Newark Star Ledger Thread

[thebishop]

Newark Star Ledger
Newark to Field Team in New Federal League
Multi Millionaire Bishopi to helm team

Newark, NJ--Today, Bishop Inc. owner Christoff Bishopi announced that he was investing his money into a brand new team in the newly forming Federal League and that the team would call the city of Newark its home.

"I'm proud to announce we've finally brought major league caliber baseball back to Newark," Bishopi told the press corp today. "It's been nearly 40 years since the original Federal League tried to make it, I have a feeling this Federal League is going to be around a few years longer than that one."

Bishopi heads his on electronics chain around the tri-state area that specializes in home appliances for 'the little folk' as their slogan goes. He initially made his money bootlegging in the 30's, at least according to the FBI, but that's just speculation.

The team has yet to say where the stadium will be place situated or how it will be financed, but rest assured it'll be erected sometimes soon before the season is to start. So, welcome your new team to the area, folks!

[thebishop]

Newark Star Ledger
Team to let fans pick nickname
Contest starts tonight in Jersey City

Newark,NJ--The recently announced team in Newark out of the newly founded Federal League has decided to let the masses choose a team name for the club, giving one lucky fan the chance to be a part of history.

"We're excited to announce that we'll be having a contest to name the club," owner Chris Bishopi told the press this afternoon, where he also revealed where the stadium would be located for the upcoming season. "This gives the fans the chance to really become a part of the club, get to really know the organization and become a part of history."

The team has decided to put their park at the corners of Broad and Ferry Streets, not too far from the Rutgers College campus, just about 15 minutes from downtown New York City and not far from the northern half of the state as well, allowing for the club to have a much larger market. The name of the stadium has yet to be announced, but speculation has it that the club will most likely name it after either a local historical person or after the club owner himself or his business ventures.

So, get out to the carnival in Jersey City tonight, folks. The White Mana is serving its world famous burgers and there will be free Coca-Cola and plenty of prizes handed out.

[Tavarin]

Jersey City Jerks!

[knucklehead7]

Newark Eagles
Newark Bears
Newark Knights

[thesportshero]

Newark Pepper!
Newark Mutuals
Newark Blue Sox
Newark X Giants

[thebishop]

Newark Star Ledger
Newark Club Signs Goslin, Vandermeer as Manager, Pitching Coach
Former Major League stars ready to make impact

11/15/1954
Newark, NJ--The newly founded, and still nameless, Federal League baseball club of Neward announced today the hiring of former Major Leaguer Goose Goslin as the first team manager in club history and also signed former ML pitching star Johnny Vander Meer to be their pitching coach, filling out part of their coaching staff in preparation for the big draft and the upcoming season.

"Goose was a fine ball player, he's bound to be in the Hall of Fame sooner or later for the numbers he put up. He's also known to be fairly easy to get along with, something I really like to see in a manager of any kind," Owner Chris Bishopi said today during the announcement. "I wanted to bring in someone that has a New Jersey background, someone that knows the game and knows the area as well. Seeing that Goose has lived his entire life in the state, I'd say he met that qualification."

Goslin was quoted as saying that he was "really looking forward to getting this thing off the ground" and that he was "looking forward to finally getting a shot to manage a baseball club after all these years." The 54 year old will be managing for the first time in his life, making him one of the oldest first time managers ever hired.

Vander Meer, also a New Jersey native, pitched 13 years in the majors and won 80 games over that span, mostly with the Cincinatti Reds. He retired from the game 5 years ago, never able to regain his form after leaving for the war. He's most famous for being the only Major League pitcher ever to throw back-to-back no hitters.

The team is also said to be looking at Joe Medwick as their batting coach, another New Jersian. We'll see if he's up for the task or not fairly sure, we should find out in due time.

Get your submission in for naming the team! Be a part of Newark history!

[thebishop]

Newark Star Ledger
New Stadium To Be Named After Local Legend
"I don't care if he did shoot Hamilton" Bishopi says

11/17/1954
Newark,NJ--The new Federal League team in Newark has decided to name its stadium after Newark born former Vice President Aaron Burr.

"Aaron Burr was one of this country's early leaders, a Vice President under Thomas Jefferson and a native New Jersian. I don't care if he shot Hamilton, these Federalists aren't going to be stringing him up for it," Chris Bishopi said after announcing the name to the press corp today.

The only other names being considered as far as anyone knows were Frank Sinatra Field in honor of the Hoboken born crooner and Woodrow Wilson Stadium for the one time Govoner of the state. But, Bishopi went with the controversial pick, at least by 1804's standards.

Aaron Burr Stadium. yup.

[thebishop]

Newark Star Ledger
Team Name Finally Decided!
Fan picks 'Bears' out of hat

12/1/1954
Jersey City, NJ--The Federal League team in Newark finally got a name after a lucky fan pulled the name from the city mayor's hat.

Jimmy Bouton, a 15 year old high schooler from Newark, was the lucky winner of the contest to pick a name for the team. The sophomore, a noted pitcher around these parts, plucked the team name 'Bears' from the mayor's hat after a night of fun and food at a local carnival.

"Now that we've got that squared away, I'd like to introduce the Newark Bears to all of New Jersey!" Owner Christos Bishopi said after finding out his team's new name. He then pulled out boxes of hats and shirts with a team logo and their names all over it, making one wonder if the fix was on.

So, now what we've got that squared away, let's get that draft rolling!

[thebishop]

Newark Star Ledger
Bears Announce Stadium Specs
Aaron Burr Stadium finally to get some walls

12/15/1954
Newark, NJ--The Newark Bears of the new Federal League announced the 'specs' on newly named Aaron Burr Stadium and, by most accounts, it's looking like a hitter's park.

"325 down the leftfield line, 355 in the alley, 390 to centerfield, 348 in the rightfield alley and 297 down the rightfield line. Yes sir, the hitter's should have a fine time in there, with the wind coming in the way it does," Owner Chris Bishopi said as he unveiled the park's distances today. The stadium will have 30 foot walls down the right field line and out to right center to try and keep regular flyballs becoming homeruns, but any true lefthanded power hitter should have a fun time there. The 35,000 seat park is just about ready to to start selling tickets and the league's draft is also about underway, so get ready Newark, the Bears are coming to town!

Stadium Specs:

Leftfield Line 325'
Leftfield 352'
Leftcenter 370'
Center 390'
Rightcenter 367'
Rightfield 348'
Rightfield Line 297'

Walls
Leftfield to RightCenter 8'
Rightfield to the line 30'

ballpark factors
2B=130
3B=115
RHAVE=105
RHHR=111
LHAVE=109
LHHR=121

[thebishop]

Newark Star Ledger
Bears Sign Frank Lane As GM
'Trader' Lane ready to tear team apart

12/25/1954
New York, NY---The Newark Bears signed Frank 'Trader' Lane on as their GM today, handing him a fat 3 year contract and just about unleashed control over the team's daily operation.

"I'm ready to move some players, even if we don't have any yet!" Lane exclaimed to the press at the conference today. The former Whitesox GM, who resigned after a falling out with owner Charlie Comiskey, jr, will be in charge of the team's drafting for the upcoming initial season and all activities there after.

Lane is known for his penchant for making trades, sometimes for what looks like no reason whatsoever. He's been burned and he's made some gems, so he's really hit or miss. We guess that's what owner Chris Bishopi liked about the old man, so we can expect a lot of deals coming in and out of the Newark area in the coming 3 seasons.

Welcome, Frank, now build us a winner!

[thebishop]

Newark Star Ledger
Lane Grabs Roberts as Team's First Ever Player
Also snatches up Aaron with second pick

2/2/1955
Philadelphia, PA---Frank Lane made his first pick in the league's initial draft and it was a doozy.

Robin Roberts, a 30 game winner with his ML team last year, will be the club's "Ace righthander for years to come," Lane said after announcing the team's first choice. Roberts is a sturdy starter with a great feel for his pitches and is also an excellent innings eater. He's not known for high strikeout totals, letting his defense do a lot of work for him, but he can get the ball past the batters when need be.

Lane then turned around and made his 2nd pick after the Crawford's picked their 2 straight, grabbing up 21 year old Hank Aaron with his 2nd choice. Aaron is a strapping young power hitter who could be one of the best all around players in the league for years to come. He's a good rightfielder and has all 5 tools at his disposal.

More to come as the draft moves along!

[thebishop]

Newark Star Ledger
Bears Announce Opening Lineup, Starting Pitcher
Roberts to take mound for team's first game!

4/1/1955
Newark, NJ---The Newark Bears announced their opening day lineup and starting pitcher today, naming Robin Roberts their first ever openind day hurler.

The team is extremely righthanded, with just 3 lefthanded hitters to account for on their roster. Just Ted Kluszewski and Richie Ashburn are looked at as starters hitting from the lefthand side of the plate, which is odd considering their homepark is set to aid lefties way more than their counterparts.

As for the lineup, here it is:

1) L R. Ashburn CF
2) R J. Piersall LF
3) R H. Aaron RF
4) L T. Kluszewski 1B
5) R G. Kell 3B
6) R G. Triandos C
7) R E. Banks SS
8) R H. Lopez 2B

The team's first game is on the road in Philadelphia against the Bluesox, the city in which Roberts pitched while a member of the former Major Leagues. His last season there he won 30 games for the Phillies, so the team has some high hopes for him this season.

The season is finally here! Let's go Bears!

[knucklehead7]

Jersey City Morning Journal
Crazy Ted Spouts Off
Famous Big Mouth Strikes Again

Ted Blitzkowski, owner of the first place Pittsburgh Crawfords, has opened his big mouth again. During an interview on opening day, he accused Bears' owner Chris Bishopi of being a "communist pinko."

Bishopi, who was a working actor before he launched his home appliance empire, has been linked in recent months to several of the actors who were called to testify in last year's McCarthy hearings. "That communist pinko Bishopi in Newark better not do anything to embarras our new league, or he'll find himself swimming with the fishes in the Hudson River," said Blitzkowski.

When asked to comment, Bishopi got bright red, and went into his office before returning with a louisville slugger. "If that old geezer comes up here for any of our games, I got something for him," warned the livid Bishopi.

[thebishop]

Newark Star Ledger
Bears Off To Grizzly Start
3-6 record has team in last place to start league off

4/19/1955
Newark, NJ---The Newark Bears kicked off the inaugral season the hard way, losing 6 of their first 9 to open things up in last place in the Eastern side of the league.

The club doesn't look as bad as their record, really. The team got some hitting from 3B George Kell and Hank Aaron and the pitching staff held it's own for the most part, showing signs that things could turn around in a hurry should everything gel.

"I'm not real worried about anything just yet," owner Chris Bishopi said today after his team's struggle out of the box. "Most of those boys are young, still learning, others are crafty vets just getting their groove on. I think by season's end, we'll be decent."

The team currently has the 6th best pitching in the league. Of course, when there are only 8 teams, that's not as good as it sounds. They are also dead last in homeruns and runs scored, maybe a testament to manager Goose Goslin not really tinkering too much before the first week or GM Frank Lane not really grabbing enough lefty sluggers, considering the ballpark's dimensions.

Still, it's early and the club has plenty of time to get things straight or make some trades if they feel the need. Get out to the ballpark, folks, the Bears are coming to town!

[knucklehead7]

Jersey City Journal
Goslin in Trouble
Rumors fly after tough start

Bears owner Chris Bishopi was recently overheard telling Pelicans' owner Langston Hughes that he might have made a mistake hiring Goose Goslin to manage the team. Our source tells us that while the two were dining at a Manhattan restaurant, Bishopi said "We suck, and it's clearly not my fault." If Lane and Goslin think this type of performance will be sufficient, they'll both be in Montvale by Memorial Day!"

Bishopi has never been a patient man. While his appliance business is the number one store in the area, insiders tell us that he goes through managers rather quickly. "His standards are really high, and he will fire you in an instant if you don't meet them," said one of his employees who asked to remain anonymous.

Hughes was in town with his team that visits Burr Stadium for a four game series beginning on Monday. If the Bears don't pick it up this week, look like we could be seeing changes real soon!

[thebishop]

Newark Star Ledger
Bears Growl Their Way Back Into Contention
Team wins 6 of 7 to get back to 2 games behind Pittsburgh

5/26/1955
Newark, NJ---The Bears swept 4 straight from the New Orleans Pelicans and then took 2 of 3 from the San Francisco Seals, putting the team at 9-7 on the year and just 2 games behind the Pittsburgh Crawfords in the FL's Easter Division.

The team's pitching staff really came to life this week, dropping their overall ERA down to 3.63 on the year, the 2nd best mark in all the land. Robin Roberts dropped his ERA to 3.53 for the year while getting his record back up to 2-2, making him the top pitcher on the staff this season, but it's still way too early to see which way things are going to end up. Still, the improvement of the staff this quickly bears good news to the team, which was starting to fear their staff may not be as good as they had hoped during the draft.

Hank Aaron reached the 5 homer mark for the year, easily the highest mark on the team. In fact, the rest of the team has 5 altogether, with 5 players hitting just 1 each, making for a rather week offense so far on the year. The team is just 7th in homeruns while posting just 64 runs in their 16 games on the year, about 4 per game. That's also dead last in the league.

Manager Goose Goslin said today that he was "happy with the way the pitchers have started to come around" and that he "can't wait to see Hank Aaron really break out and put up the numbers he's going to be capable of soon." Aaron is just 21 years old. The idea of him playing with future stars Al Kaline and Roberto Clemente has most of the team's upper management drooling for the future, but for now, Hammerin' Hank is basically alone to lead this offense.

More games to come as the season rolls on!

[thebishop]

Newark Star Ledger
Bears Offense The Pits
Team is dead last in every offensive catagory but stolen bases

5/3/1955
Newark, NJ---The Bears weren't nearly as sharp this week as they were last week, losing 4 of 6 games this week, including a 3 game sweep at the hands of the Brooklyn Monarchs.

The team's offense is the main culprit to the club's 11-11 start. Besides Hank Aaron, who has come out of the gate with a Major League leading 7 homers (tied with the Crawfords' Ralph Kiner) and his team high 17 RBI, the only Bear with more than 10 RBI is 3B George Kell, who has 12 for the season. Not one Bear has more than 2 homers other than Aaron as well and the team is starting to be very concerned over the performances of Ted Kluszewski and Richie Ashburn, the club's only lefthanded hitters.

"Those two have definitely not performed up to snuff so far," manager Goose Goslin said, rubbing the sweat off his forehead with a handkerchief. We really need those two bats to get going if we're going to compete with Pittsburgh this year. Without them, we're destined for nothing but .500." The club's manager looked particularly nervous today, as if he's being closely watched from upstairs. Rumours out of Jersey City have it that owner Chris Bishopi is already thinking of removing his manager in favor of someone with Major League experience such as Leo Durocher or Joe McCarthy. Either way, Goslin's managerial career may be shorter lived than most would have thought.

The team is also not pleased with the way Frank Thomas and Dave Philley have looked off the bench. Niether is looked on as a starter, but they're both looked at as solid bench players. If neither can come around, the team will most likely give youngsters Roberto Clemente and Al Kaline a shot at playing.

The team is pleased with its pitching, which is pretty much the only reason the club has played as well as it has thus far. They've posted the 2nd best ERA and the 2nd least runs allowed while living in the middle in the rest of the catagories. Lew Burdette is becoming the posterchild for lack of support, posting a 1-4 record to go with his 3.30 ERA on the year. Even Robin Roberts is just 3-2 with a 3.49 mark on the year. If only we had a little more offense.......

May is here and the team is ready to really start going. And if they don't, look for Trader Lane to make an appearance by midseason.

[thebishop]

Newark Star Ledger
Feller Dropped From Rotation
Lefty Simmons to take over for former Cleveland ace

5/4/1955
Newark, NJ---The team announced today that 36 year old righthander Bob Feller will be dropped from the team's rotation in favor of young lefthander Curt Simmons after a poor showing to start the season.

Feller, a 255 game winner in the former Major Leagues with the Indians mostly, is just 2-3 on the year with an ERA of 5.52, hardly the stuff that keeps anyone in a rotation. Once thought to be the hardest thrower of his era, perhaps ever, Feller's on his last legs as a frontline man. He did win 18 games last season with the old Pirates team of the Majors as well, but it appears his future is out of the bullpen for now.

"Bob's just not getting his pitches over the way we want, so we figure it's best to give Simmons a chance to start and see if Bob can get things back together out of the pen," pitching coach Johnny Vander Meer told the press today. Feller had no comment on the situation, but it's rumoured that he is less than happy with everything.

Owner Chris Bishopi also had no comment, but it's well known that he's playing a hand into how things are being run in Newark so far. Looks like a train wreck waiting to happen.

[thebishop]

Newark Star Ledger
Bears Dip Under .500, Continue To Suck
Goslin already on hot seat

5/10/1955
Newark,NJ---The Bears continued their mediocre ways this week, winning 3 of 7 against the Bluesox and Untouchables this week, leading many to believe that manager Goose Goslin will be fired sometime before he first allstar break.

Despite the team taking 2 of 3 from the Bluesox and young lefty Curt Simmons stepping into the rotation and working some magic, the Bears dropped to 14-15 on the year, thanks mostly to the team dropping 3 of 4 to Chicago. The team's total lack of offense is only part to blame as 3/4's of club's rotation decided to sleep through the week. Lew Burdette continues to fail to garner any run support, Bobby Shantz's knuckleball has been coming in straight as line and Bob Feller is still in the bullpen. Due to all this, the club's overall ERA slipped from a league 2nd best 3.63 to 4th overall at 4.09. If this keeps up, we should be over 6 come July.

As for the non existant offense, the club scored 36 runs over the last 7 games, around 5 per game, which is actually an upgrade, but still not good enough to get past more of the other offenses in the league. If Hank Aaron weren't aboard, we'd have 30 losses already despite only having played 29 games.

As for manager Goose Goslin, there are rumours swirling that the first time manager will be dumped for a more experienced skipper. The Jersey born and bred Goslin was a former star for the old Washington Senators of the Major Leagues, but that doesn't seem to matter to team owner Chris Bishopi, who's known for his lack of patience almost as much as his appliance stores. Look for the club to hire a bigger name if indeed Bishopi's lack of patience plays a part in Goslin's dismissal.

[thebishop]

Newark Star Ledger
Bears Still 3 Out Behind Pittsburgh as June Approaches
Team no longer dead last in all offensive catagories!

5/23/1955
Newark, NJ---The Bears are still a game under .500 for the year at 17-18, but there appears to be some hope on the horizon as the team's offense finally looks to be waking up a little.

The team moved up to 6th in homeruns overall in the FL, thanks to a few players like Frank Thomas, Ernie Banks and George Kell finally catching onto the power game. The team is also first in stolen bases in the league, which means they'd run the bases well if they could get on with any consistency.

"We're playing decent baseball, if anything else," manager Goose Goslin said, sweating heavily under the flashbulbs of the press corp. The pressure may be getting to ol'Goose now as the team's underachievement is all atop his shoulders. The first time skipper may not last the season at this rate, be it due to his own pressure or that of owner Chris Bishopi. "I'll keep juggling the lineup and hope that we can find some chemistry, we're still not out of this race, yet!"

Meanwhile, the team is starting to wonder what's wrong with starter Bobby Shantz. The lefty knuckler has fallen apart of late, dropping to 2-4 on the year while his ERA has risen to 6.75. at this rate, Shantz will probably be released unless he shows sudden improvement. Bob Feller has been rumored to be whining about his lost starting job and the club has also thought about going to a 5 man rotation, unheard of in this day and age. The club will try a spot starter as well until some better consistency is found.

The team goes to Pittsburgh this week before heading to Philly and then coming back home to take on the Monarchs at home.

[thebishop]

Newark Star Ledger
Bears Drop To 18-23 On Season, Now 7 Games Back
Team decides to dismiss Goslin, trades Ashburn

5/24/1955
Newark, NJ---The Bears dropped 5 of 6 games this week, including a sweep at the hands of the Pittsburgh Crawfords, falling to 18-23 on the season and are now 7 games behind in the FL East race.

After watching in vain for just under 2 months to see if his team could get going or not, owner Chris Bishopi has decided to make some move. According to sources, owner Chris Bishopi has all but decided to remove manager Goose Goslin from his job. The first time skipper was given an extremely short leash to work from and it appears that the highly impatient Bishopi has decided to already move on. The leading candidates for the job seem to be old time ML managers Casey Stengel, Leo Durocher and, perhaps, player George Kell.

"We need something to happen around these parts," Bishopi said without saying whether Goslin was still with the team or not. "Goose is a great guy and he'll have a job with us one way or another, but we just need to find some consistency. And right now, we're just horrible."

And with that, Frank Lane made his first trade of the season, sending veteran outfielder Richie Ashburn to the San Francisco Seals for highly touted outfield prospect Bob Bowman. "Richie was unhappy in Newark and was also unpreductive as well, so we figure it's better to lose his salary now and make him happier by moving him along. Hopefully everything works out for both him and us." Ashburn was hitting just .225 with a homer and 6 RBI on the year, including just .129 versus lefties. His .583 OPS was the lowest of all the regulars on the team and it's also said that he was about to lose his job to Jimmy Piersall, who's move to center would coincide with the arrival of youngster Al Kaline, who has been recalled for next week. The team may also bring up youngster Roberto Clemente should they decide to send Frank Thomas down due to his .180 batting average.

The team has also decided to go with a 5 man rotation, bringing bullpenner Bob Purkey into the starting mix, giving the club one of the few 5 man rotations ever seen on this level of play. With starter Bobby Shantz on the fritz and Bob Feller on his last legs, the team needs something to get things going.

More to come as the season proceeds.

[knucklehead7]

THE SPORTING NEWS
Roberts Gives Bears Reason to Hope
1st rounder lives up to top billing.


Newark, NJ – So far in this, the inaugural season of the Federal League, the Newark Bears have struggled on the field. Word inside the organization is that manager Goose Goslin may already be in trouble, but the team’s troubles have not affected ace pitcher Robin Roberts.

Roberts, who won 122 games for the Philadelphia Phillies in the old National League, has earned six of the Bears’ 21 wins. He is seventh in the league in earned run average(3.17), second in strikeouts (55), and has allowed only 11.2 runners per nine innings. Roberts has even helped his own cause at the plate by driving in 4 runs this year.

His most recent outing was a complete game victory over the San Francisco Seals in which he only allowed one run, struck out four, and allowed just five hits. “I shudder to think where we would be without Robin at this point, but I do know that when the ship gets righted, he’ll be right there leading the charge,” said Goslin. Unfortunately for the skipper, no one knows if he’ll be at the helm when that occurs.

[thebishop]

Newark Star Ledger
Bears At 24-30 As June Rolls In
Goslin still team's manager despite threats

6/7/1955
Newark,NJ--The Bears are 6 games under .500 as the FL's inaugral season reached the 1/3 mark for the year, coming in at 24-30 at this point and still showing no signs of offensive life under manager Goose Goslin.

The club did manage to take 2 of 3 from the Crawfords this week to get back under the 10 games out mark, thanks mostly to the team's recalling of pitcher Joe Nuxhall and outfielder Roberto Clemente, who both did well in their first weeks of action for the club. Nuxhall tossed a complete game 4-3 victory over the Crawfords in his first ML start of the season while Clemente went 3-6 with a double and an RBI to help out on the field as well. Both players will now have more of a role with the team in the coming weeks.

"I liked what I saw out there," manager Goose Goslin said this week. "Nuxhall looked like a veteran out there, holding the Crawfords to just 3 runs over 9 innings, that's impressive really. And Clemente really can spray the ball around the park. I think he's got a great future in this game."

The team also recalled veteran Gus Zernial from AAA along with veteran pitcher Max Lanier while sending down Dave Philley, Lefty Wallace and SS Jack Cusick, all in the name of finding a little more chemistry on the big league club. Little is expected of Zernial or Lanier, but if they can add in a little more offense or stable pitching, respectively, this team may be able to get within 5 games come the allstar break with a little luck.

The team may send down Al Kaline soon. The youngster is hitting just .143 on the year in his 2 weeks on the big club so far and the team wants to find some more room for Clemente to play. If he doesn't get it going this week coming up, he's heading for Montvale.

As for Goslin, well, he's still got the job for now, mainly due to the fact that owner Chris Bishopi has been out of the country on business and pleasure this past week. He's got at least another week before Bishopi is back from Thailand.

As the season moves, so do the Bears......

[thebishop]

Jersey City Journal
Aaron Wins Player of Week Award As Bears Go .500 For The Week
Roberts on fire, posts 0.36 ERA over last 3 starts

6/14/1955
Newark,NJ--The Newark Bears only won 3 of 6 on the week, but for some odd reason, things looked pretty good overall, as the team got great performances out of Hank Aaron and Robin Roberts and the club moved to 8 games behind the Crawfords for the season.

Aaron was on fire for the week, blasting 3 homers and driving in 6 runs while hitting .471, raising his overall average to .301 with 15 homers and 41 RBI for the season. He's making a good run at .300/30/100 for the year, which are excellent numbers for any player, but especially impressive for a 21 year old. The team is depending on him keeping it up, seeing that they're deadlast in runs scored.

As for Roberts, the hardthrowing righty went 3-0 over his last 3 starts, posting a 0.36 ERA over that time. Overall, he's 9-6 with an ERA of 2.79 while striking out 72 in 142 IP, all staff highs. At least this team has two players that seem to know what they're doing.

Roberto Clemente continues to impress club officials with his all around batting skills. The young outfielder is hitting a robust .467 in 15 atbats while scoring 1 run and hitting 1 double so far on the year. There's talk of him taking over the fulltime leftfielder's job and batting leadoff should he continue his torrid steak and, from the way things are going, the team really needs a shot in the arm.

Ted Kluszewski has reached the 200 atbat mark and has not woken up from his season long slump. All this culminated in the big lefty being removed from the everyday lineup in favor of Bob 'Moose' Skowron, who's hitting .345 with 2 homers and 9 RBI in a limited role so far. Klu is most likely going to be moved off to another team come the deadline or will just sit on the team's roster for the rest of the season and be released after the playoffs.

The club may be a major player in the PCL player auction that will commence this week. There are some exciting position players and pitchers coming into the league, we can't wait to see if the Bears can latch onto one or so.

[knucklehead7]

THE SPORTING NEWS
Simmons turns the corner.

So far this season, Curt Simmons has won five games and posted a solid 3.27. He's fast becoming one of the Bears' most reliable starters. For Simmons, his success this season has brought him full circle.

The Phillies signed Simmons out of Egypt, PA back in 1947 for the princely sum of $65,000. Simmons has won at least 15 games for the last four years, but he's only had one sub-4.00 earned run average in his career, and he's never really become the dominant starter the Phillies had hoped for.

When he jumped to the FL, the Bears made him their third round pick. Reluctant at first to throw him in the starting rotation, Goslin finally relented due to the club's stuggling in the early going. While the club has continued to struggle, Simmons has given the Bears reason to believe he's someone who can be a part of their future.