1961 Game Reports        

(June 9)   Edmonton marked its return to the Western Canada Baseball league with an opening night victory, 10-5 over Lloydminster at Renfrew Park.  A strong relief effort by Roland Jones preserved the win for right-hander Ted Neal. Jones came on with one out in the 6th and allowed just one hit the rest of the way.  Ed Beard led the Eskimos at the plate with a homer and a single.  Tom Bergeron, Mick Mousalam and Bob Milano each had two hits for the Meridians.  The season opener drew more than 21-hundred fans plus a thousand youngsters from school patrols and a department store's Dugout Squad. 

Richardson (L), Read (8) and Milano
Neal (W), Jones (6) and Rex

(June 10)  Stan Beard scored the winning run in the bottom of the 9th as the Eskimos beat the Meridians for the second straight night, this time by a 6-5 margin  Beard crossed the plate on a slow roller to third by his brother Ed.  Meridians' third baseman Curly Williams watched the ball roll down the line hoping it would go foul, which it didn't.  Stan Beard and Richie Johnson each had two hits for Edmonton while Mick Mousalam and Bob Milano each had a pair for Lloydminster.

McKenna, Jauregui  (L) (3) and Milano
Craig, Shaves (W) (4) and Rex

(June 11)   Link Curtis went six-for-six to lead Saskatoon to a 17-1 trouncing of Lethbridge in the first game of a twin-bill in the Alberta city.   The White Sox scored three in the bottom of the 9th to take the nightcap 7-6.

Commodores pounded out 23 hits in taking the first contest.  Shortstop Ernie 'Midge' Fazio and first baseman John Boccabella belted homers for Saskatoon.  Bob Peters held the Sox to six hits to take the win.

Lethbridge got 9th inning doubles from Stan Busch and Danny Salazar, a triple by Terry Banderas and a single by Merlin Jensen to plate three runs to gain a split of the double-header.  Boccabella and Tim Cullen each had a double and single for the Commodores.  Jim Garrett paced the Sox with three hits.  Saskatoon had only eleven regulars on the trip.  Five other players arrived in Saskatoon on Sunday.  They included outfielder Bob Levingston, pitcher Goodie Goodrich, and catcher Gale Tuggle.  Dan Schneider, who worked the first 7 2/3s for the Commodores, fanned 14.

Peters (W) and Herrington
Walasko (L), Ingram (5) and Garrett

Schneider, Graves (L) (8) and Herrington
Job, Wyllie (W) (8) and Garrett

(June 11)  Cliff Pemberton drove in the winner in the bottom of the 11th as Lloydminster got its first win of the season, 5-4 over Edmonton in the first game of a double-header. John Rebelo went the distance for the win. Rebelo and Curly Williams had triples for the Meridians. Eskimos came back to take the second game 7-3 in a contest called after seven innings because of a Sunday curfew.  Ray Barboza led the Esks with a three-run homer and a single.  Barry Arnett had four hits on the day for the Meridians.  More than 1,000 fans turned out for the opening games in the border city.

Burnett, Reuter (6), Jones (L) (10) and Rex
Rebelo (W) and Milano

Jones (W) Reuter (7) and Rex
Read (L) and Milano

(June 12)  The Lloydminster at Edmonton match was postponed because of rain.

(June 12)  Saskatoon Commodores made their home debut a winning one beating the defending champion Lethbridge White Sox 3-2 before 1,000 fans in Saskatoon.  The teams had split a twin-bill in Lethbridge on Sunday to start the season. 

Gene Graves and Cliff Goodrich teamed up on a seven-hitter for Saskatoon.  Jerry MacDonald went the distance for the losers.  Commodores playing manager Lyle Olsen, shortstop Ernie Fazio and catcher Gary Herrington each had a pair of hits.  Stan Busch had two hits for Lethbridge.

MacDonald (L) and Garrett
Graves (W), Goodrich (8) and Herrington

Edmonton     3-1
Saskatoon    2-1
Lethbridge   1-2
Lloydminster 1-3

(June 15)  Saskatoon scored six times in the first two innings and went on to hammer Edmonton 12-5 before more than 11-hundred fans in Saskatoon.  Commodores belted out 15 hits including three apiece from Bob Levingston and Tim CullenRay Barboza of the Esks had the only homer and drove in four runs. Levingston and Mick McDermott each had 3 RBI for the Commodores.

Jones (L), Neal (2) and Rex
Thionnet (W), Goodrich (7) and Herrington

(June 15)  Lethbridge and the Meridians split a twin-bill at Lloydminster. The White Sox got eight runs in the first three innings of the opener and held on to win 8-4.  Merlin Jensen and Jerry King each knocked in a pair of runs for the Sox.  Jerry Burcher, Bob Wyllie and Tom Ingram combined to hold the Meridians to three hits.  Lloydminster erupted for five runs in the 8th inning of the second game to salt away a 7-1 victory.  Tom Bergeron's two-run double and Darrell Read's three-run double were the key hits.  Tom McKenna was the winner with relief help from Dick Dyer.

Burcher, Wyllie (3), Ingram (W) (5) and King
Arnold (L) and Milano

Warren (L), Wyllie (7), Ingram (7) and Garrett
McKenna (W), Dyer (7) and Milano

Saskatoon     3-1
Edmonton      3-2
Lethbridge    2-3
Lloydminster  2-4

(June 16)  Second baseman Richie Johnson banged out five hits, including a triple, as Edmonton whipped Lethbridge 11-5.  Esks' starter Dennis Shaves added a homer.  Terry Banderas had three hits for the White Sox.  Larry Craig picked up the win in relief.

Job (L) and Garrett
Shaves, Craig (W) (4) and Rex

(June 16)  Right-hander Bob Peters tossed a three-hitter as Saskatoon clobbered the Meridians 12-1.  Peters had a no-hitter into the 6th inning when he gave up a double to Cliff Pemberton who scored the lone Lloydminster run on a single to right by Curly Williams. Commodores belted Ted Richardson for 13 hits including homers by John Boccabella and Tim CullenBoccabella, who also had a double, drove in five runs.  

Richardson (L) and Milano
Peters (W) and Herrington

Saskatoon    4-1
Edmonton     4-2
Lethbridge   2-4
Lloydminster 2-5

(June 17)  Edmonton built up a 4-0 lead and held off a late Lethbridge rally to edge the White Sox 4-3.  Ray Barboza had the big blow for the Eskimos, a two-run homer in the sixth.  

Walasko (L) and Garrett
Reuter (W), Jones (8) and Rex

(June 17)  Lloydminster rallied for three runs in the top of the 9th to score a 5-4 win over the Commodores at Cairns Field in Saskatoon.  J.B. Carroll, a former Commodore, belted a two-run triple to tie the game and then scored on Cliff Pemberton's sacrifice fly.  Commodores out-hit the Meridians 15-7 with Lyle Olsen leading the way with three hits.  John Rebelo went the distance to gain the win.  He fanned eight and didn't allow a single walk.

Rebelo (W) and Milano
Graves (L), Goodrich (9) and Herrington

(June 18)  Jim Johnson turned in a four-hit performance as Edmonton topped Lethbridge 8-3 in a rain-shortened, seven-inning contest.  White Sox won the first game of the double-header, 11-8. White Sox had 15 hits in winning the opener.  Norm Harding had four singles and Terry Banderas had a triple, double and single.  Danny Salazar added a solo homer.  Jerry MacDonald went the route for the win. Ray Barboza's three-run homer, his 4th of the young season, was the key hit for the Esks in the second game.

Burnett, Neal (L) (2), Shaves (4), Reuter (6), Jones (8) and Rex
MacDonald (W) and Garrett

Johnson (W) and Hinkle
Wyllie (L), Burcher (7) and Garrett

(June 18)  Saskatoon smashed out 25 hits in sweeping a double-header from the Meridians at Lloydminster.  John Boccabella wielded the big bat for the Commodores with a pair of homers as Saskatoon took the first game 13-2.  Dan Schneider pitched a six-hitter and fanned nine to get the win.  Mickey McDermott added three singles for Saskatoon and Robert Levingston had a double and a single.

Lyle Olsen, the Saskatoon playing-manager, had the key hit in the nightcap with a two-run homer in the 8th as the Commodores pulled out a 7-6 win.  Levingston had a double and two singles.  Curly Williams had a homer and a single for the Meridians.  Boccabella had five hits on the day, adding two doubles and a single to his two homers.

Schneider (W) and Tuggle
Jauregui (L) Read (9) and Milano

Goodrich (W) and Herrington
Dyer (L) and Milano

Saskatoon     6-2
Edmonton      6-3
Lethbridge    3-6
Lloydminster  3-7

(June 19)   Back-to-back doubles by Lyle Olsen and Ernie Fazio in the fifth inning provided the winning edge as Saskatoon beat the Eskimos 7-4 at Edmonton.  It was one of three doubles for OlsenFloyd Thionnet pitched a five-hitter for the win.

Thionnet (W) and Herrington
Craig (L), Jones (5) and Rex

(June 19)  A two-out single by Bill Lynn in the bottom of the 9th drove in Norm Harding with the winning run as Lethbridge shaded Lloydminster 7-6.  It was Lynn's fourth hit of the game.  Terry Banderas had a three-run homer for the White Sox.  Playing-manager Cliff Pemberton and Darrell Read led the Meridians, each had three hits.

Arnold, Richardson (L) (5) and Milano
Ingram (W) and Garrett

(June 20)  Saskatoon Commodores dominated the team and individual statistics.  The club sported a .355 batting average, a fielding mark of .948 and ERA of 2.70 in games through June 19th.  John Boccabella, the Commodores' first baseman, was in the lead or tied for the top spot in five categories.  His .500 average was second to Bill Lynn of Lethbridge, who led the league with a .519 mark.  Richie Johnson of Edmonton was third with a .450 average.  Boccabella and Ray Barboza of Edmonton had the most homers, 4, and tied for the RBI lead with 16.  Boccabella had the most hits, 19, doubles, 6, and total bases, 39.  Bob Peters of Saskatoon had the lowest ERA, 0.50.  

Commodores announced they had lost the services of Wally Wolf, a 19-year-old pitcher who helped the University of Southern California win the College World Series.  Wolf, who had been scheduled to join the Commodores, signed a professional contract with the Houston Astros.  Wolf was reported to have received a signing bonus of $100,000.

(June 20)  Lloydminster scored four in the 8th and another in the 9th to come from behind to beat the White Sox 10-7 in Lethbridge.  Bob Milano had three hits for the Meridians while Darrell Read and Tom Bergeron each had a pair.  

McKenna, Richardson (2), Arnold (W) (7) and Milano
Job, Dowling (L) (5) and King

(June 20)  Gene Graves tossed a six-hitter to lead Saskatoon to a 3-1 victory over Edmonton. Lyle Olsen again led the Commodores at the plate with three hits.  Bob Levingston added a triple.  Ray Barboza had a homer and double for the Eskimos.

Graves (W) and Herrington
Neal (L) and Rex

(June 21)  Ray Barboza belted a two-run homer, his sixth of the season, to lead the Eskimos to a 3-2 win over Saskatoon.  Barboza also had a double, single, and a stolen base.  Jimmy Johnson held Saskatoon to just four hits to pick up the win.  Esks got the winning run in the 8th inning as Richie Johnson tripled home Clark Rex.  

J Johnson (W) and Rex
Peters (L) and Herrington

(June 22)  Lloydminster scored a pair of one-run wins over the White Sox in a double-header in Lethbridge.  Meridians won the first game 12-11 and took the nightcap 4-3 in 10 innings.  The two clubs combined for 25 hits in the first game with a triple by Lloydminster's J.B. Carroll the key hit.  Norm Harding had three doubles for the White Sox.  Meridians' catcher Bob Milano was injured in the opener and during the break between games Lethbridge released catcher Jerry King who was picked up by Lloydminster and replaced Milano for the second contest.

Curly Williams was the star for the Meridians in their 4-3 win.  He started the scoring with a first inning homer and drove in the winning run in the 10th. Dick Dyer went the distance holding Lethbridge to six hits.

Rebelo, Jauregui (W) (8) and Milano
Burcher, Sylvester (L) (8), Wyllie (9) and Garrett

Dyer (W) and King
Walasko (L) and Garrett

(June 22)  John Boccabella's three-run double in the 8th inning carried Saskatoon to a 4-1 win over Edmonton.  Dan Schneider went the distance for the win.  Ray Barboza led the Eskimos with a towering triple and a single. 

Saskatoon announced the acquisition of pitcher Jim Heise, a 29-year-old right-hander with four years of experience with Chattanooga of the Southern Association.

Reuter (L) and Rex
Schneider (W) and Herrington

Saskatoon    9-3
Edmonton     7-6
Lloydminster 6-8
Lethbridge   4-9

(June 23)  Saskatoon scored the winning run on two infield singles by Mickey McDermott and Ernie Fazio in the 7th to top Lloydminster 3-2 for their 10th win in 13 games.  Before 1, 254 fans at Sasktatoon, the Commodores took a 1-0 lead in the opening frame when McDermott stole home on the front end of a double steal.  Meridians tied the count in the second on Jerry King's homer and went ahead 2-1 in the fifth on singles by King and Wayne Clark and an infield out.  Bob Levingston's homer in the bottom of the fifth brought the Commodores back into a tie.  Cliff Goodrich, with 9th inning relief from Floyd Thionnet, picked up the win.  King led the Meridians with three hits, a homer, double and single.

McKenna, Jauregui  (L) (7) and King
Goodrich (W), Thionnet (9) and Tuggle

(June 23)  Edmonton erupted with eight runs in the 8th to beat Lethbridge 10-6.  A three-run homer by Ed Beard was the big blow.  Ray Barboza knocked in four runs with a double and single.  Until the 8th, Lethbridge starter Jerry MacDonald had been in full command with the White Sox ahead 6-2.  He walked the leadoff man, Ed Beard, and Larry Craig followed with a triple.  After walks to Roland Jones, Mike Bellas and Stan Beard, the Sox went to the pen for Dave DowlingBarboza drove in a pair with a double, Clark Rex walked and Ed Beard cleared the sacks.  Jones went eight innings for the win.

MacDonald (L), Dowling (8), Ingram (8) and Garrett
Jones (W), Neal (9)) and Rex

Saskatoon      10 3  --
Edmonton        8 6  2.5
Lloydminster    6 9  5.0
Lethbridge      4 10 6.5

(June 24)  Saskatoon exploded for seven runs in the fourth inning and held on to beat Lloydminster 9-8.   Lyle Olsen's three-run homer capped the Commodores'  comeback.  Mick Mousalam was the big man at the plate for the Meridians with a homer and two-run triple.  Jerry King had three singles.

Arnold (L) and King
Graves (W), Schneider (9) and Herrington

(June 24)  A four-run 9th inning carried Lethbridge to a 10-9 win over the Eskimos in a rain-interrupted game at Edmonton.  The White Sox rally overcame a five-run 7th inning by Edmonton.  With one out in the top of the 9th, Marv Marchbanks beat out an infield hit and came around to score as pinch-hitter Vic Stasiuk drew a walk and Norm Harding reached on an infielder grounder and a throwing error.  After a 20-minute rain delay,  the Sox plated two more runs as a high popup by Stan Busch fell behind the mound for a hit as second baseman Richie Johnson lost it in the lights. Bill Lynn then tripled to score Busch.  The Esks managed one in the bottom of the 9th as Casey Jones lead off with a single and moved around on a walk and two force plays. 

Sylvester, Job (7) (W), Ingram (9) and Garrett
Burnett, Johnson (L) (6), Neal (9) and Rex

(June 25)  Saskatoon opened up a 5 1/2 game lead atop the standings with a double-header sweep of Lloydminster, 9-2 and 12-11 in games played at Cochin Beach, a resort near North Battleford.   John Boccabella led the Commodores attack in the opener with a homer and single, while Link Curtis contributed a triple and a double.  Floyd Thionnet went all the way for the win.  

Commodores scored six runs in the sixth and held on to shade the Meridians 12-11 in the second game.  Bob Levingston led Saskatoon with a two-run homer and a triple.  Lyle Olsen belted a three-run double and added two singles.  J.B. Carroll paced the Meridians with a triple and two singles.  Third baseman Tim Cullen and first baseman Boccabella combined on a sensational fielding play to save the victory.  Lloydminster had runners on first and third with two out in the 9th when Cullen made an eye-opening stop of Carroll's ground ball and, while falling, threw to first for the final out. 

Thionnet (W) and Tuggle
Rebelo (L) and King

Peters (W), Goodrich (6), Heise (6) and Herrington
Richardson, Jauregui (L) (5), McKenna (5) and King

(June 25)  The hometown White Sox swept a pair from Edmonton, 14-6 and 7-3.  Third baseman Jim Lester powered Lethbridge to their opening game win.  Lester drove in five runs with a triple, two doubles and two singles.  Bill Lynn added four singles and Jim Garrett chipped in with three doubles.

Stan Busch led the White Sox in the second game with four hits including a triple and double.  Willie Walasko went the distance to pick up the win scattering nine hits.

Craig (L), Burnett (6) and Rex
Wyllie, Warren (W) (3), Burcher (7) and Garrett

Reuter (L) and Rex
Walasko (W) and Garrett

(June 26)  Lethbridge scored nine runs in the third inning on seven hits and five Lloydminster errors and coasted to a 13-3 win.  Lefty Dave Dowling pitched a seven-hitter for the win.  Danny Salazar had two triples and a single to lead the White Sox.

Dyer (L), Read (4) and King
Dowling (W) and Garrett

Saskatoon   13-3
Edmonton     8-9
Lethbridge   8-10
Lloydminster 6-13

(June 27)  John Boccabella's 11th inning grand slam homer carried Saskatoon to a 13-11 win over the Eskimos at Edmonton.  Commodores, who were down 7-0 after four innings, scored four in the 7th to go ahead 8-7 but Ray Barboza's homer in the 8th tied it 8-8.  A bases loaded walk to Ernie Fazio forced in the first run of the 11th setting the stage for Boccabella's dramatic blow.  The first sacker had three hits and five runs batted in.  Mike Bellas led Edmonton with four hits. 

Schneider, Heise (5), Peters (W) (9), Goodrich (11) and Herrington
Jones, Johnson (6), Neal (7), Slaughter (L) (9) and Rex

(June 27)  Lethbridge embarrassed Lloydminster 22-6.  White Sox pounded out 21 hits.  Stan Busch and Jim Garrett each had a triple, double and two singles.  Busch drove in five runs.  Bill Lynn had an inside-the-park homer.  Marve Marchbanks was the only White Sox not to get a hit.  He was released following the game.  J.B. Carroll had a triple and two singles for the Meridians.  

Richardson (L) Read (6) and King
Job (W), Thompson (8) and Garrett

(June 29)  Lethbridge scored on an error in the bottom of the 9th to shade Saskatoon 8-7 for their sixth straight win.  Playing-manager Lyle Olsen bobbled a routine grounder and Terry Banderas scampered home with the winning run.  Stan Busch paced the White Sox with a three-run homer, double and a single.  Jim Garrett added two doubles.  Bob Levingston topped the Commodores with a three-run homer and a double.  He drove in five of Saskatoon's seven runs.  

Graves, Heise (L) (2), Goodrich (9) and Herrington
MacDonald (W) and Garrett

(June 30)   Newcomer Darrell Sutherland tossed a six-hitter to lead Saskatoon to a 6-0 win over the White Sox at Lethbridge.

Sutherland (W) and Herrington
Walasko (L) and Garrett

(July 1)   Commodores took a twin-bill from Lethbridge, 3-0 and 3-2, before a large holiday crowd at Cairns Field in Saskatoon.  

Floyd Thionnet threw a three-hitter and drove in two of the Saskatoon runs as the Commodores took the opener, 3-0.   Gary Peters bested Dave Dowling in the nightcap as Saskatoon won, 3-2.  

Sylvester (L) and Garrett
Thionnet (W) and Herrington

Dowling (L) and Garrett
Peters (W) and Tuggle

(July 2)  Saskatoon and the Eskimos split a double-header at Edmonton.  Eskimos won the opener 3-1 behind the combined four-hit pitching of Ken Reuter and Roland Jones while the Commodores won the second game 8-0 behind Danny Schneider's three-hitter.  Edmonton's Ray Barboza had a homer in the first game.

Graves (L) and Tuggle
Reuter (W), Jones (7) and Rex

Schneider (W) and Herrington
Johnson (L), Ben Burnett (3), Neal (6) and Rex

(July 2)  Frank Warren pitched a three-hit shutout to give Lethbridge a 6-0 win and a split of their twin-bill before just 343 fans at Lloydminster.  The Meridians won the opener 4-3.

John Rebelo scattered six hits to get the win in the first game.  He also helped at the plate with a double and two singles.  Darrell Read also had three hits for the Meridians.  

Warren pitched a gem in the second game and drove in the winning run with a single in the second inning.  Stan Busch belted a three-run homer for the Sox.  Pitcher Jerry MacDonald got the only other extra base hit, a triple.  He entered the Sox lineup in the first inning in place of third baseman Jim Lester who was ejected from the game for arguing a third strike call.

Thompson (L), Burcher (2) and Garrett
Rebelo (W) and Milano

Warren (W) and Garrett
McKenna (L), Richardson (2), Jauregui (6) and Milano

Saskatoon    18-5
Edmonton     9-11
Lethbridge  11-14
Lloydminster 7-15

(July 3)   Lethbridge topped the Eskimos 5-4 before 14-hundred fans at Edmonton. Dennis Job, with relief help from Jerry MacDonald, picked up the win.  Ray Barboza clouted his 9th homer for the Eskimos.

Job (W), MacDonald (9) and Garrett
Slaughter (L), Jones (6) and Rex

(July 3)   Lloydminster stopped the high-flying Commodores 12-8 before just 200 fans in the border city.  Meridians had seven extra base hits and took advantage of four Saskatoon errors.  Shortstop Barry Arnett led the Meridians with two triples and a double.  Curly Williams and Wayne Clark each had a double and single.  The game was called after 7 1/2 innings because of darkness.

Goodrich (L), Sutherland (4) and Herrington
Arnold (W) and Rebelo

Saskatoon general manager, Spero Leakos, announced the acquisition of left-handed pitcher Pete Kenney from the University of Southern California.

Saskatoon     18-6
Lethbridge    12-14
Edmonton       9-12
Lloydminster   8-15

(July 4)  Jerry Burcher tossed a five-hitter while his Lethbridge teammates exploded for 19 hits in a 12-1 trouncing of the Eskimos at Edmonton.  Third baseman Jim Lester blasted a two-run homer, triple and two singles to lead the White Sox.  Danny Salazar and Jim Garrett also had four hits apiece for the winners.  Ray Barboza had a triple and a single for Edmonton.  The one run against Burcher was unearned.  21-hundred fans watched the action at Renfrew Park.

Burcher (W) and Garrett
Craig (L), Burnett (2), Neal (6) and Rex

(July 4)  Dick Dyer pitched a five-hit shutout as Lloydminster again beat the Commodores, 2-0.  Dyer walked eight but the Meridians were sharp on defense to maintain the shutout.  Twice the Commodores had runners cut down at the plate.  Lloydminster had just five hits off loser Jim Heise and reliever Gene GravesBarry Arnett drove in the first run with a single in the third and Jerry King knocked in the second in the eighth inning. 

Heise (L), Graves (9) and Herrington
Dyer (W) and Milano

(July 4)  Cliff Pemberton, the Lloydminster playing-manager, turned to umpiring while waiting for his fractured finger to heal.  Pemberton umpired both the Monday and Tuesday games when the Meridians defeated Saskatoon.  Curly Williams  handled the club in Pemberton's absence.  

(July 5)   Meridians won their third straight at home as they came back from a four-run deficit to shade Lethbridge 6-5 before 271 fans.  Lloydminster scored three runs in the fifth on two walks and singles by Bob Milano, Barry Arnett and Jerry King.  They scored a pair, including the winning run, in the 8th on two singles and two Lethbridge errors.  Arnett led the Meridians with four singles.  King and Bill Lynn of the White Sox each had three hits.  With the victory the Meridians moved into third place, a half-game ahead of Edmonton.

MacDonald, Sylvester (L) (7) and Garrett
McKenna (W), Rebelo (9) and Milano

(July 5)  Saskatoon received outstanding pitching from Gene Graves and Floyd Thionnet to sweep a pair from Edmonton, 8-0 and 4-1. Thionnet tossed a three-hit shutout in the afternoon game while Graves gave up just four in the nightcap. An 8th inning, to-run homer by Tim Cullen salted away the second game victory. The win moved the Commodores 7 1/2 games up on the second place Lethbridge White Sox. 

J Johnson (L), Slaughter (2) and Rex
Thionnet (W) and Herrington

Reuter (L) and Rex
Graves (W) and Herrington

(July 5)  Bill Lynn of Lethbridge topped the hitters according to statistics from the Western Canada Baseball League.  Statistics covered games up to and including June 27th and showed Lynn with a .412 average.  Two playing-managers, Lyle Olsen of Saskatoon and Cliff Pemberton of Lloydminster were next at .408.  John Boccabella of Saskatoon was fourth with a .403 mark.  Commodores right-hander, Dan Schneider was the leader pitcher, with an ERA of 2.01.  

Fines amounting to $50 were levied on four Western Canada league players. Commissioner Al Shaver's office announced that Jim Garrett and Vic Stasiuk of Lethbridge had been fine $10 each for being evicted from games during a series in Edmonton.  Mick McDermott of Saskatoon and John Carbray of Edmonton were each fined $15 for abusive language to umpires.

(July 6)  Lloydminster erupted for six runs in the bottom of the 7th inning to score a 10-6 win over Lethbridge and move to within a half-game of the White Sox in the Western Canada League standings.  It was the Meridians fourth straight win.  The winning rally included five hits and three Lethbridge errors.  J.B. Carroll had a triple and single for the winners while Jim Garrett led the Sox with four hits.

Dowling, Thompson (L) (2), Warren (7), Steadman (7) and Garrett, Bartholomew (4)
Jauregui (W) and Milano.

(July 6)  Saskatoon increased its league-leading margin to 8 1/2 games with a 9-4 win over Edmonton, the clubs 21st win in 28 games.  Bob Peters tossed a four-hitter for the win.  Bob Levingston blasted a two-run homer for the Commodores while Ray Barboza belted his 10th homer of the season for the Eskimos.   

Burnett (L), Jones (4) and Rex
Peters (W) and Herrington

Edmonton announced it had four new players joining the club, including Tom Satriano and Tommy Taylor. However Satriano never did report as he signed a contract with the Los Angeles Angels and made his major league debut July 23rd.  

Lloydminster's W.A. Slim Thorpe denied a report that the club would be moving to Medicine Hat.  Thorpe said the report had "no basis of fact."   He said he hoped to have many of his problems solved at the league meeting scheduled for Sunday in Edmonton.  Poor attendance had put the franchise in jeopardy.

(July 7)  Dan Schneider, an 18-year-old lefthander from the University of Arizona, pitched a seven-hitter and fanned 13 as Saskatoon whipped Lethbridge 9-1.  John Boccabella and Ernie Fazio each belted two-run homers for the Commodores. Boccabella also had a triple.

Sylvester (L), Steadman (6) and Bartholomew
Schneider (W) and Herrington

(July 8)  Lloydminster ran its winning streak to six games with a sweep of the Eskimos, 7-1 and 4-3.  Meridians got route-going performances from John Rebelo and Alton Arnold.

J Johnson (L), Neal (1) and Rex
Rebelo (W) and Milano

J Johnson (L), Craig (4) and Rex
Arnold (W) and Milano

(July 8)  Saskatoon scored twice in the bottom of the 13th inning to shade Lethbridge 10-9 in the first game of a twin-bill at Cairns Field.  White Sox took the second game 3-1.

In the opener, a two-run homer by Bill Lynn of the Sox sent the game into extra innings.  Tim Cullen's single scored Ernie Fazio with the winner.  Commodores playing-manager Lyle Olsen had a three-run homer.  

Warren, Burcher (3), MacDonald (L) (10) and Garrett
Goodrich, Graves (7), Heise (W) (10) and Tuggle, Herrington (7)

Dennis Job scattered seven hits as Lethbridge won the second game 3-1.  John Boccabella accounted for the Saskatoon run with a 6th inning homer.  Commodores pulled off a triple play in the 2nd inning.  With runners on first and second, Boccabella fielded a hot grounder off the bat of John Bartholomew and tagged Terry Banderas trying for third, then threw to Lyle Olsen at second to catch Gord Wesley.  The relay to first was in time for the third out.  It was the first triple play at Cairns Field since the 1956 Dominion Day tournament.

Job (W) and Garrett
Sutherland (L) and Herrington

(July 9)  Saskatoon snapped the Meridians six game win streak topping Lloydminster 5-4 in ten innings in the first game of a double-header.  Meridians bounced back with an 11-1 victory in the second game.

Link Curtis drove in the winning run in the opener with a double.  Meridians scored eight times in the 6th inning of the second game to breeze to the win.  Jerry King, Darrell Read and Bob Milano each had two hits for the winners.  Tom McKenna went the distance for the win.  The game was called after 7 1/2 innings by darkness.

Graves, Heise (W) (7) and Herrington
Dyer (L) and Milano

Goodrich (L) and Tuggle
McKenna (W) and Milano

(July 9)  Edmonton and the White Sox split a double-header in Lethbridge.  Sox won the opener 7-4 and Edmonton took the second game 13-6.

Danny Salazar led the Sox in the first game with a double and two singles. He drove in a pair of runs.  Ray Barboza paced the Eskimos with his 11th homer.  He also clouted one in the second game.

Sox made eight errors in the nightcap and in the process George Wesley, the Sox owner-manager, was tossed from the game for attacking umpire Tom Zasadny.  

"Second baseman Gord Wesley had fired a throw past John Bartholomew at first in an attempt to get base runner Casey Jones and the Sox first baseman retrieved it and fired to second.  Not in time, signalled Zasadny with the "safe" sign and Wesley lit into him pushing him about the infield. Zasadny took it only briefly and signalled the second baseman out of the game.

That did it so far as owner George was concerned.  He took after Zasadny in an attempt to vent his wrath.  In the melee third baseman Jim Lester wrestled the volatile Wesley to the ground only to have him roll away and take after the arbitrator again.

By this time there were plenty of bodies between the two and no further damage was done.  George was ejected from the game as well."  (Lethbridge Herald, July 10, 1961)

Willie Walasko picked up the win in the first game.  Sterling Slaughter was the winner in the second.  

Reuter (L) and Rex, Carbray (6)
Walasko (W) and Garrett

Slaughter (W) and Rex
Dowling (L), Warren (2), Sereduk (9) and Garrett

Saskatoon    24-9
Lloydminster 14-16
Lethbridge   15-19
Edmonton     10-19

(July 9)   Commissioner Al Shaver announced that the league would operate the Lloydminster Meridians for the remainder of the season.  A five-hour meeting to discuss the Meridians' attendance problems resulted in a decision to have the league take over the club and attempt to place it in another city.

(July 10)  The Western Canada Baseball League announced the Lloydminster franchise would operate out of Medicine Hat for the rest of the season.  The club will be managed by Curly Williams, assisted by J.B. Carroll.  Former manager, Cliff Pemberton, sidelined recently with a broken finger, was given his release.  Pemberton said he had received a tentative offer to remain as a league umpire working out of Edmonton.

(July 10)   Eskimos upset league-leading Saskatoon 9-5 at Renfrew Park in Edmonton.   The Esks Casey Jones had an inside-the-park homer in the 7th inning which scored catcher Ed Tanner in front of him.  

Thionnet (L) and Herrington
Shaves, Jones (W) (3) and Rex, Tanner (3)

(July 10)  The Meridians changed locales but kept winning.  The team, now based in Medicine Hat, scored three runs in the top of the 9th to down Lethbridge 7-5. It was the club's 8th win in their last 9 games.  Sox had the bases loaded with none out in the bottom of the 9th but Alton Arnold came on in relief to stifle the rally.  Meridians ended the threat with a double play.  Bob Milano and Mick Mousalam each had three hits to lead the Meridians.  Milano had two doubles and Mousalam, a triple.  

Jauregui (W), Arnold (9) and Milano
Sylvester, Sereduk (L) (8), Thompson (9) and Garrett

(July 11)  A bases-loaded single by Gale Tuggle knocked in the winning run as Saskatoon beat Edmonton 7-5.  

Peters, Heise (W) (5) and Herrington
Shaves, J Johnson (L) (1), Jones (8) and Tanner

(July 11)  Lethbridge overcame a five-run deficit to tie Medicine Hat 6-6 in a game called after five innings by rain.  Danny Salazar had three hits to pace the Sox.  Lethbridge general manager George Wesley announced the acquisition of lefthander Pete Kenney from the Drain Black Sox and the University of Southern California.

Read and Milano
Steadman, Dowling (2) and Garrett

(July 11)  Writing in the Saskatoon Star Phoenix, columnist Cam McKenzie began to think about league all-stars:

When it comes to all-star selection time in the WCBL we were wondering how selectors could pass up about two-thirds of the leading Saskatoon Commodores.

Starting with the catching position, there isn't a better receiver in the league than Gary Herrington.  The next best is Jimmy Garrett of Lethbridge.

John Boccabella is tops at first base, Lyle Olsen at second and Midge Fazio at short.  At third, Tim Cullen is adequate, but perhaps Curly Williams, Lloydminster, or Jim Lester, Lethbridge, would win the spot on an all-star aggregation.

For centre field no one could overlook Edmonton's Ray Barboza and in left field, although there are some good ones at this position, Saskatoon's Bob Levingston, we think, has the class.  Levingston's hitting over other contenders would carry considerable weight in the voting.  He represents a lot of authority at the plate. For right field we'd take Terry Banderas of Lethbridge.

Pitching?  Commodores' Floyd Thionnet and Bob Peters pretty well have the righthanded department all to themselves.  And for lefties, who is better than Saskatoon's Danny Schneider and Dennis Job of Lethbridge?

This array of talent would represent a club which could step into B Class ball, perhaps even a notch higher. (Saskatoon Star Phoenix, July 11, 1961)

(July 12)   Second baseman Gord Wesley's single drove in the winning run in the bottom of the 9th as Lethbridge topped Saskatoon 6-5.  Jerry Burcher went the distance for the win.

Schneider (L), Graves (9) and Herrington
Burcher (W) and Garrett

(July 12)  Playing-manager Curly Williams was the big gun with three hits as Medicine Hat downed the Eskimos 7-3 before 634 fans at Edmonton. Williams broke the game open in the 5th inning as he tripled and scored on a homer by Mick Mousalam as Meridians took a 4-1 lead.  John Rebelo scattered six hits for the win.

Rebelo (W) and Milano
Burnett (L), Slaughter (5), Jones (9) and Rex

(July 12)  Commissioner Al Shaver announced that Lethbridge manager George Wesley had been fined $100 and suspended for six days following an incident Sunday in the game with Edmonton.  Wesley rushed onto the field and assaulted the base umpire after an Edmonton runner had been called safe.  Wesley's son, Gord, the team's second baseman, was fined $10 for being evicted from the game as a result of the same incident.

Saskatoon     25-11
Medicine Hat  16-16
Lethbridge    16-20
Edmonton      11-21

(July 13)  The Western Canada Baseball League had a new batting leader, 19-year-old Jerry King of Medicine Hat Meridians.  League statistics showed King with a .409 average.  Bill Lynn of Lethbridge, the previous leader, slipped to .350 and fourth place.  Lyle Olsen of Saskatoon moved into second place with a .385 mark.  Cliff Pemberton, the former playing-manager of Lloydminster, was third.  Ray Barboza of Edmonton was the home run leader with 12.

(July 13)  Curly Williams, the Medicine Hat playing-manager, blasted a two-run homer in the 1st inning and the Meridians went on to top Edmonton 5-3.  Jerry King also knocked in a pair for the winners.  Alton Arnold held the Eskimos to four hits and fanned 16.  It was the Meridians 10th win in their last 11 games.

Arnold (W) and Mousalam
Reuter (L), J Johnson (1) and Rex

(July 13)  Gene Graves and Darrell Sutherland combined on a three-hitter as Saskatoon shaded Lethbridge 2-1.  Newcomer Pete Kenney took the loss for the Sox.

Graves, Sutherland (W) (8) and Herrington
Kenney (L) and Garrett

(July 13)  Commissioner Al Shaver announced that Saskatoon playing-manager Lyle Olsen had been fined $15 for "directing abusive language" at game officials during the July 6th game at Saskatoon.  Jim Lester of Lethbridge was fined $10 for being evicted from a game after he had "threatened an umpire with a bat."

(July 14)   Meridians defeated Edmonton 8-3 in a game played at Camrose.  The contest, a game re-scheduled after a rain-out in Edmonton,  was called after six innings because of high winds.  Dick Dyer picked up the win tossing a seven-hitter.  Curly Williams and Wayne Clark had homers for Medicine Hat while Clark Rex and Sterling Slaughter replied for Edmonton.  It was the 16th loss in the last 19 games for the Esks.  The losers were bolstered by three players from the University of Southern California along with pitcher Tommy Taylor of the Kansas City Monarchs who came on in relief of starter Dennis Lindstrand, the 18-year-old Camrose hurler. 

Lindstrand (L), Taylor (3) and Rex
Dyer (W) and Milano

(July 14)  Saskatoon won a spot in the final of the Edmonton tournament with a 7-5 win over Lethbridge.  Cliff Goodrich went the distance for the win.  Danny Salazar of the Sox had a three-run homer.

Goodrich (W) and Tuggle
MacDonald (L), Warren (8) and Garrett

(July 15)  Commodores took top prize of $2,000 in the Edmonton tournament with a 13-5 win over the Eskimos in the final.   John Boccabella paced Saskatoon with a three-run homer while Tim Cullen added a two-run shot.  

Edmonton advanced by downing Medicine Hat 5-2 behind Jerry Merz, newly acquired hurler from USC.  Merz allowed just four hits and struck out 10.

Mousalam (L) and King
Merz (W) and Rex

Peters, Schneider (W) (4), Graves (7), Thionnet (7) and Tuggle
Reuter (L), Jones (4) and Rex

(July 16)  In their debut in Medicine Hat, the Meridians sent 600 fans away happy with a 3-1 win over Lethbridge in the second game of a double-header.  Sox had won the opener 9-2.  Mike Jauregui tossed a four-hitter for the Meridians victory.  Tom Bergeron provided the offense with a two-run homer in the 4th.  Norm Harding paced the Sox win driving in three runs with a triple and double.  Winning pitcher Blaine Sylvester knocked in a pair with a single and a sacrifice fly.

Sylvester (W) and Garrett
McKenna (L), Dyer (6) and Milano

Walasko (L) and Garrett
Jauregui (W) and Milano

(July 16)  More than 36-hundred fans watched the Commodores and Edmonton split a double-header at Saskatoon.  

Eskimos scored five runs in the first inning of the opener, with the help of four Saskatoon errors, and coasted to an 8-2 victory.  The big blow for Edmonton was a three-run homer by George Banda.  The Esks' shortstop drove in five runs in the contest.  

Floyd Thionnet was the story in the nightcap as he pitched a four-hitter and had three hits at the plate as Commodores notched a 3-0 win.  

Shaves, Taylor (W) (3) and Hinkle
Sutherland (L), Graves (9) and Herrington

Slaughter (L) and Rex
Thionnet (W) and Herrington

Saskatoon     27-12
Medicine Hat  19-17
Lethbridge    17-22
Edmonton      12-24

(July 17)  Bob Levingston drove in five runs with a homer and a double as Saskatoon downed Lethbridge 5-1.  Gary Peters tossed a four-hitter for the win, his seventh of the season.  

Job (L), Dowling (7) and Garrett
Peters (W) and Herrington

(July 17)  Edmonton scored two runs in the 9th then held off a Meridians' rally to shade Medicine Hat 4-3.  Casey Jones paced the Esks scoring twice and driving in another.  Ken Reuter picked up the win.

Reuter (W), Johnson (7), Jones (9) and Hinkle
Rebelo (L) and Milano 

(July 18)  Medicine Hat erased a 2-0 deficit with three runs in each of the 8th and 9th innings to down Edmonton 6-2 before 400 fans at Medicine Hat.  J.B. Carroll led the winners with three hits.  Casey Jones had three hits for Edmonton.  Alton Arnold scattered ten hits to get the win.

Shaves (L), Jones (7) and Rex
Arnold (W) and King

(July 18)  Commodores were outhit 13 to 6 but took advantage of seven Lethbridge errors to score a 10-3 win over the White Sox.  John Boccabella, with a three-run homer, and Ernie Fazio with a two-run triple, paced Saskatoon.  Jim Lester had three hits for the Sox.

Kenney (L), Warren (7) and Garrett
Schneider (W) and Herrington

(July 19)  Lethbridge White Sox edged Edmonton 3-2 in 10 innings in spite of a four-hitter by losing pitcher Jerry Merz.  Sox scored the winner on a walk to first baseman John Bartholomew, a passed ball and consecutive infield outs.  Frank Warren picked up the win in relief.  Stan Beard had three hits for the Eskimos.

MacDonald, Warren (W) (7) and Garrett
Merz (L) and Rex

(July 19)  Dick Dyer held Saskatoon to five hits and struck out 10 to lead the Meridians to a 5-4 victory to move to with 6 1/2 games of the league-leading Commodores.  Medicine Hat scored the winner in the 9th as Bob Milano crossed the plate when pitcher Jim Heise fumbled the ball while backing up catcher Gary Herrington on a throw from the outfield.   Curly Williams had a two-run homer for the winners.

Dyer (W) and Milano
Graves (L), Heise (9) and Herrington

(July 20)  Mickey McNamee blasted a three-run homer in the 1st inning and Edmonton went on to a 5-3 win over Lethbridge.  Chico Slaughter went the distance for the win.

Burcher (L), Dowling (4) and Garrett
Slaughter (W) and Rex

(July 20)  Saskatoon had just nine hits but took advantage of six Medicine Hat errors and 10 walks to trounce the Meridians 12-1.  Jim Heise gave up six hits in a route-going performance for the Commodores.  

McKenna (L), Read (7) and Milano
Heise (W) and Herrington

(July 21)  Medicine Hat and the White Sox split a pair of high-scoring contests in Lethbridge.  Meridians took the opener 14-10 (the completion of the July 11th game, suspended after five innings) while Lethbridge came back for a 14-0 win in the second game.

Willie Walasko was the pitching star on a day for hitters.  Walasko tossed a two-hit shutout in the second game.  Jim Garrett and Jim Lester each had three hits for the Sox.  Garrett knocked in four runs with a triple and two singles.  Barry Arnett paced the Meridians in the first game with three hits.

Read, Jauregui (W) (6) and Milano
Steadman, Dowling (2), Burcher (L) (6), Sereduk (6) and Garrett, Bartholomew (8)

Rebelo (L), Read (5) and Milano
Walasko (W) and Garrett

(July 22)  Alton Arnold pitched a two-hitter as Medicine Hat beat Lethbridge 5-3. 

Arnold (W) and Milano
Job (L), Warren (6) and Garrett

(July 22)  Saskatoon and the Eskimos split a double-header at Edmonton.  Esks won the opener 7-3 as former Commodore Tommy Taylor went the distance for the win.  Ray Barboza's two-run homer, his 13th of the season, was the key blow for the Eskimos.  John Boccabella homered for Saskatoon.  Commodores pulled out a 4-3, 10 inning win in the second game.

Thionnet (L), Goodrich (5) and Tuggle
Taylor (W) and Rex

Sutherland, Graves (3) (W), Heise (10) and Herrington
Reuter, Jones (L) (8) and Hinkle, Rex (9)

(July 23)  Mike Jauregui pitched shutout ball for six innings to lead Medicine Hat to a 3-2 win over Edmonton.  He finished with a five-hitter.  Newcomer Joe Campise had a triple and two doubles for the Eskimos.

Jauregui (W) and Milano
Shaves (L), Jones (7) and Rex

(July 23)  Saskatoon took both ends of a double-header from Lethbridge, 12-2 and 4-1.  Dan Schneider tossed a five-hitter in the afternoon contest as Commodores pounded out 16 hits including homers by John Boccabella and Tim CullenMidge Fazio and newcomer Mike Bellas each had three hits.  Cullen paced the Commodores in the second game with a double and three singles.  Gary Peters picked up the win, his 8th of the season.

Schneider (W) and Herrington
Sylvester (L), Sereduk (7) and Garrett

Peters (W), Heise (8) and Tuggle, Herrington (9)
MacDonald (L) and Garrett

Saskatoon     33-14
Medicine Hat  24-20
Lethbridge    19-29
Edmonton      15-28

(July 26)  Cliff Pemberton returned to the WCBL as playing-manager of the Edmonton Eskimos.  Pemberton, who started the season as the manager of Lloydminster, was released by the club when the team shifted to Medicine Hat. He had been on the shelf with a broken finger.  With Pemberton moving in, Edmonton announced it had released Clark Rex, Dennis Shaves, Ed Beard and John Carbray.  Esks were reported to be seeking outfielder Bill Lynn, released by Lethbridge.  Pemberton drove in a pair of runs in his first game back, as the Eskimos won 2-0  at the Lacombe tournament.  

(July 30)  Saskatoon announced two acquisitions to their roster, outfielder Kenny Washington Jr., the son of the former football great (Kenny Washington Sr. and Woody Strode, who went on to play with Calgary in the Canadian Football League, were the players who re-integrated the NFL in 1946), and outfielder-catcher Buddy Hollowell, both from the University of Southern California.  Commodores said outfielder Bob Levingston had been forced to return to classes as USC.

(July 31)  Jim Heise and Floyd Thionnet combined to shutout Lethbridge on eight hits as Saskatoon maintained its comfortable lead in the standings with a 2-0 victory.  Heise, in his final game with the club, went eight innings for the win. He was scheduled to return home because of illness in the family.   Commodores had two newcomers in the lineup, outfielder Ken Washington from USC and outfielder-catcher Buddy Hollowell.  Washington replaced Bob Levingston who had to return to summer school at USC.

Sylvester (L) and Bartholomew
Heise (W), Thionnet (8) and Herrington

(July 31)  Medicine Hat exploded for eight runs in the 7th inning and held off a late Edmonton rally to score a 10-6 win.  Playing-manager Curly Williams knocked in three runs for the Meridians.  Mickey McNamee belted a three-run homer and a triple for the Eskimos.  Ray Barboza also homered for Edmonton.  

Merz (L), Johnson (7), Neal (7) and Hinkle
Arnold (W) and King

Lyle Olsen, playing-manager of Saskatoon, jumped into the batting lead in the Western Canada Baseball League with a .373 average and a comfortable margin on  teammate John Boccabella, at .343.  Bill Lynn, formerly of Lethbridge, was third at .339.  Medicine Hat catcher Bob Milano was fourth, at .336, and Lethbridge shortstop Norm Harding rounded out the top five, at .321.  Ray Barboza of Edmonton had the lead in homers, with 13.  Ernie Fazio of Saskatoon had 19 stolen bases to top the circuit.  Stan Busch of Lethbridge had scored the most runs, 44.

(August 1)  Saskatoon got a brilliant relief effort from Gene Graves as the Commodores topped Lethbridge 8-6.  Graves came on in the sixth after the White Sox had scored four times and pitched no-hit ball the rest of the way.  He fanned the side in the 8th.  Ernie Fazio drove in three runs for Saskatoon.  Ken Washington and Gary Herrington each had two hits.  Tim Cullen was the defensive star for Saskatoon, making a pair of sparkling plays.

MacDonald (L), Burcher (5) and Garrett
Peters (W), Graves (6) and Herrington

(August 1)  Edmonton stopped the Meridians' nine-game winning streak with a 5-2 win at Medicine Hat.  Tony Taylor held the Meridians to just six hits.  Casey Jones paced the Eskimos with four hits.  Curly Williams and Wayne Clarke each had two hits for Medicine Hat.  In the month of July, Williams, as playing manager,  led the Meridians to 25 wins in 32 games, including tournament victories at Lacombe and Lethbridge.

Taylor (W) and Hinkle
Rebelo (L) and Milano

(August 2)  Darrell Sutherland, 19-year-old right-hander, tossed a one-hit gem as Saskatoon defeated Medicine Hat 6-1.  The only hit off Sutherland was a double by Curly Williams.  The Stanford University product was lucky to make it out of the first inning.  He walked three batters and allowed a stolen base but fanned Barry Arnett, Tom Bergeron and Bob Milano to escape unscathed.  He fanned nine and walked six.  Commodores suffered a heavy blow when outfielder Ken Washington fractured his leg while sliding into home in the sixth inning.  It was only his third game with the Commodores.  In the fourth inning, Washington had given Saskatoon a 3-1 lead with a two-run homer.   The son of a well-known football great, Washington had joined Saskatoon from the University of Southern California.

Dyer (L) and Milano
Sutherland (W) and Herrington

(August 2)  Willie Walasko tossed a seven-hitter as Lethbridge beat Edmonton 6-4.  All the runs against Walasko were unearned as the White Sox committed five errors.  Walasko ran his scoreless inning streak, in league and tournament play, to 23 innings before Edmonton notched a run in the 4th inning.  Jim Russell and Jim Lester each had two hits for Lethbridge.  

Slaughter (L), Reuter (5) and Hinkle
Walasko (W) and Bartholomew

(August 3)   18-year-old lefty Dave Dowling pitched a two-hitter and fanned 17 as Lethbridge shutout Edmonton 8-0.  The previous week, Dowling had struck out 18 as Lethbridge beat Regina at the Rotary Tournament.  Terry Banderas led the White Sox with a double and two singles.  Dowling fanned every Eskimo at least once. He struck out the side in both the first and fifth innings.

Johnson (L) and Hinkle
Dowling (W) and Garrett

(August 3)   Floyd Thionnet obviously liked home cooking.  The 18-year-old right-hander from Bakersfield Junior College posted his fourth straight shutout before Cairns Field fans as Saskatoon trounced the Meridians 8-0.  Thionnet gave up just five hits, fanned five and walked three. Ernie Fazio led the Commodores' offense with four hits.  

Saskatoon announced that outfielder Joe Panella, from San Francisco State College, would be joining the team as a replacement for injured outfielder Kenny Washington

Read (L), Jauregui (5) and Milano, King (8)
Thionnet (W) and Herrington

(August 4)  Saskatoon stretched its first place lead to 11 1/2 games with a 7-1 win over the White Sox in Lethbridge.  Gene Graves tossed a four-hitter for the win.  Ernie Fazio had three hits to lead the Commodores.  

Graves (W) and Herrington
Burcher (L), Warren (4) and Garrett

(August 4)  Edmonton took a 3-0 lead over the first three innings and held on to shaded the Meridians 4-2.  Jerry Merz, with relief from Roland Jones, picked up the win.  Richie Johnson had a triple and single to led the Esks.

McKenna (L) and Milano
Merz (W), Jones (6) and Hinkle

(August 5)  Dan Schneider tossed a four-hitter and struck out 16 as Saskatoon topped Lethbridge 7-3.  Bob Peters had three hits for the Commodores, while Lyle Olsen banged out a triple and a single.  Len Tucker, the White Sox latest acquisition, belted a double.

Schneider (W) and Herrington
Kenney (L), MacDonald (8) and Bartholomew

(August 5)  Edmonton scored all its runs in the 8th and defeated Medicine Hat 5-3.  Tony Taylor, with 9th inning relief from Ted Neal, picked up the win. 

Arnold (L) and Milano
Taylor (W), Neal (9) and Hinkle

(August 6)  Medicine Hat had two three-run innings, the sixth and eighth, to post a 6-1 win over Saskatoon in the first game of a double-header.  John Rebelo went the distance for the win.  Bob Milano paced the Meridians with three hits.  Jerry King knocked in three runs with a double and single.  

Bob Peters tossed a seven-hitter and had three hits at the plate to lead the Commodores to a 4-2 win in the second game of the twin-bill.  It was Peters' 10th win in 11 starts. John Boccabella had a double and two singles for Saskatoon.  Mick Mousalam had a triple and single for Medicine Hat.

Rebelo (W) and Milano
Goodrich (L), Graves (6) and Hollowell

Peters (W) and Herrington
Jauregui (L) and King

(August 6)  Edmonton and the White Sox split a pair at Lethbridge.  Esks dropped  the opener 10-6 while storming back with ten runs over the first three innings to take the second game 11-6.

Jones (L), Slaughter (6) and Hinkle
Sylvester (W), Warren (9) and Bartholomew

Reuter (W) and Hinkle
Walasko (L) and Garrett

(August 7)  Darrell Sutherland scattered four singles as Saskatoon topped the Meridians 5-2.  More than 12-hundred fans watched a spectacular fielding show which featured six double plays, three by each club.  Two of the Commodores twin-killings bordered on the sensational.  Each time, third basemen Tim Cullen took a ground ball on the dead run and fired to Lyle Olsen at second who make the delay to first.  For Medicine Hat, veteran Curly Williams was the key figure in two double-plays.

Dyer (L) and Milano
Sutherland (W) and Herrington

(August 8)   Lethbridge's sensational lefty, Dave Dowling, tossed a one-hitter as the White Sox shaded Edmonton 2-1.  Casey Jones got the only safety off Dowling, a single in the sixth inning.  The run against Dowling was unearned.  He fanned 10 and walked five. Lethbridge scored in the fourth as Len Tucker singled and scored on Jim Garrett's single to right.  In the 9th, Garrett walked, moved to third on two infield outs, and scored on Terry Banderas' single.  Esks scored in the bottom of the 9th on a series of walks and an error.

Dowling (W) and Garrett
Merz (L) and Hinkle

(August 8)  Back-to-back doubles by Lyle Olsen and Ernie Fazio in the bottom of the 12th inning gave Saskatoon a 5-4 win over Medicine Hat.  Meridians had tied the scored 4-4 in the 9th when pitcher Alton Arnold drove in Tom Bergeron.  Bergeron led the Meridians with three hits.  Olsen had a trio for the Commodores.  Saskatoon had three double plays for the second night in a row. Meridians' catcher Bob Milano was ejected in the sixth inning for disputing a called third strike.

McKenna, Arnold (L) (7) and Milano, King (6)
Thionnet, Goodrich (W) (9) and Herrington

Saskatoon 42-15
Medicine Hat 26-28
Lethbridge 23-34
Edmonton 19-33 

(August 9)  Lefthander Pete Kenney held Edmonton to four hits as Lethbridge beat the Eskimos 2-1.  White Sox scored in the third on a double by Stan Busch and Len Tucker's single.  The winner, in the seventh, came on a single by Busch, a sacrifice, and Norm Harding's single.  Edmonton's lone run came in the first inning on a walk, wild pitch and single by Mickey McNamee.  

Kenney (W) and Bartholomew
Taylor (L), Jones (9) and Hinkle

(August 10)  Gene Graves pitched a seven-hit shutout as the Commodores shaded Lethbridge 2-0 in Saskatoon.  Joe Panella and Buddy Hollowell knocked in runs in the sixth inning for all the scoring.  

MacDonald (L) and Garrett, Bartholomew (2)
Graves (W) and Herrington

(August 10)  After Edmonton failed to keep a date with Medicine Hat, the Eskimos franchise appeared to be in jeopardy. 

(August 11)  After a shaky first inning, Dan Schneider shut down the White Sox as Saskatoon scored a 6-2 victory and handed Schneider his 8th win of the season.  He fanned nine and walked none. John Boccabella and Lyle Olsen each had three hits for the Commodores.  For the second night in a row, Lethbridge lost its starting catcher early in the game.  John Bartholomew injured his hand in the second inning when hit by a foul tip.  The previous night, Jim Garrett was forced out of action, again in the second frame.  Third baseman Jim Lester took over behind the plate.

Sylvester (L) and Bartholomew, Lester (2)
Schneider (W) and Herrington

(August 12)  It was Spero Leakos Appreciation Night at Saskatoon and the Commodores celebrated with a 7-3 win over Edmonton.  Esks Casey Jones belted a two-run homer in the first inning to give Edmonton the early lead, but the Commodores came back with five straight hits in their half of the first to score four runs and take a lead they never relinquished.  Bob Peters went the distance for his 11th win against only one loss.  

Reuter (L), J Johnson (1) and Hinkle
Peters (W) and Herrington

(August 12)  The bugs were as big a story as the score.  The Lethbridge White Sox shaded the Meridians 3-2 as Willie Walasko tossed a three-hitter for the win.  The game was halted twice due to a heavy infestation of bugs which swarmed around the lights. 

"The bugs, swarming around the lights and giving the playing field the appearance of a snowy television screen, caused two bulbs on the light banks to catch fire late in the game. The lights had to be turned off twice in an effort to clear them." 

At one time, left fielder Stan Busch was forced to flee his position when swarms of bugs surrounded him.  Busch, and Jim Lester poked homers for the Sox while new first baseman Len Tucker had two hits and scored the winning run.  It was the final game for Mike Jauregui of the Meridians.  He was scheduled to return to California to complete preparatory studies for the fall university term.

Walasko (W) and Lester
Jauregui (L) and Milano

(August 13)  Moths caused a five minute suspension of the Western Canada League game in which the Medicine Hat Meridians dumped Lethbridge 7-5.  Umpire Bob Porter ordered a temporary halt after White Sox third baseman Danny Salazar was hit on the head by one of John Rebelo's pitches.  Salazar said he couldn't see the pitch because of the bugs.  The stadium lights were turned off and the moths dispersed enough to allow a resumption in play. 

"In the sixth inning, the outfielders were barely visible and the infield looked like the victim of a blizzard.  The white moths were much worse than Saturday night's game ... a setting much akin to a snowy television screen."  (Lethbridge Herald, August 14, 1961)

The Meridians took a 5-0 lead and held on for the win.  Left fielder Jerry King led the winners with three hits.  Tom Bergeron had a pair of doubles.  For the White Sox, Len Tucker had two singles while Gord Wesley poked out a double and a single. 

Dowling (L), Ingram (4), Kenney (8), Sylvester (8) and Lester
Rebelo (W) and Milano

(August 13)  Edmonton and the Commodores split a twin-bill at the new field at Holiday Park in Saskatoon.  John Boccabella belted his 13th homer and two doubles as the Commodores won the opener 15-9.  Midge Fazio and Buddy Hollowell also had round trippers.  A four-run fourth inning carried the Eskimos to a 5-4 triumph in the second game.

Merz (L), Neal (3) and Hinkle
Sutherland (W), Thionnet (6) and Hollowell, Herrington (3)

Taylor (W) and Hinkle
Goodrich (L), Graves (4) and Hollowell

Saskatoon 46-16
Medicine Hat 27-29
Lethbridge 25-37
Edmonton 20-36

(August 14)  Jerry King had three hits to pace Medicine Hat to a 9-4 win over Lethbridge in the final game of the regular season.  Tom McKenna tossed a five-hitter for the win and helped at the plate with a triple and a double. 

McKenna (W) and Milano
Kenney (L), Sylvester (2) and Lester

With the Edmonton franchise in jeopardy and the Medicine Hat club already being sponsored by the league, Spero Leakos of Saskatoon and George Wesley of Lethbridge reached an agreement to cancel the remainder of the schedule and begin a best-of-nine playoff