United League Baseball

Maroons Win Seven Straight
Pierce, Law Lead Stingy Staff
NEW YORK (Apr. 17) -- St. Louis won its seventh straight game today as Billy Pierce shut out the Gothams on three hits for his fourth win in as many starts.
   The streak began on Monday at Sportsman's Park, when Dom DiMaggio connected for a two-out pinch double in the eighth off Chet Nichols to edge the Gothams 6-5. In the next six games, St. Louis allowed a total of six runs. Pierce and Vern "Deacon" Law (3-0, 1.88) each won twice, including a six-hit shutout for Law on Tuesday. Law's hot streak was particularly welcome as Steve Gromek and "Sad Sam" Zoldak have struggled.
   Manager Timothy J. Smith's bullpen concerns have proven unfounded thus far, as St. Louis relievers have yet to concede a single earned run in 15+ innings. The expansion draft, the trade of Ray Narleski, and the injury to closer Roy Face decimated the Maroons' pen, but the staff has risen to the call.
   Spec "Naugatuck" Shea and Bob "Smiley" Keegan have been particularly impressive in their new roles. Both saw limited action as spot starters the last two seasons, but became bullpen fixtures this spring. Shea, filling in for the injured Face, earned his first career save on Monday. And Keegan pitched four shutout innings in Thursday's 3-2, 14-inning win at San Francisco.
   Gil Coan batted .565 (13-23) for the week, including four doubles, to climb atop the league batting table, and Stan Musial drove in and scored five runs. Center fielder Dom DiMaggio raised some concerns after a 1-for-16 (.063) start in his first five games. But the 38-year-old's game-winning pinch double on Monday sparked not only a personal rally (Dom was 10-for-24 for the week), but also launched the club's seven-game winning streak. St. Louis spent some time seeking a centerfielder this offseason to replace Dom, whose brother Joe retired this winter, before settling on the veteran for one more season. The "Little Professor" hit .325 with a career-high .417 on-base percentage in 103 games last year.

Aaron Fractures Wrist, Out Five Weeks
LOUISVILLE, Kent. (Apr. 12) -- Rookie outfielder "Hammerin' Hank" Aaron will be sidelined five weeks after fracturing his wrist on April 12. Aaron is hitting .341 (14-41) with 3 HR and 16 RBI (2nd in the league), and leads the league with a .829 slugging percentage. Aaron was hit by a Camilo Pascual fastball in the fifth inning of Tuesday's 7-1 win over the Chicago Colts. "Toothpick" Sam Jones struck out 11 in the eight-hit complete game. The Colonels won seven straight from Apr. 10-16, including sweeps of Chicago and Detroit, and after 13 games find themselves tied for second just a game behind St. Louis.

Outlaw Rotation Wracked by Injuries
LOS ANGELES (Apr. 18) -- The already-thin pitching of the expansion Los Angeles Outlaws was handed a major setback this weekend, as two starting pitchers sustained major injuries. Ray Herbert (0-3, 5.64), the staff ace, pulled a bicep muscle in Friday's 5-1 loss at Boston. Then, just two days later at Wrigley Field, Art Houtteman (1-0, 5.65) had to leave a game early with a ruptured elbow ligament. The Outlaws went on to win that game 4-1 as five pitchers held the Colts to a single run. The league is hitting .297 off Los Angeles pitching (last), and the club ranks seventh in both ERA and runs allowed. In the wake of the dual injuries, manager Chris McCreight may shift to a four-man rotation, with Saul Rogovin (1-2, 6.00) or Erv Palica (2-0, 3.07) most likely to take over the #1 slot.

AROUND THE HORN

ST. LOUIS MAROONS 10-3 -- 7-0	Line of the Week: Billy Pierce 9.0, 3 H, 0 R, 3 W, 12 K, W, (4/17) Stud: Leadoff man Gil Coan hit .565 (13-23), 5 RBI in last 8 games. Dud: 36-year-old outfielder Monte Irvin hit .095 (2-21) with just 1 RBI in last 6 games. Irvin has seen his playing time erode every season, from 615 at-bats in 1951 to just 269 last year. Expect it to drop further in '55 if he continues hitting .154.
BROOKLYN SUPERBAS 9-4 1 4-3	Line of the Week: Gil Hodges 3-4, 2 R, HR, 3 RBI (4/17) Stud: Tom Gorman is 4-0 with a 1.59 ERA in his first four starts. The 30-year-old won a career high 17 games last year (17-14, 3.25) and is off to his best start yet. Dud: Catcher Smoky Burgess, 1953's Rookie of the Year, opened the season with a hit in each of his first three games, but is batting .105 (2-19) in his last five games. Brooklyn's other catcher Wes Westrum is faring no better, with an .063 average (1-16) in five games.
LOUISVILLE COLONELS 9-4 1 6-1	Line of the Week: Alvin Dark 2-4, 2 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI Stud: Shortstop Alvin Dark is hitting .423 (11-26), with 7 RBI in his last 7 games, including a 2-HR, 4-RBI game in Detroit Apr. 15. Dud: Peanuts Lowrey hit .188 (3-16) in his last 5 games. Lowrey, 36, hit .324 with 78 RBI in 1952, but was down to .258 and just 32 RBI last year.
LOS ANGELES OUTLAWS 7-6 3 5-2	Line of the Week: Willie "Puddin Head" Jones 4-5, 3 R, HR, 4 RBI Stud: Willie "Puddin Head" Jones has driven in 9 runs with 2 homers and a .522 average (12-23) in his last 5 games. Dud: First baseman Dale Long hit just .179 (5-28) with 0 RBI in his last 6 games. He opened the season 12-for-23 (.522), with four multi-hit games in his first six games.
WASHINGTON MONUMENTS 7-6 3 5-2	Line of the Week: Duke Snider 3-5, 3 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI Stud: Right fielder Duke Snider is 7-for-16 (.438), with 3 HR and 7 RBI in his last 5 games. Dud: Ted Kluszewski, who in 1953 hit .340-10-67 in 118 games as the starting first baseman, is batting just .188 (3-16), mostly appearing as a pinch hitter.
BOSTON BEACONS 6-7 4 3-4	Line of the Week: Harvey "Kitten" Haddix 9.0, 6 H, 1 R, 1 W, 9 K Stud: Leadoff man Jim Gilliam, 26, is hitting .500 (10-20) with 6 RBI over his last 5 games, including a 4-for-6 clinic against Detroit Apr. 13. Dud: Starting catcher Bruce Edwards has just one hit in his last 5 games (.067, 1-15). Edwards, 30, hit .349 in 89 games last year, but prior to that never hit higher than .277.
NEW YORK GOTHAMS 6-7 4 1-6	Line of the Week: Bob "Warrior" Friend 8.2, 5 H, 1 R, 1 W, 12 K Stud: Jackie Robinson hit 8-21 (.381) with 2 HR and 4 RBI in his last 5 games. For the year, Jackie is hitting .333, 11 points below his UL career average. Dud: Right fielder Irv Noren, an All-Star and Gold Glove last year, hit just .125 (3-24) in his last 7 games and is suffering through a bruised neck.
CHICAGO COLTS 5-8 5 1-6	Line of the Week: Whitey Ford 8.0, 6 H, 3 R, 1 W, 8 K Stud: Rookie center fielder Bill Virdon is batting .417 for the year (15-36) and leads the team in hits, doubles, and runs. Dud: In his last 5 games, catcher Yogi Berra hit just .118 (2-17) with 0 RBI. Berra, 28, went from .324-32-109 in 1951 to .256-21-77 last year, in the same number of games (136).
SAN FRANCISCO SPIDERS 5-8 5 2-5	Line of the Week: Tom Umphlett 3-5, HR, 3 RBI Stud: Left fielder Frank Thomas hit .476 (10-21) in his last 6 games, including a pair of three-hit games. Dud: First baseman Joe Collins has been a bust thus far. In his last 5 games, Collins got just 2 hits for a .095 average (2-21). Vic Wertz is licking his chops on the bench.
DETROIT SOUND 2-11 9 2-5	Line of the Week: Toby Atwell 2-5, 2 R, 2 HR, 4 RBI Stud: First baseman Ferris Fain hit .429 (9-21) in his last 6 games, and has a 15-game hitting streak dating back to last September. He was hitless on Apr. 6 against Chicago, but had four walks in four plate appearances and thus kept his hitting streak alive with no official at-bats. Dud: Second baseman Davey Williams hit .100 (2-20) in his last 6 games.