1966 Vancouver, Lower Mainland, Fraser Valley
1966 BC Interior
1966 Vancouver Island
VICTORIA SENIOR AMATEUR LEAGUE
Settled into a new home at Hampton Park for the summer while Royal Athletic Park was being renovated, the four Victoria entries in the loop added a second out-of-town franchise in 1966, the Courtenay Mustangs, which expanded the association to six entries. Replacing the Independent Athletic Association team from the 1965 circuit was a club sponsored by the King’s Hotel. The number of scheduled games in the loop was also ambitiously increased to 40 games for each team. The struggling Chemainus Luckies, mired in the basement from the outset of the season, decided to withdraw from the league in mid-July, reducing the membership once again to five teams.
Chemainus Luckies
Courtenay Mustangs *
Greave’s Moving & Storage
King’s Hotel
Rawlings Plumbing & Heating
Transport Workers
*withdrew from the league in mid-July
(May 7) Lefthander George Hemming struck out 11 and pitched a one-hitter as Greave’s Movers blanked the Transport Workers 4 to 0 in the first half of an opening-day doubleheader. Les Brice knocked in two runs for the winners. A single by Art Worth ruined Hemming’s bid for a no-hitter.
Hemming (W) and Lumley
Siddons (L) and Strongman
Rawlings Plumbing & Heating scored twice in the second stanza and added a deuce in the third to dump King’s Hotel 9 to 5 in the late event at Hampton Park. Myron Wallace went the distance for the Plumbers, scattering six hits.
Knowles (L), MacAdam (2) and G. Bishop
M. Wallace (W) and Rawlings
(May 7) Courtenay 8 Chemainus 2
Courtenay 8 Chemainus 7
(May 8) Courtenay edged the Transport Workers 4 to 3 in the opener of a double-bill at Hampton Park. Chum McLellan stymied the Workers on three hits in taking the mound verdict.
C. McLellan (W) and Walker
Yankoski (L) and McAvoy
The Workers closed out their Sunday doubleheader with a three homer barrage that earned them a split with Courtenay. The home run belters were Jim Heighton, Mike McAvoy and Gord Strongman, each of whom produced two-run wallops in an 11 to 2 win.
Bosomworth (L), Morgan (5), McCaig (6), Walker (6) and Walker, McKay (6)
Worth (W) and McAvoy
(May 8) Greave’s Movers and hosting Chemainus traded two-hit victories in a Sunday double-dip. Larry Paradise of Chemainus pitched both ends of the two-game set, losing the first game 4 to 1 to the Movers in which Steve Dunc recorded the win and getting credit for the 2 to 1 victory in the nightcap.
Dunc (W) and Lumley
Paradise (L) and Greenwell
Thame (L), L. Brice (5) and Lumley
Paradise (W) and Greenwell
(May 10) Cliff Rutledge survived one bad inning and went on to pitch King’s Hotel to a 7 to 5 victory over Rawlings at Hampton Park. The Plumbers pushed all their runs across in the third inning on a two-run single by Lloyd Murphy and a three-run double by Jay Rawlings. This outburst erased a 1 to 0 lead by the Hotelmen but the victors came back with three runs in their half of the third and added another three-spot in the fourth. Tony Cosier struck the big blow for King’s, snapping a 5 – 5 deadlock with a two-run single.
Holt (L), M. Wallace (3), G. Brice (4) and Rawlings
Rutledge (W) and G. Bishop
(May 11) Greave’s Movers edged the Transport Workers 4 to 3 as Dave Rivers singled in the deciding run in the bottom-of-the-sixth after the Transports’ Jim Heighton had clouted his second homer of the season, a two-run shot, in the top of the frame. Reliever Stan Thame of the Movers fanned pinch-hitter Keith Dagg for the final out of the game, stranding the potential tying and winning runs.
Strongman (L) and McAvoy
Hemming (W), Thame (5) and Lumley
(May 12) Husky 19-year old right-hander Wayne Stewart pitched a strong two-hitter, allowing only one earned run, as King’s Hotel doubled Rawlings 4 to 2. Stewart was in command throughout, fanning 13 while walking only four. Outfielders Al Cuthbert and Gerry MacAdam contributed heavily to King’s attack. Cuthbert smacked a triple and single while MacAdam delivered a two-run double. Losing chucker George Brice drove in the Plumbers’ lone earned run with a third-inning double.
Stewart (W) and G. Bishop
G. Brice (L) and Rawlings
(May 14) The invading Courtenay Mustangs divided the spoils in a three-team doubleheader at Hampton Park, thumping King’s Hotel 14 to 1 in the matinée engagement but succumbing to Rawlings 9 to 1 in the wrap-up event.
Winning tosser Chum McLellan whiffed eight and surrendered just three hits in the curtain-raiser and was ably assisted by teammate Wayne Kennedy who banged out two triples and a single, in addition to drawing a walk. McLellan was no slouch with the lumber either, stinging the sphere for a three-bagger, two singles and a pair of RBI’s.
C. McLellan (W) and McKay
Knowles (L), MacAdam (6), G. Bishop (7) and G. Bishop, Cuthbert (7)
Winning chucker George Brice fashioned a five-hitter and fanned six in the late encounter. With the baton, he nailed the horsehide for a double and a brace of one-baggers, chalking up four RBI’s. Teammate John Martin went three-for-four at the dish and made the game’s finest defensive play, snaring a hard-hit liner in the outer pasture that was destined for extra-bases with the sacks full.
Bosomworth (L), Morgan (2) and McKay
G. Brice (W) and Rawlings
(May 15) Travelling to Courtenay, the Transport Workers swept a twin-bill from the Up-Islanders by scores of 10 to 6 and 7 to 5. Art Worth and Mike McAvoy sparked the Transports offensively, each collecting four safeties in the two-game set. Brent Siddons scattered scattered four hits in the opener to capture his initial mound decision.
Siddons (W) and McAvoy
McLellan (L), Walker (1), Bosomworth (5) and McKay
Reliever John Yankoski saved the win for Bruce McKenzie in the sunset contest.
Bruce McKenzie (W), Yankoski (5) and McAvoy
B. Wallace, Morgan (L) (5), Bosomworth (6) and McKay
(May 15) Rain washed out a scheduled doubleheader between Greave’s Movers and Chemainus.
(May 17) Greave’s Movers padded their slim margin atop the Senior Amateur loop by dumping King’s Hotel 8 to 6. The victors pounced on King’s starting pitcher Wayne Stewart for nine solid hits. Bob Lumley poked a single and a home run while Bill James and Bob Bowles each collected a double and a single. Gordy Aalhus went two-for-three with the stick for the Hotelmen and drove in three counters.
Thame (W), Dunc (6) and Lumley
Stewart (L) and G. Bishop
(May 18) The Transport Workers breezed to a 6 to 2 victory over Rawlings Plumbing & Heating 6 to 2 behind the four-hit pitching of Gord Strongman. The young right hander was in command all the way, striking out nine while issuing just three free passes. Catcher Mike McAvoy led the Transports’ offensive attack, nailing a pair of doubles.
M. Wallace (L), G. Brice (2) and Rawlings
Strongman (W) and McAvoy
(May 19) With their three top pitchers all experiencing arm injuries, league-leading Greave’s Movers were forced to send two infielders, Don Bell and Dave Rivers, to the mound in their clash with the Transport Workers. The Transports raked the pair for ten hits and coasted to a 10 to 4 conquest of the Movers to move to within a few percentage points of the front-runners. John McKeachie drove in four runs for the Workers, clipping the horsehide for a triple and single. Veteran left-hander Art Worth breezed to his second mound victory in as many starts, scattering seven hits while whiffing eight. Worth was not idle with the bat either, singling twice and scoring once. Shortstop Bob Bowles brought in three of the losers’ four runs with a brace of one-baggers.
Bell (L), Rivers (4) and Lumley
Worth (W) and McAvoy
(May 21) Ejections in the bottom-of-the-eighth inning, first to losing pitcher Brent Siddons for arguing too vehemently about a called fourth ball, and then to Barry Harvey and Art Worth for taking up Siddons’ cause, left the Transport Workers with only eight players and the game was called with Greave’s Movers declared as 8 to 3 winners. Les Brice picked up the pitching win with a three-hitter. Al Foster belted a home run for the losers.
Siddons (L) and McAvoy
L. Brice (W) and Lumley
(May 22) George Brice was active on the bump for Rawlings in a doubleheader against Courtenay at Hampton Park. Brice hurled a 2 to 0 shutout win in the opener and then came back to pitch the last two innings in relief in the wild nightcap that ended in an 11 – 11 tie.
McLellan (L) and McKay
G. Brice (W) and Rawlings
Bosomworth, Morgan (5), C. McLellan (5) and Walker, McKay (6)
M. Wallace, G. Brice (5) and Rawlings
(May 22) 19-year old Larry Paradis of Chemainus stepped into the iron-man role once again, picking up two 4 to 3 victories over King’s Hotel in double-dip action on the home turf of the Mid-Islanders. Paradis pitched eight innings in the first game then came in to relieve in the third inning of the second contest. Catcher John Knowles launched a circuit-clout for the Hotelmen in the matinée scuffle.
Rutledge, Scott (4), Stewart (L) (5) and Knowles
Paradis (W) and Greenwell
Stewart (L), MacAdam (1) and Knowles
Nicholson, Paradis (W) (3) and Greenwell
(May 23) The Transport Workers moved into a virtual tie for first place with Greave’s Movers on the strength of two strong shutout performance by Gord Strongman and John Yankoski. Strongman threw a fine one-hitter in the first game of a doubleheader at Hampton Park as the Transports beat Chemainus 5 to 0. Yankoski scattered three hits in the second game to provide the Workers with a 2 to 0 blanking of the Luckies.
Strongman, who fanned eleven in the seven-inning opener was inches a way from a no-hitter. Chemainus starting pitcher Gary Bruce had his team’s lone hit on a short pop fly to right field that just ticked off the outstretched glove of second baseman Terry Whitman. Playing-manager Barry Harvey nailed a four-bagger in support of Strongman.
Bruce (L), Nicholson (5) and Greenwell
Strongman (W) and McAvoy
Nicholson (L) and Irving
Yankoski (W) and McAvoy
(May 25) The youthful King’s Hotel band of diamondeers upset the highly touted Transport Workers 5 to 4 as John Knowles, a 17-year old Colt League graduate, struck out 17 and gave up just four hits in going the distance for the win. Teammate Gary Robertson, a 19-year old Connie Mack alumnus, had a big night at the plate for King’s, pounding out a home run and two line-drive singles. The score was deadlocked at 3 – 3 as the Hotelman came to bat in the bottom-of-the ninth. With two retired, Robertson singled, advanced into scoring position on an infield error and scampered home with the winner when playing-manager Gary Bishop drilled a single. It was a tough loss for the Workers’ John Yankoski who walked only two batters, one of them intentionally, while fanning 16.
Yankoski (L) and McAvoy
Knowles (W) and G. Bishop
(May 26) Opening up with a bang at Hampton Park, Greave’s Moving & Storage held on to defeat Rawlings Plumbing & Heating 7 to 6 in a Senior Amateur Baseball League game reduced to six innings because of darkness. The Movers picked up two quick runs before Rawlings’ starter George Brice had retired a batter as Bob Moysey and Dave Rivers greeted the tall right-hander with back-to-back home runs in the top-of-the-first. They added another run in the same stanza. Rivers touched off another three-run inning for Greave’s in the top-of-the-fourth with a single to centre, Les Brice followed with another single before a walk,a n error and a wild pitch kept the Movingmen in front to stay. The Plumbers came close to tying things up in the final canto before reliever Stan Thame doused the fire by punching out losing twirler George Brice for the final out with the potential tying run at third.
Dunc, Thame (W) (3), Lumley (5) and Lumley, Rivers (5)
G. Brice (L) and Rawlings
(May 28) League-leading Greave’s Movers pummelled Chemainus pitching for 33 hits, eight of them for extra bases, in mauling the Luckies 15 to 0 and 15 to 1 in a brace of Senior Amateur League tussles at Hampton Park.
Bob Bowles led the offensive attack in the opener by accumulating six RBI’s on a homer and two singles. Bob Lumley and Dave Rivers both stroked three safeties.
Bruce Wilson (L), Bruce (5), Paradis (5) and irving
L. Brice (W) and Lumley
In the nightcap, rookie Jim Leard banged out two round-trippers and a single, good enough for five RBI’s. Dave Rivers followed with a home run, triple and single.
Paradis (L), Bruce Wilson (2), Bob Wilson (6), Paradis (8) and Irving
Thame (W) and Lumley
(May 29) Courtenay’s Chum McLellan ran his pitching record to 4 – 0, tops in the Victoria Senior Amateur circuit, when he stopped Rawlings 3 to 1 in the matinée portion of a twin-bill in the Up-Island centre. After a brief retirement, veteran left-hander Des Moseley returned to action in the second game of the double-dip and led the Plumbers to a 1 to 0 triumph. McLellan bested George Brice in the tightly-contested opener as both chuckers were raked for seven safeties.
G. Brice (L) and Rawlings
C. McLellan (W) and McKay
Moseley fanned 15 and gave up only two hits in the feature game of the weekend. Playing-manager Herb Wetherall of Rawlings drove in the only run Moseley needed after George Holt singled and moved into scoring position with a theft of second.
Moseley (W) and Rawlings
Connell (L), Bosomworth (6) and Walker
(May 29) King’s Hotel and visiting Chemainus split a doubleheader at Hampton Park. The Luckies’ Tom Nicholson picked up an 8 to 5 win in the first game before Cliff Rutledge retaliated with a 4 to 2 victory for the Hotelmen in the sunset event.
Nicholson (W) and Irving
Aalhus (L) and Knowles
Yaniw (L) and Irving
Rutledge (W) and Knowles
Standings W L Pct. GBL
Greave’s Moving & Storage 8 2 .800 ----
Transport Workers 7 5 .583 2.0
Courtenay Mustangs 5 6 .455 3.5
Rawlings Plumbing & Heating 4 5 .444 3.5
King’s Hotel 4 6 .400 4.0
Chemainus Luckies 4 8 .333 5.0
(May 31) Pace-setting Greave’s Movers had their four-game winning streak snapped as rookie right-hander John Knowles of King’s Hotel stymied them on two hits at Hampton Park as the Hoteliers triumphed 3 to 0. The Movers didn’t make it easy for Knowles, loading the bases with nobody out in the seventh inning after a single by Bill James and a pair of walks but the 17-year old dug down deep for something extra, challenging the next three batter repeatedly with his fastball. He struck out Don Bell and Stan Thame then forced Dave Rivers to ground out. The versatile Knowles, who also takes turns behind the plate, struck out a dozen on the way to his second win of the campaign. Hard-hitting Gary Bishop figured directly in all three runs for King’s. He singled home the first, and winning, counter and scored the next two while collecting a triple and a brace of one-baggers.
Knowles (W) and G. Bishop
Hemming (L), Thame (6) and Lumley
(June 1) Rawlings Plumbing & Heating struck for a four-spot in the top-of-the-sixth stanza to settle for a 4 – 4 tie with Greave’s Movers. Trailing 3 to 0 at the time, solo homers by John Martin and Gary Tuttle followed, later in the frame, by George Brice’s two-run triple vaulted the Plumbers into a short-lived 4 to 3 lead which evaporated in the last half of the canto when Don Lambourne singled home Jerry Ciochetti with the equalizer. The game was suspended after seven innings were in the books because of darkness and will be picked up in the eighth inning at a later date.
(June 2) A 13 to 3 shelling of Rawlings moved the Transport Workers to within a game of front-running Greave’s Movers in the Senior Amateur League standings. The Transports tagged three hurlers from the Plumbers for 16 base hits, five of them for extra bases. John McKeachie drove in five runs with a single, double and home run while first baseman Art Worth collected four safeties.
Siddons, Brian Harvey (W) (3), Heighton (7) and McAvoy
M. Wallace (L), Martin (5), Stubbings (7) and B. Cosier
(June 4) Operating behind the superb five-hit pitching of Des Moseley, Rawlings Plumbing & Heating scored six times in the seventh inning do defeat King’s Hotel 7 to 1 at Hampton Park. Moseley fanned 12 and walked one in copping his second win in two starts.
Moseley (W) and Rawlings
Clarke (L) and Knowles
(June 5) Greave’s Moving & Storage held on to a one-game lead over the Transport Workers by winning a pair of games from Courtenay at Hampton Park. Greave’s left-hander Stan Thame pitched 3-2/3 scoreless innings in relief to gain credit for the 4 to 3 win in the opener, then went the distance on the knoll in the windup tussle as the Movers prevailed 10 to 5.
Connell (L), McLellan (7) and McKay
L. Brice, Thame (W) (5) and Lumley
Rookie Jim Leard stroked a three-run homer to provide Greave’s with an early lead in the second game. It was his third circuit-jack of the season
C. McLellan (L), Morgan (4), Walker (4) and McKay
Thame (W) and Lumley
(June 5) The Transport Workers retained their runner-up status, a full game behind Greave’s Movers, by downing Chemainus twice, 8 to 3 and 4 to 2, in the Up-Island town. Art Worth, the Transports’ perennially outstanding veteran, stole the show during the twin-bill, throwing complete-game victories in both games while allowing just nine hits all afternoon. He was just as impressive at the plate, pounding out two doubles in the first game to go along with a brace of doubles and a one-bagger in the late tilt. The Workers blasted 13 safeties in the lid-lifter, one of them a home run by George Fuller.
Worth (W) and McAvoy
Nicholson (L), Paradis (1) and Greenwell
Three consecutive doubles by Barry Harvey, Worth and Mike McAvoy in the fifth inning of the sunset event broke a 1 – 1 tie and propelled the Transports to the victory and the sweep.
Worth (W) and McAvoy
Nicholson (L) and Greenwell
(July 6) The Transport Workers inched up in the standings by unleashing a 19-hit offensive thrust in crushing King’s Hotel 18 to 5 at Hampton Park. Leading the victors with the baton were George Fuller, Terry Whitman and winning hurler Gord Strongman, all with three hits.
Stewart (L), Rutledge (4), G. Bishop (5) and G. Bishop, Cuthbert (5)
Strongman (W) and McAvoy
(June 7) Currently the hottest club in the Victoria Senior Amateur Baseball League, the Transport Workers, kept on busting the ball as they trounced King’s Hotel 14 to 10 to move into a virtual first-place tie with Greave’s Movers. The game was close until the sixth inning when the Workers ignited for five big runs to take control of things. The Transports connected for 15 hits on the way to their fifth straight victory. Art Worth led the barrage with three safeties in six at-bats. Playing-manager Barry Harvey blasted a home run and a double. Mike McAvoy, Jim Heighton, George Fuller and Al Foster each collected two hits. Gary Robertson hit two triples to drive in four runs for the vanquished nine.
Siddons, Yankoski (W) (3) and McAvoy
Rutledge (L), Watkins (6), MacAdam (7) and G. Bishop
(June 8) With the Transport Workers breathing down their neck for the top rung in the Senior Amateur loop, Greave’s Movers responded positively to the pressure by taking down Rawlings Plumbing & Heating 13 to 3 at Hampton Park. The Movers broke a close 4 to 3 game wide open by steamrolling nine runs over the dish in the sixth panel. Lefthander George Hemming was credited with the pitching win although he had to leave the game in the fifth with stiffness in his portside flipper.
Hemming (W), Ciochetti (5), Thame (5) and Lumley
G. Brice (L), Holt (6) and Rawlings
(June 9) With all his regular pitchers either ailing or unavailable, playing-manager Gary Bishop of King’s Hotel stormed out to the mound at Hampton Park and promptly tossed a three-hit shutout as the Hoteliers blanked Rawlings 3 to 0. King’s collected five hits off losing pitcher Myron Wallace but added strength to their attack with six stolen bases, three by third baseman Don Head. The winners scored their first counter in the third after Gary Robertson singled, stole second, advanced to third on a wild pitch and touched home on a delayed double steal in conjunction with Al Cuthbert. A pair of insurance runs resulted in the eighth when Dennis Thompson launched a two-run homer.
G. Bishop (W) and Cuthbert
M. Wallace (L) and Murphy
(June 11) Des Moseley and George Brice combined to pitch Rawlings to a 5 to 1 victory over King’s Hotel at Hampton Park. Brice hurled 3-1/3 shutout innings to preserve the win for Moseley. Brice also drove in the winning run with a double to left field in the fifth frame.
Moseley (W), G. Brice (6) and Rawlings
Knowles (L) and G. Bishop
(June 11) The Chemainus Luckies entertained the Courtenay Mustangs in a doubleheader, losing 13 to 5 in the opener and winning 2 to 1 in the finale. An 11-run first-inning barrage sealed the deal for Courtenay and winning pitcher Jamie Walker in the matinée fracas.
Walker (W) and McKay
Nicholson (L), J. Wilson (1) and Greenwell, Irving (4)
Doug Latta tossed a fine two-hitter in the second contest to give Chemainus a split of the day’s events with a 2 to 1 triumph. Courtenay opened the scoring in the top-of-the-sixth when Chum McClellan singled home the Mustangs’ only run. The Luckies got that one back in the same frame when Latta singled, stole second and scored on Bob Wilson’s double. John Wilson scored the winner in the eighth after drilling a two-bagger and being driven home on a single.
Bosomworth (L) and Walker
Latta (W) and Greenwell
(June 12) The Transport Workers won their sixth and seventh consecutive games, 3 to 2 and 5 to 0 conquests of visiting Chemainus, to continue their relentless pursuit of pace-setting Greave’s Movers. Gord Strongman copped the opening-game mound victory for the Workers in the doubleheader at Hampton Park then switched places with catcher Mike McAvoy for the wind-up scuffle. Both Strongman and McAvoy just missed no-hitters in the two-game set. The Luckies got to Strongman for only two safeties, both in the final canto, while McAvoy was touched for just one hit, that coming off the bat of relief tosser Kent Yaniw, during his shutout hillock effort.
Paradis (L) and Greenwell
Strongman (W) and McAvoy
Barry Harvey clipped the horsehide for his third dinger of the season in the second half of the twin-bill.
Bob Wilson (L), Yaniw (2) and Greenwell
McAvoy (W) and Strongman
(June 12) Les Brice collected a win and a loss for Greave’s Movers who travelled to Courtenay, dividing the spoils with the hosting Mustangs in doubleheader action. Brice, who ascended the knoll in the opening contest as a seventh-inning reliever, was stung with the defeat in that tilt when the hosts plated a singleton in the bottom-of-the-eleventh frame to annex a 4 to 3 triumph.
Thame, L. Brice (L) (7) and Lumley
C. McLellan (W) and McKay
Undeterred by the first-game setback, Brice went back to the elevated portion of the diamond for the late half of the double-dip and proceeded to set down the Mustangs on five hits as the Movers prevailed 7 to 2.
L. Brice (W) and Lumley
Connell, Allen (1), Morgan (2), Bosomworth (3) and Walker
(June 14) The Transport Workers had to score three big runs in the final frame to secure a 3 – 3 tie with King’s Hotel at Hampton Park in a game that was cut off by darkness in the eighth inning. Catcher Mike McAvoy was the man of the hour for the Transports, clearing the saturated bases with a double in the eighth to erase a 3 to 0 deficit. McAvoy shone defensively as well, gunning down three runners attempting to steal second base. Pitchers John Knowles and Gerry MacAdam of the Hotelmen yielded only three hits during the suspended contest that will be resumed at a later date.
(June 15) Greave’s Movers came up against the Transport Workers, the most serious threat to their league title, and pounded out 11 hits to take an 8 to 4 decision over the Workers at Hampton Park. Greave’s bunched four hits and capitalized on two key errors in the second inning to jump five runs ahead of the Transports and were never headed. Stan Thame, whose pitching record jumped to 6 – 1, hurled most of the game for the Movers before leaving the game in the eighth. Greave’s Vic Skinner and infielder Terry Whitman of the losers both stroked three safeties. Dave Rivers and Larry McKinty each slapped two-run triples for the victors.
Thame (W), L. Brice (8) and Lumley
Worth (L) and McAvoy
(June 16) After taking it on the chin 24 hours previous, the Transport Workers jumped back onto the winning track by turning the tables on Greave’s Movers with an impressive 12 to 4 conquest of the pace-setters. The Transports now hold a half-game edge in the won-lost column although the Movers retain a slight edge on percentage points. The Workers pounced on left-hander George Hemming early in this one, sending six markers across the dish in the second inning. Playing-manager Barry Harvey’s three-run tater was the most significant blow in that outburst. The dinger was his fourth of the season. Harvey also had a single and two walks.
Yankoski (W) and McAvoy
Hemming (L), L. Brice (3), Dunc (5) and Lumley
(June 19) The Courtenay Mustangs defeated King’s Hotel 2 to 1 in a pitcher’s duel at Hampton Park before losing a 9 to 8 slugfest to the Hoteliers. Jack Mosdell, pitching his first game for Courtenay, stopped King’s with an efficient three-hitter in the opener. The only run he gave up was a solo homer to Tony Cosier in the fourth frame. With the score knotted at 1 – 1 in the seventh, the Mustangs plated the decisive run when Ron McLellan beat out a bunt, stole second and came home on a double to right field by Bill Third. The mound defeat was a tough one for King’s John Knowles to absorb as he fanned 16 to push his strikeout total for the last four games to 64.
Mosdell (W) and Walker
Knowles (L) and Cuthbert
Courtenay opened up the second contest with a six-run first inning before Gerry MacAdam brightened up the picture for King’s. MacAdam smashed a three-run homer in the bottom half of the first to reduce the deficit to three, then took over pitching duties in the second stanza. He allowed only two runs from then on while his mates were posting deuces in the second, fourth and fifth cantos to grab a come-from-behind victory.
Connell, Allen (2), Bosomworth (L) (4) and Walker
Rutledge, Knowles (1), MacAdam (W) (2) and Cuthbert
(June 19) Hosting Chemainus defeated Rawlings Plumbing & Hearting 2 to 0 before bowing to the Victoria team 6 to 0. Game details and batteries were not reported to the press for publication.
(June 20) With a sore knee plaguing him, King’s Hotel playing-manager Gary Bishop wasn’t able to assume his normal position behind the plate and, when his scheduled pitcher didn’t show up at Hampton Park, the dutiful skipper decided to fill in. He wasn’t spectacular as he hobbled to the hillock, yielding nine safeties and three walks, but his pitching was good enough to carry the Hotelmen to 6 to 4 conquest of the Transport Workers. Tony Cosier paced the Hotelmen with the baton, collecting a double and three singles while catcher Al Cuthbert had three hits and a pair of RBI’s. Powerful Jim Heighton launched a towering home run off Bishop’s slants to go along with a single.
G. Bishop (W) and Cuthbert
Strongman (L) and McAvoy
(June 21) The Transport Workers came from behind to double King’s Hotel 4 to 2 at Hampton Park. Trailing 2 to 1 in the fifth frame, the Workers drew even when Art Worth led off with a double and moved to third on a passed ball. Waiting patiently at the hot corner sack for bat contact by a teammate which never materialized as losing tosser John Knowles rang up two consecutive strikeouts, Worth took matters into his own hands and, refusing to be left stranded, broke for home while Knowles was in the process of delivering his first pitch to George Fuller, sliding in safely with the equalizer. Fuller eventually walked and advanced to the keystone bag on a wild pitch before plating the lead counter on a sharp single by John McKeachie. Barry Harvey drove in an insurance marker in the sixth with his second RBI-single of the contest. Brent Siddons threw a strong three-hitter and fanned 13 on his way to the pitching win. Knowles whiffed 14 and allowed four hits in absorbing the defeat.
Knowles (L) and Cuthbert
Siddons (W) and McAvoy
(June 22) John Yankoski fired a six-hitter at Hampton Park as the Transport Workers captured their 17th win of the season, a 4 to 0 blanking of Rawlings Plumbing & Heating. George Fuller drilled a two-run single off losing chucker Des Moseley in the fourth frame to stake the Workers to a 2 to 0 lead. John McKeachie drove in Mike McAvoy with a third counter in the eighth and then came around to score on a base hit by Terry Whitman. McKeachie led all swatsmiths in the affair, collecting three singles and a double.
Moseley (L) and Rawlings
Yankoski (W) and McAvoy
(June 23) Southpaw Stan Thame picked up his seventh win of the season, hurling a three-hitter as Greave’s Moving & Storage stopped King’s Hotel 3 to 0 on a slick, rain-soaked diamond at Hampton Park. Don Bell paced the winners at the dish with a double and single, good for a brace of RBI’s.
Thame (W) and Lumley
MacAdam (L) and Cuthbert
(June 25) The Courtenay Mustangs received a gift when the Chemainus Luckies defaulted both games of a scheduled doubleheader.
(June 25) Les Brice, displaying sharp control, scattered seven hits and fanned eight in pitching Greave’s Movers past the Transport Workers 5 to 1 in a first-place showdown match. Brice also picked up two infield singles and a triple which figured in both of Greave’s scoring splurges.
L. Brice (W) and Lumley
Siddons (L) and McAvoy
(June 26) Rawlings Plumbing & Heating baseballers were awarded a pair of default victories in games scheduled against the Chemainus Luckies.
(June 26) Jack Mosdell and Chum McLellan each picked up a complete-game hurling triumph as the Courtenay Mustangs swept a brace of Senior Amateur League tussles from the visiting King’s Hotel squad of Victoria. Mosdell gave up two runs in the opening inning of the first fracas but blanked the Hotelmen the rest of the way while his mates put together a three-spot in their first turn at bat and went on to win a 3 to 2 squeaker.
Knowles (L) and G. Bishop, Cuthbert (2)
Mosdell (W) and Walker
McLellan, who picked up three hits in the doubleheader, pitched a four-hitter as the Mustangs beat King’s 9 to 4 in the nightcap.
MacAdam (L), Knowles (4) and Cuthbert
C. McLellan (W) and Isbister
Standings W L Pct. GBL
Greave’s Moving & Storage 15 5 .750 ----
Transport Workers 17 8 .680 0.5
Courtenay Mustangs 12 11 .522 4.5
Rawlings Plumbing & Heating 9 10 .474 5.5
King’s Hotel 8 15 .348 8.5
Chemainus Luckies 6 16 .273 10.0
(June 28) Greave’s Movers got away to a fast start at Hampton Park and made the opening salvo pay off for a 5 to 3 Victoria Senior Amateur Baseball League triumph over Rawlings. The Movers, who stretched their league lead over the Transport Workers to a full game, greeted losing flinger Myron Wallace with a six-hit barrage in the opening panel which paid of in a four-spot on the scoreboard. George Hemming received credit for the pitching win although the sore-armed southpaw needed relief help Bob Burrows who finished with two shutout innings. Gerry Ciochetti ripped a pair of run-scoring singles for the winners. Barry Cosier did most of the damage against Hemming, doubling in the second stanza and going yard for a two-run tater in the fourth.
M. Wallace (L) and Rawlings
Hemming (W), Burrows (8) and Lumley
(June 29) Hard-throwing right-hander John Knowles hurled fifth-place King’s Hotel to a 4 to 1 upset over high-riding Greave’s Movers at Hampton Park. The 17-year old struck out a dozen while holding the dangerous-hitting Movers to six hits. His biggest problem was finding the strike zone as he issued nine walks which put him into peril throughout. Locked in a scoreless duel with Greave’s Steve Dunc for the first four innings, Knowles smacked a two-out single in the top-of-the-fifth that shifted the game in King’s favor. His base hit enabled Dennis Thompson to motor in from second base standing up while Cliff Rutledge, who was at the initial sack when contact was made, also came around to score, sliding under a high-bouncing relay throw.
Knowles (W) and G. Bishop
Dunc (L) and Lumley
(June 30) Rawlings Plumbing & Heating scored six runs in their final two turns at bat to salvage a 6 – 6 tie against the Transport Workers. A two-run throwing error by Workers’ catcher Mike McAvoy in the eighth chapter allowed the Plumbers to draw even on the scoreboard. Veteran Art Worth of the Transports was the most productive hitter in the abbreviated contest, cuffing the apple for two singles, a sacrifice fly and three RBI’s.
Yankoski and McAvoy
G. Brice, Holt (6) and Rawlings, Murphy (8)
(July 2 -3) Weekend rains on Vancouver Island forced cancellation of all Victoria Senior Amateur Baseball League activity.
(July 5) Rookie southpaw Bob Montgomery and ace right-hander George Brice allowed only two hits each at Hampton Park while pitching Rawlings Plumbing & Heating to a 4 to 2 win over first-place Greave’s Movers. Rain and darkness halted the game after seven innings. Lloyd Murphy struck the big blow for the Plumbers, nailing a run-scoring triple in the fifth frame which broke a 2 – 2 deadlock. Murphy then crossed the plate with an add-on counter on an infield error. Shortpatcher Barry Cosier went three-for-four at the dish for the winners.
Thame (L), Dunc (6) and Burrows
Montgomery (W), G. Brice (5) and Rawlings
(July 6) The Transport Workers bunched most of their hits into two big innings to down Rawlings 7 to 4. Both clubs clipped the orb for ten safeties but it was the Workers who were best able to cluster theirs, scoring four runs on five hits in the first frame and a three-spot in the third panel on three more bingles. Winning pitcher Art Worth singled and scored in both rallies. Also punching out a pair of one-baggers for the victors were Barry Harvey and Mike McAvoy. Barry Cosier had the hot hand with the hickory for the Plumbers, driving in a brace of tallies and setting up a third with a single.
M. Wallace (L), Holt (1) and Rawlings
Worth (W) and McAvoy
(July 7) Grappling with Greave’s Moving & Storage all season long for the top-rung on the Senior Amateur League ladder, the Transport Workers jumped into sole possession of first place by doubling King’s Hotel 4 to 2 at Hampton Park. Brent Siddons threw a strong five-hitter for the new leaders, striking out 14, and was wild enough, with eight walks, to be effective. Art Worth scored what turned out to be the winning run in the top-of-the-fifth with a two-run circuit-jack. The Transports’ playing-manager Barry Harvey smacked a brace of safeties,and drove in a pair of counters.
Siddons (W) and McAvoy
G. Bishop (L) and Jones
(July 9) Greave’s Moving and Storage clipped Chemainus twice, 19 to 0 and 5 to 0, on the Luckies’ home turf.
Bob Burrows, back in Victoria for the summer from Spokane College, held the offensively-challenged homesters to two hits in the lid-lifter.
Burrows (W) and Lumley
Bob Wilson (L), Robinson (1), Martin (3) and Irving
With the help of Jim Leard’s fourth home run of the season, Steve Dunc blanked the Carlings in the late encounter.
Dunc (W) and Lumley
Yaniw (L), Paradis (3) and Irving
(July 9) It was a glorious day for the visiting Courtenay Mustangs at Victoria’s Hampton Park where they picked up three victories. Courtenay began the afternoon by beating King’s Hotel 5 to 2 in the scheduled first-half of a three-team double-bill and then completed a tie-game game that had been suspended on May 22, edging Rawlings Plumbing & Heating 12 to 11. In the second-half of the scheduled activities, the Mustangs capped off a triumphant day by stopping Rawlings 12 to 4.
Bruce Taylor picked up the pitching win in the early tilt in a route-going performance.
Taylor (W) and Isbister
G. Brice (L), Holt (4), M. Wallace (6) and Murphy
Mike Taffe clouted a solo home run to break an 11 –11 tie that had existed since May as the Courtenayites prevailed in the sandwich game. Chum McLelland was credited with the win in the resumed match.
Bosomworth (W), Morgan (5), C. McLellan (5), Taylor (7) and Walker, McKay (6), Walker (7)
M. Wallace (L), G. Brice (5) and Rawlings, Murphy (7)
McLellan picked up his second hillock triumph of the afternoon in the late match and also belted a grand-slam four-bagger for extra measure.
Knowles (L) and Jones, G. Bishop (4)
C. McLellan (W), Bosomwoth (6) and Walker
(July 10) Greave’s Movers managed only three runs in two games but it was sufficient to earn a split with visiting Courtenay at Hampton Park. Jack Mosdell held the Movers to three hits as the Mustangs won the first game 4 to 1 but Stan Thame of the Victorians came back to throw a one-hitter in the second contest which Greave’s captured 2 to 0. Mosdell earned his third win against no losses on the knoll this season in the opener.
Mosdell (W) and Isbister
Hemming (L) and Lumley
A seventh-inning triple by Ron McLellan robbed Thame of achieving a no-hit, no-run game in the wind-up affair.
Bosomworth (L) and Walker
Thame (W) and Lumley
(July 12) Hard-swinging Gerry MacAdam utilized both his offensive and pitching skills at Hampton Park in leading King’s Hotel to a 9 to 4 win over fourth-place Rawlings Plumbing & Heating. The big left-hander struck out 12 in a complete-game mound performance while stroking three singles, scoring twice and driving in a run from the batter’s box as the Hotelman moved to with two games of the Plumbers in the chase for the final playoff spot in the Senior Amateur circuit. Teammate Don Head contributed two singles and a two-run double to the cause.
MacAdam (W) and G. Bishop
G. Brice (L) and Rawlings
(July 13) Greave’s Movers, stubbornly refusing to yield, came from behind on three occasions to finally nip Rawlings 10 to 9 at Hampton Park. Trailing 9 to 6 as they came to bat for the final time, two quick out made things appear rather bleak for the Movers. Then a walk, an infield one-bagger by Bob Lumley and a line single by Les Brice set the stage for pinch-hitter Don Bell to poke a delivery from left-hander Bob Montgomery down the right field line for a bases-clearing triple which tied the score. Bell, seizing on an opportunity afforded him when Montgomery’s short relay throw to the plate eluded catcher Jay Rawlings, kept on motoring in for the winner. Stan Thame, who relieved Greave’s starter Brice in the eighth inning, received credit for his ninth victory of the season. Losing tosser Montgomery and flychaser Bob Moysey of the victors both connected for home runs. Montgomery’s blast, scored as an inside-the-park grand-slam tater, was somewhat tainted in that it resulted after two outfielders from the Movers collided sharply when in full flight while drawing a bead on the pill.
Montgomery (L) and Rawlings
L. Brice, Thame (W) (8) and Lumley
Standings W L Pct. GBL
Transport Workers 21 8 .724 ----
Greave’s Moving & Storage 20 8 .714 0.5
Courtenay Mustangs 16 12 .571 4.5
Rawlings Plumbing & Heating 12 16 .429 8.5
King’s Hotel 10 17 .370 10.0
Chemainus Luckies 6 24 .207 15.5
(July 14) Rawlings Plumbing & Heating defaulted their scheduled game with the Transport Workers. As a result, the league-leading Transports now hold a full-game edge over second-place Greave’s Movers.
(July 16) Gord Strongman of the Transport Workers and King’s Hotel left-hander Gerry MacAdam duked it out in a dandy pitching joust at Hampton Park and were locked in a 2 – 2 stalemate in the seventh inning before the Transports’ Terry Whitman broke the game wide open with a decisive three-run homer as the Workers went on to decision the Hoteliers 5 to 2.
MacAdam (L) and G. Bishop
Strongman (W) and McAvoy
Standings W L Pct. GBL
Transport Workers 23 8 .742 ----
Greave’s Moving & Storage 20 8 .714 1.5
Courtenay Mustangs 16 12 .571 5.5
Rawlings Plumbing & Heating 12 17 .414 10.0
King’s Hotel 10 18 .357 11.5
Chemainus Luckies * 6 24 .200 16.5
* withdrawn from league
(July 17) The Chemainus Luckies officially withdrew from the Victoria Senior Amateur Baseball League after forfeiting two scheduled games to King’s Hotel of Victoria.
(July 18) A protested game begun in June was resumed at the point of protest and Greaves Mover’s, leading 3 to 1 at the time, added another pair of runs to emerge as 5 to 1 victors over Rawlings Plumbing & Heating at Hampton Park. George Hemming, a strong southpaw bothered by arm trouble all season, looked sharp in the four scoreless innings he toiled on the knoll, preserving the pitching victory for Steve Dunc who had started on the bump in June. Hemming widened the inherited two-run margin to three by doubling home Bob Burrows in the eighth and then scored the final run while Rawlings’ infielders were attempting to catch elusive Dave Rivers in a rundown.
G. Brice (L) and Rawlings
Dunc (W), Hemming (6) and Lumley
(July 19) Greave’s Movers moved to within a half-game of the league-leading Transport Workers with a 14 to 8 win over King’s Hotel at Hampton Park. Stan Thame took over from starting pitcher Bob Burrows in the second inning and held the Hotelmen to three runs in the last six innings to earn his tenth hurling victory. Les Brice swung the big bat for the winners who banged out 13 hits in the contest. The southpaw swinger belted two-run homers in each of his first two turns at bat, added a single later in the game, scored a third time in the eighth and finished with four RBI’s. Dave Rivers also had three safetied for the Movers, including a home run while Bob Bowles smacked a triple and two singles. The hitting standouts for King’s were Dennis Thompson who picked up two singles and a double and Gerry MacAdam who drove home three counters with a pair of one-baggers.
Burrows, Thame (W) (2) and Lumley
G. Bishop (L), MacAdam (7) and Jones
(July 20) Art Worth pounded out two triples and a single, drove in three runs and scored a pair himself while leading the Transport Workers to an 8 to 1 victory over Rawlings Plumbing & Heating at Hampton Park. John Yankoski scattered seven hits in going the distance for his fifth victory.
G. Brice (L), Moseley (5) and Murphy
Yankoski (W) and McAvoy
(July 21) It was billed as a showdown match for first place but pitchers from Greave’s Movers were not up to the task of silencing the powerful bats of the Transport Workers and absorbed a 13-hit barrage as the Workers prevailed 11 to 4 to pull two full games in front of the Movingmen in the race for the 1966 pennant. Jim Heighton dialed long-distance with a three-run tater that sparked a five-run fourth inning that set the tone for the game.
Siddons (W), Worth (5) and McAvoy
Hemming (L), L. Brice (5) and Lumley
(June 23) King’s Hotel of Victoria travelled to Courtenay and divided the spoils of a doubleheader with the Mustangs, annexing the opener 8 to 5 but dropping the nightcap 16 to 1. Even with the split, the Hotelmen lost ground to fourth-place Rawlings who were awarded a doubleheader default over the defunct Chemainus club.
Steve Bishop, back on the mound for the first time this season, scattered seven hits in a successful route-going mound debut.
S. Bishop (W) and Grexton
C. McLellan (L), Mosdell (1), Hill (6) and Walker
The Mustangs banged out 14 hits in support of playing-manager Innes Bosomworth’s one-hit hurling in the sunset event.
Knowles (L), G. Bishop (2), Smith (6) and Grexton
Bosomworth (W) and Isbister, McKay (5)
(June 24) Bob Mabee, a 20-year old right-hander with a quick, heavy fastball and plenty of stuff, made his first start on the hill in the uniform of the Transport Workers a memorable one, setting invading Courtenay down 13 to 0 with a one-hitter in the matinée portion of a Hampton Park twin-bill. Gord Strongman, another 20-year old notched his sixth win for the Transports in the second game, defeating the Mustangs 6 to 1. Mabee was in control all the way in the opening tussle, striking out 11 while walking only three. Only a fourth-inning swinging bunt by fleet Ron McLellan prevented Mabee from recording a no-hitter. The Workers backed up Mabee with 14 hits, one a home run by Terry Whitman.
Mosdell (L), Bosomworth (3), Walker (4) and Isbister
Mabee (W) and McAvoy
George Fuller provided the offensive ammunition for Strongman in the late affair, driving in three runs with a towering home run and a single.
C. McLellan (L) and McKay, Isbister (5)
Strongman (W) and McAvoy
Standings W L Pct. GBL
Transport Workers 27 8 .771 ----
Greave’s Moving & Storage 22 9 .714 3.0
Courtenay Mustangs 17 15 .531 8.5
Rawlings Plumbing & Heating 14 19 .424 12.0
King’s Hotel 13 20 .394 13.0
Chemainus Luckies * 6 28 .176 20.5
* withdrawn from league
(July 26) 17-year old right-hander John Knowles struck out 16 and walked nine at Hampton Park while recording a no-hitter during a 4 to 2 victory by King’s Hotel over Greave’s Moving & Storage. Walks contributed to both Greave’s scores. Lifted by the hope of edging out Rawlings for the fourth playoff spot, the Hotelmen tagged a duo of Movers’ tossers for nine hits. Playing-manager Gary Bishop, who went three-for-four, drove in the winning run with a two-run, line-drive single to the middle garden.
Knowles (W) and Grexton
Thame (L), Hemming (8) and Lumley
(July 27) Winning pitcher George Hemming’s solo home run in the seventh inning proved to be the decisive blow in a 3 to 2 win by Greave’s Movers over Rawlings at Hampton Park. The dinger put the Movers in front 3 to 0 at the time, a lead they maintained until the bottom-of-the-ninth when the Plumbers got to Hemming for a pair of runs, snapping his no-hit bid when Pete Songhurst singled with one retired. A walk, a fielder’s choice and singles by Lloyd Murphy and Chuck Bennett followed which enabled Rawlings to narrow the gap to a singleton. Losing hurler Des Moseley set down 13 on strikes and walked only one.
Hemming (W) and Lumley
Moseley (L) and Rawlings
(July 28) Veteran southpaw Art Worth sparkled on the mound and at the plate in helping the Transport Workers lengthen their lead over second-place Greave’s Movers to three games by capturing a dramatic 9 to 8 win over Rawlings Plumbing & Heating. Always dangerous with the bat in the clutch, Worth drove in Terry Whitman with the winning run with a final-inning single up the middle. Worth finished the game with four hits, one of which was a triple, while taking over mound chores from starter John Yankoski in the third panel and pitching the rest of the way for his seventh hillock triumph.
Yankoski, Worth (W) (3) and McAvoy
M. Wallace, Holt (L) (1) and Rawlings
(July 30) Rawlings Plumbing & Heating won by default over King’s Hotel to take a half-game jump over the losers in the fight for the fourth and final playoff spot.
(July 31) While the league-leading Transport Workers were splitting a doubleheader at Courtenay, second-place Greave’s Movers picked up a full game in the standings on their adversaries when they were credited with two default wins over the bygone Chemainus Luckies. The Workers, meanwhile took the opening contest from the Mustangs 3 to 1 but were edged out 2 to 1 in the second game. Gord Strongman elevated his won-lost record to 7 – 2 with the pitching victory in the early tilt. Workhorse Chum McLellan won his tenth of the campaign for the Mustangs in the late event.
Standings W L Pct. GBL
Transport Workers 29 9 .763 ----
Greave’s Moving & Storage 25 10 .714 2.5
Courtenay Mustangs 18 16 .529 9.0
Rawlings Plumbing & Heating 15 21 .417 13.0
King’s Hotel 14 21 .400 13.5
Chemainus Luckies * 6 30 .167 22.0
* withdrawn from league
(August 1) With Connie Mack graduate Tom Sallaway on the bump, Rawlings Plumbing & Heating copped an upset 6 to 5 thriller from the top-dog Transport Workers. The Plumbers trailed 5 to 2 going into the sixth and final frame of a game that ended prematurely because of darkness but Barry Cosier and catcher Jay Rawlings socked key base hits off reliever Art Worth to spark a four-run upsurge that ended with a walkoff triumph. Rawlings had four RBI’s in total to emerge as the offensive star of the game.
Mabee, Worth (L) (6) and McAvoy
Sallaway (W) and Rawlings
(August 2) Daring base running and the strong arm of Bob Burrows carried Greave’s Movers to a 4 to 2 win over King’s Hotel at Hampton Park. 19-year old Burrows used an effective curve with his smoking fastball to strikeout 16 batters and hold King’s to one hit. The big right-hander got himself into trouble from time-to-time with his control, however, walking nine. Three of those free passes came in the opening inning when two runners scored on Dennis Thompson’s single. 17-year old loser John Knowles, recently signed by the Kansas City Athletics, was almost as tough. Knowles fanned 18 and walked six. The Movers collected only four safeties off the flame-throwing youngster but stole nine bases and their aggressive running forced the Hoteliers into three throwing errors. Speedy Bob Moysey, who swiped three sacks, two on pitch-outs, scored the winning run in the sixth when Dave Rivers’ sinking line drive got past left fielder Thompson for a double. First baseman Les Brice of the winners stroked a double and a run-scoring single as well as stealing two bases.
Burrows (W) and Lumley
Knowles (L) and Grexton, G. Bishop (8)
(August 3) For the second evening in a row, Greave’s Moving & Storage disposed of King’s Hotel in their quest to overtake the Transport Workers for the 1966 Senior Amateur League pennant. This triumph, a 5 to 2 conquest, shoved the Movers to within a game of the front-runners. Les Brice pounded a pair of triples for Greave’s off Connie Mack graduate Al Hurst, the first of which drove in a pair of counters in the opening stanza. Stan Thame fanned 11 batters while winning his eleventh game.
Hurst (L) and G. Bishop
Thame (W) and Lumley
(August 4) Smoking-hot Greave’s Movers continued their excellent play of late, roaring from behind to sink Rawlings Plumbing & Heating 4 to 3 at Hampton Park. The front-running Transport Workers saw their lead atop the Senior Amateur circuit reduced to a half-game with the Greave’s victory. With the Movers in arrears by a 3 to 1 count in the sixth panel, Les Brice followed Bob Bowles’ rallying single with a resounding triple to cut the deficit to a singleton. Catcher Bob Lumley followed Brice with a two-run ding-dong to left field to provide the Movingmen with the margin of victory. Lumley’s tater wiped out a lead that the Plumbers had taken on George Holt’s two-run circuit-jack in the third. In winning his sixth knoll verdict of the campaign, smooth left-hander George Hemming whiffed 18, allowed three hits, walked an equal number and picked off Rawlings’ baserunner Pete Songhurst, the potential tying run, at second base in the seventh stanza.
Hill (L), Moseley (6) and Rawlings
Hemming (W) and Lumley
(August 7) The hosting Courtenay Mustangs tripped Rawlings Plumbing & Heating of Victoria 4 to 3 in eleven innings in the matinée portion of a doubleheader before rain washed out the second game. Meanwhile, King’s Hotel and Courtenay were handed two default victories each over the disbanded Chemainus Luckies. The forfeitures vaulted the Hoteliers into a tie for the fourth and final playoff spot in the Victoria Senior Amateur Baseball League.
Moseley, Sallaway (L) (7) and Rawlings, Bunyan (7)
Bosomworth, C. McLellan (W) (9) and McKay
Standings W L Pct. GBL
Transport Workers 29 10 .744 ----
Greave’s Moving & Storage 28 10 .737 0.5
Courtenay Mustangs 21 16 .568 7.0
Rawlings Plumbing & Heating 16 23 .410 13.0
King’s Hotel 16 23 .410 13.0
Chemainus Luckies * 6 34 .150 23.5
* withdrawn from league
(August 9) The Transport Workers clinched at least a tie for top spot in the Senior Amateur loop with a resounding 14 to 6 putdown of King’s Hotel at Hampton Park. The loss for the Hotelmen dropped them a half-game behind Rawlings in the struggle for the final playoff berth. The Workers collected 11 hits in the slugfest, many of them line drives into the deep alleys between outfielders. Ageless veteran Art Worth lashed a triple and double for the Transports, driving in a brace of tallies. Powerful Jim Heighton had five RBI’s on two singles and a sacrifice fly.
Strongman (W) and McAvoy
Knowles (L), Hurst (4) and G. Bishop
(August 14) It was a disastrous final day of the season for the Courtenay Mustangs who dropped three games on their home turf to Victoria opposition but for Greave’s Moving & Storage, who won two of those clashes, it turned out to be a fine day as the twin victors elevated them into a tie for first-place with the Transport Workers, setting up a tie-breaker for the pennant. Greave’s hurler George Hemming stopped the hosts on a five-hitter in the first tussle of the day, won by the Movers 7 to 2.
Hemming (W) and Lumley
C. McLellan (L) and McKay
With the pressure on, Stan Thame won his eleventh of the season as Greave’s blanked the Mustangs 1 to 0 in the tense sandwich event to give the Movingmen the two victories they needed to catch the Transports. Hustling young shortstop Gerry Lister lined a double to right-centre in the top-of-the-seventh, moved up on a bunt by Thame and eventually plated the only run of the game on a sacrifice fly by Bob Moysey.
Thame (W) and Lumley
Bosomworth (L) and McKay
Rawlings dumped a tired Courtenay outfit 7 to 2 in the night game to capture the league’s fourth playoff spot. Doug Hill, a fireballing Connie Mack graduate, hurled the complete-game victory for the Plumbers. Chuck Bennett singled three times and had two RBI’s for the winners.
Hill (W) and Rawlings
Mosdell (L) and McKay
Final Standings W L Pct. GBL
Transport Workers 30 10 .750 ----
Greave’s Moving & Storage 30 10 .750 ----
Courtenay Mustangs 21 19 .525 9.0
Rawlings Plumbing & Heating 17 23 .425 13.0
King’s Hotel 16 24 .400 14.0
Chemainus Luckies * 6 34 .150 24.0
* withdrawn from league
FIRST-PLACE TIE-BREAKER
(August 16) Red-hot Greave’s Movers extended their late-season win streak to seven games when they blanked the Transport Workers 5 to 0 in a sudden-death tie-breaker for first place and the 1966 Victoria Senior Amateur Baseball League regular-season pennant. Cool and calm portsider Les Brice toed the rubber for the Movers, taming the powerful Movers on just four hits while walking only one. The Movingmen picked up seven safeties with flychaser Vic Skinner belting the game’s big blow, a bases-loaded triple in the third stanza.
L. Brice (W) and Lumley
Mabee (L), Siddons (4) and McAvoy
PLAYOFFS
SEMI-FINALS Rawlings Plumbing & Heating vs Greave’s Moving & Storage and Courtenay Mustangs vs Transport Workers (best –f -
(August 17) Pete Duncan, a 17-year old Connie Mack standout, stepped into a Rawlings uniform for the first time at Hampton Park and didn’t waste any time proving he belongs in the Senior Amateur Baseball League. Duncan effectively scattered eight hits and struck out eight batters while hurling the Plumbers to an upset 3 to 2 win over pennant –winning Greave’s Movers to give Rawlings a one-game edge in their best-of-five semi-final playoff. Duncan, who walked one in the eight-inning, darkness-shortened contest, was locked in a 2 – 2 duel with Greave’s starter Gerry Lister before Rawlings broke the tie. Pinch-hitter Pete Songhurst opened the top-of-the-eighth for the Plumbers with an infield hit. He advanced to second on a single by John Martin and came around to score what proved to be the winning run on a clutch double by Barry Cosier.
Duncan (W) and Rawlings
Lister (L) and Lumley
(August 20) Lefthander George Hemming hit his best pitching form of the season at Hampton Park when he tossed a no-hit, no-run game as Greave’s Movers blanked Rawlings 1 to 0 to even the best-of-five semi-final series at a game apiece. The former Yankee bonus signee struck out 17 and walked only two batters, retiring the final 16 batters to face him in succession. Veteran portsider Des Moseley was almost as good for Rawlings. He gave up five hits, walked only one and fanned a dozen. Bob Lumley’s two-out, seventh-inning single drove in Bob Moysey with the only run of the game.
Hemming (W) and Lumley
Moseley (L) and Rawlings
(August 20) Hosting Courtenay and the Transport Workers split the first two games of their semi-final playoff series. The Victorians soundly whipped the Mustangs 12 to 0 in the lid-lifter but Courtenay turned the tables on the visitors in the second battle, blanking the Transports 5 to 0. Game details and batteries were not published in either Victoria daily newspaper.
(August 21) The Transport Workers managed only six hits in two games at Hampton Park but made them enough to defeat the Courtenay Mustangs 4 to 1 and 3 to 2 to take the best-of-five Senior Amateur League semi-final series three games to one. Courtenay’s Chum McLellan threw a one-hitter in the matinée match but issued four bases-on-balls in the sixth inning and then served up a double to John McKeachie as the Workers put up a four-spot to make a winner out of Gord Strongman.
C. McLellan (L) and McKay
Strongman (W) and McAvoy
Catcher Mike McAvoy’s three-run homer in the first inning was enough for Brent Siddons to capture the knoll decision in the late clash.
Burnip (L), Mosdell (5) and McKay
Siddons (W) and McAvoy
(August 23) Upstart Rawlings, who just squeezed into the playoffs with a fourth-place finish, have patched up their roster of late with the acquisition of several fine Connie Mack League graduates and are beginning to show some playoff punch. Steady pitching by 18-year old Tom Sallaway and timely hitting by veteran Barry Cosier led Rawlings to a 4 to 2 doubling of Greave’s Movers at Hampton Park and gave the Plumbers a two games to one edge in their semi-final playoff. Sallaway yielded only four hits and finished with a flurry by retiring the last eight batters in order. Greave’s opened the scoring in the second inning when losing hurler Steve Dunc singled to drive in Bob Burrows and Larry McKinty but, after that, it was Rawlings’ show. Cosier singled up the middle in the third to plate a deuce and tie the score then scored the winning run later in the frame on a throwing error. In the fifth, Cosier came to the forefront once more when he nailed a run-scoring triple to score Pete Songhurst with an insurance tally.
Sallaway (W) and Rawlings
Dunc (L), Hemming (5) and Lumley
(August 24) Greave’s Movers, winners of the Senior Amateur League pennant, were in no mood for laxity when they took to the diamond at Hampton Park for the fourth game of their set-to with Rawlings Plumbing & Heating. The Movingmen struck quickly, garnering six runs in their first three turns at bat, and then held on to defeat the Plumbers 6 to 4 in a darkness shortened, six-inning joust, squaring their series at two games each. Playing-manager Larry McKinty set the tone for the Greave’s momentum, singling in a second-stanza counter and scoring moments later on Bob Moysey’s single. McKinty then climaxed a three-run uprising in the third by slamming a triple to drive in two more markers, including the winner. Rawlings rebounded with a run in the fourth and plated a three-spot in the fifth on singles by Chuck Bennett and Lloyd Murphy as well as a triple by Pete Songhurst. They had a runner aboard in the final canto but reliever George Hemming wrecked their hopes by striking out three successive batters.
Lister (W), Hemming (3) and Lumley
G. Brice(L), Duncan (3) and Rawlings
(August 25) Young Gerry Lister’s keen competitive instinct carried him through the fifth semi-final playoff game as he propelled pennant-winning Greave’s Movers to a 3 to 0 conquest of Rawlings to wrap up the semi-final series in favor of the Movingmen three games to two. Lister yielded a scant three hits and was in control all the way, breezing 14 batters while walking just three. Veteran outfielder Vic Skinner drove in Jim Leard and Bob Bowles by smacking a bouncing third-inning single up the middle to put the Movers in front 2 to 0. Lister plated an add-on tally in the sixth with a line-drive triple to right field.
Duncan (L), Moseley (6) and Rawlings
Lister (W) and Lumley
FINALS Transport Workers vs Greave’s Moving & Storage (best-of-seven series)
(August 30) Greave’s Movers came alive just in time to chase across two runs against the pitching of veteran Art Worth and salvage a 2 – 2 tie with the Transport Workers. Going into the bottom-of-the seventh and final inning of the opening game of the Senior Amateur finals at Hampton Park, the pennant-winners trailed 2 to 0 and, with the skies becoming dark, things didn’t look promising yet Don Bell, pinch-hitting for Greave’s pitcher George Hemming, and Bob Moysey each nailed run-scoring singles to knot the count with only one retired. At this point, the Transports had to scramble for two difficult outs just to preserve the tie.
Worth and McAvoy
Hemming and Lumley
(September 1) Following a 6 to 2 on-field conquest of the Transport Workers by Greave’s Movers, the two teams are awaiting a decision on a protest lodged by the Workers regarding the use by the Movers of Pete Duncan, 17-year old Connie Mack League star, who had played for Rawlings during the semi-finals. Duncan went two-for-three at the plate and drove in a run during Greave’s five-run stampede in the second inning. Only five innings were completed before darkness halted proceedings. Gerry Lister, chucking for the pennant-winners, rang up 11 punchouts and had a two-run single. The Transports had a narrow 7 to 6 margin in base knocks when the game was called with Barry Harvey and Jim Heighton accumulating two safeties each.
Lister (W) and Lumley
Mabee (L), Jolly (2) and McAvoy
(September 2) Although nothing in print was found to substantiate the reversal, it appears that the Transport Workers were awarded game one of the finals as per the use of an ineligible player, Pete Duncan, by Greave’s Movers.
(September 3) Slick twin-killings by the infield of the Transport Workers erased two serious threats by Greave’s Moving & Storage to help Gord Strongman hurl a four-hitter and a 4 to 3 win, staking the Workers to a two-game lead in the final series.
Strongman (W) and McAvoy
Thame (L) and Lumley
(September 4) Art Worth smacked a resounding two-run triple in the opening frame, then took over pitching chores as the Transport Workers went on to post their third win in the final series by a score of 10 to 8. Gord Strongman launched a home run for the Transports in support of Worth.
L. Brice (L) and Lumley
Worth (W) and McAvoy
(September 5) The powerful Transport Workers methodically battered three Greave’s pitchers for 15 hits at Hampton Park while pounding out a 17 to 4 victory and grabbing the 1966 Victoria Senior Amateur Baseball League playoff crown. Every hitter in the Transports’ lineup had at least one hit in the onslaught. John Yankoski, in relief, choked off an opening-inning rally by the Movers with a quick strikeout and remained on the bump for the remainder of the contest to collect the win. Terry Whitman clipped the orb for three safeties, Barry Harvey singled twice and had three RBI’s while catcher Mike McAvoy had the game’s only home run.
Siddons, Yankoski (W) (1) and McAvoy
Hemming (L), Burrows (3), Lister (4) and Lumley