United League of American Base Ball Clubs          est. 1951
 
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Gorman Out for Season
Shoulder Shelves Cy Young Winner
WASHINGTON (May 31) -- Brooklyn right-hander Tom Gorman will sit out the rest of the season after suffering a major injury in today's 12-5 win over the Monuments at Griffith Stadium.  The Superba ace gripped his right shoulder in the seventh inning, after pitching to first baseman Billy Goodman, who singled home the Monuments' fourth run of the inning.  Gorman got the win -- his fifth of the year, allowing just 3 hits and 4 runs in 6.2 innings -- but will not pitch again until 1957.
   The New York native had a frustrating start to his '56 campaign -- winless in his first six starts despite a 3.88 ERA -- but was 5-2, 3.67 in May, thanks mostly to better run support.  Gorman, 31, had only won 34 major league games before a breakout season last year (27-8, 3.03).  In addition to a UL championship ring, he took home the 1955 Cy Young Award, having led the league in wins (27), innings (324), complete games (24), and shutouts (5).  Brooklyn GM Glen Reed had an embarrassment of riches in starting pitching, putting Bob Purkey and Lou Brissie on the trading block.  All bets are off now, as Brissie -- heretofore the staff's spot starter -- figures to be slotted into the rotation.  Brissie, 30, a former stalwart in the Brooklyn rotation (he averaged 27 starts a year from 1952-54), was relegated to a long relief role last year, due to the ascent of Gorman, Gene Conley, and Lew Burdette.  Conley (6-4, 6.14) has struggled this year, but Burdette leads the staff with a 7-1 record in 12 starts.
   Brooklyn was 10-5 in late May, climbing to fourth place and keeping pace with Washington, though still 7.5 games behind the league leaders.  The club is second in offense, despite having no individuals in the top 10 in OPS.  The defending champs' balanced attack is led by Gil Hodges (.247-11-37), Gene Woodling (.335-4-31), and Richie Ashburn (.311-0-23, 21 SB).  Sandy Amoros, replacing the injured Minnie Minoso in left field, has emerged as a key contributor as well.  Amoros led the team with a .408 average in May, with 16 RBIs (second only to Woodling).

Monuments Back in Front
Hacker Wins Seven Straight
WASHINGTON (June 1) -- "If Warren Hacker is on the mound, make sure the bullpen is rested."  So begins the scouting report on the right-hander.  But despite this unkind assessment, Hacker was 7-0 in an eight-game span from Apr. 23 to May 27..  The Washington Monuments -- whose three-year reign as UL champions was ended by Brooklyn last year -- are in first place for the first time since last June, shortly before Stu Miller ruptured a disk, ending his season and Washington's hopes for a fourth pennant.  
   The Monuments went on a 14-3 tear from May 11-30 before Hacker lost his first game in nine starts May 31 against Brooklyn.  Washington leads St. Louis by 1.5 games and Chicago by 4.5.  As usual, Washington's strength is its pitching.  The club ranks second in ERA (3.72), led by Carl Erskine's 2.84 and Hacker's 3.20.  Hacker, a 30-year-old Marissa, Ill. native, won Pitcher of the Month for the first time, with a 6-1 record and 3.31 ERA in May.  But "The Hack" hasn't done it alone; Washington's other three starters (Erskine, Koslo, and Jansen) were a combined 8-4 with a 3.16 ERA in May.  In 1955, Erskine was a Cy Young candidate (25-9, 2.82), Koslo won 16 games for the third time in his career, and Jansen was 16-8, despite having the worst season in his UL career.

Stu "Pendous" Miller Poised to Return
   Stu Miller is arguably the most dominant pitcher in United League history.  A first round selection in the 1952 rookie draft (Miller was the fifth overall pick, after Mathews, Wilhelm, Kuenn, and Fornieles), Miller won Rookie of the Year and the Cy Young Award in his first two seasons, and was the league ERA champion in the Monuments' three championship seasons.  Miller was the biggest of Washington's "Big Three."  During the title years, Miller posted an incredible .708 winning percentage (68-28) and 2.45 ERA.  Thus, the Monuments suffered a huge setback on June 25 last year, when Miller's season was cut short by a ruptured disk in his back.  Miller was 9-4, 2.49 in 18 starts last season, but it is a testament to the depth of Washington's pitching that the Monuments were still able to win 93 games with Miller out of the rotation for three months.  The club finished second, six games behind Brooklyn.
   Miller wrapped up his rehab assignment this week, and is expected back in a royal blue Washington uniform next week.  Monument fans are rapt with excitement and anticipation of the Great One's return.  "The only problem -- if you can call it that -- is with the rotation going so good, who do you take out?" asked a gratified Jay Kaplan.  "Ooh! Ooh! Koslo!" blurted a reporter, inviting a penetrating glare from the skipper.  "It was a rhetorical question, numbnuts!"

Turning Point?
   In any event, with the loss of one Cy Young winner in the Borough and the imminent return of another in the District, one cannot help but get the sense that this is a turning point in the season.  Washington looks poised to break ahead of the pack, as they have so many times before, while struggling Brooklyn, mired in fourth place, faces the prospect of playing out the last 100 games without its best pitcher.  Perhaps the most relevant question is how strong of a challenge will St. Louis and Chicago pose as Washington pursues its fourth pennant in five years.