United League of American Base B

Blowouts, Thrillers Open UL's 15th Season
APRIL 1 -- In six stadiums across the country -- from Fenway Park to Seals Stadium -- the United League opened its 15th season today. The Atlanta Hilltoppers played their first game and baseball returned to Yankee Stadium for the first time in four years.

CHICAGO 2, LOS ANGELES 1
Banks Hero in 8th, Nearly Goat in 9th
CHICAGO --- Hank Aguirre and Tom Sturdivant went toe-to-toe in a classic pitchers duel at Comiskey Park. Los Angeles broke the scoreless tie in the top of the fifth. Bill Mazeroski led off with a bunt single, advanced to second on Tom Haller's walk, then Mike De La Hoz loaded the bases with a single. Aguirre himself put the Outlaws ahead with a groundout to third to bring home Maz, but Sturdivant bucked up and got out of the inning, inducing a Tito Francona groundout before battling Hank Aaron in an eight-pitch at bat. With the count 3-1, Aaron fouled off three straight balls before taking strike three looking. It would be a pivotal at bat. Joe Adcock's single in the second was the only hit Aguirre allowed until the eight inning, when after Ken Hamlin's leadoff walk, pinch hitter Norm Cash plopped a Texas leaguer over the head of Mazeroski. After Jim Busby sacrificed to put the go-ahead run into scoring position, Bob Allison grounded out to third on the first pitch. With two outs, Ernie Banks stepped to the plate, and like Aaron, fouled off three straight pitches after a 3-1 count. On the eighth pitch of the at-bat, Banks ripped a line drive past Hector Lopez, scoring both Hamlin and Cash and giving the Colts a 2-1 lead. Banks nearly let L.A. back into the game in the ninth. After closer Russ Kemmerer got two groundouts, Lopez reached on Banks' fielding error, putting the tying run on base. But Kemmerer fanned pinch hitter Billy Martin for the final out.

BROOKLYN 9, MANHATTAN 3
Sox Pounded in Yankee
Stadium Debut
THE BRONX --- Lew Burdette tossed an eight-hit complete game in his 400th career start, as Brooklyn rolled to a 9-3 win in the first game in Yankee Stadium in four years. The Bas broke up a 1-1 tie in the third with a Felix Mantilla single and Jim Hickman's two-run homer, and put the game out of reach with three insurance runs in the ninth. Brooklyn collected 18 hits, in addition to six walks, against Manhattan pitching, including three hits each for Mantilla and Mickey Mantle. Joe Gibbon took the loss, and Willie Stargell was 0-for-4 in his Gray Sox debut.

ST. LOUIS 6, DALLAS 1
Pearson Starts Season
With a Bang
DALLAS --- Albie Pearson homered in the game's first at-bat -- and later tripled and singled -- and Billy O'Dell allowed just one run in seven innings of work as the Maroons coasted to a 6-1 Opening Day win at Turnpike Stadium in Arlington. Jim Fregosi was 2-for-4 with an RBI triple in his St. Louis debut, and rookie Manny Mota collected his first major league hit, going 2-for-4. The Dark Reds blew the game open with a 3-run fourth that included back to back triples by Pearson and Fregosi. Art Ceccarelli took the loss for Dallas, allowing 13 hits and 5 walks

CLEVELAND 5, WASHINGTON 0
Podres Blanks Monuments
CLEVELAND --- Roman Mejias' two-run first inning homer off Johnny Antonelli was all the Barons would need, as Podres beat Antonelli in a battle of Johnnys before 66,828 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. Podres allowed four hits and struck out seven in 6.2 shutout innings, and the bullpen was even more dominant, with Don Elston, Jackie Collum, and Pete Richert allowing just one hit in 2.1 innings. Mejias added a third RBI on a groundout in the fifth, and former Maroons Bill Skowron and Willie Jones were 3-for-4 and 2-for-4 respectively in their Baron debuts. Antonelli gave up 12 hits in 7.2 innings, and Dick Howser had two of Washington's five hits.

ATLANTA 16, SAN FRANCISCO 5
Hilltoppers Crush Spiders
SAN FRANCISCO --- After three scoreless innings at Seals Stadium, Atlanta scored in five straight innings, using a 20-hit, 4-home run barrage to squish the Spiders 16-5. Rookie Matty Alou started the scoring with a 2-run double off Ron Kline in the fourth. Gates Brown and Ron Hunt hit back-to-back homers in the fifth, and Kline left after six, with the Toppers leading 6-4. But Atlanta was just getting started, and tacked on four runs off Bennie Daniels (in his UL debut), and six more off Rollie Sheldon. To add insult to injury, former Spiders Harmon Killebrew and Don Pavletich hit solo homers in the eighth. Every Atlanta starter except Jim Ray Hart drove in a run, and Pavletich and Rocky Bridges had three hits each. Steve Boros was 2-for-4 with 2 RBIs for San Francisco. The game was the worst Opening Day blowout "in quite some time," according to the Elias Sports Bureau.

BOSTON 4, DETROIT 2
Score Tames Griffins at Fenway
BOSTON --- Herb Score and Pedro Ramos both went the distance, allowing just four runs each, but Boston cobbled together a three-run first inning that made the difference. Ramos walked the bases loaded with one out and then allowed the first run to score on a throwing error. Gene Freese then hit an infield single, scoring Orlando Cepeda, and Manny Jimenez plated Bill Freehan with a sac fly. Score took a shutout into the ninth, but much-ballyhooed rookie Dick Allen hit a two-run homer. Freehan also homered in the game, and Score struck out 9.

Donovan Signs With Boston
BOSTON --- Dick Donovan, the prize catch of the offseason free agent market, signed with the Boston Federals today, in a two-year, $4.5 million deal. Feds GM Shawn Martin used recent trades to shed payroll in order to free up payroll space and make a competitive bid for the the 36-year-old righthander. Donovan was drafted in the 24th round of the Inaugural Draft in 1951 by the Louisville Colonels, and bounced around the league, mostly as a 4th starter and long relief roles, before going to the Texans as their first pick in the 1962 expansion draft. Thrust into the rotation, Donovan excelled, posting a 57-46 record and 3.67 ERA in 117 starts. "He's basically a poor man's Herbert," one scout said, referring to Chicago starter Ray Herbert, who suddenly blossomed into a 20-game winner in 1963 at the age of 32 after 11 lackluster seasons.
Donovan will likely displace either second-year starter Steve Blass or rookie Bruce Howard in the Boston rotation, but having missed spring training, he will work out with the Triple-A Philadelphia Keystones for a couple weeks before making his first Boston start sometime in mid-April.
Donovan's rejection of several contract offers was unprecedented in UL history. Several quality relief pitchers remained unsigned going into Opening Day.