), Donahue (W) (8) and Harford
Mosley (L) and Pearce

(July 27) Bill Prior wrapped up a sensational Lower Island Senior Amateur Baseball League season by Farmer Construction with a exclamation mark Wednesday firing a no-hitter as Farmers blanked Eagles 9-0 to win the final series in three straight games. Prior racked up 12 strikeouts and walked three. Pete Ash and Lowell Hodges paced the winners. Ash had a pair of triples while Hodges contributed a brace of doubles.

Todd (L) and Pearce
Prior (W) and Shields

(August 5-7) Parksville Kinsmen Tournament

(August 13-14) Courtenay Legion advanced to the Vancouver Island championship downing Chemainus Red Sox 5-2 Saturday and 8-7 in 12 innings on Sunday. In an exhibition game Sunday evening, Chemainus nipped Courtenay 4-3.

(August 20) Farmer Construction, the powerhouse of the Lower Island Senior loop demolished Courtenay Legon 19-6 in the opening game of their best-of-three playoff for the Vancouver Island championship. Farmers ran up an early 9-0 lead and cruised to the triumph. Charlie Boyd, Ron Karadimis and Pete Ash led the winners each with three hits. The Legion nine committed nine errors in their worst defensive display of the season. Bill Prior held the Legionnaires to six hits.

Prior (W) and Shieids
Lund (L), Schmidt (4), Jefferson (9) and Moore

(August 21) Courtenay Legion turned the tables on Farmer Construction Sunday trouncing the Victoria nine 13-6 in the afternoon game to even their best-of-three series at a game apiece. Legionnaires broke a 3-3 tie with six runs in the fourth inning. Four straight hits - by Dick Downey, Roy Moore, Freddie Orr and Bill Moore produced two runs and Ron Gray was walked to fill the bases. Earl Woods was hit by a pitch sending home another marker. After Bill Moore romped home for the fourth run, Gray stole home and Dick Downey delivered his second hit of the inning to knock in the sixth run of the stanza. Farmers got one run back in the fifth to make the count 9-4 and loaded the bases on walks in the sixth but failed to score. Legion added a pair in the bottom of the sixth but Farmers still had their chances loading the sacks in the eighth and the ninth but not gaining nearly enough to challenge Courtenay. Woods allowed just five hits, two of them triples by Bill Prior. Legion collected 13 hits off three Victoria hurlers.

Donahue (L), Beck (4) , Garner (6) and Shields
Woods (W) and xxx

Sunday evening in the deciding game of the playoff, Courtenay scraped by with a 5-4 triumph at Lewis Park to take the title. A three-run fifth inning proved to be decisive. Ron Lund, who took the loss against Bill Prior in the opener, turned the tables in the third game. Legion took the lead in the second inning but Prior tied it with a double in the third and went ahead when Prior scored on Charlie Boyd's base hit. Both teams scored in the fourth and Courtenay secured the win with a three-run outburst in the fifth. Moore sparked the rally with a single to left centre and he came around the score on successive hits and two runners scampered in after him on a passed ball. Farmers added run in the sixth but couldn't get an closer.

Lund (W) and xxx
Prior (L) and xxx

MID-ISLAND SENIOR AMATEUR LEAGUE

The 1955 Mid-Island circuit remained a five-team loop with the re-entry of the Port Alberni Cubs, the club that had dropped out before completing the 1954 season. Duncan abandoned the Mid-Island circuit and moved into the Lower Island Senior Amateur Baseball League for the 1955 campaign with their spot being taken by the Parksville Loggers.

1955 Mid-Island Senior Amateur Baseball League teams

Alberni Athletics
Chemainus Red Sox
Nanaimo Sport Centres
Parksville Loggers
Port Alberni Cubs

(May 8) Chemainus Red Sox took a pair of one-run victories from Port Alberni Sunday, 4-3 and 2-1. Sox took the opener with a pair of runs in the seventh inning. Doug Brinham knocked in Ron Gibbons who had walked and Ken Williams followed with a single to plate Brinham. Cubs made it close scoring two in the eighth on singles by Pederson, Grey and Pederson. E.English picked up the win in relief.

Conn, Pederson (6), Creserace (8) and Pederson
A.Goldie, English (6) and Jansch

Joe Copp won his own game in the evening affair with a run-scoring single in the bottom of the ninth inning. Chemainus took the lead with a run in the third and Alberni tied it on two errors and Viech's double in the eighth. In the ninth, Ken Williams led off with a single and moved to second on Brooks' sacrifice setting the stage for Copp's game winning hit.

Creserace (L) and Powell
J.Copp (W) and Jansch

(May 15) Another Sunday, another twin-bill sweep for Chemainus. The Red Sox downed Alberni Athletics 8-7 and 13-3. Sox fell behind 4-0 in the top of the first stanza but roared back to tie with three in their half of the first and a singleton in the third as Hemstead doubled and scored on Jansch's single. Alberni again went ahead with a pair in the fourth on two errors and a single by Miles. Sox came right back with two of their own to knot the count at 6-6 on an Alberni error, Doug Brinham's one-bagger and Ken Williams double. Chemainus jumped in front 8-6 with two in the sixth and the A's rounded out the scoring on Spencer's run-scoring double in the seventh.

Miles, Olsen (L) (1) and Bailey
English (W), Goldie (8) and Jansch

Red Sox won the second game in the early going scoring seven runs in the first frame on four hits and five walks from Doug Grisdale. They added two more in the second as Doug Brinham cracked a three-bagger and Ken Williams doubled. Ron Gibbons later smacked a homer for the Sox. Al Goldie held the Athletics to just five hits.

Goldie (W) and Jansch
Grisdale (L) and Phillips

(May 15) Nanaimo Sport Centre kicked off the new season in grand style Sunday crushing the Port Alberni Cubs 10-3 and 28-6. The afternoon game was close until the seventh when Nanaimo broke loose for five funs on four hits and a pair of costly errors. They put the game out of reach with three more runs, one on a homer to deep right field by Don Smith. Bert Webb spaced out seven hits in a route going mound performance for Nanaimo.

xxx and xxx
Webb (W) and xxx

Sport Centre overwhelmed the Cubs with a 24-hit assault in the second game. Port Alberni was in the contest until the fourth when Nanaimo went wild scoring nine times. Don Smith poked another homer for the winners. On the day, Ed Senini, Marty Martin and Smith each picked up six hits. Red Naylor had five.

xxx, xxx, xxx, xxxx and xxx
Byman (W), D.Smith (6) and xxx

(May 22) Alberni rallied with two out in the ninth inning to score three times to edge Nanaimo 4-3 in the opening game of a double header. Sport Centre took the second contest 9-6. With two out and nobody on base, two infield errors put the tying runs aboard. Elmer Speidel the Alberni playing manager drew an intentional walk before the next batter smacked one long and hard and Alberni had cleared the sacks for a 4-3 triumph. Fat Negrin had a homer for Nanaimo.

Webb (L) and xxx
xxx and xxx

Nanaimo jumped into a 3-0 lead in the first inning of the second game and led all the way in the 9-6 victory. Tom Jenkinson allowed seven hits in going the route for the pitching win. Red Naylor smacked a four-bagger for the winners.

xxx and xxx
Jenkinson (W) and xxx

Chemainus     5 - 1
Nanaimo       3 - 1
Alberni       3 - 3
Parksville    1 - 3
Port Alberni 0 - 4

(May 29) Nanaimo Sport Centres moved into a tie for first place with Chemainus by taking both games of Sunday's double-header from Parksville 13-2 and 6-2. Nanaimo got off to a good start as Parksville starter George Wilgress walked in a run in the first inning. In the second Don Smith drove in a pair with a hefty two-bagger. Bill Bracewell put the game on ice in the third when he cracked a bases-loaded double to bring in three more tallies. Smith and Gene Klymchuk led the winners each with three hits. Catcher Bill Haslam produced a pair of doubles for the Loggers.

Wilgress (L) Mosdell (4) and Haslam
Byman (W) and Gilchrist

Nanaimo also jumped into a first inning lead in the second game as the first four batters got hits and the Sport Centre nine plated three. They added two in the fifth as Al Byman doubled and Bill Gilchrist and Vic Bortolotto followed with singles. Winning hurler Tom Jenkinson tripled in the eighth and scored on a sac fly. The Loggers got their only two markers in the fourth when Red Wilgress cracked a double to bring in two base runners.

Charlesworth (L) and Haslam
Jenkinson (W) and Gilchrist

(June 5) The top two teams in the Mid-Island Senior Amateur League split a double-header Sunday. In the afternoon, Nanaimo trounced the powerful Chemainus nine 11-4 behind the strong hurling of Bert Webb and a 13-hit attack with Earl Robinson and Al Byman each cracking three hits. Don Smith had a two-run triple. Doug Brinham was the star for the Red Sox rapping a homer run and a triple.

Goldie, Copp and Jansch
Webb (W) and Naylor

In the evening game, the Red Sox jumped into a four run lead in the first inning and coasted to a 7-3 victory as Joe Copp went the route on the hill for the winners.

Copp (W) and Jansch
Byman (L), Robinson and Gilchrist

(June 10) Through Nanaimo's first eight games, Bill Bracewell and Don Smith are tied for the team's hitting lead each with a .440 average, just seven points ahead of playing manager Al Byman at .423. The Club sports a team average of .333. Tom Jenkinson, Bert Webb and Byman each have two pitching wins.

Chemainus     6 - 2
Nanaimo       6 - 2
Alberni       5 - 3
Parksville    2 - 6
Port Alberni 1 - 7

(June 19) In a double-header at Nanaimo Sunday, the Alberni Athletics rode a big lead in the first game to a 9-8 victory while, in the second game, they overcame a 4-0 deficit with 12 unanswered runs to crush the Sport Centres 12-4. In the opener, Alberni ran up an 8-1 lead with five in the fifth inning then held off a huge Nanaimo rally to sneak off with the win. Each team had 12 hits.

Olsen (W) and Phillips
Byman (L), Smith (6) and Naylor

The second game featured an old-fashioned rhubarb in the seventh inning with players from both sides being ejected from the game. After Nanaimo took a 4-0 advantage in the first frame, the Athletics roared back with three in the second, four in the fifth, another in the sixth and wrapped it up with a four-run outburst in the seventh.

Grisdale, Haney and Phillips
Webb (L) and Naylor

Williams, Goldie (W) (7) and Jansch
Beck, Garner (L) (3) and Harford

Winning hurler Bill Prior won his own game in the nightcap belting a three-run homer in the seventh inning when Farmers scored five times to overcome a 4-1 Red Sox advantage.

Copp (L) and Bertrand
Prior (W) and Harford

(July 1-3) Courtenay Tournament

(July 10) One was a nail-biter, the other a slug fest as Nanaimo grabbed both wins in Sunday's double header against the Port Alberni Cubs. In the opener, Ed Senini knocked in Earl Robinson with the winning run in the tenth inning as Nanaimo won, 3-2.

Schick (L) and T.Powell
Byman, Robinson (W) (5) and Naylor

In the evening game, shortened to seven innings by darkness, Nanaimo came away with a 21-10 decision as the club pounded out 14 hits and capitalized on six Port Alberni errors. Pat Shepherd, Earl Robinson and Don Smith took turns on the mound for the winners.

xxx, xxx, xxx and xxx
Shepherd, Robinson, Smith and xxx

(July 13) Nanaimo and Chemainus battled to an 8-8 draw at Caledonia Park in a game marred by one fight and two ejections. Ron Gibbons of the Red Sox got the heave-ho in the third inning after arguing with the plate umpire over a foul ball. Later in the third, Ed Senini tried to bounce hefty Bertram, the Chemainus catcher off the basepath. The players exchanged words and then began swinging. When the dust had cleared, Senini was banished from the game and a youthful looking spectator, Norm Bdinka, was pulling on a Sport Centre jersey to fill the hole in the outfield. In the sixth inning, Bdinka rapped a single to bring in Pat Shepherd with the tying run. Bertram clouted a homer for the Red Sox.

Williams, Copp and Bertram
Smith, Shepherd and Naylor

(July 15) Earl Robinson was a force both on the mound and at the plate Friday as Nanaimo topped Parksville 5-3, scoring the winning marker in the ninth inning. Robinson tossed a five-hitter for the win and collected three of the Sport Centres nine hits, the last one a hard single in the ninth with the score tied 3-3. George Kosich led off with a single and Robinson followed with his one-bagger. Al Byman then unloaded a triple to deep left centre and Nanaimo had the victory.

Robinson (W) and Naylor
Mosdell (L) and Powell

(July 17) Chemainus Red Sox pounded out 28 hits to take both games of Sunday's double-header with Nanaimo. The Sox, battled back from a 6-1 deficit in the opener, to lead 10-6 after eight innings. But, Sport Centre erupted for four runs in the top of the ninth to tie. Chemainus got the winner in the bottom of the final frame.

Byman (L) and Naylor
Goldie, Hemstead, Copp (W) and Jansch

Red Sox jumped into a 4-0 lead in the first inning and led all the way in an 11-6 triumph in the second game. Doug English gave up eight hits in doing the route for the win.

Naylor (L), Smith (4) and Smith, Naylor (4)
English (W) and Jansch

(July 23) The Mid-Island League announced the pairings for playoffs set for Sunday . At Caledonia Park. Nanaimo Sport Centre club takes on the Port Alberni Cubs in a twin bill while Parksville and Alberni Athletics clash in a similar series in Alberni. The Chemainus Red Sox, pennant winners for the third straight season, received a bye to the finals.

PLAYOFFS

(July 24) In the playoff opener at Caledonia Park, Nanaimo and Port Alberni split the twin-bill with Sport Centre gaining a 6-3 win behind a 12-hit attack in the first game and the Cubs bouncing back for a 9-3 triumph in the second. Al Byman hurled a three-hitter for Nanaimo in the first tilt as the Sport Centres scored all their runs in the first three frames.

Conn (L), Pederson (4) and Pederson
Byman (W) and Naylor

A four-run third inning set Port Alberni on the way to the win in the second game as Triesman scattered nine hits in his route-going effort.

Triesman (W) and Pederson
Smith (L) and Naylor

(July 31) Rain forced postponement of both playoff series in the Mid-Island circuit.

(August 5-7) Parksville Kinsmen Tournament

(August 14) Ivor Pederson cracked a ninth inning homer to give Port Alberni Cubs the victory to eliminate Nanaimo from the Island playoffs. Sport Centre had led until the seventh inning and were tied in the ninth when Pederson's blast tipped the scales.

(August 14) In a thrilling 11-inning finale, Parksville Loggers edged Alberni Athletics 5-4 to win a spot in the league final against Chemainus. Thompson led off the Loggers' 11th with a single and advanced on an error. A long fly ball brought him home with the winning marker. Loggers had jumped into an early lead scoring Taylor and Messmer in the first inning. They added another in the fourth when Bill Haslam crossed the plate. The A's climbed back when Patterson slugged a homer with Elmer Speidel aboard in the fifth. Patterson was the star again in the top of the ninth driving in Williamson and Speidel to put the A's ahead 4-3. But in the bottom of the ninth, Jack Charlesworth drew a walk and scooted home on a passed ball and a single to send the game to extra innings. In a following exhibition game, Alberni won, 9-8.

xxx and xxx
xxx and xxx

Chemainus emerged as league champions.

COMOX DISTRICT BASEBALL LEAGUE

Teams in the 1955 Comox District Baseball League

Campbell River Cougars
Cumberland Cubs
Comox RCAF Knights
Comox Valley Tigers
Courtenay Legion

(May 1) Courtenay Legion's revived baseball nine got off to a great start in the Comox District League Sunday scoring a pair of wins, downing the highly-rated Comox Valley Tigers 6-2 at Lewis Park in the afternoon then moving to the Cumberland Cubs' bailiwick to crush the home club 20-4 in the evening.

Ron Lund was in mid-season form to kick off the season firing a one-hitter with 17 strikeouts for the Legionnaires in the first game victory. John Hawkins' fourth inning, run-scoring double was the lone safety for the Tigers. Courtenay broke fast with three runs in the opening stanza, two on a triple by Bill Moore, who also knocked in a run in the fifth.

Lund (W) and A.Telosky
R.Pratt (L), Bosomworth (5) and L.McKenzie

Courtenay pretty well wrapped up the second game in the first inning scoring six times against former teammate Izzy Schmidt. A walk, four hits, a strikeout, and two more hits put the host Cubs in a hole from which they could not recover. Legion poured it on with four more runs in the second inning and another four in the third to take a 14-1 lead. Roy Moore led a Legion hiit parade with a triple and three singles. Ron Gray, Earl Woods and winning hurler Shorty McIvor also had three-baggers. A sloppy defense, seven errors by the Tigers, further hurt their chances.

McIvor (W) and xxx
Schmidt (L), Roses (3) and xxx

(May 1) Campbell River Cougars enjoyed a successful start to the season with twin victories over the Comox RCAF Knights Sunday at Lane Field. The locals took an 8-7 verdict in the afternoon tilt and ran wild for eight runs in the first inning of the evening game to provide a big cushion for Jergen Schilling who went the route to register the pitching win. Although out-hit 13 to seven, the Flyers got the long balls with homers by Buck Bueckert and Bill Kolybaba.

Kolybaba (L) and xxx
Fiscus (W), Enns, Schilling and xxx

McCormick, Kolybaba (1), Rees (7) and xxx
Schilling (W) and xxx

(May 8) With six runs in the last two innings, Cy Stevenson's Courtenay Legion overcame a 7-4 deficit to down Hal Rees' RCAF squad 10-7 Sunday. The game even had some extra entertainment when plate umpire F. White, apparently fed up with things in general, gave quite a display as he heaved his mask at the stands, dropped his chest protector and gave it a hefty boot and then tossed his shin guards in an added gesture of defiance. White was all for quitting on the spot but the RCAFers persuaded him to continue and the game came to a more or less peaceable conclusion. The game was a see-saw affair with the Airmen gaining the upper hand with four runs in the seventh inning, two coming on Joe L'Oiseau's hard smash. Down 7-4, the Legionnaies rallied in the eighth. Bill and Roy Moore both got base hits and Dick Downey drove them home to make in 7-6. Freddie Orr then sent Downey scampering home to tie the count. Bill Moore, who had four hits, got the winning run in the ninth as he bunted for a safety and then galloped around to third as the Airmen argued, failing to call time. He eventually was driven home for the winner.

Woods, Lund (W) (7) and Moore
Kolybaba, McCormick (L) (8) and L'Oiseau

(May 8) The visiting Campbell River Cougars had a grand time at Lewis Park Sunday clobbering the home town Tigers 18-4. Former Comox hurler Jergen Schilling went the route for the Cougars. Joe Kanic cracked a homer for Campbell River, the first at Lewis Park this season. Vern Ferguson had a three-run double.

Bosomworth (L), R.Pratt and xxx
Schilling (W) and xxx

(May 11) Cumberland Cubs made it three in a row in the Comox and District League Wednesday, taking an 11-8 win from the RCAF Knights. The game was called at the end of six innings because of darkness. The Airmen took a 5-0 lead in the second inning on a single, double, two walks and two Cub errors. But the home squad quickly rallied for four runs to get back in the game. By the end of the fifth, Cubs led 11-8. Ron Aitkin started for Cumberland but was pulled in the fifth in favour of "Pickle" Murdock who picked up the win.

McCormick (L), Kolybaba and xxx
Aitkin, Murdock (W) (5) and xxx

(May 15) Comox Valley Tigers escaped the league basement Sunday downing the RCAF Knights 7-5 in an exciting 11-inning battle. The Airmen scored in the ninth to tie the game 4-4 and send the game to extra innings Tigers scored in the top of the 10th but Bill Kolybaba poked a three-bagger and came home on an error to again tie the match. In the 11th Gus Vesterback smoked a double and Jack Graboski singled him home with the go-ahead run. Graboski also scored and this time the men of Hal Reese couldn't catch up.

Pro Pratt, Bosomworth (W) and xxx
McCormick (L) and xxx

(May 15) Courtenay Legion came away with two hard-fought victories in action at Campbell River Sunday. The undefeated Legionnaires escaped with a 5-4 win in the first game before going 11-innings to secure a 10-6 triumph in the evening. Vern Ferguson blasted pair of homers for the Cougars but the home club still couldn't pull out the win against Ron Lund who registered his fourth pitching win in Legion's five games. Trailing 3-2, Courtenay went up 5-3 in the eighth as Jergen Schilling of the Cougars issued four walks and Dick Downery cracked a two-run single.

Lund (W) and xxx
Schilling (L) and xxx

The teams combined for 26 hits, 17 by the Legionnaires, in the second game which saw the lead change hands frequently. With the score 6-6, Courtenay opened the 11th with Dick Downey reaching with a single. He was erased as Earl Woods bounced into a fielder's choice. But Freddie Orr followed with his fourth hit of the day and the Legion had two on with just one out. Ron Gray blasted a long triple to plate the winning run and Bill Moore followed with a homer for two insurance runs. Gray finished with a single, double and triple.

Woods, Lund (W) and xxx
Fiscus (L), Ross and xxx

(May 15) Cumberland Cubs broke open a tight ball game with four runs in the sixth inning and four more in the seventh en route to a 9-3 triumph over the Comox Valley Tigers. It was their fourth straight win. Jack "Pickle" Murdock three a three-hitter for the winners and Ray "Gus" Milburn led the Cubs' cause with five singles in five trips to the plate. Bill Roses slugged a homer for the Cubs in the seventh.

R.Pratt (L) and Blinston
J.Murdock (W) and N.Pearse

Courtenay Legion          5 - 0
Cumberland Cubs           4 - 1
Campbell River Cougars    3 - 3
Comox Valley Tigers       1 - 4
Comox RCAF Knights        0 - 5

(May 21) Winning pitcher Ron Lund singled in the 10th inning to score Ron Gray with the winning run as Courtenay Legion shaded Cumberland Cubs 8-7. In the see-saw game, Legion had taken the lead with a four-run outburst in the eighth, but Cubs scored in the ninth to send the game to the extra frame. Lund allowed just two hits, but walked ten and hit three batters.

Roses, Murdock (L) (8) and xxx
Lund (W) and xxx

(May 23) Isadore "Izzy" Schmidt scattered three hits Monday as Courtenay Legion again downed Cumberland Cubs, this time 10-1. Schmidt fanned nine and walked a pair. Freddie Orr's triple in the fifth was the big blow of the game.

Schmidt (W) and xxx
Murdock (L), Bulatovich (3), Allen (8) and xxx

(May 24) Comox Valley Tigers surprised the league-leading Courtenay Tuesday dumping the Legionnaires 6-2. A big seventh inning proved to be the difference as the Tigers erased a 2-1 lead by the Legion with a five-run stanza. Tigers opened the frame with back-to-back singles and Ron Pratt reached with a bunt down the third base line on which third sacker Skip Montgomery let go thinking it was foul. But, the play allowed the tying run to cross the plate. With the bases loaded McRae punched out a single scoring two more and Ennis Bosomworth knocked in another with a one-bagger. Gus Vesterback drove in the final tally. Ron Pratt scattered seven hits for the pitching win. Ron Lund took his first loss of the season.

R.Pratt (W) and xxx
Lund (L) and xxx

(May 25) The RCAF Knights finally got in the win column Wednesday rallying from behind to down the Comox Valley Tigers 13-7. A bases-loaded triple by Vic Burtt highlighted the Airmen's big comeback. Gerry Gribling led the winners with three of the team's 16 hits. Bill Kolybaba picked up the win in relief of starter Len McCormick. Knights had run up the score to 17-7 in the seventh but the game was called because of darkness and the score reverted back to the last complete inning.

McCormick, Kolybaba (W) (3) and xxx
Pro Pratt, Ron Pratt, Bosomworth (L), Super and xxx

(June 1) Johnny Haramboure of Campbell River is the early batting leader in the Comox District League. In the first official batting averages announced by statistician Cy Stevenson, Hambourne, with a .485 mark is well ahead of Ray Downey of the Legion, at .412. Ray Milburn of the Cubs is third, at .409. Ron Gray of the Legion and Vern Ferguson of the Cougars tied at .400.

(June 1) After getting their first win last Wednesday, the RCAF Knights were back on the losing end Wednesday as top ranked Courtenay Legion doubled up the Knights 8-4.

(June 4) Courtenay Legion avenged their only loss of the season Saturday dumping the Comox Valley Tigers 12-8. In notching the Legion's 10th victory of the season, Courtenay came back from 2-0 and 8-4 deficits. Izzy Schmidt pitched into the sixth inning giving way to Earl Woods to finished up and registered the win. Legion smacked 13 hits off loser Ron Pratt. Legion concentrated their scoring in the final three frames scoring four in the sixth, three in the seventh and five in the eighth. Earl Woods cracked a homer for the winners.

R.Pratt (L) and xxx
Schmidt, Woods (W) (6) and xxx

(June 5) In a thriller at Lewis Park Sunday afternoon, Courtenay Legion climaxed a game-long uphill struggle with a 7-6 win over the Campbell River Cougars. Bill Moore was the star for the winners as he drove home the tying run in the fifth inning then powered a long triple with two mates aboard for the win. Ron Lund allowed six hits and five walks in going the route. He fanned ten.

Jergen Schilling (L) and xxx
R.Lund (W) and xxx

(June 5) Campbell River Cougars rallied in the ninth and scored again in the tenth to take a 6-3 extra inning victory over Comox Tigers. Trailing 3-2 in the ninth, Bill Palek led off with a single and pinch hitter Don Marshall batted him around to third. Jergen Schilling's fly ball brought in the tying marker. In the tenth, Vern Ferguson drove in what proved to be the winner. An error allowed another counter and Joe Kanic's sharp single drove in the sixth and final run.

Ross (W) and xxx
Pro Pratt (L) and xxx

(June 5) At Cumberland, the Cubs dropped their fourth straight, a 14-5 decision of the Airmen of the RCAF. Cubs took a 1-0 lead in the first inning but the Knights took over the rest of the way scoring three in the second, seven in the fifth and four in the eighth. A bases-clearing double by Bill Kolybaba highlighted the Knights seven run stanza. They had just nine hits, to eight for the Cubs, but eight Cumberland errors proved too much to overcome.

Kolybaba (W) and Berines, L'Oiseau
Murdock (L), Roses (7) and xxx

Courtenay Legion         11 - 1
Campbell River Cougars    7 - 4
Cumberland Cubs           4 - 5
Comox Valley Tigers       2 - 7
Comox RCAF Knights        2 - 8

(June 8) In a wild one at Lewis Park Wednesday, the RCAF Knights and Courtenay Legion battled to an 8-8 draw in a controversial contest which saw arguments and ejections. Three players were tossed in the fifth over a play at the plate. The entertaining affair saw the Legion take the lead, 6-4, in the sixth with a four-run uprising. Back came the Airmen in the seventh with three runs on two hits and two errors to lead 7-6. Buck Bueckert slammed a homer in the eight to increase the margin to 8-6. With darkness setting in as the ninth got underway Legion got a runner aboard with a walk with two out. RCAF failed to make an easy catch on a pop up near the plate and Ron Gray then singled and Roy Moore's sharp rap down the third base line was lost by Mason and the tying runs came scampering home. With Roy Moore in scoring position, and Bill Moore at the plate, umpire White, realizing it was already too dark, suspended the game. Players from both sides promptly charged the harassed official. Legion won the round and Moore's at bat was allowed. He got on and White again called the game to a halt, provoking more arguments. Later the league president, G. "Hobby" Hobson announced the game would be declared a tie and replayed in full at a later date.

Woods, Lund and xxx
xxx and xxx

(June 11) Isadore Schmidt was solid on the hill for Courtenay Legion Saturday in a 9-2 decision over Cumberland Cubs. He allowed just seven hits and a single free pass as the Legion defense played errorless ball. Bill Roses, the losing hurler who had three of the Cubs' hits, was hampered by his mates as they made nine errors. A five-run sixth inning put the Legion in the lead for good. Ron Lund had three hits for the winners.

Schmidt (W) and R.Moore
Roses (L), Bulatovich (8), Roses (8) and Moncrief

(June 11) Trailing 5-1 in the seventh inning, RCAF Knights rallied to shade the Comox Valley Tigers 7-6, scoring the winner in the bottom of the ninth inning on Tony Woitte's single. After both teams plated runs in the first frame, the Tigers went ahead in the second as singles by Johnny Hawkins and Gus Vesterback produced a pair of runs and a 3-1 lead. They added two more in the top of the seventh as errors put two runners on base and Vesterback's blast brought them home. Down 5-1, the Airmen erupted for five runs in the bottom of the seventh to take the lead. Len McCormick, Jerry Gribling and Buck Bueckert singled for the first run. A fielder's choice made in 5-3 before Garnie Currie worked a free pass and Vic Burtt slapped a high fly to bring home another marker. Woitte's long fly was dropped and the tying run scored. A poor throw on an infield grounder allowed another runner to cross the plate and give the Airmen a 6-5 advantage. The Tigers rebounded with a run in the ninth as Jack Smith drove in Tom Feely, who had singled. The Knights got the win in the last of the ninth when Vic Burtt poked out a single, Bill Kolybaba reached on an error and Woitte followed with the winning blow.

xxx and xxx
xxx and xxx

(June 12) After five straight defeats, the Cumberland Cubs came away with a big win in the second game of Sunday's double-header downing the RCAF Knights 7-6. The Airmen won the opener 6-1. Cubs, who took the lead with five runs in the second inning, needed a singleton in the eighth for their victory. High schooler Ken Allen pitched into the seventh inning for the win. It was his first stint in senior ball. George Cochrane knocked in Bob Edwards with he winning marker in the eighth with a single to left.

Allen (W) , Murdock (7) and N.Pearse
McCormick (L), Kolybaba (2) and L'Oiseau

Jim Cass, on the hill for the RCAF in the opener, had his knuckle ball working well as he scattered eight hits and allowed just two walks in the 6-1 triumph. He fanned eight. Knights got their victory in the first inning. The initial run came on singles by Frank Bueckert, Bob Young and Vic Burtt. Joe L'Oiseau lined a double for two more runs. L'Oiseau singled in another marker in the fifth and singled, stole second and scored in the seventh. John Milburn had three hits for the Cubs.

Mudrock (L) and Moncrief
Cass (W) and L'Oiseau

(June 14) In an exciting 12-inning tussle the Comox Tigers and Cumberland Cubs fought to a 7-7 draw. The Tigers scored in the ninth on McRae's single to tie the game at 5-5 and send the game to extra innings. In the 10th, Comox went ahead 7-5 as John Hawkins and Gus Vesterback knocked in the runs. But, the Cubs came right back with two of their own. Ben Pearse rapped a triple and scored on an infield out. Tom Hutton reached on an error, stole second and tied the game on a single by Dan Bulatovich. Neither team could score in the following two frames before the game was called.

Ron Pratt and Blinston
Murdock, D.Bulatovich (10) and Moncrief

(June 15) The RCAF Knights smashed 14 hits Wednesday to breeze to a 13-3 victory over Cumberland Cubs. Jim Cass scattered seven hits in posting the pitching win. A six-run fourth inning for the Flyers put the game out of reach. The highlight for the Cubs was a homer by Bill Roses, the first sacker.

Cass (W) and L'Oiseau
Aitken (L), Mudrock (4) and Moncrief

(June 19) Courtenay Legion continued it dominance in the Comox District League Sunday sweeping a twin bill from the Air Force Knights 10-5 and the Comox Tigers 9-2 to run their record to 15 wins in 16 games. The triumph over the Tigers, the only team to beat the Legion this season, was an easy one as Comox was able to muster a scant nine players for the contest.

xxx and xxx
xxx and xxx

Earl Woods held the Knights to just four hits as the Legion took the 10-5 victory. Legionnaires got the jump in the first inning as Ray Downey and Andy Telosky knocked in runs for a 2-0 lead. In the fifth, Courtenay filled the sacks with none out and plated three on Rich Wilson's liner and two errors. Woods cracked a triple to account for three more runs in the fourth and an error resulted in a 9-0 lead for the home squad. Hits by Garnie Currie and Joe L'Oiseau in the seventh brought in two counters for the Knights before Ron Gray's triple and Ray Downey's single upped the Legion total to ten. Jim Sommen's three-bagger was key in the Airmen's three-run outburst in the final frame.

Kolybaba (L) and xxx
Woods (W) and xxx

(June 19) At Cumberland Sunday, the Cougars and the Cubs brought out the heavy lumber as the teams split a pair of one-run slug-fests. The home squad squeezed out a 13-12 win in the afternoon while Campbell River posted a 10-9 victory in the evening contest. In the first game, the Cubs built up a 12-5 lead then held off a furious comeback by the Cougars who scored seven times in the last two innings. Winning pitcher Bill Roses was the main offensive force for the Cubs with four hits, two of them doubles. Joe Kanic had four hits for the Cougars. The teams combined for 25 hits and 13 errors, nine by the Cougars.

Schilling (L) and McDonald
Roses (W) and Moncrief

In the evening game, the teams combined for 27 hits, 15 by the Cougars who rallied for four runs in the ninth inning and held off a Cubs' rally in the bottom of the ninth, for the 10-9 triumph. Alex Ross was tagged for 12 hits but managed to go the distance for the winners. He walked one and struck out one. Ronnie Aitken walked six in his three and one-third innings of work. Pickles Murdock took the loss.

Ross (W) and McDonald
Aitken, Murdock (L) (4) and Allen

Courtenay Legion         15 - 1
Campbell River Cougars   10 - 5
Cumberland Cubs           6 - 9
Comox RCAF Knights        5 - 11
Comox Valley Tigers       2 - 12

(June 22) For the second time in just over a week, Comox Valley Tigers and Cumberland Cubs couldn't decide the better team playing to a 5-5 draw in a game called after eight innings because of darkness. On June 14th, the teams battled to a 7-7 12-inning tie. Ron Pratt went the distance for the Tigers allowing eight hits. Ron Aitken and Bill Roses held the Tigers to five hits. Roses was the game's top swatter with three hits.

R.Pratt and Blinston
Aitken, Roses (7) and Moncrief

(June 26) Izzy Schmidt held the Tigers to five hits Sunday in hurling Courtenay Legion to a 3-1 victory. He walked five and fanned seven. Comox got enough for the win in the fifth inning. Allan Jefferson reached on a throwing error and Freddie Orr singled him home. Hits by Ray Downey and Skip Montgomery scored Orr with the second run. They added an insurance marker in the seventh on Ron Lund's run-scoring single. Tiger got their only counter in the fifth on an error, walk and a single by Gordon "Pro" Pratt.

Schmidt (W) and Telosky
Pro Pratt (L) and Blinston

(June 26) The cellar-dwelling Comox Tigers showed some life Sunday at Lewis Park downing the Cumberland Cubs 6-3 behind the six-hit pitching of Ron Pratt who racked up nine strike outs. Allan Blinston led the Tigers with a triple and double in three trips to the plate. Pickles Murdock took the loss yielding seven hits. The Cubs made seven errors.

Murdock (L) and Moncrief
R.Pratt (W) and Blinston

(July 1-3) Courtenay Tournament

(July 9) Comox Valley Tigers racked up their third tie of the season a 4-4 contest with the RCAF Knights at Lewis Park Saturday. Trailing 3-1 after seven frames, George Super brought the Tigers back to life with a homer, his first in senior ball, and John Hawkins smacked a triple and scored on an error to tie the game. Tom Feely's grounder up the middle put Comox in the lead 4-3. But the Airmen bounced back as Bill Kolybaba singled, stole second and romped home on a smash by Frankie Beuckert.

Kolybaba and xxx
Bosomworth and Dingwall

(July 10) Campbell River Cougars surprised the front-running Courtenay Legion twice Sunday, defeating them in both ends of a double-header 17-8 and 12-10 in ten innings. Jergen Schilling got credit for both wins, a complete game triumph in the opener and in a relief role in the more excitiing second contest. He worked 15 innings overall.

Schilling (W) and xxx
xxx and xxx

The Legionnaires got off to a good start in the second game running up a six-run lead in the first two frames but the Cougars took advantage of some sloppy play to tote up five runs in their second round. Courtenay added another three markers to go ahead 9-5 before Courtenay came back with a pair in the bottom of the fifth. Vern Ferguson, who had clubbed a pair of triples in the first game, hit another in the seventh inning of the second as the Cougars climbed back into a tie. In the eighth Campbell River pulled into a 10-9 lead on Ty Conti's fly ball but the Legionnaires evened it up in their half of the stanza. Cougars finally ended it with a pair of runs in the tenth.

Enns, Schilling (W) and xxx
xxx and xxx

(July 13) On Wednesday, the Cumberland Cubs put a scare into the Courtenay Legion as they came from behind to take the lead only to have the Legionnaires score in the ninth to end the game in a 9-9 tie. The Cubs pulled ahead 7-4 in the fifth inning on three walks and hits by Bill Roses and Bob Edwards. In the seventh, the Legion notched a pair on hits by Ron Lund and Moore to pull to within a run. But Cumberland added another in the bottom of the seventh on a triple by Norm Pearce and a single by Roses to go up 8-6. Three errors by the Cubs helped the Legion tie the game in the top of eighth, but, again, the Cubs got two hits in the bottom of the frame to take a 9-8 advantage. The see-saw battle continued into the ninth as the Legion scored on hits by Earl Woods and Cy Stevenson. Cubs couldn't tally in the last of the ninth and the game ended 9-9.

Lund and xxx
Murdock and xxx

(July 17) Campbell River, fresh off a double-header sweep of first place Courtenay, embarrassed the Cumberland Cubs Sunday taking both ends of the twin-bill 17-3 and 8-0. In the opener, Bud Fiscus and Spires combined on a no-hitter for the Cougars. Fiscus helped the assault with a homer and Vern Ferguson went three for three.

Murdock (L), Aitken (7) and xxx
Fiscus (W), Spires (7) and xxx

In the evening contest, Harry Thulin held the Cubs off the scoreboard with a four-hitter. Again, Vern Ferguson led the winners with three hits, one of them a home run.

Aitken (L) and xxx
Thulin (W) and xxx

(July 13) Ray Downey the Legion shortstop continued his steady hitting to remain atop the batting race in the Comox District League with a .457 average, topping Johnny Haramboure the Cougars' first sacker, at .429. Smoothie Marshall of the Cougars is third with a .400 mark.

(July 15) Courtenay Legion racked up their 17th win of the season Sunday afternoon edging the Comox Tigers 5-3. Neither team fielded its most potent lineup due to player absences but a sprinkling of young players produced an entertaining game. Earl Woods went the distance to register the pitching win giving up six hits, all singles. He also contributed a pair of base hits to aid his own cause.

Woods (W) and xxx
Bosomworth (L) and James

(July 20) In a controversial decision, the Comox District League moved to suspend league play and stage an immediate playoff between Courtenay Legion and Campbell River for the league title. The sudden move, unprecedented in local sports, was forced on the league executive after receipt from the Island Baseball Association outlining the playoff scheduled for the Island. The letter stated that local leagues must declare a winner by this coming weekendf and playoff before August 1 for the right to meet the Lower Island winners, Victoria's Farmer Construction. The Mid-Island champions, the Chemainus Red Sox, are now idle awaiting the coming series.

Comox District Baseball League Playoffs

(July 23) Campbell River defeated Courtney Legion in the first game of a special playoff for the league title. Given the Legion were three games ahead in the standings when the schedule was abruptly ended for playoffs, the teams decided that if the Cougars won three games to force a tie in the standings, a sudden death playoff would determine the league winner. But if Legion managed a victory that would end the series.

(July 24) Courtenay Legion battered three Campbell River hurlers for 11 runs in the first inning en route to an 18-9 victory and the league championship. Legion advances to the Island playoff series against Chemainus. The rampage included a circuit clout by Andy Telosky. Courtenay added four more runs in the second inning for a 15-1 advantage.

Lund (W) and Telosky
Schilling (L), Fiscus (1), D.Marshall (1) Ross (2), Enns (7) and McDonald

(August 3) Ray Downey, the Courtenay shortstop, captured the batting title in the Comox District League winding up the season with an average of .450, well ahead of teammate Earl Woods at .408. Veteran Vern Ferguson of the Cougars was third at .404 and the Legion's Ron Lund at .402.

(August 5-7) Parksville Kinsmen Tournament

VANCOUVER ISLAND PLAYOFFS

(August 13) Courtenay Legion pounded out 13 hits Saturday to dump Chemainus Red Sox 5-2 in the opening game of their best-of-three playoff series. Dick Downey led the winners with three safeties. Winning pitcher Ron Lund helped his own cause with a two-run single in the third inning. Lund surrendered eight hits in posting the win.

Goldie (L) and Jansch
Lund (W) and Moore

(August 14) In a 14-inning thriller, Courtenay Legion edged Chemainus 8-7 to win the playoff series in two straight games. With the scored knotted 7-7 in the bottom of the 14th inning, Ron Lund led off with a three-bagger and romped home with the winning marker on a single by Roy Moore.

The see-saw battle saw Chemainus take the lead with two runs in the third inning. Doug Brinham singled in one run and another scored on an error. The lead was quickly erased as Courtenay responded with four runs in the fourth frame. Roy and Bill Moore cracked singles and Skip Mongomery slammed a three-bagger. Montgomery and Cy Stevenson also scored to give Courtenay a 4-2 advantage. In the fifth the Red Sox charged back into a 5-4 lead as Earl Patterson singled, Ron Gibbons reached on an error and both scored as Brinham tripled and scored himself on a Jerry Brooks two-bagger. The Legionnaires got three of their own, to lead 7-5, in the seventh. A bases-loaded walked to Roy Moore plated one run and Montgomery slapped a single to bring in two more. Down by two runs, the Red Sox rallied to tie in the top of the ninth. Brinham drove in his fourth run with a triple and stole home to knot the count at 7-7.

K.Williams, Copp (7) and xxx
xxx and xxx

In the evening exhibition game, Chemainus notched a 5-4 victory.

Prior (W) and Shieids
Lund (L), Schmidt (4), Jefferson (9) and Moore

Donahue (L), Beck (4) , Garner (6) and Shields
Woods (W) and xxx

(August 27) Outfielder Lyall Levy cracked a homer in the bottom of the ninth inning Saturday to give the Vancouver White Spots a 5-4 victory over Courtenay Legion in the opening game of the playoff for the Lower Mainland - Vancouver Island championship. Levy was 0 for 3 with two strikeouts before his game-winning blast.

xxx and xxx
xxx and xxx

(August 28) Courtenay Legion rebounded from the opening game loss to capture the Provincial Senior A baseball championship Sunday with 10-4 and 5-3 victories over Vancouver White Spots.

In the afternoon contest the Legion took a 3-0 lead in the second inning but Vancouver responded with four in the fourth to edge ahead. A three-run homer by Ray Downey in the fifth gave Legion a 6-4 margin and Earl Woods and Skip Montgomery also scored to give Courtenay a four-run advantage. They increased the margin in the seventh with another pair of markers for a final count of 10-4..

In the deciding game Sunday evening, Legion jumped into a 4-0 lead and held the White Spots off the scoreboard until the fifth when with two out Les Brown got a free pass and Dave Devlin slugged a three-bagger, scoring himself on an error. Skip Montgomery romped home for the Legion in the seventh to give Courtenay a 5-2 lead. The White Spots threatened in the bottom of the ninth as second baseman George Keeley led off with a triple and scored but the Island squad quickly ended the rally to claim the provincial title.

(Septemer 4-5) Courtenay Labour Day Tournament