1975 Vancouver, Lower Mainland, Fraser Valley
1975 BC Interior
1975 Vancouver Island

VANCOUVER METRO LEAGUE

The only things that changed in the Metro Baseball League in 1975 were the names of three of the four entrants. The North Shore Mountaineers, formerly the Eldorados, played six Sunday home games, as part of their community identification, at Mahon Park in North Vancouver. Puccini’s, renamed from the Stylers, and the Capilanos, who were formerly known as the Landmarks, contested their scheduled home games at Capilano Stadium, along with the other returning franchise, the Budgets.

Each team in the circuit engaged in a 36-game schedule which, once again, included interlocking games with the Victoria Senior Amateur Baseball League and the Pacific Coast Junior Baseball League. Reporting of game results within the Sun and Province newspapers was inconsistent for a good part of the season.

Budget Rent-a-Car
Capilanos
North Shore Mountaineers
Puccini’s Italian Restaurant

INTERLOCKING GAME OPPONENTS
PACIFIC COAST JUNIOR BASEBALL LEAGUE

New Westminster Junior Royals
Surrey Junior Sandpipers
Vancouver Junior Bekins Moving & Storage
Vancouver Great West Junior Steelers
Whalley Junior Waldos

(May 17-19) The Metro Baseball League officially kicked off its 1975 season with four games over the Victoria Day holiday weekend but darkness resulted in two of them going undecided.

On Saturday, the campaign got underway on two fronts as the North Shore Mountaineers and Budgets played to a 6 – 6 tie at Mahon Stadium while Puccini’s and the Capilanos drew 1 – 1 at Capilano Stadium.

Two more games were played at Cap Stadium on Monday with the Capilanos defeating the Budgets 5 to 2 and the Vancouver Bekins of the Pacific Coast Junior League nipping the Mountaineers 2 to 1 in a interlocking contest.
Steve Herbert returned from a two-year stint on the prairies to pitch the Monday win for the Caps. He allowed three hits, struck out five and walked six. Both Ron Frederick and Al Foreman had a brace of hits for the Caps. The junior-senior interlocking fracas went into an extra frame before Bekins prevailed as Steve Pettifer singled home the winning counter.

(May 21) Catcher Al Watson went four-for-four at the plate and drove in three runs at Capilano Stadium to pace Puccini’s to a 6 to 0 Metro League victory over the North Shore Mountaineers. Gordie Williams pitched six innings of shutout ball to pick up the victory. He got relief help from Les Babuin in the seventh.

(May 24-25) Weekend action began with the Capilanos edging the Budgets 4 to 3 on Saturday at Capilano Stadium.

(May 25) A pair of interlocking doubleheaders highlighted Sunday’s diamond action as Puccini’s of Vancouver’s Metro circuit swept a pair of games from Victoria’s Farmer Construction, taking the opening game 5 to 4 and the late contest 5 to 2. Meanwhile, at Capilano Stadium, Gorge Hotel of Victoria and the North Shore Mountaineers of the Metro loop split their two-game set with the visiting Hotelmen nosing out a 3 to 2 win to begin things before succumbing 9 to 4 in the second tilt.

Les Babuin’s six-hit pitching made the difference for Puccini’s in their opening-game win in the Capital City while Pete Thiessen’s two-run double in the first inning started things off on the right foot for the Restaurateurs in the finale.

Gorge pitchers Rick Cook and Bob Mabee limited the Mountaineers to three hits in the early win by the Victorians but a six-run fourth inning, highlighted by Jimmy McMaster’s two-run double, carried North Shore to the second-game triumph. Bob Moysey’s two-run homer had staked the Hoteliers to a temporary 4 to 2 lead prior to their fourth-frame meltdown.

(May 27) A strong performance by the batterymates of Puccini’s powered the Eatery to their fourth straight victory, a 9 to 1 trouncing of the North Shore Mountaineers at Capilano Stadium. Pitcher Lance Ciglic, making his first start of the season, struck out eight and walked two while catcher Al Watson had two hits and an RBI. Puccini’s capitalized on four errors by the Shoremen to score four times in the fifth inning and three more in the sixth.

(May 28) Outfielder Darryl Fenton slammed a two-run homer in the eighth inning to spark the Capilanos’ come-from-behind 8 to 6 victory over the Vancouver Junior Steelers in an interlocking Metro-Pacific Coast Junior League clash at Central Park. Al Foreman had three hits for the winners while teammate Rick Bultitude ripped a run-scoring triple during the Caps’ eight-frame outburst.

(May 30) Puccini’s maintained their early red-hot pace by taking down the Capilanos 5 to 2 at Cap Stadium to remain the Metro circuit’s only undefeated team. Terry Thiessen’s three-run round-tripper in the third inning fatally damaged the Capilanos who had trailed only 1 to 0 before the blast. John Haar had three hits, including a double, for the victors as winning pitcher Les Babuin fashioned a seven-hitter while fanning six and walking two. Losing flinger Steve Herbert was also nicked for seven safeties, whiffing seven and walking five along the way.

(May 31-June 1) Puccini’s won their sixth and seventh successive Metro League games over the weekend with twin victories over North Shore. The Restaurateurs beat the Mountaineers 11 to 3 on Saturday at Capilano Stadium and then gained an 11 to 0 whitewashing over the Shoremen at Mahon Park on Sunday behind winning slabster John Mickey who struck out six, walked just one and yielded only three hits.

(June 1) In interlocking action, Greave’s Movers of Victoria were tripped up 5 to 1 by the hosting Capilanos of Vancouver’s Metro Baseball League at Cap Stadium.

(June 5) The home run power of catcher Al Watson and playing-manager John Haar carried Puccini’s to their eighth straight Metro League victory at Capilano Stadium. Watson’s two-run dinger in the opening panel and Haar’s solo shot in the eighth were the difference in a 4 to 2 victory over the Budgets. Gordie Williams, coming on in relief of Lance Ciglic in the fourth frame, picked up his third pitching win without a loss. Southpaw Dennis Zinio was stung with the mound defeat.

(June 6) Dennis Meek scattered six hits in pitching the Metro League Caps to a 10 to 2 clubbing of the New Westminster Junior Royals in Junior-Senior interlocking action. Belting extra-base hits for the winners were Gary Rowland with a triple and Warren Coughlin with a two-bagger.

(June 7-8) Vancouver Puccini’s of the Metro League won the B. C. Festival of Sport baseball tournament over the weekend at Capilano Stadium, beating the Burnaby Auroras of the Western International League 10 to 6 in the championship game. Puccini’s trailed 6 to 1 early in the game and were behind 6 to 4 going into the sixth inning when three of their swatsmiths, Russ McKee, Terry Stein and pick-up Rick Bultitude, went long-distance with two-run dingers.

The league-leaders in the Metro circuit reached the final with wins over Victoria. 5 to 1, and Mid-Island, 12 to 3. The Auroras had a first-round bye and beat the Capilanos of the Metro circuit 5 to 2 in the second round of the six-team single-knockout tourney.

(June 9) Pitcher Steve Herbert allowed only three hits and catcher Nick Miiler bashed a three-run homer to spark the second-place Capilanos to an 8 to 0 blanking of the Budgets at Cap Stadium.

(June 12) Portsider Dennis Zinio went 4-1/3 innings on the hillock to earn the pitching win at Capilano Stadium as the Budgets clobbered North Shore 13 to 5 in Metro Baseball League action. The Auto Leasers had their big inning in the fifth, scoring eight runs on six hits. Dave Schwab had a solo homer in the fourth inning for North Shore. Dan Cali was nailed with the loss.

Standings *            W      L      Pct.     GBL
Puccini’s              8      0     1.000    ---
Capilanos              7      1      .875    1.0
Budgets                4      5      .444    4.5
North Shore            2      7      .222    6.5

* standings include interlocking games with teams from the Pacific Coast Junior League and Victoria Senior Amateur League

(June 13) Playing on their home turf, the Surrey Junior Sandpipers of the Pacific Coast Junior loop handed Puccini’s of the Vancouver Metro circuit their first loss of the campaign, an 8 to 1 drubbing, in interlocking play. In another junior-senior interlocking clash, the Metro League’s Capilanos defeated the Whalley Junior Waldos 12 to 1 at Capilano Stadium to move into a tie atop the Metro League with Puccini’s. Surrey pitcher Mike Lahaise held the powerful Puccini nine to just five hits in the upset win. Capilano chucker Bill Bazaluk stopped the Junior Waldos cold by flinging a one-hitter. Ron Frederick, Rick Bultitude and Terry Schuss each had a pair of hits for the Caps.

(June 14) Capilanos 5 - North Shore Mountaineers 3

(June 15) North Shore Mountaineers 10 - Capilanos 0

(June 15) Gorge Hotel of Victoria split an interlocking twin-bill at Lambrick Park with Puccini’s of Vancouver’s Metro League, dropping the opener 2 to 0 but rebounding for a 5 to 1 triumph in the nightcap. Winning pitcher John Mickey’s three-hit pitching was the difference in the curtain-raiser.

Mickey (W) and Watson
Drinkwater (L) and Russ Holmes

The Gorge bats came to life in the second tussle with Bob Moysey’s two-run triple, Bob Mabee’s run-scoring double and a two-run single off the bat of Russ Holmes doing the damage. Catcher Al Watson of the Vancouverites belted a solo homer for their only counter.

Williams (L) and Watson
Jolly (W) and Russ Holmes

(June 15) Hosting Budget Rent-a-Car of the Vancouver Metro League and Victoria’s Farmer Construction divided the spoils of an interlocking double-dip at Capilano Stadium. The Auto Leasers prevailed 5 to 2 in the fist match but fell 5 to 3 to the Contactors in the late event.

First-game losing pitcher Wayne Kimmer bounced back in the second game to stroke three safeties for Farmer. Glen Wallis captured the mound victory in this contest with a successful five-inning relief stint.

(June 17) The hitters had a field day at Capilano Stadium where a battle for first place in the Metro Baseball League produced 26 base blows. When the final out was recorded, Puccini’s prevailed as 9 to 6 winners over the Capilanos. The top swatsmith of the evening was Puccini outfieder Russ McKee who had three hits, including a solo home run, and three RBI’s. Both of the singles that McKee drilled brought in a a run.

(June 18) Home runs by Russ McKee and Al Watson powered Puccini’s to a 6 to 3 win over the Vancouver Junior Bekins in an interlocking Metro-Pacific Coast Junior League contest at Capilano Stadium. McKee slammed a two-run tater in the third inning and Watson followed with a three-run shot in the fifth. Les Babuin grabbed the pitching victory over Ron Slapinski of the Movingmen.

(June 19) Bill Gurvich cracked two singles and scored twice himself to spark the Metro League’s North Shore Mountaineers to a 3 to 1 victory over the Great West Junior Steelers in interlocking Senior-Junior play at Capilano Stadium. North Shore’s Dan Kelly captured the hurling conquest, pitching a four-hitter while Ray Rigolo was saddled with the loss.

(June 20) The Capilanos erupted in the seventh inning for a bevy of hits and runs to blow open a tight game and walk away with a comfortable 7 to 1 conquest of the Budgets at Capilano Stadium. The win boosted the Caps to with a half-game of pace-setting Puccini’s. Winning pitcher Brant Wragg limited the Auto Leasers to six hits while clubmates Terry Schuss, Rick Mark, Keith Wilson and Ron Peterson stroked a pair of hits each.

(June 22) The North Shore Mountaineers ascended another step up the Metro Baseball League ladder, nipping first-place Puccini’s 7 to 6 at Mahon Park for their third straight win. Leo Gamin’s two-run single in the bottom-of-the-eighth inning produced the margin of victory. Dick Burns was North Shore’s biggest threat with the baton throughout the scuffle, driving in three runs on a triple, double and single.

(June 22) The third-place Budgets also improved their record, sweeping a brace of interlocking games at Capilano Stadium from visiting Kubecek’s Home Service of Victoria by scores of 6 to 1 and 7 to 0. Don Gurniak’s three hits and Larry Ferrerdeau’s four-hit, 11-strikeout pitching effort carried the Rent-A- Cars to their opening-game triumph. Two-run singles by Bill Grant and Brian Hall backed Dave Steele’s three-hit hillock performance in the second tilt.

(June 22) Farmer Construction of Victoria and the Vancouver Capilanos of the Metro Baseball circuit divided the spoils in an interlocking Park double-bill at Lambrick Park. The Contractors doubled the Caps 8 to 4 in the opener but folded 11 to 4 in the second game. Catcher George Pakos led the Capital City Crew offensively in the initial scuffle, slamming a two-run homer in the fifth inning to go along with a single and a brace of walks.

Bazakuk (L), Herbert (6) and Mark
Krimmer, Ron Holmes (W) (4) and Pakos

Ron Frederick, who went four-for-five with the baton led a 15-hit onslaught for the Capilanos in the late scuffle. Keith Wilson added a four-bagger for the winners. Best with the willow for the Victorians was Mike Baier who banged out three safeties.

Herbert (W) and Mark
Ron Holmes (L), Wallis (3), Ron Holmes (6) and Pakos

(June 23) Budgets 5 - Puccini’s 4

(June 24) Fourth-place Budget Rent-a-Car remained hot, defeating Vancouver Junior Bekins 4 to 3 in ten innings at Capilano Stadium in a Senior-Junior interlocking clash. Pinch-hitter Morrie L’Heureux drove in Rick Houghton from third base on a bases-loaded squeeze play in the bottom-of-the-tenth to produce the winning tally.

(June 27) The Capilanos pulled to within a few percentage points of front-running Puccini’s by edging the North Shore Mountaineers 5 to 4 in a Metro League joust at Cap Stadium. Stan Schwab of North Shore and Darryl Fenton of the Capilanos both had three hits and two RBI’s. Fenton’s second hit drove in Al Foreman with the winning run in the bottom-of-the-seventh inning.

(June 29) Flychaser Russ McKee accumulated six RBI’s in doubleheader action at Capilano Stadium as league-leading Puccini’s of Vancouver’s Metro League romped to 5 to 1 and 11 to 0 interlocking wins over visiting Greave’s Movers of Victoria. McKee uncorked a bases-loaded triple in the first game and clipped the horsehide for two doubles and a triple in the second skirmish for three more RBI’s. Catcher Al Watson slammed a two-run homer in the late clash as well in support of winning slabster Larry Mann who blanked the Hoteliers with a fine one-hitter. Les Babuin, with eight punchouts, earned the mound decision in the opener.

(June 29) The North Shore Mountaineers, representing the Metro Baseball League of Vancouver, won a pair of interlocking contests, by 4 to 2 and 7 to 2 counts, against cellar-dwelling Kubicek’s Home Service of the Victoria Senior Amateur League. Rick Nicholson, in relief of starter Gerry Paille, grabbed the opening-game hillock verdict at Victoria’s Lambrick Park while Dave Schwab took the win in the late contest. Jim Schwab belted a two-run tater for the Mountaineers in the opening tussle.

Paille, Nicholson (W) (1) and Gurvich
T. Holmes, Graas (L) (3) and Johnson

D. Schwab (W), Rentmeester (6) and Gurvich
Messer (L) and Johnson

(June 30) Warren Coughlin, Nick Miller and Darryl Fenton all had a pair of base raps and an RBI as the Capilanos downed Puccini’s 5 to 3 to create a first-place tie with the Restaurateurs.

(July 1) A crucial relief performance by Bob Elliott preserved a 2 to 1 win for the Budgets over the North Shore Mountaineers at Capilano Stadium. With the bases loaded and the Auto Leasers nursing a one-run, sixth-inning lead, Elliott was summoned to the knoll to bail out Rick Mosher. He proceeded to whiff Stan Schwab on three pitches to end the threat.

(July 2) The Surrey Junior Sandpipers, leaders in the Pacific Junior circuit, blew a 4 to 2 eighth-inning lead capped by Dave Schwab’s two-run single, which gave the North Shore Mountaineers of the Metro loop a 6 to 4 interlocking victory at Capilano Stadium. A seemingly innocent two-run single by Dan Williams had tied the score. Winning pitcher Dan Cali yielded four hits while striking out seven.

(July 3) Ron Abrey produced a clutch single at Capilano Stadium as the Vancouver Junior Bekins toppled Metro League leading Capilanos 10 to 9 in an interlocking Senior-Junior tilt.

(July 3) Seventeen players have been selected to an all-star team to represent Vancouver in the Canadian Senior Amateur Baseball Championships at Capilano Stadium July 8-13. They were named by the BC Amateur Baseball Association. As host city, Vancouver receives a berth in the tournament which will field teams from all ten provinces. Ossie Chavarria, a former major leaguer is coach of the team.

Pitchers - Bill Bazaluk, Steve Herbert, Randy Weins, Gordon Williams, Rick Mosher, Rod Dirks

Infielders - Wayne Rogers, Dick Burns, Rick Mark, Len Gamlin, Paul Watson

Outfielders - Bob Moysey, Don Archer, Dale Ramsey, Bill Hendry

Catchers - Bill Gurvich, Larry Kissock

Plus - Russ Lombardo, Russ McKee

(July 4) Larry Mann fired a three-hitter and rang up nine punchouts as Puccini’s of the Metro League walloped the New Westminster Junior Royals 13 to 1 in a Metro-Pacific Coast Junior interlocking game. Henry Somers had three hits for Puccini’s while teammate Al Watson added a pair, one of which was a bases-loaded double.

(July 5-6) In weekend Metro League action, the Capilanos and North Shore Mountaineers divided a home-and-home set of games. Saturday at Capilano Stadium, Rich Mark’s 10th inning double drove in Nick Miller in a 7 to 6 Capilano win. The Caps had trailed 6 to 4 until Rick Bultitude hammered a pinch-hit two-run homer in the ninth to tie the game. The Mountaineers got their revenge on Sunday at Mahon Park when they erupted for five runs in the seventh inning to double the Caps 8 to 4. A triple by Len Gamlin, a double by Dick Burns and a single by Jim Schwab produced three of the tallies while the remaining two crossed the dish on Capilano errors. North Shore’s Dan Cali tossed a route-going four-hitter for the win.

(July 6) Puccini’s of the Metro League bombed visiting Kubicek’s Home Service of the Victoria Senior Amateur League 8 to 1 and 10 to 1 in an interlocking doubleheader at Capilano Stadium.

(July 6) Hosting Greave’s Movers extended their lead atop the the Victoria Senior Amateur Baseball League by dumping the Budgets of the Vancouver Metro Baseball League 12 to 10 and 10 to 9 in a pair of wild interlocking matches at Lambrick Park. Ray Moretti picked up both pitching victories for the Movers as a reliever in the twin-bill and produced the winning counter in the second game with seventh-inning solo homer. Also connecting for round-trippers in the finale were teammate Frank Woods as well as Keith Frew and Tom Bird of the Rent-a-Cars. Don Gurniak homered twice for the Vancouverites in the opening tussle.

(July 8-13) Canadian Senior Baseball championship tournament

(July 11) Pete Thiessen slammed a third inning triple to score two runs and then scored on a throwing error to lift Puccinis to a 3-1 Metro Leage victory over Budgets Monday night at Capilano Stadium. Gordie Williams went the distance for the winners wheile Dennis Zinio was charged with the loss.

(July 15) Successive double plays in the seventh, eighth and ninth innings snuffed out any opportunity the Capilanos had of reversing a 4 to 2 Metro League setback to front-running Puccini’s at Capilano Stadium. Russ McKee, who scored twice, and Ron Peterson. who drove in a pair of runs, both has two hits for Puccini’s while Les Babuin, with relief help from Gord Williams in the ninth, picked up the win. Rick Bultitude, Nick Miller and Ron Frederick each stroked two safeties in the Capilanos’ 11-hit attack.

(July 16) Second baseman Keith Wilson drove in Rick Bultitude with the winning run in the bottom-of-the-eighth inning to give the Capilanos a 4 to 3 victory over the North Shore Mountaineers at Capilano Stadium. Winning pitcher Brant Wragg allowed seven hits and whiffed eight for the Caps who levelled a 13-hit attack against losing chucker Jim Rentmeester.

(July 18) Winning pitcher Rick Mosher clubbed a two-run single in the bottom-of-the-seventh inning to carry the metro league Budgets to a 4 to 2 interlocking win over the Vancouver Junior Steelers at Capilano Stadium. Mosher allowed eight hits in going the distance. Budgets’ catcher Howie Stephens produced the game’s only extra-base hit, driving in a run with a sixth-inning double off losing chucker Kerry Morris.

(July 20) Steve Herbert and Dennis Meek threw back-to-back two-hitters in pitching the Vancouver Metro League Capilanos to 8 to 0 and 2 to 0 victories over visiting Gorge Hotel of Victoria at Capilano Stadium.
Herbert required only six innings to dispose of the Hotelmen in the first game because of the league’s eight-run rule. Stolen bases by Ron Frederick, Rick Mark and Ken Markley, three Victoria errors and four hits, including Al Foreman’s two-run single, accounted for a big six-run splurge by the Caps in the second inning.

Run-scoring singles by Pat Donnelly and Warren Coughlin in the second stanza of the concluding tilt staked Meeks to more-than-enough of a cushion required for the whitewash win and he responded by pitching five hitless innings to wrap things up.

(July 20) The Vancouver Metro League’s North Shore Mountaineers had their bats in fine tune at Lambrick Park where they swept an interlocking doubleheader from Victoria’s Greave’s Movers by convincing scores of 17 to 11 and 12 to 4.

The Mountaineers slapped out 16 hits in the matinee tussle as Roy Melvin launched a three-run homer in the fourth inning as a sign of what was to follow.

Cali (W), Nicholson (5), D. Schwab (6) and Gurvich
Moseley (L), Karpiuk (3) and Moretti

Len Gamlin led the North Shore nine at the dish in the second encounter, clipping the orb for a double, triple and two-run homer. Walt Burrows paced the Movers in both contests. He had three hits in the curtain-raiser and a two-run dinger in the second tilt.

Rentmeester (W), D. Schwab (4) and Gurvich
Moretti (L), Anderson (3) and Crawford

(July 21) Puccini’s increased their Metro Baseball League lead to two games over the second-place Capilanos after doubling the Budgets 8 to 4 at Capilano Stadium. Winning pitcher Les Babuin yielded only five hits to the Auto Leasers but struggled in the eighth inning when the Rent-a-Cars plated a three-spot on three walks, a passed ball and two wild pitches. Losing pitcher Larry Fellerdeau held a slim 1 to 0 lead until the sixth inning when Puccini’s exploded for five counters, two coming in on Al Watson’s single and the other three on a four-bagger by Terry Stein.

Standings *            W      L      Pct.    GBL
Puccini’s             18      5     .783     ---
Capilanos             17      8     .680    2.0
Budgets               12     10     .545    5.5
North Shore           11     12     .478    7.0

* standings include interlocking games with teams from the Pacific Coast Junior League and Victoria Senior Amateur League

(July 22) Al Foreman doubled to extend his consecutive hitting streak to 21 games as the second-place Capilanos beat pace-setting Puccini’s 7 to 3 at Capilano Stadium. Pete Thiessen’s two-run double in the eighth inning started the Caps on the way to their come-from-behind victory. Nick Miller had a triple, single and two RBI’s for the winners as Bill Bazaluk picked up the pitching verdict in relief.

(July 24) Larry Mann pitched a seven-inning one-hitter at Capilano Stadium as the Metro League Puccini’s blanked the Whalley Junior Waldos 5 to 0 in an interlocking Junior-Senior match.

(July 24) Budget Rent-a-Car edged the North Shore Mountaineers 2 to 1 as Howie Stephens collected a pair of hits and crossed the dish for both runs chalked up by the Auto Leasers.

(July 25) Jim Schwab tagged winning pitcher Les Babuin for a two-run homer in the first inning but Babuin blanked the North Shore Mountaineers the rest of the way as Puccini’s increased their Metro League lead with a 5 to 2 victory at Capilano Stadium. Babuin rang up nine punchouts while finishing with a five-hitter. Pete Thiessen, who went two-for-four, tied the game with a two-run single in the fifth for the Restaurateurs before Henry Somers drove in John Haar with the lead run in the sixth. Doubles by Haar and Thiessen, followed by Monty Walton’s single, accounted for a pair of add-on tallies in the seventh.

(July 27) The last-place team in the Victoria Senior Amateur Baseball League, Kubicek’s Home Service, scored 13 runs and belted out 19 hits but lost both ends of an interlocking doubleheader to the invading Vancouver Capilanos at Lambrick Park. Unfortunately for the Servicemen, their corps of pitchers weren’t in lock-step with their hitters as they dished out ten hits in the opener to fall 8 to 4 to the Caps before issuing a dozen safeties in a 12 to 9 second-game setback.

Dave Graas had three of the six safeties, including a two-run homer, acquired by Victorians in the opener. Darryl Fenton and Ken Markley replied with round-trippers for the Caps.

Bazaluk (W) and Mark
B. Kubicek (L) and D. Kubicek

The Capilanos banged out 19 safeties in the last game, pretty well putting the game on ice with five-spots in both the opening and second frames.

Meek, Wilson (W) (2), Wragg (6) and Mark
Hegland (L), T. Holmes (1) and Johnson

It was an equally bad day for Victoria’s Farmer Construction in their interlocking double-dip at Vancouver’s Capilano Stadium where they absorbed 4 to 2 and 1 to 0 defeats at the hands of the North Shore Mountaineers of the Metro League. The double-defeat knocked the Contractors out of a first-place tie with idle Gorge Hotel.

(July 29) Rick Gruhn’s 4-2/3 innings of hitless relief work in the second game of a Capilano Stadium doubleheader salvaged a split for the Budgets in their duel with Puccini’s. Gruhn’ efforts, in relief of starter Rick Mosher, earned him the mound decision in a 2 to 0 victory for the Auto Leasers after the league-leaders had captured the opening game 11 to 7. Rick Houghton’s single in the sixth stanza sent Gruhn across the plate with the winning marker.

(July 30) The Capilanos pounced upon the fruits of seven first-game errors by their foe and had a clutch run-scoring single from Ken Markley in the second contest to take both ends of a Metro Baseball League double-bill from Puccini’s by 9 to 4 and 3 to 2 counts. With the sweep, the Caps rolled to a game-and-a-half lead in front of the Restaurateurs in their chase for the regular-season pennant.

Atrocious defensive play plus the surrender of 14 hits by pitchers Les Babuin and Jim Nedelak were a recipe for disaster in the opener for Puccini’s. Only two of the nine tallies that crossed the plate for the Caps were earned. Playing-manager John Haar had a solo dinger for the vanquished nine.

Markley’s run-producing single in the eighth inning of the nightcap snapped a 2 – 2 tie and made a complete-game winner out of Steve Herbert who gave up six hits and rang up nine punchouts.

(July 31) Third-place Budget Rent-a-Car tightened the Metro League pennant race at Capilano Stadium by nosing out the pace-setting Capilanos 2 to 1. Middle pasture patroller Rick Houghton starred offensively and defensively for the winners. Houghton plated the winning run in the fifth inning with his speed. After drawing a walk, the fleet flychaser swiped both second and third base then, as part of a delayed double theft, slid in safely at the platter with the tie-breaker. Then, to preserve the lead and win for pitcher Bill Grant, he made a spectacular catch of a long drive to centre field by the Caps’ Rick Mark in the sixth with ducks on the pond.

(August 2-4) B. C, senior amateur baseball championship tournament

(August 6) Dick Burns smashed a two-run triple in the sixth inning and Bill Gurvich followed with a two-run double in the seventh stanza to boost the North Shore Mountaineers to a 5 to 1 Metro League victory over the Budgets at Capilano Stadium. Jim Rentmeester went the distance on the mound for the winners, scattering five hits, while losing tosser Larry Fellerdeau was raked for nine safeties.

(August 7) Steve Herbert fashioned a one-hitter to lead the Capilanos past the Budgets 2 to 0 in a Metro Baseball League battle at Capilano Stadium. The only Budget batter to solve Herbert was Dave Steele who managed a single. A sacrifice fly off the bat of Keith Wilson in the second inning drove in Terry Schuss from third base with the only run Herbert needed.

(August 9-10) The Metro League All-Stars bounced back from a 14-0 drubbing on Saturday to battle Japan's National Amateur team to 12 innings before losing 3-2. Junior Steve Hynek of the Surrey Sandpipers allowed Japan only two hits over the six innings he worked. However, a shaky second frame in which he issued three walks resulted in one run and another followed in the third as the BC nine made three errors. Al Forman's single in the seventh brought in the tying run. He had scored the first BC run in the first inning on a fielder's choice. Larry Fellereau took over in the seventh and blanked the visitors until the 12th before loading the bases. Kazuhiko Suzuki's sacrifice fly off reliever Bill Bazaluk scored the winning run. On Saturday, second baseman Katsuhiko Fukuzaki drilled a three-run homer off Mike Lahaise in the second inning then smacked a three-run double off Dan Calli in the third to lead a 15-hit attack. Calli and Lahaise issued eight walks in just 3 1/3 innings.

(August 11) Catcher Pete Thiessen slammed a third-inning triple, driving in two runs, and then scored himself on a throwing error to lift second-place Puccini’s to a 3 to 1 Metro League victory over the Budgets in the first of a two-game set involving all four teams at Capilano Stadium. Gord Williams went the distance on the hill for the winners while Dennis Zinio of the Auto Leasers was hit with the loss.

The Caps supported Keith Wilson’s four-hit pitching with six raps of their own in the second contest as they downed the North Shore Mountaineers 4 to 1 Centre fielder Al Foreman went two-for-four in this tilt to head the Caps’ offensive thrust. The results of the two clashes left the Capilanos atop the Metro circuit with a 24 – 9 record while Puccinis followed in the runner-up spot with a season’s performance of 22 – 10.

(August 12) The Capilanos retained their 1-1/2 game lead over Puccini’s in the battle for the Metro League pennant after a pair of tilts at Capilano Stadium.

Rick Bultitude hammered out a triple and home run in sparking the league-leaders to a 9 to 4 triumph over North Shore in the opener of a twin-bill. The Mountaineers got to Cap tossers Dennis Meek and Bill Bazaluk for a dozen safeties but couldn’t string enough of those raps together for a significant rally.

Terry Stein singled in a pair of counters to cap a three-run, third-inning uprising as Puccini’s kept pace by stopping Budget Rent-a-Car 3 to 1 in the second tussle. Steve Dunn singled home the other run for the Restaurateurs.

(August 13) The Capilanos crept closer to clinching the Metro Baseball League pennant by beating the Budgets 12 to 9 in a slugfest at Capilano Stadium. The winners virtually settled the issue in the second stanza with a seven-run uprising but the Auto Leasers came battling back and had the potential tying run at bat in the final frame when Steve Herbert finally retired the side. Herbert went all the way despite being raked for 14 hits. He struck out ten and walked four. The Budgets used four chuckers in a vain effort to stop the Caps’ 15-hit attack.

(August 14) Ron Peterson crunched a solo home run in the first overtime session to lead Puccini’s to a 2 to 1 victory and a sweep of their Metro Baseball League doubleheader with the North Shore Mountaineers at Capilano Stadium. Puccini’s, led by Russ McKee’s three-hit, two RBI performance, stopped North Shore 6 to 1 in the opener. Pete Thiessen of the Restaurateurs also had a hot hand with the lumber in the opener, drilling a triple and single.

(August 15) The Capilanos finally outlasted Les Babuin to win the 1975 Metro Baseball League regular-season pennant at Capilano Stadium. The Caps defeated Puccini’s 5 to 2 in the second game of a doubleheader, a sudden-death tie-breaker for top spot, after dropping the first contest 6 to 4 as Henry Somers ripped the orb for three RBI’s. Including the tie-breaker, the Capilanos finished with a 27 – 10 record while Puccini’s wound up at 26 – 11. Babuin scattered six hits in leading the way for the Italian Eatery in the first game but his five-hitter in the tie-breaker wasn’t good enough. Capilano pinch-hitter Al Foreman decided things in the clincher with a three-run two-bagger in the bottom-of-the-sixth inning.

PLAYOFFS
SEMI-FINALS North Shore Mountaineers vs Capilanos and Budget Rent-a-Car vs Puccini’s Italian Restaurant (best-of-three series)

(August 18) The fourth-place North Shore Mountaineers pounded out a 16-hit attack to upset the pennant-winning Capilanos 7 to 5 in the first game of a Metro League semi-final playoff at Capilano Stadium. Left fielder Dave Schwab and first baseman Len Gamlin each banged out three hits for the winners while catcher Bill Gurvich had two safeties and a pair od RBI’s.

(August 19) Puccini’s took a one-game lead in their best-of-three semi-final playoff against Budget Rent-a-Car at Capilano Stadium but in a rather irregular fashion. The Auto Leaders ran out of players with the score tied 3 – 3 in the top-of-the-ninth inning when Howie Stephens was tossed for arguing a called third strike and were forced to forfeit the game to the Eatery. The had earlier gone through four pitchers and an infielder which trimmed their roster to nine players. Puccini’s John Mickey was effective on the hillock for eight frames, allowing only four hits, while Terry Stein and Pete Thiessen picked up three hits each to lead the winners offensively.

(August 20) The Capilanos evened their best-of-three semi-final series with North Shore at one game apiece, sinking the Mountaineers 8 to 2 at Capilano Stadium. The teams were tied 2 – 2 through seven innings but Darryl Fenton and Ken Markley both nailed three-run homers in the eighth and ninth innings respectively to provide the winning margin for the Caps. Bill Bazaluk went the distance on the knoll for the victors, scattering 12 hits while punching out five. Both North Shore runs were unearned.

(August 21) Budget Rent-a-Car rebounded to tie their Metro League semi-final series with Puccini’s at 1 – 1 at Capilano Stadium with a 4 to 2 triumph. Rick Mosher went the route on the mound for the Budgets, third-place finishers during the regular season. Mosher gave up seven base raps, fanned an equal number and issued four walks. Puccini’s, runner-up squad in the circuit, got seven innings out of starter and losing pitcher Les Babuin who had relief help from Gordie Williams. The Auto Leasers scored three of their four runs in the fourth canto. Russ McKee slammed a solo four-bagger for the losers.

(August 23) The pennant-winning Capilanos and runner-up Puccini’s advanced to the Metro Baseball League finals with rubber-match victories at Capilano Stadium. The Caps knocked off the North Shore Mountaineers 8 to 7 in an opening-game squeaker while the Restaurateurs beat Budget Rent-a-Car 14 to 8. The Caps’ Steve Herbert notched the hillock triumph in the opening-game thriller as designated hitter Darryl Fenton provided the offensive punch with a fifth-inning three-run homer. John Mickey pitched the win for Puccini’s in the late affair and was backed up offensively by Terry Stein who stroked three hits and Russ McKee who banged out a pair.

FINALS Puccini’s Italian Restaurant vs Capilanos (best-of-three series)

(August 25) Puccini’s and the Capilanos split their Metro League playoff doubleheader at Capilano Stadium, forcing a third and deciding game in the finals. Puccini’s won the opener 8 to 1 and the Capilanos took care of the second meeting by a 9 to 6 count.

John Mickey’s five-hitter and some first-class hitting by Pete Thiessen powered the Restaurateurs to victory in the first game. Thiessen was three-for-four at the plate, with a solo home run and triple included in his sum of swats, and had four RBI’s. Brant Wragg was tagged with the loss.

In the second game, Ron Frederick, Rick Mark and Ken Markley each picked up a brace of safeties for the victorious Caps. Terry Stein slapped a solo homer for the Italian Eatery in a losing cause. Keith Wilson, touched for nine hits while fanning 11, grabbed the hillock decision over Les Babuin.

(August 29) After four days of continuous, heavy rain and with the drenched diamond at Capilano Stadium unfit for play for several days, even if the rain stopped, the Puccinis and Capilanos decided to end the final series and share the 1975 Metro Baseball League playoff championship.

WESTERN INTERNATIONAL LEAGUE

Not unlike previous seasons, coverage of diamond activity within this predominantly Washington-state circuit received barely a whisper within the two Vancouver-based daily newspapers for most of the early campaign but did show improvement as the season progressed.

Burnaby Auroras
Cheney Studs
Everett H & L Twins
Seattle Adairs
Seattle Doors
Seattle Old Timers
University of Washington Huskies

The league-leaders in the Metro circuit reached the final with wins over Victoria. 5 to 1, and Mid-Island, 12 to 3. The Auroras had a first-round bye and beat the Capilanos of the Metro circuit 5 to 2 in the second round of the six-team tourney.

(June 12) Designated hitter Ron Abrey slammed a two-run homer in the seventh inning to lift Vancouver Junior Bekins of the Pacific Coast Junior League to a 3 to 1 triumph over the Burnaby Auroras of the Western International League.

(June 14) Brad McArthur tossed a perfect, seven-inning game in his Western International League debut with the Burnaby Auroras at Central Park. The 18-year old native of White Rock completed a sweep of a pair of seven-inning encounters with a 4 to 0 win over the Cheney Studs. The Auroras had captured the opener 2 to 1 behind the four-hit pitching of Greg Lindsay.

A throwing error in the eighth inning broke a 1 – 1 tie in the opener and allowed Burnaby to plate an unearned run for the win. Dick Fitzgerald, who allowed just three hits, was the hard-luck loser. McArthur had masterful control in the late encounter and kept the Studs off-balance throughout, throwing just 78 pitches. Meanwhile, his Aurora teammates were collecting 11 hits.

(June 29) The Burnaby Auroras split their Western International League doubleheader with the H & L Twins in Everett WA, losing the first game 2 to 0 before annexing the finale 5 to 0. The Auroras managed only three hits in the curtain-raiser but came back with eight safeties in the wind-up match. Randy Weins was the winning chucker for Burnaby in their second-game triumph. A three-run opening-inning, sparked by an RBI-hit off the bat of Larry Kissock and a home run by Ted Springenatic, got the Auroras rolling in this clash.

(July 5-6) Three members of the Burnaby Auroras, who will be taking part in the Canadian Senior Baseball championship tournament in Vancouver, sparked the Burnabyites to three wins in four games against American opposition in four weekend Western International League games. On Saturday, Larry Kissock drove in four runs as the Auroras swept a pair from the Everett WA Twins, 4 to 3 and 3 to 0, at Queen’s Park Stadium.

Centre fielder Bill Henry slugged a pair of two-run homers as the Auroras split a Sunday doubleheader with the league-leading Seattle Adairs in the Puget Sound city, capturing the second clash 10 to 9 after dropping the first 8 to 6. Catcher Ted Springenatic also launched a two-run circuit-jack for Burnaby.

(July 8-13) Canadian Senior Baseball championship tournament

(July 19-20) Brad McArthur pitched a three-hitter for the Burnaby Auroras Saturday in Western International League doubleheader play at Queen’s Park Stadium. McArthur, who pitched a perfect game for the Auroras in June, had one walk and no strikeouts on his way to a 4 to 2 win for Burnaby in the first game against the league-leading Seattle Old-Timers. The Seattle squad won the second game 8 to 6 but lost both ends of the twin-bill on their home turf Sunday by scores of 3 to 0 and 10 to 6. Larry Kissock, Jim Thomas, Dale Ramsay, Paul Watson and Bill Henry were the big hitters for the Auroras in the sweep

(July 26-27) The Burnaby Auroras swept four games from Seattle-area teams over the weekend, including a no-hitter by pitcher Brad McArthur, to run their Western International League record to 13 – 7, good for second-place in the circuit.

Saturday, the Auroras hung 8 to 1 and 1 to 0 double-defeats on the Seattle Doors with Mark Lehman’s one-hit pitching and a three-run homer by Dale Ramsey featuring the opening game triumph before McArthur’s no-hit gem in the follow-up contest. McArthur had previously hurled an abbreviated perfect game in June against Cheney at Central Park.

Jim Thomas’ two-run single produced a 4 to 3 first-game victory over the Cheney Studs Sunday while Ted Springenatic and Wayne Martin both drove in a pair of runs for a 5 to 3 second-game win. Greg Lindsay and Nick Mitchell were the winning tossers for Burnaby in the sweep.

(August 14) Playing-manager Ossie Chavarria slammed two home runs to lead the Burnaby Auroras to a 6 to 5 victory over Centralia WA in the first day of play in the Washington state Casey Stengel baseball tournament. Chavarria hit a two-run tater in the third inning and connected for a solo dinger in the fifth. Don Schmid was the winning flinger.

PACIFIC COAST JUNIOR BASEBALL LEAGUE

GWS Steelers
New Westminster Royals
Surrey Sandpipers
Vancouver Bekins
Whalley Waldos