vs.   
MONTEREY WINS WORLD SERIES!!
Defeats California, 2-1, To Claim 3rd VBG Title;
California's 9th Inning Rally Almost Turns Tide;
Lindell Named Series MVP
October 24, 1944

     Lindell
MONTEREY, CA:  The Monterey Jacks edged the California Tornados, 2 to 1, to win Game 6 and thereby capture their 3rd VBG championship.  In contrast to several of the earlier games in this postseason, today's contest was a well-pitched defensive game.  California starter Claude Passeau had outstanding control of his sinker and his "slurve," throwing his trademark junk pitches for strikes while mixing in enough fastballs to upset the Jacks' timing.  Passeau has long been suspected of applying more than just his talent to the ball, and Jacks batters protested on more than one occasion that Passeau's sinker dropped so suddenly because it was really a spitball.  But on each occasion the umpire failed to find any evidence of an infraction and Passeau, who has consistently maintained that he never doctors the ball, pitched the entire game without giving up any walks, surrenduring 8 hits while striking out 6.  The Jacks scored their only runs in the bottom of the 6th inning.  Center fielder Johnny Lindell led off the frame with a single and scored the first run after George Myatt doubled and Dixie Walker singled.  One out later Ray Sanders drove in what would prove to be the deciding run when he singled home Myatt, giving Monterey a 2-0 lead.  Meanwhile Monterey starter Jim Tobin baffled the Tornados with his knuckleball and was never in trouble during the first 8 innings.   But by the 9th inning the California batters had seen enough of Tobin's knuckler to give them an idea of what to do with it, and they threatened to come back and win the game.  Leadoff hitter Nick Etten got on base with a single and took 2nd on Dick Wakefield's ground out. Pinch hitter Frankie Zak hit a line shot into center field that looked like it could go for extra bases, but center fielder Johnny Lindell ran it down and caught it for the 1st out.  Pete Coscarart put the Tornados on the board with a single that drove in Etten.  With pinch hitter Bill Lefebvre at the plate representing the go-ahead run, closer Joe Haynes relieved Tobin to try to get the final out.  But Lefebvre hit a single into left center, sending Coscarart to 3rd and putting the tying run only 90 feet from home.  Haynes got Jim Russell to end the game on a fly ball to left field, however, and the Monterey Jacks were once again the VBG World Champions.  After a lengthy celebration by the Monterey fans in the stands, Monterey owner Paul Colbert was presented with the VBG World Series Trophy by the Commissioner.  Jacks center fielder Johnny Lindell received the World Series MVP Trophy.  Leadoff hitter Lindell not only was an excellent table-setter during the Series, he also did his part to drive in runs as well.  He batted .379 for the Series with a .400 on-base percentage, and hit safely in every game.  He scored or drove in at least one run in every game and led both teams with 9 runs scored, almost one-fourth of the Jacks' total of 38 runs.  He also led both teams with 3 home runs, 11 hits and 23 total bases, and tied for the team lead in RBI with 5.  Ron Northey hit 2 homers and drove in 9 runs for the Tornados.


    vs.   
California Fights Back, Beats Monterey In Must-Win Game;
Galan Drives In 4 Runs As Tornados Come From Behind;
Down 4-2, Tornados Rally For 7-4 Victory
Oct. 22, 1944
CALIFORNIA, MD:  At the end of the 5th inning of Game 5, the California Tornados' chances of winning this World Series seemed to be at their lowest point.  The Tornados had already dropped their first two Series games in their home park and were just one loss away from elimination, and had committed 14 errors in the previous 4 games.  The Monterey Jacks had taken a 4-2 lead after 5 innings in today's game, and California batters had been unable to do anything against Jacks reliever Stan Klopp.  But then California delighted the Tornados' fans by coming back with 3 runs in the 6th innning and 2 more in the 8th to earn a 7-4 victory and a trip back to Monterey for Game 6.  To make the victory more satisfying, the Tornados finally beat their fielding jinx and played an error-free game.  Monterey's starter Bob Muncrief lasted only one batter, leaving the game after throwing only 2 pitches.  Muncrief quickly dispatched California leadoff hitter Jim Russell before the game was interrupted by a rain delay lasting almost an hour and a half.  Muncrief's arm had stiffened during the rain delay and he had to be replaced when play resumed.  The Tornados took an early lead with a run in the 1st and scored again in the 2nd, but the Jacks scored a run in each inning between the 2nd and 5th to take their 4-2 lead.  California's rally began when pitcher Dutch Leonard led off the 6th by walking on 4 straight pitches and Russell sent him to 2nd on a single.  With one out, Augie Galan hit a 3-run home run into deep left field to give California a 5-4 lead.  The Tornados added two insurance runs in the 8th inning courtesy of RBI singles by Ron Northey and Nick Etten.  Leonard lasted 7 innings to pick up the win for California and Galan went 2 for 4 with 4 RBI.  Ray Sanders hit a triple and homer in Monterey's losing effort.  After a day off for travel, Game 6 will be played in Monterey.  Expected starters are Claude Passeau for California and Jim Tobin for Monterey. 

Monterey Beats California 6-2 In Game 4;
Trout Pitches Complete Game Victory;
California Hurt By 6 Errors;
Jacks Now 1 Win Away From Championship
Oct. 21, 1944
CALIFORNIA, MD:  The Monterey Jacks beat the California Tornados by the score of 6 to 2 in the fourth game of the World Series and are now just 1 win away from capturing another VBG title.  Monterey finally played an error-free game in this series that has been plagued by fielding miscues, but the Tornados committed 6 errors, including 4 by third baseman Dick Wakefield.   The Tornados jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first inning on a 2-run home run by Ron Northey, his 2nd circuit clout of the Series.  But Monterey tied it up in the top of the 4th with 2 unearned runs.  With 2 outs in the 4th, Ray Sanders reached base on a double and advanced to 3rd on a throwing error by Augie Galan.  The next batter, Danny Gardella, hit a grounder to third base that should have ended the inning, but Wakefield threw wide of 1st base and Sanders scored on the error.  Paul Richards grounded a single up the middle, sending Gardella to 3rd.  The next batter, Buddy Kerr, reached 1st base on Wakefield's 2nd error of the inning, and Gardella scored the tying run.  The score remained tied, 2-2, until the top of the 8th inning when Richards was hit by a pitch and then scored on Kerr's double.  Richards then scored on Johnny Lindell's 2-out single to give the Jacks a 2-run lead.  Monterey scored 2 more runs with 2 out in the 9th on solo homers by Sanders and Gardella.  5 of the 6 Monterey runs were scored after 2 outs.  Monterey starter Dizzy Trout went the distance, giving up 2 earned runs on 7 hits and 3 walks while striking out 3.  California starter Russ Christopher pitched 7 2/3 innings and gave up only 2 earned runs on 7 hits and 3 walks, striking out 5.

Monterey Beats California In Game 3, 10-6;
Lindell Hits 2 Homers & Jacks Steal 3 Bases
17 Errors Committed In First 3 World Series Games
Oct. 20, 1944
CALIFORNIA, MD:  The Monterey Jacks won the 3rd game of the World Series by the score of 10 to 6 over the California Tornados and took the lead in the Series, 2 games to 1.  As was the case with the first two contests, today's game was plagued by errors with the Jacks committing 3 errors and the Tornados making 2 fielding miscues.  So far, the two teams have a combined total of 17 errors and 11 unearned runs in the first three World Series games.  Johnny Lindell hit his 2nd and 3rd home runs of the Series for the Jacks, and George Myatt also contributed a round-tripper to the Monterey cause. Myatt, who had stolen 2 bases against Tornados catcher Hal Wagner in Game 1, joined Danny Gardella and Buddy Kerr in swiping bases from Wagner in today's game.  The key to today's game turned out to be Monterey's 4-run outburst in the 8th inning.  The Jacks were leading, 6-4, after 7 innings.  Danny Gardella walked on 5 pitches to start the 8th inning and broke for 2nd on the next pitch.  Gardella was safe at 2nd with a stolen base and ended up on 3rd when Wagner committed an error on the throw.  Buddy Kerr then singled up the middle to drive in Gardella.  Just as Gardella had done, Kerr broke for 2nd on the next pitch and stole 2nd base.  He took 3rd base on a ground out and scored on starting pitcher Jim Tobin's single.  Johnny Lindell capped off the inning for the Jacks with his second home run of the day, a 2-run shot that put the Jacks ahead 10-4.  The Tornados kept battling, however, and threatened to score in the bottom of the 8th when they had 2 runners on base with only 1 out.  Tobin got out of that inning without any damage but he wasn't so lucky in the bottom of the 9th.  Leading off the bottom of the 9th for California, Ron Northey managed to connect squarely with one of Tobin's knuckleballs and lined it into left for a base hit.  On the next pitch, Nick Etten hit a slow dribbler in front of home plate that should have been a sure out at 2nd and possibly even a double play, but Jacks catcher Tom Jordan committed a 2-base throwing error that put Northey on 3rd and Etten on 2nd.  Tobin was relieved by Ted Abernathy, who promptly walked Hal Wagner on 4 straight pitches to load the bases with no outs.  Abernathy was yanked from the mound and replaced by fireballer  Joe Haynes, who was the winning pitcher in Game 1 and the losing pitcher in Game 2.  Haynes got Pete Coscarart to fly out to shallow center for the 1st out, with Northey tagging and scoring to make the score 10-5.  Lenny Merullo singled to drive in Etten, and the score was 10-6.  But Haynes got the last two outs to nail down the victory.  Tomorrow's starters are expected to be Dizzy Trout (26-7, 2.04) for Monterey and Dutch Leonard (16-11, 3.36) for California.

    vs.   
California Comes Back From 6-Run Deficit In Game 2;
Beats Monterey, 10-9, In 10th Inning;
Northey Hits Grand Slam, Wakefield Clouts 2 Homers;
Teams Combine For 9 Errors 
Oct. 18, 1944
MONTEREY, CA:  It wasn't pretty, but the California Tornados came back to win the 2nd game of the World Series after trailing the Monterey Jacks by the score of 8 to 2 after the 7th inning.  Both starting pitchers had a rocky day.  Tornado Claude Passeau gave up 8 runs on 8 hits and 4 walks in 6 2/3 innings, although only 4 runs were earned.  Monterey's Bob Muncrief pitched well for 7 innings but was chased from the game after giving up 5 runs in the 8th inning.  The Jacks had built a 5-0 lead after 4 innings, including 3 unearned runs scored in the 4th.  California scored their first run in the 5th inning when Dick Wakefield, making his first start of the Series, hit a solo home run to lead off the inning.  In his next at bat in the 7th inning, Wakefield added his second consecutive solo homer to make the score 5-2 in favor of Monterey.  The Jacks pulled away again by scoring 3 runs in the bottom of the 7th to rebuild their lead to 8-2 and appeared to be in control of the game.  But things went suddenly very wrong for Muncrief.  After retiring the first batter in the top of the 9th, he gave up a booming triple to Hal Wagner.  The next batter, Jim Russell, walked on 5 pitches.  Eddie Stanky followed Russell's walk by beating out an infield single while Wagner managed to score all the way from 2nd base on a hit that never left the infield.  Augie Galan worked Muncrief to a full count and then took ball four to load the bases with only 1 out.  Up to this point in the inning, Muncrief had thrown 19 pitches and 12 of them had been out of the strike zone.  With an 8 to 3 lead, the Monterey manager elected to stick with the righthanded Muncrief to pitch to lefthanded slugger Ron Northey.  But Northey drilled one of Muncrief's fastballs deep into the center field stands for a grand slam homer that pulled the Tornados within 1 run of the Jacks. Stanky singled home Pete Coscarart in the top of the 9th to tie the game, 8 to 8, and the teams headed into extra innings.  Northey came through again for the Tornados, leading off the top of the 10th with a double.  With 1 out, Wakefield came to the plate and was intentionally walked.  Jacks reliever Joe Haynes got the 2nd out, but then Coscarart drove in Northey with a single.  Wakefield also scored when Danny Gardella committed an error on the throw, giving the Tornados a 10-8 win.  Johnny Lindell hit a 2-out solo homer in the bottom of the 10th but the Tornados were able to close out the win.  After a travel day the Series will resume in Maryland.  Expected starters are Jim Tobin (24-7, 2.73) for Monterey and Mort Cooper (11-6, 3.62) for California.

Monterey Wins World Series Opener, 7 to 6;
Jacks Tie Tornados In 8th Inning, Win In 9th
Oct. 17, 1944
MONTEREY, CA:  The Monterey Jacks came from behind to win the first game of the World Series by the score of 7 to 6 over the California Tornados.  Earlier in the game the Tornados mounted a comeback of their own after trailing 5-2 after 4 innings.  California tied the game in the top of the 6th with a 3-run outburst that drove Monterey starter Dizzy Trout from the game.  The Tornados took a 6-5 lead in the top of the 8th when Lennie Merullo opened the inning with a single, advanced to 2nd on Mike Ryba's sacrifice bunt, and scored on Jim Russell's single.  But the Jacks tied the game again in the bottom of the 8th on singles by Babe Martin, Bruce Sloan, and Al Simmons. With the score still tied 6-6, Tornados reliever Gordon Malzberger gave up a leadoff single to George Myatt.  Dixie Walker followed with a line drive single up the middle that sent Myatt to 3rd, and Whitey Kurowski hit a hard grounder between the third baseman and shortstop that manged to get out of the infield for a single, driving in the winning run.  Claude Passeau (16-6, 2.99) is tomorrow's scheduled starter for California, and Bob Muncrief (26-3, 2.57) is expected to take the mound for Monterey.